People have, literally, predicted the imminent death of UO within a few months of its release. I've found posts on the Usenet to that effect.
The reality is that business ventures that are "wildly profitable" aren't shut down unless the company is small-minded, self-defeating, stupid, ignorant, or irrational. Or there's some legal or tax issue that they feel forces their hand.
The annals of American business are, sadly, filled with such behavior. So sure, UO could be shut down at any time. For any reason. Or for no reason at all. Just like any McDonald's store could shut down at any time, for any reason. Or for no reason at all.
However, assuming everyone's rational and nothing odd happens, UO's likely fine for the foreseeable future.
But these are the things that sometimes make UO seem to be dying. Mythic needs to address them. Soon.
1. UO is not listed on Mythic's main site.
http://www.mythicentertainment.com/
Perceptions matter, people. Jeremy sent an E-Mail on this....Did the recipient respond?
2. The recent round of duping bans was handled badly.
The first weekend in August, roughly 150 accounts were terminated for possession of duped items. This isn't a lot. However, Mythic stayed mum on how many accounts were terminated until August 12, about a week and a half after the bans. 150 out of approximately 100,000 is nearly nothing. I find it likely that people's fears would have been eased a lot quicker if Mythic had gotten in front of things immediately.
By the time they gave us some perspective, the rumor mill had already gotten far, far beyond their control. I've been on a buying spree lately and I am increasingly nervous.
3. Jeremy, a dedicated and gifted community relations representative, has been posting less and less.
To see if you agree with my perceptions, go to her Stratics profile and find "see all of this user's posts."
Assuming my perception is halfway-accurate, this is not a good message to send. Some people are going to be jerks of course, and get mad for her for posting. But I think most of us appreciate a steadier stream of communication.
4. Confusion over what the rules are.
No one rational is looking for exact, specific lists of, for example, what web sites you can and can't mention in-game. But when someone's profile has UOGuide, and they get suspended, that sends a bad message.
When someone claims they were suspended for mentioning Stratics, and it sounds like a credible story, that means the current climate is out-of-control. And that's a bad thing.
As much as I don't like Wilki, he had at least one great moment as community rep that Jeremy should emulate.
There is a 3rd party program that speeds up your professor (or that's what it says it does), that effectively functions as a speed hack. There was confusion as to why use of this program was bannable if "all" it did was mess with your own computer's processor! There was enough confusion over this issue that suddenly bizarre stories of people being banned for using ICQ seemed credible.....Until Wilki stepped in and said, "they are lying about how this 3rd party program works. It doesn't mess with your processor only, it also in our tests has an impact on the client and the data stream."
Not too long after that, discussion of that program died. In large part I feel that that's because Wilki got in front of the train. Suddenly, the rules were re-affirmed and were a lot clearer. It wasn't that suddenly programs that had no direct impact on the client were bannable. It was that a program that allegedly did not have an impact on the client was revealed to, in fact, have an impact on your client.
Someone being suspended for mentioning Stratics should not be any more credible a story than someone being suspended for using ICQ.
There's other things too I guess, but the point is clear, I hope.
UO is likely not dying. However, it is Mythic's job (well one of their jobs I guess) to not fuel the fire, even unintentionally. When you buy a product, you want to feel good about buying it. That way you'll buy it again. Most of that feeling comes from it being a good product. Some of that feeling, however, also comes from being focused on how good the product is, so that way you're not tempted by other products.
-Galen's player
The reality is that business ventures that are "wildly profitable" aren't shut down unless the company is small-minded, self-defeating, stupid, ignorant, or irrational. Or there's some legal or tax issue that they feel forces their hand.
The annals of American business are, sadly, filled with such behavior. So sure, UO could be shut down at any time. For any reason. Or for no reason at all. Just like any McDonald's store could shut down at any time, for any reason. Or for no reason at all.
However, assuming everyone's rational and nothing odd happens, UO's likely fine for the foreseeable future.
But these are the things that sometimes make UO seem to be dying. Mythic needs to address them. Soon.
1. UO is not listed on Mythic's main site.
http://www.mythicentertainment.com/
Perceptions matter, people. Jeremy sent an E-Mail on this....Did the recipient respond?
2. The recent round of duping bans was handled badly.
The first weekend in August, roughly 150 accounts were terminated for possession of duped items. This isn't a lot. However, Mythic stayed mum on how many accounts were terminated until August 12, about a week and a half after the bans. 150 out of approximately 100,000 is nearly nothing. I find it likely that people's fears would have been eased a lot quicker if Mythic had gotten in front of things immediately.
By the time they gave us some perspective, the rumor mill had already gotten far, far beyond their control. I've been on a buying spree lately and I am increasingly nervous.
3. Jeremy, a dedicated and gifted community relations representative, has been posting less and less.
To see if you agree with my perceptions, go to her Stratics profile and find "see all of this user's posts."
Assuming my perception is halfway-accurate, this is not a good message to send. Some people are going to be jerks of course, and get mad for her for posting. But I think most of us appreciate a steadier stream of communication.
4. Confusion over what the rules are.
No one rational is looking for exact, specific lists of, for example, what web sites you can and can't mention in-game. But when someone's profile has UOGuide, and they get suspended, that sends a bad message.
When someone claims they were suspended for mentioning Stratics, and it sounds like a credible story, that means the current climate is out-of-control. And that's a bad thing.
As much as I don't like Wilki, he had at least one great moment as community rep that Jeremy should emulate.
There is a 3rd party program that speeds up your professor (or that's what it says it does), that effectively functions as a speed hack. There was confusion as to why use of this program was bannable if "all" it did was mess with your own computer's processor! There was enough confusion over this issue that suddenly bizarre stories of people being banned for using ICQ seemed credible.....Until Wilki stepped in and said, "they are lying about how this 3rd party program works. It doesn't mess with your processor only, it also in our tests has an impact on the client and the data stream."
Not too long after that, discussion of that program died. In large part I feel that that's because Wilki got in front of the train. Suddenly, the rules were re-affirmed and were a lot clearer. It wasn't that suddenly programs that had no direct impact on the client were bannable. It was that a program that allegedly did not have an impact on the client was revealed to, in fact, have an impact on your client.
Someone being suspended for mentioning Stratics should not be any more credible a story than someone being suspended for using ICQ.
There's other things too I guess, but the point is clear, I hope.
UO is likely not dying. However, it is Mythic's job (well one of their jobs I guess) to not fuel the fire, even unintentionally. When you buy a product, you want to feel good about buying it. That way you'll buy it again. Most of that feeling comes from it being a good product. Some of that feeling, however, also comes from being focused on how good the product is, so that way you're not tempted by other products.
-Galen's player
