Kerberos
Posts: 50
Joined: 12/01/2006
Credibility: 44 pts
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Apparently, Flagship Studios developer of Hellgate: London and Mythos is dead.
http://hellgateguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14691
I personally was disappointed in the final state of the game, but all the same it's a sad day when this happens to any MMO.
As the rights to both of their games were used as collateral for company loans, ownership of Mythos will default to their Korean partner Hanbitsoft and HG:L will go to Commerica Bank. Hanbit is prepared to continue development of Mythos for release in Korea and it wouldn't be surprising if Commerica worked out an arrangement for Hanbit to continue work with HG:L too.
The real question is what is to become of the American players. The servers [Ping 0] will be taken down, but will HG:L ever be picked up by someone else in the US? Perhaps with a different business model and a different philosophy for what they want the game to be. Would they keep the previous US accounts in tact and honor those purchases [fat chance on that one :wink: ].
It was kinda sad the way the games own player-community was so rude and insulting towards the game, even on the official forums. Bill Roper, the big boss, stopped posting on the forums since he knew he'd only be attacked. He just wanted to put out a game that gamers would love, even if he fell short. Three of the top brass dug deep in their own pockets and made sure every employee got 30 days pay severance; let it not be said that they were driven by greed!
I'm glad I ultimately decided against paying the [$200] lifetime subion even though I was one of the first community members to raise the topic. I almost bought one of those expensive Weta statues too, think they were like $230. All told, I only subscribed for one month [$10] for the Guy Fawkes event.
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| 07/13/08 02:45 |
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Wyloc
Posts: 39
Joined: 03/07/2008
Credibility: 40 pts
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That is sad news. I really enjoyed Hellgate London. I never played it online, so I havent lost anything, but I thought it was a good game. I think the problem was the lack of deep content.
As one reviewer put it: HG:L is like a steady diet of Doritos and Coke. It may taste good at first, but in the end you feel empty.
And, this was exactly my experience. For the first couple of weeks I was crazy about the game. It was fun as heck. Then I realized that nothing would ever change, or get more challenging, and I drifted away. Never did finish it.
I hate to see good companies go down. But, at least they tried. That is more than most people can say!
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| 07/13/08 08:54 |
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Epsilon Unit
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Was nice while it lasted, i never played online though, only used it to pass time while i was drivin or sometin, eventually quit though lotsa holes in the maps and bugs everywhere, but hey they tried, i guess ill get D3 to occupy my time noa
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| 07/13/08 15:15 |
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Kerberos
Posts: 50
Joined: 12/01/2006
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Well they finally posted a response, and it's on the official forum so it's definitely genuine:
http://forums.hellgatelondon.com/showthread.php?t=107367
| QUOTE (Tiggs) | Flagship Studios Still in Operations
San Francisco, CA (July 14, 2008) -- Flagship Studios has announced today that despite rumors to the contrary, the company is still operating.
“It is with deep regret that I must announce that Flagship Studios has laid off most employees. However, the core management and founding team members are still at Flagship.” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “The past five years have been an incredible experience for us, but unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain the size of the company any longer.”
Flagship Studios owns the rights to all its technology and IP, including Hellgate: London and Mythos. Due to the current situation, Flagship will not be taking any new subscribers for Hellgate: London, and all current subions will not be billed.
Flagship wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to those that have supported the company and games over the past five years.
About Flagship Studios
Flagship Studios is a creator of innovative entertainment software, designing games that focused on ease of play, replayability, and fun. The studio was formed in 2003 by former executives and developers from Blizzard North® and represents the creators of the worldwide, best-selling Diablo® franchise. With members that are renowned within the gaming industry, Flagship Studios and its Flagship Seattle division embodies a team that has worked together for over a decade and have numerous #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards to their credit. |
So it sounds like they can afford to keep the game skirting along for at least another month while they evaluate their options of just what to do. It's looking entirely possible that their Korean partner Hanbit could potentially work out an agreement to distribute HG:L everywhere else too. Their corporate site lists their goal for the future as becoming:
| QUOTE | | the No.1 Global Entertainment Group |
If they did, a completely different business model is likely, and an item mall wouldn't be out of the question.
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| 07/15/08 18:36 |
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