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Vanguard survives SOE cuts
NomadMorlock
Member UncommonPosts: 815
From the Vanguard Forums Community Announcements:
Inhabitants of Telon,
We wanted to share the information below with you all directly, rather than having you read about it on another site. I am sure that many of you have been concerned that this may spell the end of Telon. While Vanguard is a veteran game, there are no plans to sunset the world of Telon so long as its citizens continue to dwell in such sustainable numbers. Your ongoing support of the game is deeply appreciated and you are all important members of our online community. Thank you, all.
~Linda “Brasse” Carlson
Director, Global Community Relations
Following is the official notice that you may see on other sites:
As part of a strategic decision to reduce costs and streamline its global workforce, SOE announced today that it will eliminate 205 positions and close its Denver, Seattle and Tucson studios. As part of this restructuring, SOE is discontinuing production of The Agency so it can focus development resources on delivering two new MMOs based on its renowned PlanetSide and EverQuest properties, while also maintaining its current portfolio of online games. All possible steps are being taken to ensure team members affected by the transition are treated with appropriate concern.
This strategic decision will have no impact on SOE’s current portfolio of live games; additionally SOE will transition development efforts for the Denver and Tucson studios’ suite of products to its San Diego headquarters. This strategic alignment of development resources better positions SOE to remain a global leader in online gaming and deliver on its promise of creating entertaining games for players of all ages, and servicing the 20 million players that visited SOE servers in just the past year.
Comments
Hard to cut a game that takes so little resources. Har Har.
Brasee has posted that on each games web site. SWG, EQ, EQ2.
I for one am worried somewhat, as they let go 2 devs in eq2. You guys in vangaurd have no devs.
It speaks taht seo is having cash flow problems.
Although i no longer play Vanguard, im glad to hear this. Vanguard still holds a special spot in my heart. That game had so much potential and was honestly really fun even in its buggy state it launched in. Too bad SOE and the collective group of complete idiots that work there refuse to put the time or money into Vanguard that it deserves, to help turn it into the game Brad set out to make all along, instead of forcing him to rush it out the door.
Currently Playing : Rift, EQ2
Has Played: Anarchy Online, SWG(Pre NGE refugee), DAoC, EQ1, EQ2, Lineage 2, CoH, CoV, Horizons, AoC, FFXI, FFXIV, Aion, WoW, DCUO, Matrix Online, Vanguard, Tabula Rasa, LotRo, Fallen Earth, Shadowbane, EQoA, ArchLord
QFT, Vanguard has no devs, the eq 2 devs double up. So what they not telling the vanguard folks is that the 2 devs in eq2 that just got fired were also covering for vanguard.
Honestly at this point vanguard should be making money as they don't have to pay anybody. Its all handled by other departments of the company and has been that way for quite some time.
The only thing SONY does for VG is customer support issues.Zero zip nada on the game.They don't even acknowlege it's existence at public events.
Hope VG stays alive. Recently started it and having a blast.
Nice to be in a fantasy world again where there's more then the grind to max level and the best gear.
I'm hoping it stays alive for atleast a year until the new batch of MMOs come around.
We are the bunny.
Resistance is futile.
''/\/\'''''/\/\''''''/\/\
( o.o) ( o.o) ( o.o)
(")("),,(")("),(")(")
No kidding =(
Well, hey, at least this confirms EQ: Next?
There is no reason to EVER shut Vanguard down.
1. They have no cost for development, as they dont fix anything or add any content any more.
2. They have network traffic cost. Those depend upon the number of players.
3. They have customer service cost. Those depend upon the number of players.
So yeah, without development, they only have cost factors that scale with the number of players. So why would they want to shut it down ?
I am glad Vanguard has survived for now. It is unfortunate that its at the mercy of SOE. Thats all I really can say, the last time i expressed my displeasure for SOE I got a warning heh. Sufficit to say, I am not a fan of SOE. Anyhow Vanguard is a good game that never got the attention or investment it should have.
I am not sure why people blame SOE for anything Vanguard related,if not for SOE there would be no VG ..period.At least SOE stepped up to let this game survive,Blizzard could have done that and they didn't ,EA could have and didn't,nobody stepped up and VG is definitely a very good product.
I think the fact that nobody stepped up says something about the market,and that is that quality has very little impact on success.I don't think there is anybody who doesn't agree that VG is at the very least a very good workable project.This means that any capable developer most certainly could put any finishing touches the game needs to become fully polished.
I would normally say i am happy the game didn't die to keep jobs,but i am pretty sure there is just a couple established employees that do next to nothing on this game,probably already working on other projects.
VG will go down as proof that giving the people everything they wanted,like no instancing,huge open world,tons of quests,items,great graphics ect ect,means nothing.Also the current talk i hear is all about "polish" which imo is BS because FFXI was and still is the most polished product on the market [by huge miles] and does not have the millions of gamers that Wow does.SO no polish is not the reason,it is pre marketing hype and timing,that clock has passed for VG and cannot be turned back.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
So are SOE. Vanguard is the only game they have where people are willing to continuously give them money for zero development in return. It is a win-win situation for SOE. No development costs and free money to pay the power bill for the server and to fund SOE's other development projects.
I can see the ad now: Everquest Next (brought to you in part by the subscribers of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes)
People blame SOE because at this stage it is SOE's fault. They acquired VG and dropped the ball after that. Do you blame Sigil for being a fail developer? Do you blame Microsoft for bailing out on the mess that was VG? SOE had the money and resources to further develop VG and they chose not to. I don't know who you could blame at this point except SOE.
Everyone will have their own opinion on why VG failed. I'm sure it is a combination of many things. Sadly I dont see VG lasting after they launch EQ3 if it even gets that far. Just another game like SWG..tons of potential greatness that just never got a chance to be realized.
Vanguard released in a condition that was nearly unplayable. All that vanguards failure proves is that you can offer players tons of POTENTIAL, but a buggy incomplete release will cause even a great concept of a game to fail.
It also shows that a second chance at recovery is useless if the company that purchases it doesn't work fast enough and with enough communication and transparency with its players that it will also fail.
FF11 may be polished, but the game design itself limits the appeal and amount of success it can achieve. Success and broad appeal isn't just about one factor in a game. Polish is just one element of many that is required to have big success. Vanguard didn't have it so it failed. FF11 may have it, but it suffers from other issues.
The conclusions you offer as proof are completely flawed.
As for SOE, they have owned vanguard for almost four years now and failed to turn the game around. Just like they failed to ensure the game they were funding as producers released in a competitive state. Either they should not have funded it or not purchased it if they were not willing to put forth the necessary resources to make it competitive.
Yep, ya can't cut from 0 resources.
Though SoE called last night to ask if they could use my old work laptop for a server.
Knowing SOE's track record, That's probably a good thing. I hate thier "updates" on just about every single game I've ever played from them.
the game wont die as long as the players keep paying....... but they dont update it? ppl who are still subbed to this game must be some kind of mmo masochists......
veteran game LOL!!!! nice way to say " the game is old and we wont give you more content, but never fear.... its life is as long as your paychecks"
Vanguard could have been the great one, had fun with it for 2 months when it came out, despite the bugs.
However the caretakers at SOE didn't really give a damn about the title and focused more on their Everquest franchise (their money maker)..
To me, Vanguard is being tortured by SOE in my eyes <imo>.
Milk it for what its worth like they did with MxO and still currently doing with SWG.
Vanguard makes me sad. I loved my DK. It's a shame they made such a mess of it. I'm glad to see it will still be around for those who are still playing it though.
if Vanguard was as in a better state i would play it rather than EQ2...
also it seems the EQ2X as a freemium is not giving SOE enough money, otherwise they would have made Vanguard a fremium and resurrect it from its grave. Therefore, making enough money to provide content for Vanguard without sacrificing money from the other major projects.....
True story.
I would love to make SOE an offer to purchase this game and support it-
There are rumors that a few parties have made offers to SOE, but SOE declined for dumb reasons.
I loved Vanguard, but because I know my money is not going to Vanguard but other SOE games I will not subscribe. It bothers me when SOE says that our money is supporting the game because it is not. They want us to keep playing so they can fund their present and future projects.