[UO Herald] Jeff Hickman - Executive Producer's Letter

[Harlequin]

I sorry, but don't be stupid. You can't possibly hit the same levels with fewer people. Saying you are still committed to providing a good value in your products is one thing, but saying it is 'the same' is just stupid producer BS.

They said same "high level" of customer support.

Depends on what management thinks is "high level" and if they have shifted the goalpost downwards after the layoffs. And also which dept the layoffs are happening to.

Businesses focus on a very dirty word nowadays - headcounts.

Say right now, there are 50 customer reps. After the layoffs, they have 10 left. To give the same "high level" service, means we need 40 more untrained and cheaper headcounts. These can be temps, contract staff, interns, or even 2 "half headcounts" (half headcounts means employees that are shared between departments, say half customer support and half internal support).

Looks really good on paper. But terrible in practice. Lost expertise, no sense of stake-holding for staff (it's a temp job!), unclear reporting lines (hey, why are you still using my headcount during the afternoon?) etc etc.

I'm opposed to layoffs (unless a certain dept is obviously bloated, even then, I think reassignment is a better option), but that's modern management's "hire and fire" policy for you. And shareholders just love it when the company is seen taking steps to "reduce costs".

Note that my example mentions customer reps. It is not a fair example. As far as we know, most of the layoffs are from projects that have been canceled. No more project and no other projects to re-assign them to, means the company will not retain these employees.

 

[Amber Moon]

My point was not so much that they had or chose to layoff people. It is the continuing disrespect that game companies, and not just EA, continue to show towards their customers.

Just tell us the truth and allow us to make reasonable decisions about buying the product.

I do understand the need in business to try to focus everything in a positive light, but if that was the intent then this was really poorly done. My guess is that he is next out the door and this is the best he could muster under the circumstance.

Edited to add: You do know they are not done yet. The EA report said 1500 by April. Expect more rounds of layoffs.

 

[canary]

They said same "high level" of customer support.

If they truly believe they already were giving us a high level quality of customer support we are indeed in dark days.

 

[Siteswap]

We want to assure our community that we will maintain the same high level of customer support you’ve come to expect [/url]

Well .. youve got to hand it to Jeff ... he certainly has a sense of humour. Who is he trying to kid?

 

[Nok]

*not replying to anyone in particular, but...*

Imagine the outcry by now on the forums, if Jeff hadn't said anything at all.

 

[Mitzlplik_SP]

*not replying to anyone in particular, but...*

Imagine the outcry by now on the forums, if Jeff hadn't said anything at all.

No kidding. That other thread is filled with financial geniuses,prophets and doomsayers, if EA would only look there,they`d have all their answers to everything.

I don`t wanna imagine the whirl wind of stupidity we`d have w/o Jeffs comfirmation that the world is in fact NOT going to end.

Whew! *wipes forehead*

 

[Jeremy]

My sympathies to everyone who was let go. There were a lot of good folks that got hit.

 

[Aurelius]

No kidding. That other thread is filled with financial geniuses,prophets and doomsayers, if EA would only look there,they`d have all their answers to everything.

Only reason EA like Stratics is all the free expert advice they get here

 

[Amber Moon]

There is an old phrase from baseball. Perhaps you have heard it..'You can't tell the players without a score card!". This is from a time before players names were announced as they came to bat. To know who players were, their roles in the game, and how well they did added depth to watching the game.

Well, those of us who come to forums to discuss the design elements and decisions in the games we pay to play like to have scorecards too. And while I appreciate that there maybe corporate inhibitions against saying too much, I don't feel it is unfair for paying customers to ask and be answered on the question of who the players are on 'our' dev team after shakeups and changes.

Answers to this question might go a long way to ease the anxiety your paying customers are feeling when news like this breaks. This might be something useful that someone in community management might do, no?

 

[Maplestone]

That's a very nice analogy Amber Moon ... I'd been trying to think of way to explain why, as a player, I care about the team behind the scenes and I think you've captured it. Beyond just the ordinary empathy for working stiffs, there is an element of "game development as a spectator sport" in my enjoyment of UO ... and it feels odd to have the roster card changes hidden from us.

 

[Maplestone]

My sympathies to everyone who was let go. There were a lot of good folks that got hit.

*waves to the ghost of heralds past*

*hopes that some of those good folk will eventually stop by to say farewell*

 

[Viquire]

My sympathies to everyone who was let go. There were a lot of good folks that got hit.

*waves to the ghost of heralds past*

*hopes that some of those good folk will eventually stop by to say farewell*

Yep good to see old friends again.
*wonders if it is entirely too early to break out the blender*
If I remember correctly we failed to be able to simultaneously converge on Austin for a citrus-y adult beverage.

 

[DevilsOwn]

My sympathies to everyone who was let go. There were a lot of good folks that got hit.

*waves to the ghost of heralds past*

*hopes that some of those good folk will eventually stop by to say farewell*

Yep good to see old friends again.
*wonders if it is entirely too early to break out the blender*
If I remember correctly we failed to be able to simultaneously converge on Austin for a citrus-y adult beverage.

share!

good to see you, Jeremy

 

[Aurelius]

My sympathies to everyone who was let go. There were a lot of good folks that got hit.

It's that 'lot' that's concerning us....

But good to see you're still keeping an eye on UHall (is that avatar the cat you are currently protecting workmen from?).

 

[Mairut]

Both her LinkedIn and Facebook accounts list EA as a former employer. I'm afraid she's gone.

Good luck Chrissay - we'll miss you!

Its going to be quiet again on the boards without a community rep.

Omg... that's horrible I wish it were possible to find out what their sorry, lame-a** excuse is for that. She was always very helpful to everyone on these forums, and I'm sure many others that didn't post put sent her a pm. Geeezee...I'm really peeved about that. I don't understand why they had to let her go.

But yes, If I may repeat Theo... Good luck in your future endeavors, Chrissay; and anyone else who was let go. You'll all be missed..

Amber, Jeremy and Petra all said what I want to, and better than I can..

 

[Sevin0oo0]

> the same high level of customer support you’ve come to expect

Maybe he is not in touch with his user base, and is only going by the numbers. I was personally told by an EA person that
their Only interest was closing the trouble ticket, regardless of fairness or doing the right thing.


With Chrissay gone, who's taking over that role?

 

[Snakeman]

Guessing the one on the right VVVV

For no ones talking that's for sure

 

[Sergul'zan_SP]

this is a community where some have literally grown up with this game and handed it down to their kids and sometimes grand kids like a nostalgic heirloom.

It is indeed a great community and a beautiful game....but I won't be passing it down to my kids. I'm going to encourage them to do stuff like play outside and with other kids IRL!

UO is old...but if it nets a gain it's not going anywhere. Any established product won't be going anywhere during these tough times. If it doesn't net a gain then....

 

[Cryltaur]

And shareholders just love it when the company is seen taking steps to "reduce costs".

And therein lies the problem with modern corporations. The true seat of power lies not with the CEO, but with the Board of Directors, which are elected by the shareholders. The shareholders only want one thing, a return on their investment, and rightly so. They put up their capital so the company could grow. This, however, creates a tug-of-war between what the shareholders want and what the customers want. Management would probably love to give the customers everything they want, but the reality is they have to make a profit for the shareholders to collect their return on investment. The only way to truly make a change is not increasing what you purchase from the company, but purchasing enough stock in that same company to get voting rights. Usually, the more stock you buy, the more votes you get. But what do I know, I never actually went to college and lurnt nuthin.

 

[DevilsOwn]

This, however, creates a tug-of-war between what the shareholders want and what the customers want. Management would probably love to give the customers everything they want, but the reality is they have to make a profit for the shareholders to collect their return on investment.

but isn't that the way it works? you create a product that the consumer wants, keep the consumer happy and, because it is a superior product, the company thrives, makes money and gives the shareholder a return on their investment.... I don't see a tug-of-war if it's all working correctly.... suppose the trouble comes from *this* end of a company failing more than *that* end of the company succeeds

 

[Viquire]

This, however, creates a tug-of-war between what the shareholders want and what the customers want. Management would probably love to give the customers everything they want, but the reality is they have to make a profit for the shareholders to collect their return on investment.

but isn't that the way it works? you create a product that the consumer wants, keep the consumer happy and, because it is a superior product, the company thrives, makes money and gives the shareholder a return on their investment.... I don't see a tug-of-war if it's all working correctly.... suppose the trouble comes from *this* end of a company failing more than *that* end of the company succeeds

At some point the company becomes big enough that things change yet again, there is perception of success based on the ability to meet or beat earnings expectations based on models.

Sooner or later somewhere a slight exception to standard practices to ensure quality happens to maintain profitability in relation to expectations. If this produces enough of a positive experience the corporation as an entity "learns" and adopts this behavior as the standard, and then begins a never ending struggle to find balance between the expectations of: shareholders, analysts, and customers.

 

[Malimus]

I did some reading and found that they are purchasing another company for a large sum and it has more employees than what they have currently lade off. They are just restructuring and cutting off lose fat imo. Its a way to get rid of the high cost less productive parts or divisions of the company and by the looks of it replace them. I could of course be wrong.

*Edit*

Here it is

As Electronic Arts announces further restructuring and widening losses, analysts are confused by its $300 million Playfish acquisition, unclear on its game pipeline, and perplexed by its digital business focus.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says that EA hasn't grown its revenues enough in the past year, thus necessitating another round of cuts. Still, he finds the company's approach perplexing:

"To date, game quality is up, with a remarkable number of highly rated games produced, and with several that are the best efforts by the company in years," he says. "However, after claiming to recognize the problems it faced with unproductive investment, it appears that there are still potentially unprofitable games in the pipeline."

900 of the 1500 job cuts EA announced yesterday are in research and development, leading Pachter to conclude that the company will likely terminate "several" games -- "more than a dozen," according to the company.

 

[Maplestone]

I did some reading and found that they are purchasing another company for a large sum and it has more employees than what they have currently lade off.

That was a standard "don't get left behind" move - they're trying to catch up with the Facebook / cell phone game market in case that continues to take off. But that whole market is so rife with questionable ethics ( eg: http://consumerist.com/5400720/mafia-wars-ceo-brags-about-scamming-users-from-day-one ) that I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole.

 

[Malador]

Thanks for the info, but it doesn't make much sense... unless the people leaving the studio were working on now abandoned unknown projects.
Otherwise, I can't see how half the people can do the same job.

Not that I care much though, but that kind of PR material often sounds weird

I am glad at least one person sees through the bull****. This is the same concept all the time when company lays off top dollar employees and pretends it is business as usual. The product has to suffer and always does.

 

[Basara]

Most of the EA layoffs were on unreleased console games.

Most of the Mythic layoffs were people working on WAR, and those in "less vital" positions with other games (the same positions that got laid off before - remember Jeremy?). Also consider that some rearrangement of positions occurred as a result of another recent acquisition by EA, that resulted in some redundency - and loss of some personnel to those projects - note Leurocian's current location and job title (Systems Designer for SW:TOR for EA Bioware).

It could be that some cuts at Mythic could simply be deciding "Well, instead of filling that slot that opened back in June, we'll just get rid of the position, and the positions that answered to it, and move the responsibilities to people we keep" (I've seen this happen before in a lot of places that weren't game related, and a few that were). So, as a result of someone getting a promotion/transfer, their staff lost their jobs instead of getting a new boss.

 

[Sorcon Gartius]

Hello everyone,

With all that is going on within Mythic Entertainment and EA, I would like to take a moment to reinforce the studio’s dedication to both our games and our players. At Mythic, we remain committed to our games and the passionate people who play them – we’re going to continue to deliver the content and service that keeps you playing. We want to assure our community that we will maintain the same high level of customer support you’ve come to expect and continue to improve our games with an exciting schedule of patches, live events and new content.

At Mythic, we are the torchbearer of three great gaming franchises that we love and nurture:

• Ultima Online is the granddaddy of MMORPG’s and it’s still going strong after 12 years. Thanks to the release of our 8th expansion, there are now more players exploring Britannia than we’ve seen in quite some time. We have a passionate and committed team working on UO, and they have some really interesting plans for the future. Stay tuned!

• Dark Age of Camelot is over 8 years old and the Realm vs. Realm action keeps getting better. The development team loves what they do and never forget that DAoC was the first true MMO love for many of you (and for many of us!). They are dedicated to providing continued updates and support for this great game so the fighting in the Frontiers will never end.

• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has had a solid first year despite some issues that we’re working to address every day. We’ve seen a great response to 1.3.2, which introduced tremendous performance improvements. A flood of new players are discovering the game every day thanks to the recently released Endless Trial and New User Journey. Moving forward, we remain committed to releasing more great patches, continued performance improvements, and changes based upon your valuable feedback.

We want to thank you again for your continued commitment to our games. In return, we remain committed to providing you with the best possible gaming experiences and customer support both now and in the future. Be sure to keep an eye open for more information about upcoming patches and the exciting plans we have in store for your favorite MMORPGs.

See you on the battlefield,

Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer, Mythic Entertainment


More...

Are you...kidding me?

Ok, Warhammer is a "financial disaster" as quoted by EA's own employees (No names to be mentioned, I have friends who work there and I'm not going to put their families on the streets because they gave me some insider info)

http://www.mmodata.net/

Warhammer went from 800k Players to like 150k in less than a year and the game pretty much a "Bug Fix Only" game now, no plans to develop more content for this absolute failure.

We should all pay careful attention to DAOC - They are about 1/2 the numbers of UO. If they cut DAOC - UO is next.

That's the facts...

As of now, no plans to cut the MMO games, because once you do pay the employees they generate profit. If they can trim the dev team, that is the goal.

By March of 2010, we will see MANY members of the EA community lose their jobs

Most of those that DO remain in EA Mythic will be shifted to the Bioware team so they can work on the upcoming Star Wars Knights of the old Republic MMO.

....and Dragon Age...

 

[Amren]

http://www.mmodata.net/

You can't believe everything you read on the internet.

Millions of people left WoW for Aion, and Blizzard is going bankrupt.

 

[Amber Moon]

Hmm, seems some one has been reading the same forums as me recently...

A Column at MMORPG.COM by Jaime Skelton

 

[Mitzlplik_SP]

We should all pay careful attention to DAOC - They are about 1/2 the numbers of UO. If they cut DAOC - UO is next.

That's the facts...

The facts as YOU see it.

The sky has been falling for UO for at least 11 years now. Today is no different. UO is going nowhere anytime soon. In 5 years I`ll still be here playing UO and I`ll still be calling out all the Chicken Littles of the world.

You could not be more wrong when comparing anything UO related to DAOC.