More NCsoft layoff rumors: it's Europe this time
by Adrian Bott 
Sep 9th 2008 at 6:30PM
Filed under: MMO industry, Tabula Rasa, Rumors
With a report spookily similar to those that surfaced recently about the NCsoft Austin offices, gamesindustry.biz is reporting that NCsoft Europe in Brighton, England may be about to shed staff. According to the report, 'a number of sources close to the company' have stated that about 50 positions would be lost, following a decision to cancel an as-yet unnamed MMO project, presumably that for which some concept art had already appeared.The report also makes a claim that will undoubtedly have Tabula Rasa fans up in arms: 'It is also thought that the company's troubled MMO Tabula Rasa will be discontinued at some point in the coming months due to continuing poor subscriber numbers.' As devotees of the game will know, this isn't the first time rumors have surfaced concerning the future of Tabula Rasa. Last time around, those rumors weren't ever addressed. Tabula Rasa players have been working hard to encourage new players to try the game, and we hope for their sake that this latest report is inaccurate.
Last time rumors circulated about an NCsoft office being under threat, the reality - though unpleasant - turned out to be substantially less severe than reports had anticipated. An official comment from NCsoft is expected within the next 24 hours; we'll be watching for any news.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mizarone said on 12:23AM 9-10-2008
Actually, they were addressed, they just didn't waste time with a press release:
http://www.planettr.com/forums/showpost.php?p=106317&postcount=118
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Quinn said on 12:40AM 9-10-2008
Those rumors most certainly were addressed last time.
http://www.warcry.com/news/view/85669-Tabula-Rasa-Unaffected-by-NCsoft-Layoffs
http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?rwsiteid=2&newsbit=9919
and there are a pile more reports from from other news sites which actually chose to vet sources...
http://kotaku.com/5036705/ncsoft-lays-off-21
"Today NCsoft confirmed to Kotaku that they are indeed laying some folks off from their Austin offices.
"We are announcing that 21 positions are being eliminated in the Austin office of NCsoft in the area of product development," an NCsoft spokesman told Kotaku. "Primarily this is related to products which we have not previously announced and were in prototype phases. We are also cutting some positions on the Dungeon Runners team after deciding not to port the client to other platforms at this time."
Among those let go, Scott "Lum the Mad" Jennings.
The news comes a day after parent company Korean-based NCsoft announced a bump in sales but a drop in operating profit and net income. The news is a stark contrast to rumors that surfaces earlier this week that 140 to 160 people were going to be let go and the office possibly shuttered. At the time NCsoft told Kotaku that the rumors were "not accurate at all" and "pretty outrageous.""
I'm not sure I should be surprised you lot forgot that rebuttal after the last time you went to press with naught but rumor mongering. Perhaps you or your editors suffered mass-amnesia, or simply a really, really selective version of the condition (one favouring covering up sloppy reporting), but one would've thought you'd vet your sources after your last fiasco.
"At the time NCsoft told Kotaku that the rumors were "not accurate at all" and "pretty outrageous."
Ringing any bells yet? Still pretty outrageous your coverage.
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Talyn said on 10:28AM 9-10-2008
Linking to rebuttals from last month isn't dealing with this month's rumor-mongering. Funny how they always throw TR under the bus even when no one's actually mentioned it, though.
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