Originally posted by dookseid

 

 

No matter who's at the helm though,  I don't think anything Pre-CUNGE will ever see the light of day.  I gave up on that in the before time,  in the long, long ago.....

Agreed, at least not as long as SOE is involved.  Without SOE pre-CU is free to and will exist under others authorities.

Originally posted by Wickersham

Does this mean we will get a new Monkey Island or Day of the Tenticle or any other of those fun and amusing little games that LA once made?  Sam and Max or Grim Fandango?

I KNOW! I remember an interview with this guy asking about a new monkey island or somesuch game and his response was basically "blah blah, no, blah blah" spewing some crap about moving lucasarts forward. I sincerely hope that theres a better shot for a monkey island 5 now :D At the same time I hope his departure wasn't due to illness or anything, but I think LA is better without him.

Originally posted by Gerec

 

Originally posted by Wickersham

I hope his departure wasn't due to illness or anything, but I think LA is better without him.

I agree, I wish the guy no personal harm, but I hope he gets as far away from StarWars as possible.

Originally posted by salvaje

I think one of the reasons why Smed hasn't moved up or moved on is...  Well, his performance.  It's been pretty atrocious for years now.  He's lost more than half his customers across ALL games in the last 2 years.

Who would want to hire him?  What in his record as SOE president would make him attractive to any other company in a similar or greater role (such as CEO)?

Nothing that I've seen.  Smed is a "Peter principle" guy.  He's been promoted to the position where he is incompetent, and he will stay there until fired.

 

Really?  I thought there were tons of gaming companies out there looking for a President who believes "operating in the red" has something to do with what a doctor wears while in surgery.  The man doesn't have the sense God gave a goose and I am quite surprised Sony has allowed this division to continue down its dysfunctional path for as long as it has.

who ever takes over for LA now that ward is gone will have to bring back pre-cu or shut the game down. mark this day folks today is the day that we the vets have won. now once smed is gone and we have pre-cu back then we can party.

I say screw pre-cu and scrap the whole game. Just put this dead POS to bed, sell the IP to a different developer and remake the game completely as SWG2 or something. Have the new developer learn from the mistakes SOE is still making and redo the entire IP.

SWG will never be the same CU or pre-cu. just scrap the whole thing and start all over fresh.

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Originally posted by Dracis

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Originally posted by kb056

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Originally posted by Dracis

You know, I don't remember him. Did he have anything to do with the NGE? I would hate for any of us here to be thankful for someone who had to leave any company due to personal reasons.

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Neither the Cu nor the NGE could have been implimented without his say so.

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You're right. He and Smedly were both to blame. Here's an old interview which explains what I'm talking about : http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarsgalaxiesstarterkit/news_6140991.html
I know that interview has been linked here before, but it's been awhile. I guess I need to Google first before I post 

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Also, I know people who still won't play SOE games because they did this to Everquest. To "NGE" games is an SOE tactic; therefore, I'm not completely sold on Smedley's blameshifting tactics.

Should LEC have done their homework? sure. Should THEY have shown more concern for the fans? of course. Was Jim Ward a fool for this? He was at least that.

I just don't know exactly HOW much he knew, what he knew when he knew it, or if he was just in over his head here. Smedley, however, KNEW BETTER, and did a bad thing knowingly. that's far worse.
Either way, I never wish anyone ill will -- I wish him a long and prosperous career as long as he isn't screwing up MY games. I hope he learns from his mistakes and grows.

Yeah several games were pushed then shelved or altered as LA tried to go bcak to some of it's winning material.

Sam & Max is worked on then stopped then came out as esp. based small released from the web. 

Full Throttle is worked on for quite some time then all of a sudden stopped and shelved.

Along with this then there are games that like the Xwing/TIE series and how the major peopled to make a new one but it never happened.  LA likes to limit their AW releases per year and they believed the age of flight sims was over so ignored a very strong series.

LA started focusing on game types that were selling and tried to make an SW clone,  some worked some flopped.

Here is hoping a new chief gets LA and their gaming back into business.

Originally posted by Dracis

 

Originally posted by kb056

Originally posted by Dracis

You know, I don't remember him. Did he have anything to do with the NGE? I would hate for any of us here to be thankful for someone who had to leave any company due to personal reasons.

Neither the Cu nor the NGE could have been implimented without his say so.

You're right. He and Smedly were both to blame. Here's an old interview which explains what I'm talking about : http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarsgalaxiesstarterkit/news_6140991.html

 

I know that interview has been linked here before, but it's been awhile. I guess I need to Google first before I post 

Nice little link.  As a big Star Wars fan and model builder, you gave me another great reason to celebrate this man's departure.  From that article you linked, there's this tidbit of info, from the horse's (Smed's) mouth:

"A lot of people don't realize, but in addition to running LucasArts, Jim also runs all of marketing for all of LucasFilm. This guy knows Star Wars like nobody knows Star Wars. He knows this brand and what it's capable of delivering. Jim has been a great partner and has been working with us really closely."

LucasFilm Lmtd runs the licensing and all that for products related to Star Wars.  That's a given.  But model builders have been frustrated for years with lackluster products.  The only things for years were those 1980s AMT kits, which are inaccurate and horribly engineered, even for the model standards of the day.  I still recall having the Biker Scout + Speederbike kit as a kid, and holy jeez was it horrible.  When you have a 10 year old model builder who says a kit is s**t, it's sh**t.  Today's standards?  Pfft...

Anyways, Star Wars modellers have been left for so long in the backburner.  It's only very, very recently with a Japanese company called FineMoulds who got a license to produce SW kits.  They do a good job, they started in 1/72 and then just moved into 1/48 with the X-Wing.  Their kit lineup with Star Wars is small and they usually cover Starfighters.  But what they've done is good.

Revell Germany has put out recent model kits for Star Wars also, predominantly Ep.III stuff.  But I was dismayed at the inaccuracies, lack of detailing.  Yes, they're snaptogether, but holy jeez snapkits CAN look pretty good these days.  These things?  Look like bad toys.  If I wanted a d**n toy, I'd buy an already preassembled toy!  They also released in the past few months a group of Original Trilogy era kits.  But they're rescaled versions of the 1980s kits.

In the sci-fi modelling world, we've asked:  "Why can't we get good quality Star Wars model kits?"

Answer:  LFL asks for far too much, and an accurate model kit would step into the world of "Replicas."

D**n them to hell.

Model kits in the 1990's have shot up in quality.  Model kits since 2000, especially these days, are detailed, well engineered, etc.  Some companies can put out "multimedia" kits.  Dragon for instance has tank models with styrene parts, photoetch detailing parts, and metal (aluminum / brass) parts for sturdiness when required.  For instance, a good quality German Tiger I tank would cost roughly $40 USD.  They're not exactly small kits either.  A Tamiya 1/32 F-14A is a few years old, but very nice today and looks great right out of the box with no aftermarket parts.  It costs $90-$100 USD, depending on where you go.  But it's a HUGE kit.

What would Star Wars modellers put out for a good kit?  We've been DYING to get something like the Imperial Star Destroyer, AT-AT, or other non-starfighter subject given the proper attention it deserves.  But LFL won't allow the kit makers to do so, if they don't fork out exhorbitant money to them.

When fans have made their own Star Wars kits and produce them for other fans to enjoy, they naturally get the "Cease and Desist" from LFL.  SMT's AT-AT, as I recalled, was about $200 USD.  But they were forced to stop.  Next thing you know, Master Replicas comes out with the $1000 USD replica.  Other SMT Star Wars kits that were halted in production:

SMT AT-AT cs.finescale.com/forums/800498/ShowPost.aspx or www.starwarsmodels.com/atats.html

SMT 1/48 Y-Wing www.starwarsmodels.com/ywingsmt.html

SMT 1/48 X-Wing www.starwarsmodels.com/xwingsmt.html

SMT 1/48 TIE Defender (for you "TIE Fighter" fans of the PC) www.starwarsmodels.com/tiedf.html

SMT 1/48 TIE Bomber www.starwarsmodels.com/tiebs.html

SMT 1/48 TIE Avenger www.starwarsmodels.com/tiev.html

SMT 1/48 A-Wing www.starwarsmodels.com/awings.html

SMT 1/48 B-Wing www.starwarsmodels.com/bwings.html

Should I go on?  These were good kits, d**nit!  D**n LFL and their greed.  I know the problem persisted before Ward, but he DID continue the problem.

Originally posted by salvaje

I think one of the reasons why Smed hasn't moved up or moved on is...  Well, his performance.  It's been pretty atrocious for years now.  He's lost more than half his customers across ALL games in the last 2 years.

Who would want to hire him?  What in his record as SOE president would make him attractive to any other company in a similar or greater role (such as CEO)?

Nothing that I've seen.  Smed is a "Peter principle" guy.  He's been promoted to the position where he is incompetent, and he will stay there until fired.

 

WTF do you get your information.  Look at the Sony financials and most importantly, look at SOE.  His part of SOE is the ONLY profitable one.  If anything, Smed should be the only CEO of the Sony companies that gets a bonus.  SOE, like it or not, does what they are suppose to do very effectively, and that is give return on investment (ROI) to investors.  Smed will move up within Sony before they'll ever fire him.  Like it or not, Smed is one of the most successful CEOs in the MMORPG community.

Just because you (like myself) got screwed with the NGE/CU with your Jedi doesn't mean you need to knock Smed.   It is a documented fact that LA called for the NGE.   The only one to blame is Mr. Lucas.

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Originally posted by Shannia

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Originally posted by salvaje

I think one of the reasons why Smed hasn't moved up or moved on is...  Well, his performance.  It's been pretty atrocious for years now.  He's lost more than half his customers across ALL games in the last 2 years.
Who would want to hire him?  What in his record as SOE president would make him attractive to any other company in a similar or greater role (such as CEO)?
Nothing that I've seen.  Smed is a "Peter principle" guy.  He's been promoted to the position where he is incompetent, and he will stay there until fired.
 

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WTF do you get your information.  Look at the Sony financials and most importantly, look at SOE.  His part of SOE is the ONLY profitable one.  If anything, Smed should be the only CEO of the Sony companies that gets a bonus.  SOE, like it or not, does what they are suppose to do very effectively, and that is give return on investment (ROI) to investors.  Smed will move up within Sony before they'll ever fire him.  Like it or not, Smed is one of the most successful CEOs in the MMORPG community.
Just because you (like myself) got screwed with the NGE/CU with your Jedi doesn't mean you need to knock Smed.   It is a documented fact that LA called for the NGE.   The only one to blame is Mr. Lucas.
 

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Please, if you do have some documentation, I would like to see it.

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Originally posted by Shannia

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Originally posted by salvaje

I think one of the reasons why Smed hasn't moved up or moved on is...  Well, his performance.  It's been pretty atrocious for years now.  He's lost more than half his customers across ALL games in the last 2 years.
Who would want to hire him?  What in his record as SOE president would make him attractive to any other company in a similar or greater role (such as CEO)?
Nothing that I've seen.  Smed is a "Peter principle" guy.  He's been promoted to the position where he is incompetent, and he will stay there until fired.
 

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WTF do you get your information.  Look at the Sony financials and most importantly, look at SOE.  His part of SOE is the ONLY profitable one.  If anything, Smed should be the only CEO of the Sony companies that gets a bonus.  SOE, like it or not, does what they are suppose to do very effectively, and that is give return on investment (ROI) to investors.  Smed will move up within Sony before they'll ever fire him.  Like it or not, Smed is one of the most successful CEOs in the MMORPG community.
Just because you (like myself) got screwed with the NGE/CU with your Jedi doesn't mean you need to knock Smed.   It is a documented fact that LA called for the NGE.   The only one to blame is Mr. Lucas.
 

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Shannia,

I beg to differ regarding your assertions about SOE and its contribution to Sony overall. SOE has lost at least half of its subscriptions over all of its games in recent years. SOE is a division of Sony Pictures and does NOT report its results separately from this division. Getting results from any of the divisions is limited to shareholders of Sony, through a prospectus. As a CEO, Smedley has been a slightly negative presence for SOE. SOE has gone from the number one producer of MMO's to an also ran under his watch. Both Blizzard and NCSoft dwarf SOE's sales now.

Your SOE fanboi underwear are showing. Better tuck them back in...

I assume that Smedley has stayed on at SOE because his resume goes straight into the shredder of any company with an open position paying anything close to what he makes today.

The only company I can see hiring him is Hudsucker Industries if they open a gaming division:

"What we need now is a new president who will inspire panic in the stockholder!"

Smed is their man.

Whats his new job title

and what mcdonalds would hire him any ways lol

My take on "who is responsible for the NGE" is that both SOE and LA were involved.

LA was upset that this non-greatest-IP-in-the-history-of-the-universe was utterly kicking their IP's ass in the MMORPG market, and wanted some change.  They looked at SWG and saw all this complexity and reading and looked at how simple WoW was and hinted to SOE that their treatment of Lucas' IP should be more like that.

SOE, bleeding developers with brains, thought that yeah, if we're more like WoW, which is what the kids seem to want, we'll get better numbers.  The catch is, SOE doesn't do bug-free, polished games.  They do crap slapped together just good enough to appease the hardcore MMO audience that's willing to put up with some rough stuff just to get their Evercrack fix.  Which pretty much sums up what SWG was...a decent gaming system that wasn't polished or bug free and subjected to SOE's propensity to overnerf and overbuff and never find a happy medium.

The result was an unpolished, riddled with bugs WoW pseudo-clone with a Star Wars skin that simultaneously pissed off the audience they had and was unappealing to the audience they coveted.

Originally posted by KzinKiller

I assume that Smedley has stayed on at SOE because his resume goes straight into the shredder of any company with an open position paying anything close to what he makes today.

The only company I can see hiring him is Hudsucker Industries if they open a gaming division:

"What we need now is a new president who will inspire panic in the stockholder!"

Smed is their man.

That's why I think he'll either start his own MMO company, or actually leave the MMO industry all together.

Originally posted by Suvroc

Originally posted by KzinKiller

I assume that Smedley has stayed on at SOE because his resume goes straight into the shredder of any company with an open position paying anything close to what he makes today.

The only company I can see hiring him is Hudsucker Industries if they open a gaming division:

"What we need now is a new president who will inspire panic in the stockholder!"

Smed is their man.

That's why I think he'll either start his own MMO company, or actually leave the MMO industry all together.

The time for Smed to have gobbled up some foolish VC and create a MMO startup is long past.  The industry is in BIG trouble right now and I believe we are going to see more MMO publishers close down than start up this year.

No doubt Smed will end up being hired somewhere, there are sleazebag corps out there that would consider what he did to customers at SOE an asset.

Originally posted by iwantmyswg

who ever takes over for LA now that ward is gone will have to bring back pre-cu or shut the game down. mark this day folks today is the day that we the vets have won. now once smed is gone and we have pre-cu back then we can party.

We can never win.  Not unless LA pulls the plug and gives the game over to a real developer with real talent rather than a handful of washouts from DeVry.

So in 2004, he gets named president of LA and two years later calls it quits? That's rather a short lived career of his.

Probably a good move on his part.

Get over it.... LMAO.   Don't you guys think it's time to move on now and stop bashing this sorry (since day 1 btw) game?