Substance E.4852 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 About the same as I was prior to this which is to say not much. However, I'm cautiously optimistic that this may be what it takes to light a fire under Anet's butt and get them to really give GW2 the work it needs. The boss finally poked his head into the department, saw everyone fucking around, and told them to get back to work. Time will tell how effective it was. This is make or break time and GW2 is finding itself back in "just released" mode where it has to prove to everyone that it's worth sticking with or rapidly descend into "dead game is dead" obscurity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaoda.1653 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 I'm a bit worried about GW2's future, I won't lie. Laying off 142 staff is pretty huge. I was considering buying a $4,300 computer so I could play GW2 with the best graphics, and best possible performance, but after this announcement, it made me question whether it may be worth it, as the future of GW2 to me is up in the air. I don't know what other game I would ever turn to if GW2 closed, so at this point in time I'm considering investing my computer money into some photography gear instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yefluke.3168 Posted February 28, 2019 Author Share Posted February 28, 2019 I think they need to announce their road map in coming month (or 2) like what are they doing now, and expac is on the way or not. This might make us feel less worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeldara.4127 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 100 people loosing their job sucks for those involved for sure. But I don't know why they been layed-off, and what the direct impact on GW2 will be now and in the future. So I will take the wait and see stance before I have any feelings and opinions over it game wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico.6873 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 None I play whatever I desire and so far gw2 combat flows well, my life will alow me to play more less, time will tell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gehenna.3625 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 > @"zeldara.4127" said: > 100 people loosing their job sucks for those involved for sure. But I don't know why they been layed-off, and what the direct impact on GW2 will be now and in the future. So I will take the wait and see stance before I have any feelings and opinions over it game wise. It's actually 143 people that were laid off and Ncsoft commented in their latest quarterly phone call with investors that the current operating costs in the West compared to the revenue was not sustainable. So that's the reason plain and simple. As such ArenaNet was told to stop their side projects and let go of a lot of people so that the operational cost would be in line with the actual revenue. What the deal besides that is, is that after PoF was released, GW2 was basically put in the hands of the LS teams. This is what Josh Foreman confirmed and the rest of the devs were put on these new projects. Essentially it was a good idea I think for ArenaNet to have something more than GW2 as revenue source but it wasn't meant to be. So the projects were cancelled and 143 people laid off. The question I have, but have no answer for, is whether or not the remaining people will in fact be able to do regular LS updates and in the meantime create a new expansion. I'm interested in that question because it affects me personally. I'm reaching a point where the game is stale again and I would need an expansion to really revitalize the game. People here can say what they want but in the end it's ArenaNet that will have to make that decision and hopefully communicate it. That's all I'm after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astralporing.1957 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 > @"Bloodstealer.5978" said: > > @"Balsa.3951" said: > > If this is not than I don’t know what is > > Exactly you don't know what is so throwing that kind of accusation around serves no purpose other than to show your lack of knowledge. Okay, have it your way. Having to lay off nearly 150 people (last number i saw was at 143, much higher than 100) and cancelling a number of side projects that so far ate a lot of money for no return whatsoever is definitely a sign of perfect management. [/sarcasm] Seriously, layoffs don't happen without reason. And (to put it mildly) it's highly unlikely that reason was due to _good_ management. Not the way they happened, at the very least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bast.7253 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 > @"Astralporing.1957" said: > > @"Bloodstealer.5978" said: > > > @"Balsa.3951" said: > > > If this is not than I don’t know what is > > > > Exactly you don't know what is so throwing that kind of accusation around serves no purpose other than to show your lack of knowledge. > Okay, have it your way. Having to lay off nearly 150 people (last number i saw was at 143, much higher than 100) and cancelling a number of side projects that so far ate a lot of money for no return whatsoever is definitely a sign of perfect management. > [/sarcasm] > > Seriously, layoffs don't happen without reason. And (to put it mildly) it's highly unlikely that reason was due to _good_ management. Not the way they happened, at the very least. Not to mention Josh also mentioned they weren’t focused as a studio. But I guess we can just ignore that part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazielSpecter.6295 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 What happened? Im lost right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castlemanic.3198 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 I have full confidence that if they take care of their morale and the human element of game development first, they'll be able to remain strong as a company and provide good content for GW2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gehenna.3625 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 > @"RazielSpecter.6295" said: > What happened? Im lost right ArenaNet just fired 143 of their 400 staff. Apparently since PoF they had people doing Living Story only for GW2 and the rest was on other projects that now have been cancelled. Ncsoft felt that the operational costs were too high compared to the revenue particularly in the west and therefore required the layoffs to make the division more sustainable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khisanth.2948 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Too soon. I mean literally. Ask again in maybe 4 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgerrule.8739 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 I have faith in them like I did before. The games profits from the fourth quarter of last year is higher then that of aion and lineage 2. What ncsoft did I feel was an unjustified overreaction of them seeing the development of the game with 100 less people still being effective; while those other hundred people worked on secret mobile projects. Ncsoft is the dealer of the cards but doing that without warning or announcing first was just cruel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goettel.4389 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 I've been very happy with GW2 so far, and I'll play and spent on it as long as they deliver what I like. I've seen nothing to suggest it won't keep delivering long passed the point I'll have lost interest. It's only a game, and a great game at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodstealer.5978 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 > @"Astralporing.1957" said: > > @"Bloodstealer.5978" said: > > > @"Balsa.3951" said: > > > If this is not than I don’t know what is > > > > Exactly you don't know what is so throwing that kind of accusation around serves no purpose other than to show your lack of knowledge. > Okay, have it your way. Having to lay off nearly 150 people (last number i saw was at 143, much higher than 100) and cancelling a number of side projects that so far ate a lot of money for no return whatsoever is definitely a sign of perfect management. > [/sarcasm] > > Seriously, layoffs don't happen without reason. And (to put it mildly) it's highly unlikely that reason was due to _good_ management. Not the way they happened, at the very least. And I believe reading something from Mathew Medina yesterday reflecting his opinion that GW2 was not under prioritised just because some resources were shifted onto unannounced projects. Ya see the thing is you I and even some of those we look up to within the games development have differing opinions .. interestingly though both those devs will have much better insight into the game, and both appear to have differing opinions of it.. Bottom line, the business makes decisions with the view they will be better for the business, whether that be short medium or long term projections and that is perfectly normal. There are so many different factors that at the end of the day and with the best intentions could push a project to get shelved and similarly some of the same factors can lead a business to decide to utilise internal resource over additional headcount. Let us not forget ANET had increased it's headcount by approx. the same amount since the game launched.. perhaps there was already a longer term plan in place to seek new opportunities for the business (makes perfect sense considering how long it can take to bring a product from initial concept through to fruition )and while revenue was stronger both via GW2 and via NC Soft's other franchises the opportunity to employee additional staff who maybe brought a wide range of skills and experience both similar to those within the teams and perhaps some very different. That would of allowed ANET to bed those employees into the business, the culture and Guild WARS2 so that in time they would become proficient, efficient and trusted to pick up areas of the game development when deciding to push forward with these projects and moving specific staff across to them. That is a very feasible and sensible approach to take when you consider that - A - ANET only has 1 product offering reliable revenue B - MMO's are cyclic beasts, but also have a limited shelf life after reaching their peak C - NC Soft as a business needs to ensure viable revenue streams in order to sustain the whole business, which includes ANET.. therefore as products age they invariable see revenue decline.. strangely enough NC Soft have openly admitted this across their portfolio... coincidence??? So they have to engage in identifying new products through R&D and that will mean soaking up project costs through their development cycle, which as we all know is a risk. D - Global Economic factors, technical issues, poorly performing current products, Politics, Players.. can all have a serious impact on a company especially if one or more of those factors hit at once so the company must protect itself as best it can, not just for their own deep pockets but for those employed within the business and that sometimes means cancelling those secretive projects before they can become an asset , it could mean layoffs, or worse it could mean whole chunks of the business get closed down. Knowing what we know, there is simply no way for any of us to make an assumption of mis management, not even the employees below the decision making level of the business can claim to know anything other than their opinion (which as said above seem to differ on the focus and priority around GW2). Add to that if there was mis management on the level that 100+ employees get laid off because of it, what would you be doing to rectify the actual issue.. layoffs cut costs but the issue would still remain and potentially cause more damage. Have we seen or heard of any of that management being canned, cos that would be a highly logical step for NC Soft to of taken.. I haven't heard. Sorry, but to me all the signs read its a cost down initiative being taken by NC Soft as it sees its revenue decline across the whole business - funnily enough ANET appears to of been bucking that trend if the Q4 results are an indicator.. what we don't know is what was in the planning going through the next Qtr and onwards, which added to those risky new project costs might of forced NC Softs' hand and made it clear ANET had to reduce costs... it happens, and likely not just to ANET but across the business as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexxxDelta.1806 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Sadly I don't have much faith. Having played both City of Heroes and Aion, seeing NCsoft in full control after the merger and restructuring doesn't bode well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goettel.4389 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 None, faith is just a lack of critical thinking. GW2 has brought me far more enjoyable moments than I should have spent on it, without forcing me to spent money on it. It's kept me around, on and off, since launch. That gives me some confidence in a future for this fine product. I'll make sure I get my money's worth, which isn't that hard for the minimal outlay it tempts me to. I'll play something better, if and when if arrives. Right now, this is the Good Place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexxxDelta.1806 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 > @"Bloodstealer.5978" said: > > @"Astralporing.1957" said: > > > @"Bloodstealer.5978" said: > > > > @"Balsa.3951" said: > > > > If this is not than I don’t know what is > > > > > > Exactly you don't know what is so throwing that kind of accusation around serves no purpose other than to show your lack of knowledge. > > Okay, have it your way. Having to lay off nearly 150 people (last number i saw was at 143, much higher than 100) and cancelling a number of side projects that so far ate a lot of money for no return whatsoever is definitely a sign of perfect management. > > [/sarcasm] > > > > Seriously, layoffs don't happen without reason. And (to put it mildly) it's highly unlikely that reason was due to _good_ management. Not the way they happened, at the very least. > > And I believe reading something from Mathew Medina yesterday reflecting his opinion that GW2 was not under prioritised just because some resources were shifted onto unannounced projects. > > Ya see the thing is you I and even some of those we look up to within the games development have differing opinions .. interestingly though both those devs will have much better insight into the game, and both appear to have differing opinions of it.. > Bottom line, the business makes decisions with the view they will be better for the business, whether that be short medium or long term projections and that is perfectly normal. > > There are so many different factors that at the end of the day and with the best intentions could push a project to get shelved and similarly some of the same factors can lead a business to decide to utilise internal resource over additional headcount. > Let us not forget ANET had increased it's headcount by approx. the same amount since the game launched.. perhaps there was already a longer term plan in place to seek new opportunities for the business (makes perfect sense considering how long it can take to bring a product from initial concept through to fruition )and while revenue was stronger both via GW2 and via NC Soft's other franchises the opportunity to employee additional staff who maybe brought a wide range of skills and experience both similar to those within the teams and perhaps some very different. > That would of allowed ANET to bed those employees into the business, the culture and Guild WARS2 so that in time they would become proficient, efficient and trusted to pick up areas of the game development when deciding to push forward with these projects and moving specific staff across to them. That is a very feasible and sensible approach to take when you consider that - > A - ANET only has 1 product offering reliable revenue > B - MMO's are cyclic beasts, but also have a limited shelf life after reaching their peak > C - NC Soft as a business needs to ensure viable revenue streams in order to sustain the whole business, which includes ANET.. therefore as products age they invariable see revenue decline.. strangely enough NC Soft have openly admitted this across their portfolio... coincidence??? > So they have to engage in identifying new products through R&D and that will mean soaking up project costs through their development cycle, which as we all know is a risk. > D - Global Economic factors, technical issues, poorly performing current products, Politics, Players.. can all have a serious impact on a company especially if one or more of those factors hit at once so the company must protect itself as best it can, not just for their own deep pockets but for those employed within the business and that sometimes means cancelling those secretive projects before they can become an asset , it could mean layoffs, or worse it could mean whole chunks of the business get closed down. > > Knowing what we know, there is simply no way for any of us to make an assumption of mis management, not even the employees below the decision making level of the business can claim to know anything other than their opinion (which as said above seem to differ on the focus and priority around GW2). Add to that if there was mis management on the level that 100+ employees get laid off because of it, what would you be doing to rectify the actual issue.. layoffs cut costs but the issue would still remain and potentially cause more damage. Have we seen or heard of any of that management being canned, cos that would be a highly logical step for NC Soft to of taken.. I haven't heard. > Sorry, but to me all the signs read its a cost down initiative being taken by NC Soft as it sees its revenue decline across the whole business - funnily enough ANET appears to of been bucking that trend if the Q4 results are an indicator.. what we don't know is what was in the planning going through the next Qtr and onwards, which added to those risky new project costs might of forced NC Softs' hand and made it clear ANET had to reduce costs... it happens, and likely not just to ANET but across the business as a whole. We don't even need to assume since the NCsoft CEO was pretty clear about the reason behind the decision. "Live game business revenue is declining as franchises age (like GW2) and delays in PC and mobile developments (the side projects) have put further strain on it". The way I see it, even if the side projects made it worse, the main reason is that GW2 earnings are not on par with their expectations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodstealer.5978 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 > @"AlexxxDelta.1806" said: > > @"Bloodstealer.5978" said: > > > @"Astralporing.1957" said: > > > > @"Bloodstealer.5978" said: > > > > > @"Balsa.3951" said: > > > > > If this is not than I don’t know what is > > > > > > > > Exactly you don't know what is so throwing that kind of accusation around serves no purpose other than to show your lack of knowledge. > > > Okay, have it your way. Having to lay off nearly 150 people (last number i saw was at 143, much higher than 100) and cancelling a number of side projects that so far ate a lot of money for no return whatsoever is definitely a sign of perfect management. > > > [/sarcasm] > > > > > > Seriously, layoffs don't happen without reason. And (to put it mildly) it's highly unlikely that reason was due to _good_ management. Not the way they happened, at the very least. > > > > And I believe reading something from Mathew Medina yesterday reflecting his opinion that GW2 was not under prioritised just because some resources were shifted onto unannounced projects. > > > > Ya see the thing is you I and even some of those we look up to within the games development have differing opinions .. interestingly though both those devs will have much better insight into the game, and both appear to have differing opinions of it.. > > Bottom line, the business makes decisions with the view they will be better for the business, whether that be short medium or long term projections and that is perfectly normal. > > > > There are so many different factors that at the end of the day and with the best intentions could push a project to get shelved and similarly some of the same factors can lead a business to decide to utilise internal resource over additional headcount. > > Let us not forget ANET had increased it's headcount by approx. the same amount since the game launched.. perhaps there was already a longer term plan in place to seek new opportunities for the business (makes perfect sense considering how long it can take to bring a product from initial concept through to fruition )and while revenue was stronger both via GW2 and via NC Soft's other franchises the opportunity to employee additional staff who maybe brought a wide range of skills and experience both similar to those within the teams and perhaps some very different. > > That would of allowed ANET to bed those employees into the business, the culture and Guild WARS2 so that in time they would become proficient, efficient and trusted to pick up areas of the game development when deciding to push forward with these projects and moving specific staff across to them. That is a very feasible and sensible approach to take when you consider that - > > A - ANET only has 1 product offering reliable revenue > > B - MMO's are cyclic beasts, but also have a limited shelf life after reaching their peak > > C - NC Soft as a business needs to ensure viable revenue streams in order to sustain the whole business, which includes ANET.. therefore as products age they invariable see revenue decline.. strangely enough NC Soft have openly admitted this across their portfolio... coincidence??? > > So they have to engage in identifying new products through R&D and that will mean soaking up project costs through their development cycle, which as we all know is a risk. > > D - Global Economic factors, technical issues, poorly performing current products, Politics, Players.. can all have a serious impact on a company especially if one or more of those factors hit at once so the company must protect itself as best it can, not just for their own deep pockets but for those employed within the business and that sometimes means cancelling those secretive projects before they can become an asset , it could mean layoffs, or worse it could mean whole chunks of the business get closed down. > > > > Knowing what we know, there is simply no way for any of us to make an assumption of mis management, not even the employees below the decision making level of the business can claim to know anything other than their opinion (which as said above seem to differ on the focus and priority around GW2). Add to that if there was mis management on the level that 100+ employees get laid off because of it, what would you be doing to rectify the actual issue.. layoffs cut costs but the issue would still remain and potentially cause more damage. Have we seen or heard of any of that management being canned, cos that would be a highly logical step for NC Soft to of taken.. I haven't heard. > > Sorry, but to me all the signs read its a cost down initiative being taken by NC Soft as it sees its revenue decline across the whole business - funnily enough ANET appears to of been bucking that trend if the Q4 results are an indicator.. what we don't know is what was in the planning going through the next Qtr and onwards, which added to those risky new project costs might of forced NC Softs' hand and made it clear ANET had to reduce costs... it happens, and likely not just to ANET but across the business as a whole. > > We don't even need to assume since the NCsoft CEO was pretty clear about the reason behind the decision. "Live game business revenue is declining as franchises age (like GW2) and delays in PC and mobile developments (the side projects) have put further strain on it". The way I see it, even if the side projects made it worse, the main reason is that GW2 earnings are not on par with their expectations. Agree.. being profitable doesn't mean ANET hit their profit goals expected by NC Soft, though I thought that comment related to the business as a whole not ANET specifically, but either way the projects being undertaken within ANET had met with delays and were always going to be a cost drain on the business, so makes sense to cut those costs before anything else depending on where they were at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locoporesa.2864 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 > @"AlexxxDelta.1806" said: > Sadly I don't have much faith. Having played both City of Heroes and Aion, seeing NCsoft in full control after the merger and restructuring doesn't bode well. ncsoft slowly killed **lineage 2 **making it the most disgusting p2w game i ever played and don't forget **Wildstar, and Masters X Masters** (ncsoft moba attempt) this one didn't last not even one year lol, you know why? the "korean" thinking.... make every videogame a gacha virtual machine, make people spend $$$ all the time for everything and if there's something free make it so difficult to obtain that players would rather $$$ than grind for hours, days, weeks or months (lineage 2) that and not having a good relationship with steam where they could get huge advertising despite the 30% cut for steam, seriously, they suck as publishers, oh and i almost forgot, they killed another game i enjoyed for years, Pangya, a minigolf game developed by ntreev soft, owned by ncsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Morbius.1759 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 My thought is there will be continued LW development as that has already been planned out and underway. Beyond that any new projects they are considering are going to take at months if not years to develop so i would imagine an expansion pack is fairly critical for revenue generation. Beyond that i would expect to see a lot of new goods sold in the gem store including a flood of skins. Beyond the next expansion i really don't know, although if you look to other successful mmo's they run a very long time pushing out expansion after expansion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrizzFreston.5290 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 As ArenaNet always has said "When its ready", my 'faith' in ArenaNet is pretty much based until I have played what they are bringing out. I mean, I hope they create more awesome content, which I then can hopefully play and enjoy. Even if some of the more known names, at least to me, are leaving/have left, I hope new developers are equally inspired to create and communicate just as well. If not, well, I will give them my feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clara.9631 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 I think they need to: put out their roadmap, starting hinting at content further out than the next LW season, and to start implementing what is laid out. Bonus points if they drop an x-pac confirmation, which would go a long way to assuage concerns as expansions usually mean a resurgence of interest, players and income. Unfortunately, for gaming in general, words don't mean much anymore, and silence causes excessive concern. Gotta show results to get faith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crepuscular.9047 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 i dont like the amount of pessimistic floating around, I see GW2 still have a VERY health player population I see Anet's layoff as more of a change of environment within the entire gaming industry, as we saw the layoffs at Activision Blizzard Just as what MightTeapot said on his recent stream, GW2 is the golden goose in the company's portfolio, without GW2 NCSoft will have little presence in the Western market What GW2 need more are better marketing, more purchasable cosmetic skins (as players, we need to be a bit less nitpicking on cosmetic faults) at affordable prices, and an economist to rebalance the amount of gold in the economy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kam.4092 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 I’ll regain faith once we learn about new dev teams. Like which are for Fractals and Raids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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