Garriott leaves NCsoft as profits dive Comments by Oli Welsh

So, space made him do it?

Aww......

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

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.

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

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

Wow, I've been to space & have seen the world from a whole new perspective!!!!!!

Shuffle on, Garriott. Shuffle on.

$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!

"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?

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.

Reduce the subs.

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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.

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.

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...