Originally posted by WarpHunter

I dont know about anyone else, and yes it shows that I am old, but when I saw WB and Turbine, my first thought was Looney Tunes Online. I have always wanted to help  Wile E. Coyote kill the damn road runner.

 

lol, I saw that same logo in my head when I read that!

Originally posted by Lobotomist

R.I.P Turbine

The last independant MMO game developer.

 

Turbine was the best MMO developer company in last years. And probably my last hope for MMO genre.

This is bad news indeed. And it most likely spells the end of last bastion of traditional MMO.

Sad...

Uh, there are still a lot of independant MMO studios out there. There are still a lot of little guys (like Icarus Studios,) and even a few bigger ones (like CCP.)

I find it strange why noone is asking why?  Was Turbine sturggling ? 

As for a gaming point of view.  I can't see this as good news.  Turbine is no longer in charge of their own games and we have seen what that means for MMOs through the years... Just look at how EA has closed down many  MMO games and studios time and time again when they dont deliver triple the money back that is put into the project.

Originally posted by Deadalon

I find it strange why noone is asking why?  Was Turbine sturggling ? 

As for a gaming point of view.  I can't see this as good news.  Turbine is no longer in charge of their own games and we have seen what that means for MMOs through the years... Just look at how EA has closed down many  MMO games and studios time and time again when they dont deliver triple the money back that is put into the project.

 Of course they were struggling. How long do you think they can keep up the numbers being positive with majority of their playerbase being F2P players?

Originally posted by toord

 

"Warner Bros. will pay as much as $160 million, including sums to be paid to Turbine shareholders in future years if the company meets certain financial targets."

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

 

The way I read that is: we're buying you, but you need to keep running your business. Which, if done correctly could mean very good news for players as now those bonuses will be based on performance. This is a good opportunity for players to excise pressure on the devs to get shit done. Now players have the upper hand.

One word: Cryptic.

How'd that work out?  Never played CoH/CoV, but my understanding is it was a pretty good game. Atari buys Cryptic and we get two monster turds in CO and STO.

FYI:

CCP is still an independant MMO Developer and showing no signs of let up.

Since I'm not really a fan out of what Turbine has built so far (never got a chance to try AC in its heyday) I see this as a move that could result in a change that might make games more to my liking. (but probably not)

Wait an see i think is best here. This is intresting news for DC online tho.Which was One of sonys biger efforts .

ugh, i don't wanna look... this is going to be like watching a mentally unstable jerk stomp a puppy.

Originally posted by toord

 

"Warner Bros. will pay as much as $160 million, including sums to be paid to Turbine shareholders in future years if the company meets certain financial targets."

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

 

The way I read that is: we're buying you, but you need to keep running your business. Which, if done correctly could mean very good news for players as now those bonuses will be based on performance. This is a good opportunity for players to excise pressure on the devs to get shit done. Now players have the upper hand.

 

 You have an unrealistically optomistic outlook.

I have strong doubts that this will be of any benefi to the fun of the players of Turbine's games. It's almost like Turbine has been run by morons for the last coupe of weeks

- Delay the 3-year anniversary events in Lotro

- "The Wall" of DDO - Up, broken and exploitaive, changed in a few days,down in record time.

It all makes me wonder who was in a coma and left the janitor in charge of the company...

To the people who hope Turbine games change to thir liking: I hope not. I realize that Turbine games are not for everyone, but they ARE for me,and the "other" ypes of games are either no fun or are repugnant to me.

Different tastes ought to drive the game development milieu

To the people who are eagerly looking forward to WB IP MMO's: Hope fervently for things like Looney Tunes, and not "Everwood Onlne" or "Dawson's Creek MMO"

I give very little credit to film/television companies to understand what will really translate well to a game or MMO, and even LESS credit for knowing how to make those games fun.

Case in point, Star Trek Online. Too much hype, not enough game.

I can only hope that player feelings cause a silent boycott of Turbine's subscription and micro-transaction payments 'just enough' to make WB reconsider the purchase, and sell Turbine back to itself.

And to the people at Turbine who made this decision: Beware. Boston fans, no maer what they are fans of, are quite rabid. Don't ride the T, or a taxi, or walk anywhere where people may recognize you. You traitors.

what some of you seem to be missing is that turbine probably had to do this in order to survive in the long run.

since the economy went ka-blooey...every day i have read of this studio laying off folks or that studio shutting its doors forever.

turbine had managed to not do that...but those of us who have been around them a long time could see the strain.

this acquisistion pretty much guarantees that lotro at least will get to the black gate one day.

while i dont like that turbine isnt their own man anymore....id rather see this then then cancel a game or have to lay off or even close their doors.

this infusion will allow them to pay of some debt and reinvest in their games.

Originally posted by Thillian

Originally posted by Deadalon

I find it strange why noone is asking why?  Was Turbine sturggling ? 

As for a gaming point of view.  I can't see this as good news.  Turbine is no longer in charge of their own games and we have seen what that means for MMOs through the years... Just look at how EA has closed down many  MMO games and studios time and time again when they dont deliver triple the money back that is put into the project.

 

 Of course they were struggling. How long do you think they can keep up the numbers being positive with majority of their playerbase being F2P players?

 

 Interestingly enough, taking DDO to F2P (with the "premium" program and microtransacions) hs made DDO FAR more proftable than it has been since shrtly after original release. And that early money counts people buying the game.

And no smart CEO of a film/television conglomerate will sanction the purchase of a company that does not have a profitable business they can capitalize upon. Or just raid and dump.

Look forward to WB taking away the various IP licenses,folding the into a new division of WB, and then selling Turbine off to someone else with only Asheron's Call left to Turbine's name.

Originally posted by BowWake

Originally posted by Thillian

Originally posted by Deadalon

I find it strange why noone is asking why?  Was Turbine sturggling ? 

As for a gaming point of view.  I can't see this as good news.  Turbine is no longer in charge of their own games and we have seen what that means for MMOs through the years... Just look at how EA has closed down many  MMO games and studios time and time again when they dont deliver triple the money back that is put into the project.

 

 Of course they were struggling. How long do you think they can keep up the numbers being positive with majority of their playerbase being F2P players?

 

 Interestingly enough, taking DDO to F2P (with the "premium" program and microtransacions) hs made DDO FAR more proftable than it has been since shrtly after original release. And that early money counts people buying the game.

And no smart CEO of a film/television conglomerate will sanction the purchase of a company that does not have a profitable business they can capitalize upon. Or just raid and dump.

Look forward to WB taking away the various IP licenses,folding the into a new division of WB, and then selling Turbine off to someone else with only Asheron's Call left to Turbine's name.

 I wasn't talking about F2P players in DDO. I was talking about F2P in Lord of the Rings Online where majority of the community based on numerous official forum polls revealed that over 60% of the playerbase are already on lifetime which they bought at least 1 year ago. The lifetime offer was worth of 12 months of subscribtion (around 120-150$), and so 60% of its playerbase is basically now F2P players.

Originally posted by Hrayr2148

I hope Lord of the Rings doesn't take a turn for the worse.  I consider LoTRO the type of MMO that is a rare gem of a game.  It reminds me of watching "No County for Old Men."  The teenagers in front of me thought it was the worst movie they ever saw.  I said to myself, "did we just watch the same movie?"

 

I feel the same way about LoTRO compared to the mainstream.  I hope WB does not assume creative control over LoTRO's growth.  Turbine has done a great job thus far and they should retain the right to continue doing so.

You're not alone by a long-shot concerning LOTRO...My Guild plays a lot of MMO's...But LOTRO is the clear favorite overall...I've Played SWG, Vanguard, EQ II, STO, AoC, Fallen Earth, Beta tested Gods and Heroes, and LOTRO...IMHO LOTRO is by far the best of the lot...It's the most complete Game...WB is not stupid...They'll let Turbine do exactly what they've done so far with LOTRO...They'll let them continue to make Customers happy...

So, my cynical view is that they will now do all that can possibly be done to appeal to the lowest common denominator players.  After all, the shareholders get paid more money if they meet financial targets.  However, those targets are never very long term so it will be some play to make as much money possible in the time period offered.

Do any bigger companies ever not cater to the lowest common denominator?

LOTRO will be getting microtransactions. Any future Turbine/WB games will have that model, as well.

Originally posted by BowWakeaid and dump.

Look forward to WB taking away the various IP licenses,folding the into a new division of WB, and then selling Turbine off to someone else with only Asheron's Call left to Turbine's name.

Dude, what? Name one time any company has ever done what you described. That in no way would ever work. No one would buy Turbine sans DDO and LOTRO. Also, if Turbine was smart, and they are, there will be provisions against this sort of act.

One saving grace in all this, and only as to LoTRO is that Turbine has done a great job making it a success.  So WB might not touch that project.

As for the future, i'm not so optimistic.  You might not even see any difference in the current development cycle for LOTRO since they've been working on content prior to the acquisition.  New content patches or the latest expansion will likely have only Turbine's footprint on them, but I'm not sure for anything after that.

If I see a drastic change to what Turbine has been doing, I'll know it's WB's influence.  At that point I'll jump ship.  Well, to be honest, I planned on jumping shipt as soon as FFXIV came out.

It's a shame that LotRO success story makes bigger companies want to acquire the small indy developer and ruin what made the game a success.   By any standard other than WoW numbers, LoTRO is a commercial success.  By any other measure, LOTRO is a technical success as well.  Let's see how long that will remain... I have my doubts now and through no fault of Turbine.

Porky Pig said it best:

"Buh-Dee Buh-Dee Buh-Dee.... That's all Folks!"

In all seriousness, I'm going to hope for the best with this deal, but the MMO world in general has jaded me and I'm expecting the worst.  Anywho, time will tell.