tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1691787955971358127.post4475120062745559992..comments2023-10-11T00:23:55.487-07:00Comments on The Unseen University: Congratulations to FuncomAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602248161038082454noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1691787955971358127.post-28574997034896488102012-09-14T14:35:07.377-07:002012-09-14T14:35:07.377-07:00The stock completely plummeting, the team going th...The stock completely plummeting, the team going through layoffs - not sure how you can convince yourself of that. <br /><br />But if the game is a success, why are they focusing on small scale games and specifically citing games which are free to play. You can misinterpret facts however you like, but that fact alone silences your congrats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1691787955971358127.post-37937882797174297012012-09-05T09:57:06.360-07:002012-09-05T09:57:06.360-07:00I am afraid you are quite wrong in multiple places...I am afraid you are quite wrong in multiple places.<br /><br />First, they stated that is was less then half of their *best* performance predictions. And predicting the future is always a shot in the dark.<br /><br />""The effect of all these initiatives together with other factors impacting sales are difficult to predict, but based on the available early data, one scenario is that sales for the first 12 months following launch will be less than half of what was presented in the "Conan-like" scenario," the report continues.<br /><br />"It should be noted that the sales amount in the 'Conan-like' scenario is significantly higher than for the game "Age of Conan", due to the assumption of better retention implemented in the scenario. "<br /><br />http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-08-13-funcom-poor-metacritc-damaged-secret-world-performance<br /><br />Although you are correct about subscriptions, you are wrong about the conversion rate. Funcom is actually predicting a very high conversion (and more importantly retention) rate.<br /><br />"First indication of churn is more positive than for Age of Conan, ... A possible scenario going forward is that the game will sell less than both of the two above mentioned scenarios the first 12 months following launch, but with high customer satisfaction, it will generate a more stable subscriber base than the game Age of Conan. Over time, this will enable Funcom to retain more customers and generate higher revenue."<br /><br />As for the lay off was the industry standard reduction off a development team to a live team.<br /><br />""We've had to let some people go, and we're in the process of reshuffling and reorganising ourselves around the remaining staff. This is never fun, but it's the way of things: we need to scale down from a full development team to a more cost-efficient live team."<br /><br />http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-09-03-funcom-were-not-going-to-play-it-safe?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=us-daily<br /><br />For comparison, WoW only shipped (not sold through) 240,000 units at launch.<br /><br />(Plenty of sources for this if you want one, including Bruce's famous charts.)<br /><br />So yes, I congratulate them. And you should get your facts straight if you are going to try to correct people. (And its only a fact if it comes directly from the source or has a cite to the source. Half-assed journalistic opinions are not facts.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01602248161038082454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1691787955971358127.post-39441593151329540812012-09-05T08:49:44.406-07:002012-09-05T08:49:44.406-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01602248161038082454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1691787955971358127.post-12457438320269464382012-09-05T08:20:56.698-07:002012-09-05T08:20:56.698-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01602248161038082454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1691787955971358127.post-2603002811852367082012-09-03T13:18:07.144-07:002012-09-03T13:18:07.144-07:00Oh and one additional thing, your facts are wrong....Oh and one additional thing, your facts are wrong. They have said they sold 200,000. That's sell through. Industry average is 35-50% conversion to first month subscriptions. In their "Conan" scenario they estimated ~25%. <br /><br />That means actual subscribers is somewhere in the range of 50-100,000. Which is a colossal failure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1691787955971358127.post-2077054967184243522012-09-03T13:15:32.658-07:002012-09-03T13:15:32.658-07:00You're citing Secret World as a financial succ...You're citing Secret World as a financial success?<br /><br />The company just laid off half of it's workforce, they stated the game was worse by 100% of their expectations for a worst case scenario and that the game by Funcom's definition was a "Massive disappointment." That's not the press, that's the creative director and the CEO. On top of all that, their stock is down 80% to a six year low (The lowest their stock has ever been.) <br /><br />And you're congratulating them?<br /><br />Furthermore... They have said they are pivoting the company away from the model you are praising them for and into smaller areas. "Such games have shorter development time, and less upfront investment," Funcom said. "Examples are League of Legends, World of Tanks and Minecraft." Two of the games they mention are free to play. <br /><br />Frankly I would just yank this blog post. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com