Garriott leaves NCsoft as profits dive

By Oli Welsh Published 12 November, 2008

"New interests" made him do it.

Tabula Rasa creator Richard Garriott has resigned from Korean publishing company NCsoft.

Garriott's decision came just before NCsoft revealed a 50 per cent drop in profits in the last quarter.

However, in his announcement to players, Garriott said it was his spell as a space tourist that made him decide to leave.

"Many of you probably wonder what my plans are, now that I have achieved the lifelong dream of going to space," Garriott said.

"Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests."

Garriott became a key executive at NCsoft when the publisher bought his development studio, Destination Games, during the development of Tabula Rasa.

However, despite a long and expensive development, Tabula Rasa has not been a great success, selling just 61,000 copies in the US according to NPD.

The game has been widely blamed for the fall in profitability at NCsoft, although the publisher has publicly stuck by it and pointed the finger at its experiments with free-to-play gaming instead.

Alongside the 50 per cent fall in profits for the July to September quarter, NCsoft reported that Tabula Rasa was responsible for only 2 per cent of its revenue, according to Gamespot.

Subscriber numbers for Tabula Rasa were conspicuously absent from the report. Of its other games, Korean institutions Lineage and Lineage II have a very healthy 881,979 and 857,351 players respectively, while City of Heroes still manages a respectable 124,939. 5.59 million people have accounts for the subscription-free Guild Wars.

Garriott thanked players and developers alike for sticking with Tabula Rasa. "I am very grateful to you loyal players for sticking around through what I think we can all honestly say was a rough launch.

"I thank the development team for pushing hard to get polish, updates and new content out every month since launch... A feat that I think is unusual in MMO development. They have a lot to be proud of."

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (11) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Stardusted #1 3 years ago

    So, space made him do it?

    Aww......

  • Pirotic #2 3 years ago

    So going into space gave him enlightenment? I'd love to have seen his face when he realized how stupid having a ponytail for the last 20 years has been :D

  • mkreku #3 3 years ago

    The rats are always the first to leave the sinking ship.

    And to imagine this is the same guy that's behind such childhood memories as Ultima IV and V. Sigh.

  • PearOfAnguish #4 3 years ago

    Yes of course, it was space's fault. Not the fact that you made a game that flopped.

  • SpyroViper #5 3 years ago

    I used to work at NCSoft. I told them this game is a pile of s*it but hey, guess I was right.

  • spitfire1945 #6 3 years ago

    $30 Millions for a space flight? damn, that's pretty stuipd!!! This guy is just a plain visionnaire!

    He will be better to quit VG and do something else as he is no more the Lord British we know! He has lost the vision of today's VG industry!

  • sneetch #7 3 years ago

    "Many of you probably wonder what my plans are, now that I have achieved the lifelong dream of going to space," Garriott said.

    Quick straw poll: how many of us here have wondered that? How many care, at all?

  • Darkjinxter #8 3 years ago

    Tabula Rasa was actually a bit of fun, but suffered from lack of (interesting) content. Maybe NCSoft will learn a lesson here and be the first to do what MMO publishers will have to start doing to survive.
    Reduce the subs.

  • iokthemonkey #9 3 years ago

    Reduce the subs.

    -----

    I disagree.

    I have no qualms about paying the 8 quid a month I pay to Codemasters for LOTRO or the £8 I pay for CoH. It's exellent value for money, as the service is good.

    But I had serious qualms about paying for Age of Conan, as it was shite.


  • Darkjinxter #10 3 years ago

    I disagree with your disagreement.
    Reduced subs will alow more punters on a monthly sub budget to play a more diverse range of MMOs at no extra cost.
    Games such as EvE, TR, EQii, D&D etc would attract more players if the price was right.

  • iokthemonkey #11 3 years ago

    And I disagree with you * INFINITY FOR LIFE ;)

    I take your point. However, whilst I don't buy into the whole "Ooh, MMO's take over your life" tosh, it does make me wonder just how somebody would find time to play more than a couple of MMOs at a time.

    Secondly, it's not the developer's responsibility to ensure you can pay for multiple games. If you went to the shops and bought a Mars Bar, the shopkeeper wouldn't care or not if you'd already bought one and he wouldn't give you a discount.

    SOE DO offer quite an interesting deal though in that their games have Premium Passes that allow you to pay a smidgen more over a "standard" subscription fee and that gives access to all their games. And Codemasters offer a lifetime sub on LOTRO, too.

    But it's all about personal choice at the end of the day. As I say, 8 quid a month is peanuts and I don't miss it and am happy to pay that to play something I enjoy...