Asheron's Call 2 Closing [Aug 25, 2005, 6:13 pm ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
A post on the Asheron's
Call 2 Website (thanks
WarCry) has word from Turbine CEO Jeffrey Anderson that their MMORPG sequel
is shutting down:
Closing Asheron's Call 2
Dear AC2 subscribers,
In spite of our hard work and the launch of Legions, AC2 has reached the point where it no longer makes sense to continue the service. We will be officially closing the Asheron's Call 2 service on 12/30/05. Until then, we plan to run live events, but we will not be adding any content or features.
We deeply appreciate the many dedicated fans of AC2 who have stood by us over the years. You have our sincerest gratitude.
Best regards,
Jeffrey Anderson
CEO, Turbine
Ouch!
"And another one down, another one down, another one bites the dust..."
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GW: Nilaar Madalla, lvl 20 R/Mo / Xylos Gath, lvl 10 W/Mo
Don't look at me that way. It was An Honest Mistake. http://www.thebravery.com/
Why not just let it go and not charge for it.
I think they have other services they are getting money for that would cover it.
Although, they may have reached, "once our subscribers are below X, then we shutdown".
Hello.....my name is Batman.....and I use RMB as Forward
I think they have other services they are getting money for that would cover it.
Although, they may have reached, "once our subscribers are below X, then we shutdown".
Hello.....my name is Batman.....and I use RMB as Forward
I really thought Matrix would be the next dead MMO...
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GW: Nilaar Madalla, lvl 20 R/Mo / Xylos Gath, lvl 10 W/Mo
Don't look at me that way. It was An Honest Mistake. http://www.thebravery.com/
I dont understand why they even bought this from microsoft, I can see why for AC1, its a good game and worth supporting...cant say the same for this.
Why not just let it go and not charge for it.
I think they have other services they are getting money for that would cover it.
If it doesn't make sense financially to keep charging for it, how would it make sense to make it free?
"We're losing too much money charging for this product. Let's still put tons of money into the bandwith but not charge for it. That sounds like a capital idea."
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Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
I think they have other services they are getting money for that would cover it.
If it doesn't make sense financially to keep charging for it, how would it make sense to make it free?
"We're losing too much money charging for this product. Let's still put tons of money into the bandwith but not charge for it. That sounds like a capital idea."
-------------
Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
-------------
Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
Why not just let it go and not charge for it.
I think they have other services they are getting money for that would cover it.
Although, they may have reached, "once our subscribers are below X, then we shutdown".
I kinda think this one would be obvious. They're not making enough money to cover its operating expenses and still turn a profit, so making it free definitely isn't going to fix that. Duh.
This comment was edited on Aug 25, 18:19.
I like Turbine, I want to see them succeed but they just seem to make some poor decisions that lead to stuff like this.
- Sad to see any game fail.
- Having said that, I am tired of developers pushing shit out the door and charging a montly fee for it (not a direct reflection of AC2 - I never played it other than one day of beta - but the market as a whole
- Where is SoE to make another budget MMOG and add it to its station access?
- Umm...wow. What happened? Even with minimal player numbers, many other games are able to cease development on new content and let the fanboys continue whacking on one another. What happened? Did that many people leave? Was the game, as a whole, poorly optimized concerning bandwidth? Politics?
Edit: NM - I didn't realize it was the company doing DDO and LotR. I have no idea what its player base was like, but I can imagine a smaller company ditching the old to make room for the new.
Curious,
Ray
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http://users.ign.com/collection/RayMarden
http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?cat=1&id=ray_marden
http://www.livejournal.com/users/raymarden/
I love you, mom.
This comment was edited on Aug 25, 18:31.
Hmm.. not even 3 years. Looks like they'll need to make a Wikipedia update.
www.mmorpgcharts.com
Take a look, Ray. Seems as if it peaked at 50,000 two and a half years ago and fell quickly from there, sitting around 15,000 now.
Even the original has just under 40k.
-------------
Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
Take a look, Ray. Seems as if it peaked at 50,000 two and a half years ago and fell quickly from there, sitting around 15,000 now.
Even the original has just under 40k.
-------------
Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
-------------
Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
From what I remember AC2 was a far departure from AC1. I remember back in the beta that there weren't any npc vendors. But who knows.
But it's also interesting how they worded the Closing, 'no longer makes sense' not the typical lack of players etc. Just wonder if Turbine got tired of it?
But it's also interesting how they worded the Closing, 'no longer makes sense' not the typical lack of players etc. Just wonder if Turbine got tired of it?
It was a bad game, good riddance.
Doin' it Big
random.thought hits the nail on the head again. I played AC2 and always had going back at the back of my mind but.... fuck that for a game if soldiers now. It WAS a good game but it was too easy. Unfortunately those of us who know will remember the many many dungeons of AC 1+2. With Middle Earth Online and D&D online coming out Turbine have no need for AC2 (AC1 is still making money!)
This is a callous business decision - go for it.
This is a callous business decision - go for it.
Take a look, Ray. Seems as if it peaked at 50,000 two and a half years ago and fell quickly from there, sitting around 15,000 now.
That blows me away. I joined up about 2 months after launch and had a great time but it quickly became apparent that the game wasn't balanced right and that my characters weren't as strong as they should be. Even so, 15k players? I kinda wish I'd already gone back for a look.
I think I read that Eve Online had 50k players. That Eve should have more players than AC2 surprises me. Hopefully the drop in AC2 players won't be laid at the feet of the performers.
That blows me away. I joined up about 2 months after launch and had a great time but it quickly became apparent that the game wasn't balanced right and that my characters weren't as strong as they should be. Even so, 15k players? I kinda wish I'd already gone back for a look.
I think I read that Eve Online had 50k players. That Eve should have more players than AC2 surprises me. Hopefully the drop in AC2 players won't be laid at the feet of the performers.
The Matrix Online is next.
This game had absolutely zero content at launch. I remember looking forward to it for many months before it launched. I was invited to beta and played with many other people, all of us wondering what to do next. I tried it again when they did their free 15-day trial, but the place was a ghost town.
I hate to see it happen to what was a great engine, but the writing was on the wall. Hopefully AC3 will be more like AC1.
I hate to see it happen to what was a great engine, but the writing was on the wall. Hopefully AC3 will be more like AC1.
Awesome Spume....
Eve online have 65k players now....
this is a PVP Space MMO game
nothing to do with "RPG"
eve online is nich in the MMO market and they are making a crapload of money...
i have 3 account there... if you like space game you will stuck in eve for ever
This comment was edited on Aug 25, 18:54.
Eve online have 65k players now....
this is a PVP Space MMO game
nothing to do with "RPG"
eve online is nich in the MMO market and they are making a crapload of money...
i have 3 account there... if you like space game you will stuck in eve for ever
This comment was edited on Aug 25, 18:54.
The thing is, there's 15,000 people who like the game, you've got to feel sorry for them.
I think what has to happen is that MMOGs go the P2P way with a distributed and self-updating map kept on each players PC. I can't believe the map data is too big for modern PC storage, and when the program keeps communications to only between the members of groups interacting, bandwidth shouldn't be a problem.
Too bad there won't be a fortune in fees in it for the company, just the game sale, but you'll never have to burn the people who are supporting you to the bitter end.
I think what has to happen is that MMOGs go the P2P way with a distributed and self-updating map kept on each players PC. I can't believe the map data is too big for modern PC storage, and when the program keeps communications to only between the members of groups interacting, bandwidth shouldn't be a problem.
Too bad there won't be a fortune in fees in it for the company, just the game sale, but you'll never have to burn the people who are supporting you to the bitter end.
I played AC2 for a very brief amount of time. I loved AC1 but AC2 was very different, and not in a good way. It seemed to be style over substance. Subscriber numbers were already very low when I quit over 2 years ago.
The thing is, there's 15,000 people who like the game, you've got to feel sorry for them.
From the mouthes of babes...
Good point.
From the mouthes of babes...
Good point.
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