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According to a recent Twitter thread, Sony Online Entertainment's John Smedley has called the governor of Rhode Island an "idiot" for comments he made last December when he called 38 Studios' Project Copernicus "a lot of junk". The comments were made after the state failed to sell the IP during an auction as part of an effort to recoup $75 million dollars in public funds that was loaned to 38 Studios.
Smedley went on to make further comments:
@posion00 @gehrig38 I had the good fortune of seeing the game. It looked great. If that idiot Governor Chafee hadn't trash talked
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) February 10, 2014
@posion00 @gehrig38 Curt is an honest guy with good intentions. Although public money should never have guaranteed a winner or loser
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) February 10, 2014
@posion00 @gehrig38 Curt's only crime was believing in his own ability to will things to be better. He busted ass trying to get funding
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) February 10, 2014
Dear people of Rhode Island. Look to your elected government for failing to protect you. That 38 studios deal just never should have been.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) February 10, 2014
All he had to do was give Curt another week and we wouldn't be here today.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) February 10, 2014
@posion00 @gehrig38 I had the good fortune of seeing the game. It looked great. If that idiot Governor Chafee hadn't trash talked
You can read the entire thread on John Smedley's Twitter page.
Via Polygon
Comments
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This! If Smed thought it was so great why is it not a SoE game as we speak? (or type).
Why? Cus he's full of it. /end
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Violets are blue
The reviewer has a mishapen head
Which means his opinion is skewed
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I have to agree with the if it was so great why didnt SoE buy it.
Smedley should deliver a good game for starters before badmouthing others about doing bad business.
"going into arguments with idiots is a lost cause, it requires you to stoop down to their level and you can't win"
Or..... Maybe....
Soe is fully invested in a couple other projects.
Nothing like spreading yourself out too thin, just ask Curt.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
He never said he didn't try. Apparently the auction ended without an "acceptable" offer, so it's entirely possible SOE put in an offer. I'd be surprised if they didn't. However, that isn't to say that it won't happen either. It's so far into development that it will likely be sold, but hopefully it will be sold before the property is stale. This just means that the people selling it need to understand that they don't have forever to sit on this. They're probably better to take what they can get.
Crazkanuk
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I don't doubt Smed is full of it. That said if I was a game company I wouldn't want to be involved with the "state of Rhode Island" in any way, shape or form with respect to direct business transactions. Honestly, as small as that state is I wouldn't care if my games weren't allowed to be sold there either.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
Beyond the money they would have to pay just for the IP and assets, there would need to be a massive re-investment to bring the game to market. You cant just go in and pick right up where the previous company left off.
Also we dont know how much the bids were for, only that they were "unacceptable" I wouldnt be surprised if RI wanted like 60 million + for it. No one is going to pay that.
The state of Rhode Island is apparently asking for a huge sum if they aren't taking auction cash from SOE, just saying...
You have to look at it this way too though: Tax dollars were paid to make that game, which is just completely unacceptable. If I was a tax-payer in Rhode Island you can bet I'd be pissed that my money was going towards making a game... And then the game goes bust?
Yeah, I would certainly not be a happy taxpayer if I lived in Rhode Island.
Smile
Yes: Rhode Island's government were fools, both for the deal and the aftermath.
Yes: Smedley really has no room to talk here as they've bungled QUITE a many things with their own IPs, and ones they licensed in the past.
Yes: 38 Studios was a mess in leadership, planning, and hierarchical structure.
Would the game have been good? The answer is "most likely not". Smedley seems to have a keen eye for BAD stuff being "Good". He said EQII's push towards a more WoW-version of EQ was "Good on paper", but the reality is that it is just an awful excuse to bastardize a product to garner more revenue.
SOE are the kings of spitting on their fans by trying to cater to people whom have never tried/played one of their products before, and whom most likely never will go near SOE...for good reason.
If Smedley said it "looked good" then most likely it was a trainwreck waiting to happen.
Just my 2cents.
I'm no Smed fan, but all the guy is doing here is defending the industry. Whether Copernicus would have been any good we'll never know, but the Governor is just trying to deflect from the real issue - which is why the hell was taxpayers' money used to fund a fledgling studio undertaking one of the most risky projects - an MMO.
Junk MMOs can earn money, good MMOs can fail. It's beside the point.
From the point of view of Rhode Island, the game was junk. So was the single player game they released prior to going bankrupt. It doesn't matter how good the game looked, it doesn't matter what Curt Schilling's intentions were and it doesn't matter what Smedley thinks of the game's quality. The game and 38 Studios wasted seventy five million dollars of investment money on what amounts to nothing. That sounds like junk to me.
Though, it is true that Rhode Island never should have invested in the company and game in the first place.
**
For that matter, 38 Studios never should have taken the money. They should have found investors elsewhere.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I'd be royally ticked at those in power if I were a RI taxpayer, that's for sure. No state has any business offering loans or incentives for any business, period. That's the kind of crap which leads to the rampant cronyism we have today, as opposed to the true capitalist system we're supposed to have.
You want a business loan, talk to a bank or private investors, not your local politician. Disgusting.
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Hehe, not a chance. This bit is overshadowing another tweet by Smed in which, after being asked for more info about the unannounced MMO they are working on, Smed replies that he's not going to
"... shoot off my mouth anymore about how SWG fans will like it. Sorry I did that. My mistake."
So after taking away a game via the NGE, then having it yanked completely away when the license ended, THEN promising a game SWG fans would love, NOW wanting to retract the statement....
"No breaks were given this day".
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
The single player game they made was excellent. If they actually launched the mmo, I have no doubt it would of been able to keep it's head above water at the very least. Which is a hell of a lot better than where it is now.
Er, this is actually pretty common. It's not just Rhode Island that does this. The federal government does this too. Here's some information on what the state of New Jersey can do in regards to businesses. New Jersey Economic Development something or other.
Though, it's usually for smaller businesses, minority owned businesses, and businesses in a specific sector of the economy that the state wants to attract. Also, I don't think there's usually such a large amount of money given to a single business. New Jersey will guarantee loans up to $3M, not $75M. It makes more sense to attract twenty smaller businesses than one really big business. All your eggs in one basket kind of thing I guess.
**
If you do some research, you might be amazed at how involved the local, state and federal governments are in our economy. There are many, many things that only happen because the government makes them happen. Government interest in the video game industry could have been a very good thing, making it easier for smaller developers to get loans and run businesses, especially minority or women owned developers. I'm not sure if there will be any fallout because of this, but there could be a negative impact to smaller developers in other states.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Its because like the average American, people on these forums never actually do research about a topic before commenting on it.
RI saw what happened in Montreal in how the local government thru tax incentives and loans turned that city in a game mecca and saw what kind of rewards it brought it attempted to do the same. Then a new Governor came in an instantly shitted all over the process, didn't believe in the vision and purposely tanked it. What Montreal did wasn't over night, it took them several years to get the ball rolling.
Rhode Island got what it voted for. Congrats, you deserve it for elected an idiot political flip flopper who because of political animosity crapped all over people's lives and money.