Funcom hating, Sony hating, Walmart hating...it's all the same. Never will understand hating a game developer. Guess it's just too easy to hate these days....
After what they have done to AO ,maan the anger,and this anger is forcing me to the darkside.
Actually, 1 million subscribers is a success. Anything lower is simply the game is doing great, it is making profit, it is holding its own, and a failure is under 150k subs which Age of Conan currently has.
150k subs at around $15 a month is about 2,250,000 per month......... PER MONTH FOO!!! Once its up and running if you think thier operating expenses even puts a dent in that then you havent been seeing the TONS of advertising they're still putting into it. Currently they probably spend more in advertising than they are on actually keeping it up and running along with the people still adding and updating the game. Even the servers they have up and running only cost probably max about $500k per year....
The 150k sub success line is a lie. Take DF, 2 server farms running, probably 20k subs $300k per month income, no ads so you can just ignore the most expensive part of MMOs, and monthly server costs are probably $6-10k. Pay their people and they still have some left over. This doesn't even take the $50 per box sales that are trickling in.
Well i think Funcom risked with AoC while they were planning TSW b4 AoC release. They didnt want AoC to realy be a success, they risked of AoC being a good game and the company get a good name for it's next release which has failed. They have planned everything since the release TSW was going to be the main game and a "mini-game"(which is AoC) to raise their reputation but they failed. This does NOT means that secret world will be a fail it means the opposite that they gathered their resources for this game.
Meh, all I know is I'm just going to be watching this game from a distance. After what they pulled with AoC, they won't be getting my money easily. I won't be fooled twice.
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed: And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!" ~Lord George Gordon Byron
So how is FC funding this game? Cash income from: AoC : Not much Quite a bit actually. Read the financial report. AO: He he...jeez A trickle, but no stream. Retail sales: Not anymore.... Correct. Adverticement: I remember there being some in AO on posters ingame if you had a freebie account, but seriously... cant be much... Probably not. Investors: Nah, ive been watching the stockmarked...its flat.. Flat?! You haven't really followed the market lately, have you? Share issues among the highest ever in Norway, stock market up ~56% this year, Funcom up ~37% this year. *back to the thinking bench* Stop thinkining and start reading. I would suggest the quarterly report, especially the section in the b/s labelled "cash and cash equivalents". Next time, remember the proverb: "It's better to keep quiet and let everyone think you are an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
Funcom hating, Sony hating, Walmart hating...it's all the same. Never will understand hating a game developer. Guess it's just too easy to hate these days....
I would recommend looking into the unscrupulous business practices of Wal-Mart as well as all the labor issues they've been caught over. They have ruined communities and companies. They have been caught numerous times hiring illegal workers and fined.
SoE is hated because of the way they totally disregard their paying customers if they think they can make a nickle more with new ones.
Funcom hate is simply disappointment at two very problematic releases. AO was virtually unplayable but came back to be a great game. AoC launch was a bit rough as well.
It's not too easy to hate at all, but these companies have earned their disdain. I suggest researching a bit more than just what you read here at MMORPG and you may get a better picture of how they earned their reputations.
Einherjar_LC says: WTB the true successor to UO or Asheron's Call pst!
Originally posted by Einherjar_LC I would recommend looking into the unscrupulous business practices of Wal-Mart as well as all the labor issues they've been caught over. They have ruined communities and companies. They have been caught numerous times hiring illegal workers and fined.
SoE is hated because of the way they totally disregard their paying customers if they think they can make a nickle more with new ones.
Funcom hate is simply disappointment at two very problematic releases. AO was virtually unplayable but came back to be a great game. AoC launch was a bit rough as well.
It's not too easy to hate at all, but these companies have earned their disdain. I suggest researching a bit more than just what you read here at MMORPG and you may get a better picture of how they earned their reputations.
Pen and teller had a good episode about Wall-mart hatred. "Bullshit" season 5 episode 2.
As for SOE and Funcom, the reason to really hate them are fussy at best unless you are a SWG vet, they have good reasons.
Yes, FCs launches have been really crappy but we all know that it is rarely a good idea to buy a new MMO at launch. Still, FC should have known that for AoC, we beta testers told them the game needed more time and they ignored us. But that isn't a good enough reason to hate them, just to wait a few months after launch the next time or better, until the free trial is actually up.
People spend far to much time hating things and other people, just let it go unless you have really a good reason.
FC have money, but enough to found TSW? We`ll see, but i do hope so.
AO: He he...jeez
A trickle, but no stream.
Seriously? A tickle? ha ha
Retail sales: Not anymore....
Correct.
Adverticement: I remember there being some in AO on posters ingame if you had a freebie account, but seriously... cant be much...
Probably not.
Investors: Nah, ive been watching the stockmarked...its flat..
Flat?! You haven't really followed the market lately, have you? Share issues among the highest ever in Norway, stock market up ~56% this year, Funcom up ~37% this year.
And this isnt flat? Look from 1st.oktober and until now. I own Stocks in FC, ofcourse i know its flat. A cuple % up and down cant be seen as peaks of importance.
*back to the thinking bench*
Stop thinkining and start reading. I would suggest the quarterly report, especially the section in the b/s labelled "cash and cash equivalents". Next time, remember the proverb: "It's better to keep quiet and let everyone think you are an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
Arnt you the smartass Maybe you should remember that proverb yourself!
So, Funcom has $35-40 million bucks to put into this game, huh? Well, that may seem like a bunch of money to a person living in a mobile home park in lower Indiana, but in reality $40 mil ain't jack-shit when you're talking about creating a virtual world...especially when that world is being modeled after the real one! The price tag on World of Warcraft, when it launched in 2004, was $85 million...we're now 6 years down the road and EVERYTHING is more expensive and far more complex.
So, Funcom has $35-40 million bucks to put into this game, huh? Well, that may seem like a bunch of money to a person living in a mobile home park in lower Indiana, but in reality $40 mil ain't jack-shit when you're talking about creating a virtual world...especially when that world is being modeled after the real one! The price tag on World of Warcraft, when it launched in 2004, was $85 million...we're now 6 years down the road and EVERYTHING is more expensive and far more complex.
$40 million? What's the good news?
I live in a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, gameroom, two story home Just north of Dallas and that sounds like alot of money to me, lol!
But yeah, I get where you're going. Most "big" companies are spending around 70 million or so. That said, spending that amount hasn't helped with the quality of recent releases. Does spending less of an investment give them more time to work on it with a smaller team (i.e., their recent layoffs) because the investors aren't so pushy to see a return as they would be on a larger investment? Who knows.
"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..."
The only problem is that AOC realy "failed" only in eyes of some spoiled MMO players that played most of the major titles out there and kids. Those "created bad reputation" which probably only exist here on MMORPG.com and is also limited by language/territorial basis.
There's nothing wrong with AOC's player base - it only grew over time, it's just that all the kids quickly left and real players got attracted later because of fun PVP. The only real downside of funcom is that they been slow on improving/fixing things, but it hardly scared too many ppl because for those who kept playing - there was no real alternative and still none, that's why i wait for Secret World hoping for same level of graphics/world design and combat system.
Well the cash from anarchy subs might not be much more than it costs to run that game. Cash flow from AoC would probably be more, but still not a whole lot.
How could they fund it?
How many million boxes of AoC did they sell when it launched?
Was over a million right? 1million x $50 per box right (rough estimate)
$50 million is a good start, especially since they've been running a profitable game since anarchy.
So at least investors know that this company can move box sales at launch, and keep a profit after.
Most of TSW is probably funded through investors.
People think AoC was such a money losing failure, because they got pissed off over a launch that should have been a free and open beta.
Just dont be d-bags this round and preorder a funcom release and expect a stalwart game off the bat. Funcom launches/ betas should be reserved for enthusiests who wont throw a tantrum if the game isnt ready for an actual launch. Just my 2 cents on that however....as a long time anarchy subscriber, and what will probably amount to a long time aoc subscription, ill be avoiding TSW for at least a year, worked out well in AoC's case for me.
lol, your a idiot!!!! I am indiffrent to funcom and AOC. But come one use common sence... If the company makes even a dollar over cost(which means maintance/marketing ect... its a success) if the server are running and making money its a success. Funcom is just like every other DEV. out there, most there prducts are crap, when TSW goest open/closed beta im sure it will eather be crap or great.
Selling 1mil copies and then have 9 out of 10 players leave... yes I'm sure Funcom thinks of it as a huge success.
In some respects TSW will be cheaper to make than a totally new mmo because they are going to recycling both the AoC engine & dev tools for TSW, in that way AoC could be seen as a prototype.
Funcom have had some terrible launches & it's not unfair to say that the lessons they learned from AO did not make it through to AoC's launch, however as these two games will be running off the same engine & the back-end will be similar then to have TSW launch as badly as AoC would be serious industry suicide to not have learned from AoC.
But I don;t see Funcom having any problems funding TSW they are a viable company turning a reaonable profit, not immune to the economic crises after all they had to make layoffs, but they are moving some of their operations to Canada to take advantage of tax breaks & incentives for game development there, a smart move in the current climate.
I look forward to TSW, it has much promise, the only thing that could compete with it would be an announcement that CCP is launching the WoD mmo soon.
It really beats me. I mean if they released Age of Conan in 2008 and put all of their resources in it, why is it that they're still able to fund such a huge project as "The Secret World"? Secret World originally began development before Age of Conan, but still doesn't explain. Age of Conan failed and the subscriber base is used to pay back the investors for investing in Funcom. I'm really not sure why the company is still standing, yet able to fund yet another project such as, "The Secret World." And, they think I'll be a success? Doesn't everyone hate Funcom from Age of Conan?
No, not EVERYONE is that silly.
Let me remind "everyone" of a few "small companies" and their huge failures....
New Coke, anyone?
Crystal Pepsi? Pepsi Blue?
No? Think a few people still drink Coke and Pepsi? I think they just might.....
Okay how about, remember Microsoft's WEB TV? O.o You have to remember....people BOUGHT this. I wonder if because of buying that they now refuse to use anything made by Microsoft?
Remember Sony's Beta Max? A LOT of people spent good money on these systems. I wonder if they have any Sony technology in their homes today? Heh....I bet they DO.
Fact of the matter is....even HUGE successful corporations SCREW UP sometimes. Hopefully, and usually, they learn from their losses. Nothing really teaches human beings (including the ones that run corporations) better than a big gouge out of their pocket books.
And the companies listed above all have some great products. Did we all quit buying Coke because of New Coke? No. When Sony came out with the new VHS systems....remember that? Did we all go buy VHS? What about DVDs....we managed to make that adjustment too. Did everyone stop using Microsoft products after WebTV fell on it's head?
The whole premise of completely writing a company off as "unable to do anything good" because of one, or even a few, errors in judgment, imo....is just stupidity. You have to judge EACH INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT by it's OWN MERITS. That's pretty much common sense, if you ask me.
Gamers are sure moody little bitches. I cannot believe how we can just go on and on and on being "offended" and butt hurt by a freaking game "crisis." Sometimes we hold those grudges for decades! It's just ridiculous.
The Secret World has many people working on it that had nothing to do with past FunCom failures. But, by all means, let's just AUTOMATICALLY throw out the baby with the bath water, why don't we? Pfffffft.
And as far as funding goes.....
We really have no idea, in truth, do we? Ragnar Tournquist HIMSELF is not an impoverished clod, mind you. He's a well known and established name in the industry. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have terrible difficulty finding investors just on his own name. Since we don't know how much money is going into the project or where it's coming from.....seems debating about it is rather ludicrous and definitely premature, if nothing else.
I do not TRUST Funcom to release a good game (i only subbed AoC a year after release, it was OK but i didn't last). No.. Funcom gets 0 trust from me despite me having played AO and AoC for a while.
HOWEVER
AO is still a top-notch example of an MMO despite being dated. - simply best MMO i have played.
AoC is still one of the more impressive fantasy MMOs and in 2 years time will probably be very playable as it's graphics will not date fast.
This is because Funcom has the right IDEAS, even if they fail to deliver.
So no.. i will not be pre-ordering TSW. I am sure i will sub it after a few months after release though.
SF
Originally posted by nethaniah
Seriously Farmville? Yeah I think it's great. In a World where half our population is dying of hunger the more fortunate half is spending their time harvesting food that doesn't exist.
I do not TRUST Funcom to release a good game (i only subbed AoC a year after release, it was OK but i didn't last). No.. Funcom gets 0 trust from me despite me having played AO and AoC for a while.
HOWEVER
AO is still a top-notch example of an MMO despite being dated. - simply best MMO i have played.
AoC is still one of the more impressive fantasy MMOs and in 2 years time will probably be very playable as it's graphics will not date fast.
This is because Funcom has the right IDEAS, even if they fail to deliver.
So no.. i will not be pre-ordering TSW. I am sure i will sub it after a few months after release though.
SF
Neither will I. However, unlike many, I won't just automatically write off the possibility of a game being good JUST because FunCom's name is on it.
I won't pre-order ANY game any more, REGARDLESS of what company's name is stamped on it.
Neither will I. However, unlike many, I won't just automatically write off the possibility of a game being good JUST because FunCom's name is on it. I won't pre-order ANY game any more, REGARDLESS of what company's name is stamped on it.
I agree that every product needs to be judged on its own merit but a company's history should be something to consider as well.
(Plus every now and then a company ticks one off so badly that they need a personal boycott In my case it was Activision, not Funcom. Fortunately, there are enough gaming choices out there where one can do that sort of thing)
Since Funcom underwent some major changes, such as Gaute Godager leaving, I think that the company's past is less of an issue. They seem to be sincerely trying to improve AoC and that also speaks well for them now.
I've been more impressed with the interviews I seen of the developers of TSW than I ever was during the development of AoC.
The job of the real gamers now is to remind everyone what Funcom is all about. In terms of both AO and AOC they released totally unfinished products. As long as everyone knows this and realise how much of PR is going on (the truth doesn't matter for Funcom - as long as it sells them one extra copy in preorder). Everyone should know by now that you do NOT buy a Funcom product based on anything that the company is saying. And since NDA is not lifted on their products - you do NOT buy or preoder their games before they go on free trial. Its this simple. Just remember it and stay as far away as possible until you have solid facts. That should be out about 6 months after the game releases.
*Sigh* Frobner, I dont think I know a bigger FC troll than you... do you look out for EVERY oppurtunity to bash this company?? cant you move on ?
I have never played a Funcom game before, but The Secret World is one of the few mmos that I am looking forward to right now. The world just has such a good concept behind it, and I just think it has great potential. Their past games don't really mean anything to me as AOC just wasn't the type of world that interested me, and AO was too old by the time I got into mmos to really desire to give it a try. So if they do a decent job on TSW I might be able to give them a shot, and see what they are capable of doing.
From various threads on the same matter on this site, it was stated that Funcom still has plenty of money to throw towards the development of this MMO. Funcom is a publicly traded company, so its finances results are visible. I played AoC for a month or two during launch. I didn't like it and moved on to other games. Hating the gaming company for a product I didn't like is absurd. Should I have hated NCsoft because I didn't like CoH?
They made next to no money with Anarchy Online and they haven't recooped their development cost on Age of Conan so my only conclusion is that the norwegian government gives them tax money to continue to exist and make online games.
I just hope that this game is without game breaking bugs and that the servers doesn't crash every ten minutes.
All those memories will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.
Comments
After what they have done to AO ,maan the anger,and this anger is forcing me to the darkside.
Generation P
150k subs at around $15 a month is about 2,250,000 per month......... PER MONTH FOO!!! Once its up and running if you think thier operating expenses even puts a dent in that then you havent been seeing the TONS of advertising they're still putting into it. Currently they probably spend more in advertising than they are on actually keeping it up and running along with the people still adding and updating the game. Even the servers they have up and running only cost probably max about $500k per year....
The 150k sub success line is a lie. Take DF, 2 server farms running, probably 20k subs $300k per month income, no ads so you can just ignore the most expensive part of MMOs, and monthly server costs are probably $6-10k. Pay their people and they still have some left over. This doesn't even take the $50 per box sales that are trickling in.
How is Funcom funding "The Secret World?"
They are funding it "Secretly" DUH!
Well i think Funcom risked with AoC while they were planning TSW b4 AoC release. They didnt want AoC to realy be a success, they risked of AoC being a good game and the company get a good name for it's next release which has failed. They have planned everything since the release TSW was going to be the main game and a "mini-game"(which is AoC) to raise their reputation but they failed. This does NOT means that secret world will be a fail it means the opposite that they gathered their resources for this game.
Or you can count it as a success of getting some money maybe not much but enough to make TSW better and better
Meh, all I know is I'm just going to be watching this game from a distance. After what they pulled with AoC, they won't be getting my money easily. I won't be fooled twice.
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"
~Lord George Gordon Byron
money for the poor please!money for the poor please!
So how is FC funding this game?
Cash income from:
AoC : Not much
AO: He he...jeez
Retail sales: Not anymore....
Adverticement: I remember there being some in AO on posters ingame if you had a freebie account, but seriously... cant be much...
Investors: Nah, ive been watching the stockmarked...its flat..
*back to the thinking bench*
Xandathrii:
Plays: AO
Played: WoW,AoC,ff14
I would recommend looking into the unscrupulous business practices of Wal-Mart as well as all the labor issues they've been caught over. They have ruined communities and companies. They have been caught numerous times hiring illegal workers and fined.
SoE is hated because of the way they totally disregard their paying customers if they think they can make a nickle more with new ones.
Funcom hate is simply disappointment at two very problematic releases. AO was virtually unplayable but came back to be a great game. AoC launch was a bit rough as well.
It's not too easy to hate at all, but these companies have earned their disdain. I suggest researching a bit more than just what you read here at MMORPG and you may get a better picture of how they earned their reputations.
Einherjar_LC says: WTB the true successor to UO or Asheron's Call pst!
Pen and teller had a good episode about Wall-mart hatred. "Bullshit" season 5 episode 2.
As for SOE and Funcom, the reason to really hate them are fussy at best unless you are a SWG vet, they have good reasons.
Yes, FCs launches have been really crappy but we all know that it is rarely a good idea to buy a new MMO at launch. Still, FC should have known that for AoC, we beta testers told them the game needed more time and they ignored us. But that isn't a good enough reason to hate them, just to wait a few months after launch the next time or better, until the free trial is actually up.
People spend far to much time hating things and other people, just let it go unless you have really a good reason.
Originally posted by Xandathrii
So how is FC funding this game?
Cash income from:
AoC : Not much
Quite a bit actually. Read the financial report.
I have, its not a pot of gold, but yes its ok.
FC have money, but enough to found TSW? We`ll see, but i do hope so.
AO: He he...jeez
A trickle, but no stream.
Seriously? A tickle? ha ha
Retail sales: Not anymore....
Correct.
Adverticement: I remember there being some in AO on posters ingame if you had a freebie account, but seriously... cant be much...
Probably not.
Investors: Nah, ive been watching the stockmarked...its flat..
Flat?! You haven't really followed the market lately, have you? Share issues among the highest ever in Norway, stock market up ~56% this year, Funcom up ~37% this year.
www.hegnar.no/tickersok/
And this isnt flat? Look from 1st.oktober and until now. I own Stocks in FC, ofcourse i know its flat. A cuple % up and down cant be seen as peaks of importance.
*back to the thinking bench*
Stop thinkining and start reading. I would suggest the quarterly report, especially the section in the b/s labelled "cash and cash equivalents". Next time, remember the proverb: "It's better to keep quiet and let everyone think you are an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
Arnt you the smartass
Maybe you should remember that proverb yourself!
Xandathrii:
Plays: AO
Played: WoW,AoC,ff14
So, Funcom has $35-40 million bucks to put into this game, huh? Well, that may seem like a bunch of money to a person living in a mobile home park in lower Indiana, but in reality $40 mil ain't jack-shit when you're talking about creating a virtual world...especially when that world is being modeled after the real one! The price tag on World of Warcraft, when it launched in 2004, was $85 million...we're now 6 years down the road and EVERYTHING is more expensive and far more complex.
$40 million? What's the good news?
I live in a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, gameroom, two story home Just north of Dallas and that sounds like alot of money to me, lol!
But yeah, I get where you're going. Most "big" companies are spending around 70 million or so. That said, spending that amount hasn't helped with the quality of recent releases. Does spending less of an investment give them more time to work on it with a smaller team (i.e., their recent layoffs) because the investors aren't so pushy to see a return as they would be on a larger investment? Who knows.
"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 only problem is that AOC realy "failed" only in eyes of some spoiled MMO players that played most of the major titles out there and kids. Those "created bad reputation" which probably only exist here on MMORPG.com and is also limited by language/territorial basis.
There's nothing wrong with AOC's player base - it only grew over time, it's just that all the kids quickly left and real players got attracted later because of fun PVP. The only real downside of funcom is that they been slow on improving/fixing things, but it hardly scared too many ppl because for those who kept playing - there was no real alternative and still none, that's why i wait for Secret World hoping for same level of graphics/world design and combat system.
Well the cash from anarchy subs might not be much more than it costs to run that game. Cash flow from AoC would probably be more, but still not a whole lot.
How could they fund it?
How many million boxes of AoC did they sell when it launched?
Was over a million right? 1million x $50 per box right (rough estimate)
$50 million is a good start, especially since they've been running a profitable game since anarchy.
So at least investors know that this company can move box sales at launch, and keep a profit after.
Most of TSW is probably funded through investors.
People think AoC was such a money losing failure, because they got pissed off over a launch that should have been a free and open beta.
Just dont be d-bags this round and preorder a funcom release and expect a stalwart game off the bat. Funcom launches/ betas should be reserved for enthusiests who wont throw a tantrum if the game isnt ready for an actual launch. Just my 2 cents on that however....as a long time anarchy subscriber, and what will probably amount to a long time aoc subscription, ill be avoiding TSW for at least a year, worked out well in AoC's case for me.
Selling 1mil copies and then have 9 out of 10 players leave... yes I'm sure Funcom thinks of it as a huge success.
They dont ofc.
In some respects TSW will be cheaper to make than a totally new mmo because they are going to recycling both the AoC engine & dev tools for TSW, in that way AoC could be seen as a prototype.
Funcom have had some terrible launches & it's not unfair to say that the lessons they learned from AO did not make it through to AoC's launch, however as these two games will be running off the same engine & the back-end will be similar then to have TSW launch as badly as AoC would be serious industry suicide to not have learned from AoC.
But I don;t see Funcom having any problems funding TSW they are a viable company turning a reaonable profit, not immune to the economic crises after all they had to make layoffs, but they are moving some of their operations to Canada to take advantage of tax breaks & incentives for game development there, a smart move in the current climate.
I look forward to TSW, it has much promise, the only thing that could compete with it would be an announcement that CCP is launching the WoD mmo soon.
No, not EVERYONE is that silly.
Let me remind "everyone" of a few "small companies" and their huge failures....
New Coke, anyone?
Crystal Pepsi? Pepsi Blue?
No? Think a few people still drink Coke and Pepsi? I think they just might.....
Okay how about, remember Microsoft's WEB TV? O.o You have to remember....people BOUGHT this. I wonder if because of buying that they now refuse to use anything made by Microsoft?
Remember Sony's Beta Max? A LOT of people spent good money on these systems. I wonder if they have any Sony technology in their homes today? Heh....I bet they DO.
Fact of the matter is....even HUGE successful corporations SCREW UP sometimes. Hopefully, and usually, they learn from their losses. Nothing really teaches human beings (including the ones that run corporations) better than a big gouge out of their pocket books.
And the companies listed above all have some great products. Did we all quit buying Coke because of New Coke? No. When Sony came out with the new VHS systems....remember that? Did we all go buy VHS? What about DVDs....we managed to make that adjustment too. Did everyone stop using Microsoft products after WebTV fell on it's head?
The whole premise of completely writing a company off as "unable to do anything good" because of one, or even a few, errors in judgment, imo....is just stupidity. You have to judge EACH INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT by it's OWN MERITS. That's pretty much common sense, if you ask me.
Gamers are sure moody little bitches. I cannot believe how we can just go on and on and on being "offended" and butt hurt by a freaking game "crisis." Sometimes we hold those grudges for decades! It's just ridiculous.
The Secret World has many people working on it that had nothing to do with past FunCom failures. But, by all means, let's just AUTOMATICALLY throw out the baby with the bath water, why don't we? Pfffffft.
And as far as funding goes.....
We really have no idea, in truth, do we? Ragnar Tournquist HIMSELF is not an impoverished clod, mind you. He's a well known and established name in the industry. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have terrible difficulty finding investors just on his own name. Since we don't know how much money is going into the project or where it's coming from.....seems debating about it is rather ludicrous and definitely premature, if nothing else.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
I do not TRUST Funcom to release a good game (i only subbed AoC a year after release, it was OK but i didn't last). No.. Funcom gets 0 trust from me despite me having played AO and AoC for a while.
HOWEVER
AO is still a top-notch example of an MMO despite being dated. - simply best MMO i have played.
AoC is still one of the more impressive fantasy MMOs and in 2 years time will probably be very playable as it's graphics will not date fast.
This is because Funcom has the right IDEAS, even if they fail to deliver.
So no.. i will not be pre-ordering TSW. I am sure i will sub it after a few months after release though.
SF
Neither will I. However, unlike many, I won't just automatically write off the possibility of a game being good JUST because FunCom's name is on it.
I won't pre-order ANY game any more, REGARDLESS of what company's name is stamped on it.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
I agree that every product needs to be judged on its own merit but a company's history should be something to consider as well.
(Plus every now and then a company ticks one off so badly that they need a personal boycott
In my case it was Activision, not Funcom. Fortunately, there are enough gaming choices out there where one can do that sort of thing)
Since Funcom underwent some major changes, such as Gaute Godager leaving, I think that the company's past is less of an issue. They seem to be sincerely trying to improve AoC and that also speaks well for them now.
I've been more impressed with the interviews I seen of the developers of TSW than I ever was during the development of AoC.
*Sigh* Frobner, I dont think I know a bigger FC troll than you... do you look out for EVERY oppurtunity to bash this company?? cant you move on ?
I have never played a Funcom game before, but The Secret World is one of the few mmos that I am looking forward to right now. The world just has such a good concept behind it, and I just think it has great potential. Their past games don't really mean anything to me as AOC just wasn't the type of world that interested me, and AO was too old by the time I got into mmos to really desire to give it a try. So if they do a decent job on TSW I might be able to give them a shot, and see what they are capable of doing.
They made next to no money with Anarchy Online and they haven't recooped their development cost on Age of Conan so my only conclusion is that the norwegian government gives them tax money to continue to exist and make online games.
I just hope that this game is without game breaking bugs and that the servers doesn't crash every ten minutes.
All those memories will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.