Turbine in 2010
MMORPG.com's Garrett Fuller spoke recently with Turbine's Adam Mersky about the future of the well known MMO studio moving forward into the year 2010.
Interviews By Garrett Fuller on December 21, 2009
In a brief discussion with Adam Mersky from Turbine Entertainment we got a look at what the studio has planned for 2010. Turbine continues to carry to very consistent MMOs on the market with Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online. Obviously Adam could not reveal too many specifics but fans of the games will be happy to know that there is a lot in store for the next twelve months in both franchises. Also, Adam mentioned that Turbine is hoping to reveal possible third title in 2010, but made no promised on the time of the announcement.
Dungeons & Dragons Online had a very different year in 2009. The game is one of the first MMOs to make the leap from a subscription model to a free-to-play model and is now showing signs of success in that transformation. Adam explained that with the new model it has become much easier to update the game and add content. For 2010, Turbine has a total of six updates on the books. They range in size from small dungeon packs and bug fixes to whole new systems. Adam also mentioned that Turbine is planning to add a new class and new races to the game. Craig Alexander had mentioned this back at Austin Game Convention, when he said that their goal is to make DDO as complete of a Dungeons & Dragons experience as they can for the player. The first update is scheduled for February so DDO players will have some new things to look forward to in the cold winter months. Adam did say that some of these updates will be available to paying players but also to free players as well.
;)
Lord of the Rings Online has been a consistent game for Turbine in the past and just recently launched another huge update with The Siege of Mirkwood expansion. Turbine also has big plans for LOTRO moving forward and remains confident that there is a lot of content to work with moving forward. Turbine plans to reveal the First Book for Volume Three of the game in February and has more updates planned throughout the year. Adam could not give us a specific number on the updates but told us to rest assured that they have big plans for the game. LOTRO remains loyal to its player base and expects to give more of Middle Earth to its players in 2010.
)
One big area that Adam talked about was Turbine's presence at PAX East in Boston this March. For anyone who is playing one of Turbine's games, expect PAX East to be big for the company. They hope to reveal some news at the show and have plenty of developers present to talk and mingle with fans. PAX East is on March 26th and runs to the 28th so set your calendar now to try and make it to Boston for the show. At least we will be past the true winter months and can hopefully avoid the snow when traveling up to Boston.
Turbine continues to stay solid with its customers and create game updates for both their hardcore players and new players as well. The company has solid IP games and as mentioned earlier is looking to hopefully announce a third title in 2010. With two IP games under their belts, it makes me wonder if they might launch an original IP game for a change. Adam could not give any details on the subject, but there is plenty to speculate on in the coming months as to what Turbine has in store for us. Overall, the company continues to provide updates on both games currently in production. A formula that Adam agrees keeps MMO players coming back for more.
Any MMO player would have to respect Turbine and their stalwart positioning of their products. I enjoyed a year on LOTRO - Nice Article.
Bringing DDO back from the grave... THAT took some doing! That and SoM makes for some strong achievements in a time of struggle for MMO's...
It already has a third title, Asheron's Call.
"With two IP games under their belts, it makes me wonder if they might launch an original IP game for a change."
They have launched a third title that is an original IP. It was launched before these other two games. It's called Asheron's Call. May have been before your time. :P
Anyway, here's hoping yet again Turbine looks back at its roots and develops an MMO in the vein of AC.
yeh makes me wonder when the interviewer started playing MMO's lol
I was wondering this myself, in fact, turbine has launched two original IP games, its just that the sequel failed were as the original continues to this day!
Cheers!
I think Turbine is one of the best studios out there. I wish them all the luck in the new year.
I'd like to see them diversify their genre offerings a bit. All of their titles are fantasy, sword and sorcery types. If they make more fantasy MMOs, it seems they're just competing against themselves. Then again, it's hard for me to imagine Turbine creating anything but a fantasy MMO.
I have two emails in their own folder I keep for reminding myself why Turbine sucks. The first one is telling me that the 500 DDO points I was due upon subscribing as well as 1200 I paid cash for would be credited to my account and that it was a glitch in the system that had allowed two whole months to go by without me getting them. The second email was a month later saying that I would not be getting the points because I canceled my subscription before the first month was out. Over a dozen emails sent asking why I wasn't given the ones I paid for going unanswered and I uninstalled for good.
AMEN!
We need a real AC sequel!!! A Spiritual Successor! Not what they named 'AC2'!
AC 1 free to play. or lifetime subscription like LOTRO.
OR Asheron's call 3. closer to AC1 not AC2 . same character development and open huge world. just remake AC1 , i wish i could win the lotto. i'd invest 80% of it into AC3
DDO will be interesting to watch.
If Hasbro succeed in their court case then Turbine will lose the DDO license (because Atari lose it).
Turbine will be free to approach Hasbro themselves at that point to ask for the license to be issued to them directly - which may happen - but there are no guarantees.
Turbine is one of the worst development studios around... they started off strong with AC, but lets look at how they are now.
Step 1: Spend a lot of $ on acquiring a well known franchise.
Step 2: Release sub par games on an even worse engine with horrible design, and let the well known brand name of the IP do all the selling.
Step 3: Watch as fans of the IP's who know nothing of game design or quality support you just because of the IP.
Yeah thats sure win right there. Get EPIC Multi-million dollar franchises which equate to blockbuster IP's and release unepic underwhelming titles.
Thats like getting the Star Wars IP and making a mmorpg only it doesnt have Jedi or Bounty hunters and it takes place on one planet where all you do is fight over sand. Underwhelming, but hey ppl will buy anything with the IP...
I agree. Since leaving LOTRO, I've vowed to stay away from Turbine games. LOTRO was a huge let down for me (pre-Moria was great) but it went downhill after that. I often wonder if Turbine didnt have these IPs (LOTR and D&D) if they'd be doing so well. The answer is likely no. Live and learn I suppose
I agree. Since leaving LOTRO, I've vowed to stay away from Turbine games. LOTRO was a huge let down for me (pre-Moria was great) but it went downhill after that. I often wonder if Turbine didnt have these IPs (LOTR and D&D) if they'd be doing so well. The answer is likely no. Live and learn I suppose
Neither DDO or LotRO are sub-par. I play both regularly, and find them to be substantially more fun than any other MMOs currently out there (this includes the Big One).
Their model and animation work leaves much to be desired, but I'm not sure how you can call them one of the worst studios around with a straight face given how successful their games are. It's pretty obvious that most people do NOT agree with you on that matter.
I agree. Since leaving LOTRO, I've vowed to stay away from Turbine games. LOTRO was a huge let down for me (pre-Moria was great) but it went downhill after that. I often wonder if Turbine didnt have these IPs (LOTR and D&D) if they'd be doing so well. The answer is likely no. Live and learn I suppose
If they didn't have them they may have been forced to maintain their creativity with coming up with original IPs and they may have kept that independent spirit and ran with systems/mechanics that were in AC instead of going with the flow (the class based progression in LOTRO- DDO mimics the D&D 3.5 so it is what it is).
Granted, if DDO had been made an open world of the major continent in Eberron with all the cities and Turbine to add in normal Dungeons and not the 3 settings dungeon in the current game, I'd probably still be playing it. Should have just taken the Eberron campaign setting book and made that into the game. Whether or not they should have used FR is a different debate. Wither way, take the campaign setting and recreate it.
Neither DDO or LotRO are sub-par. I play both regularly, and find them to be substantially more fun than any other MMOs currently out there (this includes the Big One).
Their model and animation work leaves much to be desired, but I'm not sure how you can call them one of the worst studios around with a straight face given how successful their games are. It's pretty obvious that most people do NOT agree with you on that matter.
Models and toon animations are important for myself so you hit nail on the head for me :-) Middle Earth could have been sooo much more, its a shame really.
DDO I havent tried but from what I've seen it has better character models then LOTRO. Is Turbine moving forward or backwards? lol
It doesnt matter what I say really. Turbine has plenty of fans that will play any MMO they come out with. Are you playing their games because you like the title or the company running them? I'd love to see Turbine come out with an original MMO but I can almost garentee it won't be in our life-time.
Turbine is smart about the IPs they pick and unfortionately they picked Middle Earth....
They did. Asheron's Call.
No reason why they should. Turbine has two game's running good for it. LOTRO apparently has a massive fanbase.
According to Xfire, DDO and LotrO are the 2 most played PC games based on existing IPs!
It will be interesting to see their next MMO will be even thou it was supposed to be announced this fall.
2009 was the year when Turbine stepped up and became a seriouse contented in the MMO industry and also brought the biggest innovations with both their games. Pretty good from a indy company.
I agree. Since leaving LOTRO, I've vowed to stay away from Turbine games. LOTRO was a huge let down for me (pre-Moria was great) but it went downhill after that. I often wonder if Turbine didnt have these IPs (LOTR and D&D) if they'd be doing so well. The answer is likely no. Live and learn I suppose
mm!a lot probably dont like how the story goes in lotr but lets face it this game will have epic moment and a lot of them
i sure look forroward to the battle of elm deep,or any other countless battle but since this is a big story some might think
the story isnt going fast enough for their taste.me the fact this game will be dx11 is a huge +.
because as the game is right now its a ressource hog for no good reason ather then having countless memory leak .
i think the futur of this game will be very bright in 2010 since there arent any real competition of dx11 version releease till the end of the 2010.
I personally like Turbine. I never played AC But i have played DDO and Lotro i found DDO to be just not what i was especting and Lotro was very nice it seems they learned from there mistakes on DDO.
I for one would like to see them dabble a little more into PVP then they currently do.
I would play a new turbine game if it comes out.
Neither DDO or LotRO are sub-par. I play both regularly, and find them to be substantially more fun than any other MMOs currently out there (this includes the Big One).
Their model and animation work leaves much to be desired, but I'm not sure how you can call them one of the worst studios around with a straight face given how successful their games are. It's pretty obvious that most people do NOT agree with you on that matter.
Yet if they're so terrible, why is LotRO the highest rated game here on MMORPG.com? It ranks higher even than any of the games that are currently in production -- including the much anticipated Old Republic. It has also remained at the top of the list for a very, very long time now, while the rest of the games on the market have had a habit of launching strong but soon sliding down the ratings.
Yep. Turbine clearly sucks. ;)
I find their mmos to be average games with great ips. I am hoping they can actually make a better mmo. Turbine isn't horrible but they ain't that good either. Always room for improvement though!
Again a topic that failed misrable by not mention there first and longest running IP Asheron's call.
Failed topic mmorpg.com:(
Neither DDO or LotRO are sub-par. I play both regularly, and find them to be substantially more fun than any other MMOs currently out there (this includes the Big One).
Their model and animation work leaves much to be desired, but I'm not sure how you can call them one of the worst studios around with a straight face given how successful their games are. It's pretty obvious that most people do NOT agree with you on that matter.
Yet if they're so terrible, why is LotRO the highest rated game here on MMORPG.com? It ranks higher even than any of the games that are currently in production -- including the much anticipated Old Republic. It has also remained at the top of the list for a very, very long time now, while the rest of the games on the market have had a habit of launching strong but soon sliding down the ratings.
Yep. Turbine clearly sucks. ;)
And yet... do you want me to list the horrible games that have also been on the highest rated spot? Are you saying Darkfall, since it was on some "highest rated spot" on one small website is there fore a wonderfully designed quality game? Again I pointed out that the IP creates rabid fans regardless of the quality of game. You can have a small amount of fans go out of their way to poll their game, but that doesnt really prove anything does it? I do not consider the old republic a highly anticipated game. If you go on onrpg.com just about every new junk korean free to play game is "highly anticipated".
Turbine isnt doing great. DDO was forced to go f2p with an item shop because it was dying. LOTR has a small but loyal fanbase. Guess what, so does Vanguard Saga of Heroes. Are you going to say Vanguard is doing well right now?
Both of turbines current games are PVE centric, which believe it or not, is a small niche in the wider audience of mmorpg gamers. I doubt highly that LoTR and DDO has met their projected numbers and profit, its still not enough to sink the projects. Hell, even Funcom's Anarchy Online is still floating around with such a small player base.
Turbines entire strategy was to get high value IP's but spend less time and money on the actual games itself. Its a business decision that in part is unethical...then again if you have seen how one half the game industry works... its pretty unethical. Nice try though. =)
Like another user pointed out, if they didnt buy out those IP's (highest bidder FTL ), they might actually have been forced to have talented creative directors designing good games and a marketing team that would try to sell their original work, not just run off the hype of existing IP's.
And yet... do you want me to list the horrible games that have also been on the highest rated spot? Are you saying Darkfall, since it was on some "highest rated spot" on one small website is there fore a wonderfully designed quality game? Again I pointed out that the IP creates rabid fans regardless of the quality of game. You can have a small amount of fans go out of their way to poll their game, but that doesnt really prove anything does it? I do not consider the old republic a highly anticipated game. If you go on onrpg.com just about every new junk korean free to play game is "highly anticipated".
Turbine isnt doing great. DDO was forced to go f2p with an item shop because it was dying. LOTR has a small but loyal fanbase. Guess what, so does Vanguard Saga of Heroes. Are you going to say Vanguard is doing well right now?
Both of turbines current games are PVE centric, which believe it or not, is a small niche in the wider audience of mmorpg gamers. I doubt highly that LoTR and DDO has met their projected numbers and profit, its still not enough to sink the projects. Hell, even Funcom's Anarchy Online is still floating around with such a small player base.
Turbines entire strategy was to get high value IP's but spend less time and money on the actual games itself. Its a business decision that in part is unethical...then again if you have seen how one half the game industry works... its pretty unethical. Nice try though. =)
Like another user pointed out, if they didnt buy out those IP's (highest bidder FTL ), they might actually have been forced to have talented creative directors designing good games and a marketing team that would try to sell their original work, not just run off the hype of existing IP's.
If you read my whole post you'll see that I took care to also mention how long LotRO has remained at the number one spot, compared to the many other games that briefly pushed up and then fell away again. Only a few games have ever gone above LotRO's rating here, and none of them have ever held the spot for long. You can't use a short term aberration to cancel out an overall trend. That would be like saying the sky isn't blue because it was cloudy yesterday.
LoTRo benefits primarily from having a highly polished, feature-rich client and the fact most mmo's that have come out since its launch have either been spectacular failures or just plain suck balls.
If you took the LoTRo game and changed it to a brand new IP made by Turbine, added antagonistic player races and some open world PvP, they'd have a monster hit. But I guess if they did all that, they'd just have WoW
Can you link yo any site, journalist, developer or analyst that has indicated LOTRO is anything but a successful MMO? Some of the people here (read: YOU) need to realize that just because they want to believe something, that doesn't make it automagically true.
Well, until they fix their Black Screen of Death bug that they brought into LOTRO with MoM and then spread to DDO (arggg), they'll have to carry on without me :(
#1 successful mmo will not be afraid to brag about their sub.
#2 successful mmo will not do lifetime sub, period.
AC 1.5 would be amazing. I hope this happens.
Can you link yo any site, journalist, developer or analyst that has indicated LOTRO is anything but a successful MMO? Some of the people here (read: YOU) need to realize that just because they want to believe something, that doesn't make it automagically true.
At the top of my head, Xfire easily shows that LOTRO doesnt even have over 1.5% of the entire market, it is beaten by silkroad online, eve, and guild wars even. The game is sustainable, not successful. Then again success can be whatever you want it to be. For example if you think making any sort of profit, no matter how minimal as successful, then most games are successful, even horrible ones. However, if you were to take the entire profit per budget or subscriber count for the entire genre, you will find turbine games at the bottom end.
You say "some of the people need to realize that just because they want to believe something doesnt make it true"... guess what? You should take your own claim and apply it to yourself. This is why I suggested that turbine fans created by turbines costly license aquisition created new fans loyal to the brand, not the quality of game. If you were to take away the IP and have just the game and its design... it would never have made it this far.
In fact, Turbine was doing so poorly they had to sue their publisher to pass the blame onto them. The reality of it is, Atari is to blame for bad publishing and allowing turbine to continue bad developing. You might not have been paying attention to company info, but Turbine isnt doing so well and their publisher doesnt like them either. In fact, they are now involved in a legal battle. Guess where all of turbines money comes from? Atari. =)
You are obviously welcome to your opinion, but I have no problems with any of Turbines titles... Besides who would you recommend over Turbine; Blizzard, SoE, NCSOFT, EA, Funcom, Square-Enix? Sorry, but most of those don't work for me, I'll stick with Turbine, thanks.
I still can't help but be amazed that they took steps to actually save DDO. The way the game was designed it never should have been subscription based. I always felt that because for the most part it was set very similar to Guild Wars. Now that it's free to play with an item shop for the most I have to try it out again. I have nothing against with buying extra content if it's worth it. I just wish they had done this with Asheron's Call 2 before it was to late.
#1 a successful mmo will use a strategy of keeping its numbers secret to impede the competition
#2 a successful mmo, one confident in its solid game play, will offer lifetime subs in order thank its loyal customers, period. Period. Period. (is that enough periods to make my post seem authoritative?)
#1 a successful mmo will use a strategy of keeping its numbers secret to impede the competition
#2 a successful mmo, one confident in its solid game play, will offer lifetime subs in order thank its loyal customers, period. Period. Period. (is that enough periods to make my post seem authoritative?)
You cannot seriously believe what you just posted.
Turbine is a mostly average MMORPG Developer that makes mostly average MMORPG's.
Period.
Ah - how quickly the past is forgotten.
LOTRO was on the ropes a year after launch. Subs decreased sharply in the first year or so due to a lack of high-end content (being Angmar only at the time), bland zones (Lonelands anyone?), and an almost militant lack of interest in supporting the PvMP system.
Subs had dropped below 100K by some estimates (some of the same used to indicate the game's success now). This forum was thick with doom and gloom (not that it's ever clear of it - but trends are trends).
Moria breathed new life into a dying game at the time. That was when things started to look up. The lifetime memberships probably kept the game from going out entirely (upfront dose of cash, plus a cadre of players that keep the populations up as they drift in and out - my opinion anyway).
Oh - and EVE Online sat in the top spot here for so long it was silly. It's long been known that a small, militant player population can skew the ratings here if motivated to do so.
I just wonder if the average LOTRO player is an x-fire user.
For some reason I doubt that. They seem to be about "something else" rather than tracking game statistics.
My sense is that the average LOTRO player is more about lore and immersion and story. Somehow that doesn't seem to fit with the whole x-fire thing. I could be wrong but that is my sense.
You cannot seriously believe what you just posted.
Turbine is a mostly average MMORPG Developer that makes mostly average MMORPG's.
Period.
period. period. period.
?
Turbine is the only company i trust enough to say that if they release something i find interesting i would purchase it at release. That is something i never do with any PC game.
I could make up a bunch of rubbish, as you have here, to disprove your rubbish. But that's all so mundanely boring and predictable, because you'll just come back with another round of rubbish, proving nothing. And then I'll have to reply, disproving everything you've said. You see, that gets us nowhere.
Heres my 2 cents. I wont ever play another turbine game again. In november of this year I signed up for the 3 month sub to get the xpac free. Seemed like a good deal even tho i had played it off and on since it released.
I ended up getting billed for the 3 months and a 19.99 charge for some ingame items that I never purchased. i then called support and was told that I had infact purchased those items and there was no refund. I told the support staff that no i did not buy the items and to please refund the 19.99. The lady told me flat out no and thats when I decided to cancel my sub on the phone with her. She refunded my 3 month sub fee but said the 19.99 would not be refunded.
At this point I am thinking thier system is doing some wierd things so i told her to erase my CC info from her system. She did so then informed me that because I erased the CC info, the account was permanently banned and closed. I asked to speak to someone else and was told no. At no time did i raise my voice, say or do anything that could be constrewed as being rude, odnoxious or out of hand. She then hung up the phone.
In the end i lost my account, and 19.99 ( which my CC is fighting now for) . Maybe the person was having a bad day since I went to thier boards and found out there were many threads being created and closed on the subject with many people upset about the billing. Regardless, no matter how good any past or future game they make comes a long, they will never see my money again.
Well, I'm a huge supporter of Turbine NOW when I wasn't when LOTRO first launched. I think the way the company has been patching and expanding is just awesome and Kudos to them. Every time I go to try a game they have made I am pleasantly surprised by how much better it has gotten. Namely LOTRO. I'll be on the Turbine bus with the next game, I can guarantee that.
At the top of my head, Xfire easily shows that LOTRO doesnt even have over 1.5% of the entire market, it is beaten by silkroad online, eve, and guild wars even.
An interesting way to say "I have no reliable data of any kind."
The game is sustainable, not successful.
Again, you really need to grasp that just because you want to believe it doesn't make it true. You have no information on subscription numbers, profit, or any other quantifiable data to support your claim other than that is simply what you want to believe.
However, if you were to take the entire profit per budget or subscriber count for the entire genre, you will find turbine games at the bottom end.
Source?
Rab, do you realize that you are piecing together unrelated data, fabricating your own reasons for why or how each thing happened and then basing your entire argument on that? I know the next step is either the 'I know stuff that you don't' post or the XFire crutch, and I'm hoping that you choose a different route because, frankly, neither will do anything to improve your credibility.
I'd like to see a return to something more like Asheron's Call. It was a great adventuring/exploring game back in the day. Now the spawns are kind of irregular/strange and the xp rewards are old-school small in some areas and ridiculously huge in others so that you can't really play the game as a low level character the same way as in 1999. Sometimes I think they should have capped players at level 30. For their new game they should take the spirit of AC and replace the grind and levels with other types of goals.
Well, I gotta say Turbine really surprised me this year. I feel in love with Turbine after playing AC, but they have had three disappointing MMOs come out consecutively. My love for Turbine disappeared after the DDO. That was the second bomb, as far as I was concerned(AC2 being the first). LOTRO never appealed to me.
You can imagine my surprise when I loaded up the free DDO, and found it 100 times better than it used to be. My goodness, this game is fun. I became a VIP member, because I want to support fun games instead of leach off them. Turbine has won back a little bit of respect from me. Now, all they need to do is make a true AC sequel.
After playing SOE games for a long time, Turbine was a breath of fresh air, I have been playing LOTRO since phase one beta, still a good game, for me, I hope Turbine can stay independant and not sell out to one of the big corps, who could care less about it's player base.. Good Luck in 2010 and beyond Turbine keep up the good work.. :) Looking forward to what that 4th title might be.. :)
Keep up the great work Turbine. AC is still my favorite MMO and I continue to enjoy Lotro and DDO.
You cannot seriously believe what you just posted.
Turbine is a mostly average MMORPG Developer that makes mostly average MMORPG's.
Period.
Yes we all know that Kylerans personal opinion is law on this forum... Dont you dare to quetion him, he plays EvE :O
There is so much complaining about no innovation on this forum, but Turbine have been the big innovater of 2009 in the MMO industry. Just like they were with AC and AC2.
Chances are they are still paying off the huge license fee ( a fee they probably hoped to raise via sub fees) so letting the game die was not an option as they would probably break a contract and have pay a huge sum to get out of it.. and so they took the steps to save it with an item shop.
As AC1/2 had no license fee they dropped them without a second thought.. ofc they ripped off their players by releasing an expansion and then dropping the game.. go go Turbin.
Turbin have yet to impress me but lets see what there new MMO is about.
It's funny that no one noticed that he gave very hard numbers on the number of updates DDO Unlimited is going to receive, but keeps completely silent about LOTRO !!
It just shows what Turbine's new money cow is and where LOTRO truly stands today.
LOTRO is appearenly not doing all too well. Seeing we only had two misserable book updates this year. Wich were horribly buggy and badly tested as well. And this paid expansion not any better either. As there are a lot of issues with the Skirmish system as well.
I guess they come to realisation that having too many peeps on Lifetime sub now is costing them money and hurting their subscription flow and so LOTRO is bringing in less and less money.
Wich explains the sudden drop in free book updates and the quality of it. Since this year.
Cheers
Completely silent? Then I guess you missed this whole paragraph:
"Lord of the Rings Online has been a consistent game for Turbine in the past and just recently launched another huge update with The Siege of Mirkwood expansion. Turbine also has big plans for LOTRO moving forward and remains confident that there is a lot of content to work with moving forward. Turbine plans to reveal the First Book for Volume Three of the game in February and has more updates planned throughout the year. Adam could not give us a specific number on the updates but told us to rest assured that they have big plans for the game. LOTRO remains loyal to its player base and expects to give more of Middle Earth to its players in 2010."
Sure, it didn't say how many updates there will be, but judging on past performance (updates-wise) there will be enough new content. I mean, Mirkwood just went live last week, and there's another update coming up in February?
How is that completely silent?
Also, I've played the new DDO and while I enjoy LOTRO more, they are both fun to play.
Nice work, Turbine. Keep it up!
If you quote. I can quote better.
That he can't give any specific numbers is bullshit. As he is clearly able to give specific numbers when it comes to DDO, now that that game does very well.
It just shows they have been pulling more and more resources away from the LOTRO dev team and assigned it to this new secret project they are working on. And just don't admit it.
But seeing that we only got 2 free book updates, wich were extremely lacking at best. Horribly bugged. And badly tested.
Is just clear evidence to that.
And Mirkwood isn't so content rich and big at all. Especially for a PAID expansion!!
The skirmishes is just a randomly generating content system based on old, existing, recycled maps. Wich now enables them to generate new RNG content with even less staff and less effort.
The skirmished were very fun the first couple goes. Then you see the horrible repetitiveness underneath it.
This skirmish system gave me an insta DeJaVu of CoX's mission system. And so in effect nothing that new at all.
LOTRO has been bleeding monthly subs. And a bunch of Lifetimers aren't going to pay the monthly maintenance bill and the dev's pay checks.
The Siege of Mirkwood expansion, was a rushed last minute decision from Turbine to rake in some quick cash before the end of the year. Nothing more. Nothing less.
And he also didn't say that they gonna release the next update in February 2010 either!! He said they gonna reveil it. IE. Announce it!
Wich means we won't see it before end of march / early april at best. Wich again also means, that we yet again won't get more then 2 free book updates for the coming year. As they seem to follow the same update schedule as this year.
And so the reason why he keeps his mouth shut. Eventho it's really not that hard to guess.
Cheers
I'd NEVER expect LotrO players to EVER complain about DDO being a Turbine's cash cow...
They've really surpassed the impossible, Turbine's the best 
.
But seriously, guys, calm down. I've only recently started to play LotrO, just to discover that it's MUCH better MMO than WoW, which I've played for about 3 years back in the day. I now play and write about DDO, but LotrO is probably the best PvE MMO (with PvP) you can find now.
And obviously the most beautiful - just start in Elvish starting area and see yourself jaw-dropping every few minutes.
I'm sure and I've seen LotrO is in great shape, and Turbine won't ever make it second class. The only thing that seems to happen is DDO getting back what it deserves - maybe those games will be equal for Turbine from now on.
LMAO this complaint is hilarious...
It kinda reminds me of a scene from the first Harry Potter book. Harry's cousin Dudley Dursley comes downstairs on his birthday and sees all of his birthday presents laid out on the table, then gets a scheming look upon his face and asks his father Vernon Dursley...
Dudley Dursley: How many are there?
Vernon Dursley: Thirty-Six...counted 'em myself...
Dudley Dursley: THIRTY-SIX!!! BUT LAST YEAR, LAST YEAR I GOT THIRTY-SEVEN!!!
For some folks the concept of FREE STUFF just has so little meaning...oh well
Keep up the good work Turbine!
LMAO this complaint is hilarious...
It kinda reminds me of a scene from the first Harry Potter book. Harry's cousin Dudley Dursley comes downstairs on his birthday and sees all of his birthday presents laid out on the table, then gets a scheming look upon his face and asks his father Vernon Dursley...
Dudley Dursley: How many are there?
Vernon Dursley: Thirty-Six...counted 'em myself...
Dudley Dursley: THIRTY-SIX!!! BUT LAST YEAR, LAST YEAR I GOT THIRTY-SEVEN!!!
For some folks the concept of FREE STUFF just has so little meaning...oh well
Keep up the good work Turbine!
It's because of people like you they can get away with it.
No one would complain if these last 2 free book updates were actually of some quality and had decent content in it.
Book 7 wasn't free. As Lothlorien was suppose to be in Mines of Moria expansion (check the back of your MoM box). The zone was basically ready, but they took it out the last moment before MoM launch, because it was too buggy still.
Book 8 wasn't that much either, except for the fact that it broke a lot of stuff in the game. Like CD. And that it took them almost 2 months to fix it again.
Basically it isn't free. As pretty much every P2P MMO receives free content updates between expansions, to keep people subscribed and busy. Even WoW.
That's part of the monthly sub you pay for each and every month.
No one can deny that Turbine's quality and service took a serious nosedive since Mines of Moria.
You are pretty naive and blind if you didn't see that. I guess you haven't taken a look on the official forums the past year?
Cheers
I couldn't get in to Lotro, but will freely admit there were some bits I liked. However I have been a long time DDO fan because it is the only game that has enough of a mix of twitch combat, projectile physics, build options and decent quests that it doesn't bore the living shit out of me.
All credit to Turbine and I am looking forward to what they introduce in 2010.
It's because of people like you they can get away with it.
The sense of entitlement there is amazing.
I actually love all 3 turbine games, here's to hoping it's Dereth Online, or Ac3.. or Ac reborn, or AC world of fashion for all i care... oh please oh please oh please..
U know, imagine what a asheron's call in the form of DDo would be like.. fun stuffs it could be without having to stick to the licenese
At the top of my head, Xfire easily shows that LOTRO doesnt even have over 1.5% of the entire market, it is beaten by silkroad online, eve, and guild wars even.
An interesting way to say "I have no reliable data of any kind."
The game is sustainable, not successful.
Again, you really need to grasp that just because you want to believe it doesn't make it true. You have no information on subscription numbers, profit, or any other quantifiable data to support your claim other than that is simply what you want to believe.
However, if you were to take the entire profit per budget or subscriber count for the entire genre, you will find turbine games at the bottom end.
Source?
Rab, do you realize that you are piecing together unrelated data, fabricating your own reasons for why or how each thing happened and then basing your entire argument on that? I know the next step is either the 'I know stuff that you don't' post or the XFire crutch, and I'm hoping that you choose a different route because, frankly, neither will do anything to improve your credibility.
haha, look I am not going to go out and start gathering data and its sources for you when you can do it yourself. I responded to you with the same attitude you gave. The fact is you are in denial. If yo havent realized it yet no one source of information will cover every single area in my replies, and therefore require a collection of information. XFire is a reliable source of information btw IF you accept it for what it is... in a way it represents a poll... one that is much more detailed and accurate than a "hype meter" on mmorpg.com.
furthermore, all you can come up with is comments like "just because you want to believe its true..ect" yet are unable to back up your claims. If you look at it, I have given more relevant information than you have. Congrats, now stop being a hypocrite.
According to Gamasutra, Turbine has been having trouble getting investors... do you know what investors pay attention to? two things, subscription numbers (success) and company stability. Right now NEITHER are good. Turbine is in numerous legal battles (or soon to be for a few), their Publisher for DDO hates them, Hasbro (wizards of the coast) hates them for how they used DDO and now Turbine hates both of them. It was just last year that Turbine had to let go of quite a bit of their Talent instead of switching them to different projects.
In fact one of the reasons Turbine is in such suck mode right now is due to the very nature of the company, which is a good and a bad thing. They are not tied directly to one publisher which funds them, which means they dont take risks in making anything great. Their strategy was to use high profile IPs while spending very little on the games themselves, junk titles or B films. It was to them a safe approach, not a great approach, now its coming back to bite them in the arse starting with DDO.
You are more than welcome to disagree, but give some information based on reality as a response, not your typical rhetoric.
Btw can you guess how big their budget is for the next upcoming console title? Its not a big number ;-)
The sense of entitlement there is amazing.
Why?
As according to him, that they took out a big chunk of the expansion on the very last minute and then present it 5 months later as Free Book update! And that we then should be grateful for it? Because it's free content (just because turbine said so, while it clearly and most obviously wasn't).
Right.
haha, look I am not going to go out and start gathering data and its sources for you when you can do it yourself. I responded to you with the same attitude you gave. The fact is you are in denial. If yo havent realized it yet no one source of information will cover every single area in my replies, and therefore require a collection of information. XFire is a reliable source of information btw IF you accept it for what it is... in a way it represents a poll... one that is much more detailed and accurate than a "hype meter" on mmorpg.com.
furthermore, all you can come up with is comments like "just because you want to believe its true..ect" yet are unable to back up your claims. If you look at it, I have given more relevant information than you have. Congrats, now stop being a hypocrite.
According to Gamasutra, Turbine has been having trouble getting investors... do you know what investors pay attention to? two things, subscription numbers (success) and company stability. Right now NEITHER are good. Turbine is in numerous legal battles (or soon to be for a few), their Publisher for DDO hates them, Hasbro (wizards of the coast) hates them for how they used DDO and now Turbine hates both of them. It was just last year that Turbine had to let go of quite a bit of their Talent instead of switching them to different projects.
In fact one of the reasons Turbine is in such suck mode right now is due to the very nature of the company, which is a good and a bad thing. They are not tied directly to one publisher which funds them, which means they dont take risks in making anything great. Their strategy was to use high profile IPs while spending very little on the games themselves, junk titles or B films. It was to them a safe approach, not a great approach, now its coming back to bite them in the arse starting with DDO.
You are more than welcome to disagree, but give some information based on reality as a response, not your typical rhetoric.
Btw can you guess how big their budget is for the next upcoming console title? Its not a big number ;-)
It's garbage when people point out F2P and non-subscription based mmo's beating out a pay mmo, they are different makets.. Turbine is very successful. There is a difference between not liking a companys games, and distoring / making up facts to support theorys that you have no basis on. Turbine has resurrected and made DDO successful (even though i liked it better before f2p) and Lotro is very successful, and they have a 3rd mmo on the way. They aren't hurting by any means, just cause your not blizzard doesn't mean you aren't succeeding at what your doing.
Actually, I think those lifetime subs may be very important: they provide player continuity. Continuity is one of the areas many other games are lacking.
For example, one of the bad things in WoW is that the average (successful) guild doesn't last very long for various reasons. Nice people like me (ahem) will get re-invited to the successor guilds, but still it's a huge annoyance. A small core of lifetime subscribers might have helped there.
On the contrary, for someone to use mmorpg.com's polling as a mean to say how great the game is is no different than looking for anything to use to support this funny claim. IN this case XFire statistics. btw did you know Turbine is thinking of becoming one of those f2p companies? I dont have to distort information, just tell the actual situation of Turbine is in. To say they are "very successful" when they are having trouble getting investors is kind of funny dont you think? I have made up nothing btw, but since its inconvenient for you, you can choose to ignore it (however irrational that may be). Turbine used to be a good company, but a series of decisions made and how they approached two high profile IP's with false promises and worse results didnt help them. Again the IP owners for D&D are pissed off right now with how their franchise has been used. Turbine doesnt even have more than 2% of the entire market playing their games. This is one of the biggest reasons Turbine is now focusing on consoles because to them its an untapped mmorpg market... unfortunately for them they will be too late. Many other development studios and publishers (third and first party) have the same idea.
I agree. Since leaving LOTRO, I've vowed to stay away from Turbine games. LOTRO was a huge let down for me (pre-Moria was great) but it went downhill after that. I often wonder if Turbine didnt have these IPs (LOTR and D&D) if they'd be doing so well. The answer is likely no. Live and learn I suppose
+1. Pre MoM was great. Post SoA has been disappointing.
2010 is full of promises like we've heard in the past. I'm guessing a lot will leave these games for Star Trek or Star Wars. I know unless Turbine really does a 180 prior to SW, I'll be heading that direction.
I broke my MMO cherry on AC2 and have many fond memories I was there from beta to the last day :)...That said I would love to see an AC3 but I don't think It could pull a large enough audience to be a hit. Development costs for MMO's have gone through the roof since AC was made. I think the only reason it is still running is because it has a very low dev overhead at this point. If AC had to operate with a modern MMO overhead I think it would already be gone.
That leaves companies like Turbine with 2 choices: 1) make a more casual oriented game that has wider audience appeal or 2)tie into an existing IP that can bring in thousands just because it's associated.
So far they've gone with the latter and it has worked for them from a business perspective. Who knows maybe they'll announce a Song of Ice and Fire or a Wheel of Time MMO next...we can only hope :p
On the contrary, for someone to use mmorpg.com's polling as a mean to say how great the game is is no different than looking for anything to use to support this funny claim. IN this case XFire statistics. btw did you know Turbine is thinking of becoming one of those f2p companies? I dont have to distort information, just tell the actual situation of Turbine is in. To say they are "very successful" when they are having trouble getting investors is kind of funny dont you think? I have made up nothing btw, but since its inconvenient for you, you can choose to ignore it (however irrational that may be). Turbine used to be a good company, but a series of decisions made and how they approached two high profile IP's with false promises and worse results didnt help them. Again the IP owners for D&D are pissed off right now with how their franchise has been used. Turbine doesnt even have more than 2% of the entire market playing their games. This is one of the biggest reasons Turbine is now focusing on consoles because to them its an untapped mmorpg market... unfortunately for them they will be too late. Many other development studios and publishers (third and first party) have the same idea.
Proof they are having trouble getting investors? They got 25mil from warner brother that i know about.. how much "investing" do they need?
SOunds like pure speculation on your part if you ask me.
Or perhaps a large percentage of the company's resources this year were redirected to help with the DDO overhaul and now that it is a success they can return their focus to LotRO.
Or perhaps they were working really hard on Riders of Rohan all year, but it has some new systems in it that just weren't going to be ready. So they redirected resources to produce Siege of Mirkwood. This would in fact go far to explain why it was such a small expansion; something they recognized by the fact that they charged half price for it.
Or perhaps it's a combination of the two.
When I read the article I got the distinct impression that they weren't saying much about what's coming for LotRO beyond February of this year because they have a whopper of an announcement planned for March. That will most likely be when they tell us about the next major expansion, and if my guesses above are true they will have been working on it for about 1 1/2 years by that point with another six or so months to go.
Remember, it is the marketing department that tells these people what they can say and when. If marketing wants to keep quiet until March, you can count on it being for a reason.
The first sign that someone doesn't have a clue what he is talking about , they use xfire. I don't use xfire, my kinship doesn't use xfire, over 500,000 players of lotro, don't use xfire. Get over it and realize Turbine is one of the greatest independent developers making mmorpgs.
As far as 2010, they are either bring lotro to the consoles , or they are going to announce Asheron's Call 3 . I'm hoping for the ladder.
+1. Pre MoM was great. Post SoA has been disappointing.
2010 is full of promises like we've heard in the past. I'm guessing a lot will leave these games for Star Trek or Star Wars. I know unless Turbine really does a 180 prior to SW, I'll be heading that direction.
Thats only your opinion of the game. I think LotrO have never been better and love the direction Turbine is taking it. Going back to how it was in SoA would kill the game imo
Its laughable to think that Star trek will have any impact or any other MMO, it have failure written all over it. Star wars will probably have some kind of impact on every MMO but I doubt any one worries abou it, considering that LotrO have alot more players than the previouse game that was supposed to kill it ;)
I like u.. u seem to understand.
So when are we getting a source to this? The fact is that Turbine raised $40 millions last year and that was even before Moria and long before the succes of DDO:Unlimied.
What numerous legal battles are they in? They sued Atari for $30 millions and thoose who now the history of DDO can clearly see why and it seems Hasbro agrees with Turbine since they now sue them aswell. And wizard of the cost have said they have a good realion with Turbine and they work close together.
What if people like Rabenwolf used all their creativity to something usefull instead of making up stories on a MMO forum?
Alright, for the peeps who think that the games are so horrible, why are you even here commenting?
Their great games, and DDO has made a good turn around.
They gotta bash something..wouldn't be a thread without a troll or two......lol
I do have to agree that DDO has made a good turn around.
Using Xfire to show a kid who uses MMORPG.COM polls to back up how great LoTRO is, is a logical method to show someone that their method can go both ways. Sorry you dont "understand" that.
For 2010 they only have $20 million to use for a console game and they most likely do not have the license agreement for it to be LoTR. IP owners are not happy with Turbine atm, and depending on which publisher has the rights to the LoTR franchise... them too.
Your kin-ship sounds like a homoerotic pleasure boat, and because your opinion isnt greater than mine, feel free to pull out some actual facts. I would like to see where YOUR active subscriber numbers are coming from? Cmon.
Using Xfire to show a kid who uses MMORPG.COM polls to back up how great LoTRO is, is a logical method to show someone that their method can go both ways. Sorry you dont "understand" that.
For 2010 they only have $20 million to use for a console game and they most likely do not have the license agreement for it to be LoTR. IP owners are not happy with Turbine atm, and depending on which publisher has the rights to the LoTR franchise... them too.
Your kin-ship sounds like a homoerotic pleasure boat, and because your opinion isnt greater than mine, feel free to pull out some actual facts. I would like to see where YOUR active subscriber numbers are coming from? Cmon.
Where did you get this figure? Link would be appreciated especially if it has other budget information.
Where did you get this figure? Link would be appreciated especially if it has other budget information.
He will tell you the same thing he did last page..he is not going to pull out and look up sources when you can do it yourself...meaning he has none.
Turbine just won Ten ton hammers awards for Best expansion of the year and best free to play MMO of the year ;)
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78203/page/5
So when are we getting a source to this? The fact is that Turbine raised $40 millions last year and that was even before Moria and long before the succes of DDO:Unlimied.
What numerous legal battles are they in? They sued Atari for $30 millions and thoose who now the history of DDO can clearly see why and it seems Hasbro agrees with Turbine since they now sue them aswell. And wizard of the cost have said they have a good realion with Turbine and they work close together.
What if people like Rabenwolf used all their creativity to something usefull instead of making up stories on a MMO forum?
I told you where to find it, go search. Whats with all the laziness here?
In addition, business of games 101... you always go after the publisher. Hasbro is going after the Publisher because that is what Publishers are there for...they are the money. You should read a book called Business & Legal Primer For Game Development, published by Thomson.
Basically when the publisher and developer sign a contract, the publisher agrees to take the responsibility of legal action, in other words if a development studio ever gets sued, it goes directly to the Publisher. The publisher then can take the cost and take it from the developer at a later date depending on the agreement. Therefore, you have to understand that this doesnt mean Hasbro is "siding" with Turbine, only that they are following industry practice in which they have to go through the publisher.
If you think my "stories" or rather informative posts, are made up, then you should realize that maybe it is you who doesnt know as much as you think you know. But hey, denial seems to be popular amongst certain turbine fans. I can give you some sage advice though: Dont have brand loyalty, it a sign of stupidity. Companies are out for one thing only, to get your money.
Yes xfire is always what they turn to when presenting their "facts". I have no idea what percentage of gamers use xfire and neither do the people using the xfire numbers as "proof" . All I know is I dont use xfire and do not know anyone in RL that does. I would imagine some who play LOTRO may use it but have no idea who or how many and neither does anyone else. As for LOTRO numbers I know that Landroval server has a very healthy population and could care less where the game stands in sub numbers. But then again ive never subscribed to the theory that a bazillion people like it so it has to be good. A bazillion people think the network TV sitcoms are good as well, but I do not watch.
Quite easily after blizzard, turbine are the best of the bunch i own every pay to play and have tried just about all the free to plays and both wow and lotro are stunning games in there own rights, thats why i play both..
How anyone can call turbine **** is beyond me, have you not played any soe, mythic, funcom and the rest.... games of this world.....
Where did you get this figure? Link would be appreciated especially if it has other budget information.
He will tell you the same thing he did last page..he is not going to pull out and look up sources when you can do it yourself...meaning he has none.
or that I'm not going to hold your hands when you can do it yourself. Do you ever read Gamasutra? I suggest doing so daily.
"The real financial challenge for a new MMO on a console isn't even the game itself, the VP went on. The challenge is to build an extensible platform on which your first game (and every console game thereafter) can float. They're expecting it to take a total of $20 million for Turbine's first title. As long as that initial investment is a separate, reusable architecture, every game after the first will cost less." - Turbine VP - Game Dev Conference Austin
I think I have given you enough hints as to where this information is. Now toughen up and learn to use the internets.
He will tell you the same thing he did last page..he is not going to pull out and look up sources when you can do it yourself...meaning he has none.
or that I'm not going to hold your hands when you can do it yourself. Do you ever read Gamasutra? I suggest doing so daily.
"The real financial challenge for a new MMO on a console isn't even the game itself, the VP went on. The challenge is to build an extensible platform on which your first game (and every console game thereafter) can float. They're expecting it to take a total of $20 million for Turbine's first title. As long as that initial investment is a separate, reusable architecture, every game after the first will cost less." - Turbine VP - Game Dev Conference Austin
I think I have given you enough hints as to where this information is. Now toughen up and learn to use the internets.
No, it just shows people. "I can give you this, state this, but I'm not gonna do sources for you" Also means "I don't have sources I'm just making up things as I go along" If you can't post your sources, then you have none. That is all there is to it. Is that what you are going to tell your teacher when you do a research paper and he asks for sources??? "I'm not going to hold your hands when you can do it yourself?" LOL, he'd fail you on purpose.
He will tell you the same thing he did last page..he is not going to pull out and look up sources when you can do it yourself...meaning he has none.
or that I'm not going to hold your hands when you can do it yourself. Do you ever read Gamasutra? I suggest doing so daily.
"The real financial challenge for a new MMO on a console isn't even the game itself, the VP went on. The challenge is to build an extensible platform on which your first game (and every console game thereafter) can float. They're expecting it to take a total of $20 million for Turbine's first title. As long as that initial investment is a separate, reusable architecture, every game after the first will cost less." - Turbine VP - Game Dev Conference Austin
I think I have given you enough hints as to where this information is. Now toughen up and learn to use the internets.
So the fact that gamasutra says Turbine have raised $46.6 million for their upcoming console MMO doesnt matter? Keep trolling man :)
Creating the plattform to make console MMOs will cost them $20 millions acording to that quote.
I also searched gamasutra about investor problems but must have been a really old article so I dont see the relevance.
Just ignore that clown, he has no proof, and looks stupid making up things.
actually it was 6 and a half million for new projects, their current attempts at switching over to the console platforms (due to the fact they are not making near as much as they expected on the PC platform) are aiming to cost less than $20 million for the next set of titles. With their current 1.5 years of development for the unnamed console title they have used $20 million already, which is where the drive to reach a total of $50 million is coming from. Of that again only 6.5 million has been gained, further more the $40 million you refer to doesnt mean it is for new project investment, there are forms of equity as well as legal contracts which the money is used for legal backing and such. The total value is often stated but the system for obtaining the said value is still unknown.
You already touched on the investor issue and you didnt even realize it yet. Invesetors will wait to see what happens with the legal battles and obtain more information from Turbine. Turbine is taking another risk by switching to the console market. This is not saying they dont have investors, but compared to a year or two ago the number is diminished considerably.
Furthermore no one is saying Turbine is dying or going bankrupt. The question, because of some over protective fanboys ends up being the issue of defining success. Again, Turbine has less than 2% of the entire mmorpg market. On average that is average, but not successful. You think it would be common knowledge by now that the only reason that number is what it is, as low as it is, is still there because of high profile IP's.
Keep defending turbine though. You keep thinking they are some how great and successful, but one day you will realize that even S**T from a pretty girl doesnt smell like roses, its no different than looking at a company you choose to support.
Going back to the original post that started all this:
Their strategy to drop AC, spend the money on obtaining high profile IP's and releasing rehashed low quality work on an outdated engine, letting the IP's name do the selling worked at first, not so much anymore. You have already proven my earlier point, the IP's made fans of those IPs become loyal to the company, which is a shame really. Some people will eat up anything with the IP they like, even if its utter crap.
Fixed that for ya!
No I really hope that in March Turbine anounces that its going back to their roots with an AC style game. After the AC2 debocle I dont think that they will make an actual game that puts us back in the land of Dereth. I guess Im just a grumpy ass old gamer and I want my first game back with some updated systems (core staying the same) and some better graphics.
/opinion
I'm just still waiting on my refund for an expansion pack to a game Turbine knew perfectly well was being shutdown when they charged me for it..
PS: Don't really give a crap bout a refund of course. I just find it odd people would ever want another AC when the talent behind the original game has been gone from Turbine for YEARS now and we already saw what the new blood was capable of with AC2...that worked out well.
nicely put.
I wanna see DDO and LOTRO in DX11. Hope it happens in first half of 2010.
It's because of people like you they can get away with it.
No one would complain if these last 2 free book updates were actually of some quality and had decent content in it.
Book 7 wasn't free. As Lothlorien was suppose to be in Mines of Moria expansion (check the back of your MoM box). The zone was basically ready, but they took it out the last moment before MoM launch, because it was too buggy still.
Book 8 wasn't that much either, except for the fact that it broke a lot of stuff in the game. Like CD. And that it took them almost 2 months to fix it again.
Basically it isn't free. As pretty much every P2P MMO receives free content updates between expansions, to keep people subscribed and busy. Even WoW.
That's part of the monthly sub you pay for each and every month.
No one can deny that Turbine's quality and service took a serious nosedive since Mines of Moria.
You are pretty naive and blind if you didn't see that. I guess you haven't taken a look on the official forums the past year?
Cheers
And it's people like you that need to quit bitching and trying to make people see things as negatively as they do, and just move on.....
actually it was 6 and a half million for new projects, their current attempts at switching over to the console platforms (due to the fact they are not making near as much as they expected on the PC platform) are aiming to cost less than $20 million for the next set of titles. With their current 1.5 years of development for the unnamed console title they have used $20 million already, which is where the drive to reach a total of $50 million is coming from. Of that again only 6.5 million has been gained, further more the $40 million you refer to doesnt mean it is for new project investment, there are forms of equity as well as legal contracts which the money is used for legal backing and such. The total value is often stated but the system for obtaining the said value is still unknown.
You already touched on the investor issue and you didnt even realize it yet. Invesetors will wait to see what happens with the legal battles and obtain more information from Turbine. Turbine is taking another risk by switching to the console market. This is not saying they dont have investors, but compared to a year or two ago the number is diminished considerably.
Furthermore no one is saying Turbine is dying or going bankrupt. The question, because of some over protective fanboys ends up being the issue of defining success. Again, Turbine has less than 2% of the entire mmorpg market. On average that is average, but not successful. You think it would be common knowledge by now that the only reason that number is what it is, as low as it is, is still there because of high profile IP's.
Keep defending turbine though. You keep thinking they are some how great and successful, but one day you will realize that even S**T from a pretty girl doesnt smell like roses, its no different than looking at a company you choose to support.
Going back to the original post that started all this:
Their strategy to drop AC, spend the money on obtaining high profile IP's and releasing rehashed low quality work on an outdated engine, letting the IP's name do the selling worked at first, not so much anymore. You have already proven my earlier point, the IP's made fans of those IPs become loyal to the company, which is a shame really. Some people will eat up anything with the IP they like, even if its utter crap.
Only that wasn't their strategy. First, they didn't drop AC, it was AC2 that was canceled. Secondly, AC2 wasn't canceled in light of of some "strategy" as you suggest above. It died for different reasons of which have been documented and are available on the internet.
Agreed like Turbine or hate them we as a community should certainly respect both there efforts and the treatment they give to there player base.