Ben-DutkaThe end is just about here.
The well-documented troubles of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning developer 38 Studios continue, as Bloomberg reports that the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and the Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company have been given the authority to take over the studio's assets. This of course includes the recently released, well-received title, Reckoning .
Founded by ex-Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who apparently sunk over $50 million of his own money into the endeavor, 38 Studios is now bankrupt. The new owners will try to sell those assets, which include IP rights, to see if they can make back some of that $75 million loan that initially brought 38 Studios to Rhode Island. They probably won't get all the money back, though, as the assets don't add up to $75 million; analyst Michael Pachter was quoted as saying that the estimated worth of the Amalur IP was only about $20 million.
As for the big MMO called "Copernicus," which was currently in the works at 38 Studios…well, we probably need a RIP sign or something. Pachter also said nobody is interested in MMOs these days after Star Wars: The Old Republic flopped. Just no good news anywhere.
I wasn't aware that it is already clear that Star Wars: The Old Republic is defined as a flop, but if it did then I think I might understand why.
It was well made (I participated in the beta testing) but imo it was far, far too traditional. For those of us who already has invested obscene amount of time into mmorpgs over the years – and it's starting to be quite a lot of us now – there simply was *nothing* new to be found. It was just the same old, same old.
The developer who can come up with something genuinely *new* might be able to breath some life into the genre. But the current mmorpg era has reached its end.
Last edited by Beamboom on 8/9/2012 10:21:52 AM
exactly why MMOs are a dying breed!
the copy paste conventions have turned off allot of people, and those who are putting up with it are allot less active than they use to be!
WoW has plummeted so much in the past year or so.
guild wars 2 will hopefully breathe a breath of fresh air into the stale MMO market, but im worried its a little too late.
nice to see the secret world doing really well, ive actually really been enjoying that!
but, well, how long will its sales last……….
Truly sad bit of poor money management with 38, I think they went hog wild with their loan money. And as far as MMOs are concerned, this is the very reason not a single dollar more should go into Final Fantasy XIV.
I actually think SE can pull it off, but the mmo world is definitely not for every company…
Well, I really love KoAR and I am glad that I can play it. Some time soon someone will buy the assets and we'll get a KoAR2.
I hope you are right. Amalur is far from perfect but has plenty of potential.
Dang I cant tell you how many games I wish I owned the rights to.
Amalur is one of those.
i still just cant get my head around how reckless and stupid these people were!
i mean the MMO market is THE most risky hardest to get into market!
and its not like other genres if you flop you loose 30M!
MMOs cost a BOMB to make, 130M on copernecus, so…….
its like a baby is born, the next day he says ok im going to go make a supercar and im going to charge more than the most expensive car in the world!
you might as well take all your money out of the bank and create a nice warm bonfire, at least you would get something out of that!
if you want to make a MMO, you need to make a few games first to prove to the world that you CAN do it!
than when you have a legion of fans, and you have enough money to fund the game and fall back on if it flops, which knowing the MMO market ATM it will!
than go for it!
not create 1 mediocre game so very few people have confidence in you, and you have very little money!
and at least wait till the genre is back up, i mean if blizzard THE king of MMOs is bleeding money than how the ^%$# are you going to be successful!?
just baffles me that humans can be THAT stupid!