Curse

draxynnic · Aug 12, 2009, 04:08 AM // 04:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxic OnyX

Shame to see the daddy of GW leave, maybe he is going to setup a studio and buy the rights from NCSoft for the GW trademark and then develop it, remember they did this before with Blizzard lol

GW was never a Blizzard trademark - they developed it after they left (although they likely had the idea beforehand). IP tends to be the last thing a dying publisher is willing to let go (costs nothing to hold even if they don't DO anything with it, and if someone else does something with it that might be competition further down the track - no company wants to be beaten by IP that they sold), so I don't see this happening any time soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterB

What? NCSoft does not just sponsor or publish ANet's product; ANet is a wholly owned subsidiary of NCSoft. It's not a good sign for GW2 when one of the co-founders of the original franchise has left the project.

That means it's still a subsidiary - it is possible that ANet could rig an employee buyout if it comes to that, as long as the GW IP is assigned to ANet and not NCSoft proper. It's probably still better for all concerned than NCSoft dissolving ANet entirely.

Still worrying, though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billiard

it will be much more polished than AoC or WAR were at release.

You say that as if it that's a hard standard to beat...

Giga_Gaia · Aug 12, 2009, 04:13 AM // 04:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billiard

Last year at the ANet Party at PAX Jeff mentioned to me that he was not very involved in the day to day operations of ArenaNet anymore, and he did seem to have a lot on his plate with NCSoft. I would not be surprised if he just found the publisher side (what NCSoft does) to not suit him as well as the developer side (what ArenaNet does). Since Mike is/was leading ArenaNet, it would be kind of hard for Jeff to step back into a role with them without the situation being somewhat awkward for all concerned.

Hey you make a pretty good point. Although when you have a talented guy like Jeff Strain, it's inevitable that you will eventually move up from being on the technical aspect to more of a management role. Still, kind of sad to see him go, but best of luck to him.

Shayne Hawke · Aug 12, 2009, 04:20 AM // 04:20

If he was never much involved with the development of GW2, it may not be such a loss towards GW2 to have lost him, but with him being a fairly influential part in the making of GW, I wonder how different the goal of GW2 will be at start-up in comparison to GW.

Calvar Draveir · Aug 12, 2009, 04:31 AM // 04:31

All these negative comments... you can tell me I'm being overly optimistic, but this sin't the first time in the history of gaming that a game has been in development for almost three years without a scrap of info, and then info been released, then the game. It happens a lot. I know. I've waited for lots and lots of games. I have no proof, but I think that GW2 is being made, and although you may scoff now, I'll be proven right in a bit.

Marchese · Aug 12, 2009, 04:49 AM // 04:49

How soon we forget the horrendous waits for Diablo 2 (delayed for at least a year, over a year waiting for patch 1.09-1.10, etc.) Compared to some of the crap Blizzard pulled with that title, the GW2 situation is still looking pretty good.

Mordakai · Aug 12, 2009, 04:51 AM // 04:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billiard

Last year at the ANet Party at PAX Jeff mentioned to me that he was not very involved in the day to day operations of ArenaNet anymore, and he did seem to have a lot on his plate with NCSoft. I would not be surprised if he just found the publisher side (what NCSoft does) to not suit him as well as the developer side (what ArenaNet does). Since Mike is/was leading ArenaNet, it would be kind of hard for Jeff to step back into a role with them without the situation being somewhat awkward for all concerned.

As far as GW2 development, the folks I know at ArenaNet have been been 10 times busier in the past year than I ever saw them while working on GW. ArenaNet feels badly about GW2 being behind schedule so everyone there has been busting their butt to get things going. How it turns out only time will tell, but I feel very confident that it is not vaporware and that it will be much more polished than AoC or WAR were at release.

Thanks for the insight Billiard, it didn't even occur to me the awkwardness if Jeff returned to ArenaNet.

Maybe Jeff is just the kind of person who has to change things up every once and awhile. I hope this site keeps track of his future endeavors, even though it's a Guild Wars site.

Nomme Moon · Aug 12, 2009, 04:58 AM // 04:58

Hahahaha, this is a sign that GW2 is in significant development trouble. Whether that be with the design or financially, this is pretty worrying. Now not only do ArenaNet have tons of annoyed "fans" who have been waiting for almost 3 years for info, but they're more worried than ever about the game's future.

Time to put up or forget about retaining a community.

Mordakai · Aug 12, 2009, 05:07 AM // 05:07

I think I may of misjudged the role NCWest had with ArenaNet.

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10328104

I'm actually excited again, with rumors of a GW2 trailer being shown at Gamescom in Germany, and then PAX coming right after....

I think we'll be getting some news soon. Maybe Jeff left now so as not to "ruin" the good news?

daraaksii · Aug 12, 2009, 05:18 AM // 05:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joiry

I don't know, I think a prefer no GW2 over a crappy GW2. That way I could always imagine how good it could have been.

However, whatever other mistakes NCsoft has made, I think they at least were/are smart enough to leave Anet alone do their thing on GW2.

Another variant on the Anet leaving NCsoft theory (wild as it is). Maybe NCsoft doesn't like how GW2 is shaping up and want to divest themselves of it (cause they think Aion is teh Uber). Ie Strain leaves, gets capital to buy Anet back, and in one or two years GW2 eats Aion for lunch

You know this won't happen.

Gigashadow · Aug 12, 2009, 05:23 AM // 05:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

I think I may of misjudged the role NCWest had with ArenaNet.

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10328104

That article said "Jeff Strain will be working at NC West to manage all NC West development studios across all existing and future products and he will also direct the production of NCsoft’s Asian-developed titles for NC West territories".

Aion does the exact opposite of basically everything he said in his famous How to build a great MMO speech (except regarding bugs/quality issues), so maybe he got fed up they weren't taking his advice, and left.

Tr0n · Aug 12, 2009, 05:41 AM // 05:41

So, can Mike O'Brien now rehire Jeff Strain into ArenaNet or will NCsoft not allow it?

Fril Estelin · Aug 12, 2009, 06:51 AM // 06:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Regina Buenaobra

Hi, everyone. Just wanted to point you in the direction of a wiki post made by our head of studio to address this:

Ty Regina, great way to kill the rumors

.

Martin Alvito · Aug 12, 2009, 06:55 AM // 06:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calvar Draveir

I have no proof, but I think that GW2 is being made, and although you may scoff now, I'll be proven right in a bit.

The reason that proof of resources expended on development isn't persuasive is that the famous vaporware cases were generally also developed. Vaporware generally results when a company sinks some money into development, realizes that it will take too much more expenditure into the project to justify to the prospective returns, and decides to cut its losses.

All we can do is update our prior beliefs about the final product based upon the dribbles of new information we get. The simultaneous departure of multiple key figures is a very bad sign, and you cannot spin that away.

The ball is in ANet's court now. If they have a good product in development, they can show it to us and counter the bad press. If they don't, the only reasonable explanations are that they choose not to do so because they don't have the product at a stage of development where it is ready to show, or that the product is just plain bad.

Also, ANet's in a tough strategic bind. They're competing for the same market with two heavy hitters (Blizzard and Bioware) that have long, proven track records of success, huge budgets and major marketing muscle. It's very unlikely that either will release a bomb, which means that there are only two ways to beat them: hit the market first, or blow their games out of the water. The disparity in resources makes the second resolution unlikely.

Given that, it's plausible that NCSoft might pull the plug on the project despite the sunk outlay. If they were ocnvinced that the game was years off and that one or both heavy hitters will beat them to market, it would be smart to cut and run now. This is why the cries of "vaporware" have traction.

The speculation will swirl until we have a visible product and a "come hell or high water" deadline with upper management's reputation staked on that deadline. Until that happens, there's good reason for such speculation.

EDIT: The wiki post is encouraging. We now have someone's reputation staked on providing a demo in the near future. Just be sure to take it for what it is: confirmation that we'll see something soon. If what we see is sufficiently advanced, we can then rest assured that we will see release.

Arduin · Aug 12, 2009, 07:13 AM // 07:13

Quote:

That day is coming very soon now.

Oh my! Although very soon could still be a year away...this sure sets things a-tingling.

4thVariety · Aug 12, 2009, 07:25 AM // 07:25

I remember Jeff Strain for joking about ArenaNet not being supposed to be turned into the "GW Company"; which it still is three years later.

I also remember him passionately railing against Grind-MMOs and user unfriendly payment schemes. Yet he ended up in charge of bringing Aoin to the West.

But he is not dead, and if he needs to quit his job as "president" to finally do what we wants, then that tells more than 1.000.000 denials.

Best of luck to Jeff Strain, I know I'll buy his next game whatever it may be. It'll be worth its money that much will be sure.

malevolence · Aug 12, 2009, 08:23 AM // 08:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Regina Buenaobra

Hi, everyone. Just wanted to point you in the direction of a wiki post made by our head of studio to address this:

Thanks a lot Regina

KZaske · Aug 12, 2009, 08:25 AM // 08:25

I wish Jeff Strain all best in what every he attempts in the future.
As for GW2, I am waiting with baited breath and high hopes.

BrokenSymmetry · Aug 12, 2009, 08:53 AM // 08:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billiard

Last year at the ANet Party at PAX Jeff mentioned to me that he was not very involved in the day to day operations of ArenaNet anymore, and he did seem to have a lot on his plate with NCSoft. I would not be surprised if he just found the publisher side (what NCSoft does) to not suit him as well as the developer side (what ArenaNet does). Since Mike is/was leading ArenaNet, it would be kind of hard for Jeff to step back into a role with them without the situation being somewhat awkward for all concerned.

Good post, my thoughts exactly. Also, as other have mentioned, Jeff can not have been happy with having to manage Aion, a game that goes directly against some of the design principles that he always stood for.

Toxic OnyX · Aug 12, 2009, 09:28 AM // 09:28

Whilst I thought it was needed for Arenanet to speak out and assuage the fears of the existing GW playerbase (thus the intended core GW2 playerbase) , again the way they handled this was laughable, the CRM pops into the forum and says "hey check out the post from Mike on the wiki" and scarpers off before anyone can ask her a question.

Since her appointment just what has Regina done? besides dodge,hide and give out the company standard "bear with us, can't say much at present, things will turn up in time" ppl had some issues with Gaile but tbh she was by far a more community driven CRM and actually seemed to know what was going on, maybe Regina needs to hibernate less on realise her job is Community Relations so relating to the community would be a good idea, she isn't supposed to be the corporate hat wearing carebear that she appears to be, other people are employed to do that.

Back on track, good of Mike to say something, but again it is pretty much the standard reply "bear with us, can't say much at present, things will turn up in time" (maybe that is the new company motto)

At present all I get is the "Duke Nukem Forever" vibe about "GW2" and we all know how that ended.

Lonesamurai · Aug 12, 2009, 10:26 AM // 10:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1 up and 2 down

We also had news at the beginning of 2008 that there was supposed to be info about GW2 from Gaile. And all the news we got was that the beta was going to be pushed back and wouldn't take place at the end of the year(it was a little unrealistic to have a beta at that time anyways).

But it does seem likely that we will get some info in November. Aion will have already been released and it will be close to the end of the year.

she also openly admitted that she was wrong and that the beta WOULDN'T happen and appologised for the bad info