• Hail Guest!
    We're looking for Community Content Contribuitors to Stratics. If you would like to write articles, fan fiction, do guild or shard event recaps, it's simple. Find out how in this thread: Community Contributions
  • Greetings Guest, Having Login Issues? Check this thread!
  • Hail Guest!,
    Please take a moment to read this post reminding you all of the importance of Account Security.
  • Hail Guest!
    Please read the new announcement concerning the upcoming addition to Stratics. You can find the announcement Here!

Thoughts?

Flutter

Always Present
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Awards
1
Should have been done before it ever even got anywhere near UO.
 

Blitzkrieg

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
My thoughts are that we all just dodged a rather large bullet, as far as UO players go. I feel for the employees that may have just lost their jobs, they are people trying to support their families just like the rest of us.

We need to support Broadsword and hope they can keep the proverbial hamster fat, happy and running for as long as they can!
 

Tina Small

Stratics Legend
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Maybe this is why the log-in servers were unreachable yesterday and this morning? Maybe there was a handoff process to Broadsword that hadn't yet been completed and it had to be rushed through yesterday?

In any event, good luck to the people who may have been laid off. I hope EA treats them fairly and that they will all find some kind of silver lining in all of this and will be able to move on to bigger and better opportunities.
 

Picus at the office

Certifiable
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
This is why I keep singing about adding content that we will want to pay for, ya think they closed down WH cause it made buckets of money? UO is a rare animal that sneaks by due to people wanting to play sand pay but adding something every year that is worth me paying an extra $30 per account sure would add a fair sum to the bottom line.
 

Promathia

Social Distancing Since '97
Premium
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
This is why I keep singing about adding content that we will want to pay for, ya think they closed down WH cause it made buckets of money? UO is a rare animal that sneaks by due to people wanting to play sand pay but adding something every year that is worth me paying an extra $30 per account sure would add a fair sum to the bottom line.
They closed down WH because the license came up for renewal and I'm sure it was too expensive.
 

DJAd

Stratics Legend
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I wonder if this means the account management webpages will be getting a revamp sooner rather than later.
 

Warpig Inc

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
They closed down WH because the license came up for renewal and I'm sure it was too expensive.

Games Workshop has a unique way to deal with slipping sales. Raise the price on everything. An all plastic Land Raider model with half the parts of a mack truck model and nothing chrome plated. But cost twice as much. It is all in the name and not in the quality. But good news for UO is that WH gaming has been around as long as when Lucas started cashing in on Star Wars. Now to get that SW size fanbase back into UO.

Got an ideal for UO population booster. Tag every account with an ID code if not already. Charge 5$ more for monthly fees. And have a random drawing every month for a winner or three. Winner/s get a pot totalling $1 for every active account that month. Some player nearly gets $10k and the UO Code mages can hire more help or make UO worth playing and pocket the extra $35k ish. Population goes up and one player a month is paying off their mortgage to free up cash to open more UO accounts. And we have no more excuses about quarterly game content upgrades. Upgrades that could be free with a bigger population playing the UOLotto.
 

Lord Nabin

High Council Sage - Greater Sosaria
Professional
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Glorious Lord
:next:

Holds no meaning for us.
 

Capt. Lucky

Grand Inquisitor
Stratics Veteran
I've been gaming online since before UO. Ea buys it, EA ruins it, EA closes it. It's a pattern I've seen from them so many times. If EA bought a company I worked for I'd start filling out job applications the same day. Never get any pleasure outta seeing this kinda stuff. One of my first experiences with the evil empire was when they bought Gamestorm (which was an awesome company) and closed Legends of Kesmai. Really appreciated EA buying up the game I loved just to shut it down. Before Gamestorm we payed like 5 bucks an hour to play games online. Gamestorm was the first to charge like 10 bucks a month to play all you wanted. OMG it was great! Game on! We owe Gamestorm a lot, they should never be forgotten!
 

Captn Norrington

Stratics Forum Moderator
Moderator
Professional
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Campaign Supporter
Personally I've always thought EA ruins the games they buy on purpose, hoping to one day put all the popular games out of business and maintain complete control over the gaming market.
 

G.v.P

Stratics Legend
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
:next:

Holds no meaning for us.
Ok, so I'm confused. Origin developed UO through EA, then Origin became Mythic, then Bioware-Mythic, then Mythic again? Now Broadsword has UO, but Broadsword does or does not work under EA? And Mythic is now going to close, but Bioware is still around? ;P somewhere I must have lost track.

Well, if Broadsword is funded by EA, I guess there are no relative broad changes there, but we've already seen some changes, I think, as far as the intended direction of UO going forward. Hm. I wonder if the jobs being offered at Mythic were canceled, as well.

It is all in the name and not in the quality. But good news for UO is that WH gaming has been around as long as when Lucas started cashing in on Star Wars. Now to get that SW size fanbase back into UO.
UO peaked at 250,000 according to MMOData, while SWG peaked at 300,000. SWTOR about 1.75 million. I think if they made a new-gen UO with 3D ISO, that game would hit at least 500,000 through a major developer. Right now, though, I'd imagine Shards Online (SO) or SotA will take that market, with SO currently having 874 backers, and SotA a whopping 111,648. I can't imagine SO getting over 10,000 at its current rate, and assume SotA could reach 200,000 at the most. So far I feel like SO will give UO the most competition in the short term, as the game is more PvP focused than SotA.
 

Uriah Heep

Grand Poobah
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Personally I've always thought EA ruins the games they buy on purpose, hoping to one day put all the popular games out of business and maintain complete control over the gaming market.
There was a company out of Houston (I won't name names) who came here and bought 4 successful businesses, I was mid management of one of them. One by one, over the course of a couple years, they sold off equipment and supplies, then declared bankruptcy for each and closed them down.

Later I find out, they had done that in other towns as well...seems they were actually quite successful businessmen, who needed losses for tax purposes.

Wonder if that is EA's thing...
 

hen

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Now we know why Broadsword was set up. Mythic was being canned and they wanted to keep the two games that are making a small profit.
 
Top