Thread: Warner Bros. Acquisition Discussion Thread

Originally Posted by Zarador

Perhaps I'm being very naive here, but if Turbine thought they were holding on to a huge cash cow that they could maintain without further resources would it make sense to sell the game?

On the other hand, would WB be investing into a game that was designed rather well with good appeal just to destroy their investment?

Time will only tell, but there has to be a reason that Turbine accepted the deal and WB offered the deal. I rather like to think that it will wind up positive in the end. WB has done some amazing things in the past when it comes to entertainment.

Ya...WB have done some grand things in the past like Matrix Online cant wait to ride this roller coaster.

Originally Posted by GokuSS400

I think that turbine and WB need to give us some more details on their plans for the future so that the players can decide whether this acquisition is a good or bad thing. Now i know that that's not like turbine to give us spoilers as to what's going to happen in the future, but i think we need a general outline that turbine and WB have agreed on in terms of where the game is heading.

This will never happen....to much $$$ will be lost....

More money to develop content? Not necessarily no.

What is at the core of all these discussions is this: why did WB purchase Turbine? There has been various news reports concerning this. One article I recall mentioned it is for back end systems and e-commerce models. I think anyone with half a brain realizes this is pointing towards DDO.

So if you're WB, you may have bought Turbine for DDO, you ask yourself this: what do you do with LOTRO? No one here has access to LOTRO's financial information, but what if LOTRO is profitable and they don't see much room for expansion (something that is certainly not out of the question). You know what that means, boys and girls? Status quo.

There are many questions about this acquistion that we would all like answered. But please don't assume it means more money. For all you know, WB bought Turbine for DDO and doesn't care about LOTRO. It could be something else as well. Time will tell. If content (quality and quantity) goes up, then more money is in. But I don't expect that, personally.

Originally Posted by Mithrandir3

They probably don't know.


If this is anything like any of the mergers I've been a part of in the past, the majority of the employees didn't find out until shortly before the news went public.

Then the Efficiency Consultants arrive in 2-3 weeks. Lots of people get freaked and start looking for a job. The middle management is usually first to go. Others quit because it's no longer the same. Eventually all the knowledge and experience in the company disappears and they can no longer function without wasting a ton of effort trying to understand the existing codebase, and the company is no longer profitable. The rest of the company is disposed of (offices closed, goods sold at auction), and the parent company retains the child company in name only (Westwood, Atari, etc).

Been through 2 myself. Might be going through a third (lots of rumours about Microsoft wanting to buy us out). Who knows. I want to wish for the best, but it is so rare that a buyout ever truly works out well for the child company.

True, but in recent history many of the gaming companies that got bought out have done okay (e.g., Blizzard - Activision, Bioware - EA)

Originally Posted by Mithrandir3

They probably don't know.


If this is anything like any of the mergers I've been a part of in the past, the majority of the employees didn't find out until shortly before the news went public.

Then the Efficiency Consultants arrive in 2-3 weeks. Lots of people get freaked and start looking for a job. The middle management is usually first to go. Others quit because it's no longer the same. Eventually all the knowledge and experience in the company disappears and they can no longer function without wasting a ton of effort trying to understand the existing codebase, and the company is no longer profitable. The rest of the company is disposed of (offices closed, goods sold at auction), and the parent company retains the child company in name only (Westwood, Atari, etc).

Struggling with that very thing myself right now. I'm one of the old guard, the one with the knowledge and experience...everyone else is pretty much gone. It's a juggling act to make sure my knowledge is useful, as well as dissminate it for the day when I win the powerball.

Eh. WB has had a pretty decent stake in Turbine for several years now, so this isn't any great surprise. I understand that people want more information Soon, but don't hold your breath. They'll probably give us some sort of vague assurances, but I seriously doubt we'll know with any specificity what this means for the game for at least 6 months. In the short run, we may very well get less information on futures, not more.

Long run, though, we may get some more information on financial stuff. Publicly held companies typically provide some decent information. See NCSoft's or Vivendi Universal's quartely/yearly financial statements for examples.

Khafar

Originally Posted by Odin_of_Freyr

I'm optomistic.


I reserve the right to change my mind in one year.

I'm pessimistic.

I reserve the right to change my mind when and if anything good comes of it.

No more breaks for them, sorry. I can always resub if everything turns out alright.

Originally Posted by Zarador

People have been applauding SoE for having some new 3 day a month subscription for just $5.00. Seriously, how bad of a shape do online games have to be in to look to attract players that are only willing to commit $5 a month to play them? Funny how that announcement came out right around the time of the WB Buyout?

Step back and look at it from a different viewpoint for a second. The 3 day subscription isn't designed for people who don't have money, it's designed to make money off people who are playing other games but want to remain connected to the game for whatever reason. For instance, if you only wanted to play the festivals or log in for special events on EQ2 but really wanted to play AoC then you could do both without having to commit to a full resubscribe. It keeps people paying a little bit who might otherwise cancel their accounts while they are gone.

Originally Posted by Hurin

As for the game itself. . . so long as this doesn't mean that the Peter Jackson movies will be creeping into the game (which up until now has been based only on the books), I won't worry too much.

I actually kinda hope for the opposite, music from the movies is great and epic, it would be a nice addition to the game for sure; it would also be cool if characters had the voice of characters from the movies.

As for the main story, yeah they should probably stick to what the books say.

Why does it feel like the eye of Mordor has suddenly seen us! Good Luck to Turbine employees, you have done a great job, hope you get the resources you need to do even more.

If Warner Bros lets Turbine function as an independent entity; doesn't try to manage or direct the games Turbine manages and creates; doesn't repurpose Turbine's resources to their own pet projects. Just adds capital and access to content and art developers... Then this is full of win!

If however Warner Bros. figures that a company with years of movie experience can show these upstart MMO gamers a thing or two about how produce and manage games. Decides they have better uses for Turbine's development staff then creating and maintaining MMO's. Brings all kinds of commercialization and "commerce" to the games in an effort to generate bigger profits. Kills creative new ideas in order to play things safe and conservative.

This will be a sorry sorry day.

We'll just have to wait and see.

yikes, this better not be a glimpse of what's to come!

http://www.warnerbros.com/#/page=vid...10&type=video/

http://www.warinthenorth.com/agegate?referrer=%2F

oh well, i'm sure its all just the rights to game content... Turine has done a fabulous job; I love what they have made and will continue to play as long as i'm given the ability to do so.

I have high hopes for a positive outcome from this announcement. As long as they don't touch my lifetime subscription.

If they do, then look out. "Release the Chinchillas!"

Very disappointing to buy into a lifetime subscription only to be slapped in the face with this. I believed in turbine and felt they where happy with what they had, but I guess this community simply wasn't good enough.

I feel sad.

I have a feeling gold selling will be on the rise.

I'm now sadder

For those interested, the only critically successful game Warner Bros interactive has published has been Batman: Arkham Asylum with Eidos Interactive. The rest of their track record has been very lackluster.

They do have shared publishing credits with Lotro: Mines of Moria though and currently have another LOTR RPG in the works with a 2011 release date called Lord of the rings: War in the North. It's an online RPG based in Middle Earth that features coop play with up to 3 people.

Here's a link to the official website: http://www.warinthenorth.com

I believe that the recent paid expansions and cutting of the regular content updates was meant to beef up Turbine's bottom line in preparation for the sale. I also believe that this acquisition by Warner Bros was more for the microtransaction properties of Turbine's DD game and that Warner Bros will definitely take advantage of this system in its future game releases.

What this may mean for Lotro, I don't know. What's interesting is if a publisher would actually develop two RPGs of the same genre based in the same universe at the same time.

Originally Posted by FyreBrand

I'm pessimistic.

I reserve the right to change my mind when and if anything good comes of it.

No more breaks for them, sorry. I can always resub if everything turns out alright.

So you're quitting a game now that is (presumably by your stance) just fine, when whatever ramifications of this deal would be months away, and then in some arbitrary time frame you're going to see if the game is alright?

Or were you just looking for some kind of an excuse to stop playing?

What makes either optimistic or pessimistic viewpoints problematic is that no matter what happens, nobody is going to officially say whether it was a WB or Turbine decision. If it's a good thing, those complaining about Turbine previously are going to say that it was a WB decision, while those defending Turbine are going to say it was a Turbine decision - and vice-versa if it's a "bad" thing. I guess that's the first "major" difference now, we have someone else to blame for the game changing in a way we don't like, and someone else to cheer on if the game changes in a way we do like.

At any rate, the forums should be a little more interesting from here on out.

I just hope the game doesn't degenerate any further. I have been struggling to log onto the game lately - just so bored with the direction the game has taken of late. Missing the comradery of the game of 2 years past.

I wonder just how WB will manage Turbine. It worries me that they refer to the game being based on the LOTR Movies, & not the books.

Originally Posted by Nazgulbane

a glimpse of what's to come

Yeah, really. I guess about now, obtaining a WB login ID wouldn't be such a bad idea.

what change and wen that relese

It kind of makes sense for WB to acquire Turbine, since they own most of the LOTR license ATM. I don't really mind. I'm a sucker for anything LOTR-related!

so basically all content development has stopped ?

does turbine have to change their motto now?

turbine powered by ??????

I did not see if anyone had commented on this yet or not:

The article on GameSpot about WB and Turbine says that LoTRO has gone FTP. Accurate or GameSpot's typical not checking their facts again? Otherwise I am very disappointed in this development as I bought my Lifetime back during the Beta.

I'm still waiting for the announcement of Lego Lord of the Rings (not LOTRO). SInce Warner already has the rights to both franchises I think it's inevitable. i love the Lego SW games, so I'm looking forward to this possibility. As far as LoTRO goes, I'll try to remain optimistic, that they'll leave the dev team alone and let them do their thing, but just give them more resources.

As far as LOTR being "Peter jackson'ed", I'd like to see how anyone could have brought ME to the screen and made it any more epic than he did, and stick more closely to the books without creating boring, dragging scenes (much of the book would not work well on screen). People who don't know any better already complain and joke about the ending being too long, just think what they would be saying then.

Though I agree i wouldn't want the movies to creep into this game, but PJ the Lego game all you want.

Originally Posted by mars505

Turbine powered by Porky Pig /oink$ oink$ ...lol

LOL. I don't know why that's funny but it is. Good luck Turbine peeps, hope it works out well for you.

Originally Posted by Elrorhir

EA is a better company than Warner Bros by far. WB don't care about pc gaming, so you can expect lotro to die like Matrix online died a few years ago with 1 patch/year just to lol at you when you come back.

This is lotro future:
http://www.gamespot.com/wii/adventur...est/index.html

http://www.gamespot.com/wii/adventur...ages%3Bimg%3B1

http://www.gamespot.com/wii/adventur...ow%3Bthumb%3B4

and be ready to puke when Turbine will announce Harry Potter online

Only thing is, SOE was the holder of Matrix Online. SOE closed that game down. SOE did not develop MxO but they did take it over and ran it until it was shuttered.

As to the part of "EA being better".....I have to reserve judgement on that. EA has done some pretty lame and downright stupid things over the tenure of that companies most recent CEO. Quality at EA has suffered on most (not all) titles they offered up to and including today's titles. Remember, EA lost the rights to LOTR games because the could not make a descent one in the first place. WB is counting on the LOTR liscense to help them increase their share of the entertainment market....gaming included. So, WB has a vested interest in seeing that LOTRO does well.

The problem is we don't know what to expect from this one. Let's not get too nervous, though. After all, this could turn out to be a good thing for the game. More resources could equal more content, if they pick up some extra team members.

I wrote up a blog post on why I don't think this is such a big deal -- at least, yet. You can check it out here: http://www.gamebynight.com/?p=1424 if you're interested. I'd like to hear your feedback.

- Chris a.k.a. Syeric

[edited by Patience: removed quoted post and comment]

I feel sick to my stomach

I felt fine about it until seeing the gamespot article that mentioned LOTRO being F2P in the title...that's scary. I wont play a f2p game with a cash shop. I hope it works out for the best but we'll have to see.

Where this all seems to be heading is down the free-to-play microtransaction market. I'm not fond of that particular outcome one bit.

Originally Posted by Eliel

Well, if they start changing the characters in-game to look more like the actors from the movies, that'll be warning sign #1.

On the other hand, if this allows either Ian McKellan or Ian Holm to provide those start-of-instance voiceovers, I can't say I'll object to that bit of crossover.

Considering the Gandalf voice-over already sounds like McKellan, and Galadriel sounds like Blanchett, that wouldn't be a real radical change.

zomg everyone wanted mta(for content)....but wait...wb bought us....ok well time to shut up......we us you wanted capital for content end game pvmp well guess what WB has the bank.....whats with the qq?

Originally Posted by mars505

I feel sick to my stomach

Double that. Let's all pop a hope token or two.

One thing I would like to say is that I sincerely hope Turbine staff don't get done over in the process of this take-over. It's heartbreaking to see talented people build up a great game, only to be turfed out.

Originally Posted by seventhyearfalling

The problem is we don't know what to expect from this one. Let's not get too nervous, though. After all, this could turn out to be a good thing for the game. More resources could equal more content, if they pick up some extra team members.

I wrote up a blog post on why I don't think this is such a big deal -- at least, yet. You can check it out here: http://www.gamebynight.com/?p=1424 if you're interested. I'd like to hear your feedback.

- Chris a.k.a. Syeric

PS:



This is absolute **** and I'm surprised no one else called you on it. Yeah, let's take away someone else's livelihood because you disagree with their design decision. I, for one, may not agree with all of the design choices made in ANY game, but I'd never wish for the designer to lose their job. Every person working on this game is a human being, with their own hopes, dreams, trials, and hardships. Not to mention, they probably families depending on them and the income their job provides. Let's not forget the human side of this because something through off our questing or raiding for a half-hour.

I've been through a merger before and it can be scary for the employees transitioning over. Best of luck to all of you at Turbine. I hope this turns out well for you all.

I make it a point to ignore Knutor's posts and I believe quite a few other people do as well.

This is nice and all, but can you get the lotteries up? Hard to win stuff that aren't up.

Will see in the future if this is a step in the right or wrong step from Turbine.

Not too fussed for now with the change, but I'll decide in the future with what happens.

Originally Posted by blarg07

True, but in recent history many of the gaming companies that got bought out have done okay (e.g., Blizzard - Activision, Bioware - EA)

Bilizzard-Activision was more of a merger, though. Vivendi owns most of the combined company (they owned Blizzard before).

OTOH, give the Bioware buyout some more time. If you look at EA's history of buying, divisions often last a few years, but make one false move and boom, they get axed. Or in the case of Maxis, make one successful move, and boom, they get changed into a division only making Sims games.

Indeed, Pandemic, which was part of the Bioware deal, is now no more. Just like Origin, Bullfrog and a few others before it.

First of all there are some positive things about the acquisition. The chances of seeing a hobbit addon parallel to the film rose up significantly and the chances of Turbine not shuting down due to short term cash shortings are bigger too. We might even see player figures in WBs quarterly reportings. If they employ more developers will be a strict business decision - or does the WB CEO sit silently among us? So if the LotRO figures are good enough there will be more stuff but somehow I don't think so.

I hope WB can re-face LotRO, As in...

Losing the Japanese-anime-ish looking skins, weapons, etc... And create a grittier LotR-driven look.

etc, etc, etc,... The list goes on- Too tired :]

There's a lot of refining/scrapping needed, especially with PvP... Here's to hoping WB can make SOME sort of positive change, whatever it might be.

meh...would've been better on a different shield, but alas...