Atari to sell Cryptic

[Naruto]

Ok let’s get back on topic here. I see it as one of three (3) possible outcomes.

1) A good company that wants to turn STO in to a great MMO buys it and everyone wins as Cryptic gets more resources to do all the fixes everyone wants.

2) A gold digging company buys it and milks STO for everything they can and STO dies a slow death.

3) No one buys Cryptic and Atari sucks it dry just as in option 2 above.

FYI if you have Atari points I would spend them now as they might not be worth anything later.

i doubt it. other then the fact you can always use them at Atari. When they went from Crytic point to Atari tokens, your cryptic points did not become useless, i had some left over and they were worth just as much as the Atari ones, i forsee the same thing happening here

[EVOXSNES]

My usual rhetoric aside...

You better hope a large publisher like EA or Activision, THQ wants to buy Cryptic.

Im not sure who would though. Cryptic is an insanely casual, oriented based MMO dev. Now casual games on mobile phones etc (EA/Activision) thats a different story. But casual on PC doesn't equal the big bucks large publishers are looking for.

STO is too casual. This is what wrecked it for me. No one here can tell me that the casual style gaming is all you need.

When people see a trailer for Crysis 3 and BF3... you get excited right? Now aside from the obvious budget difference between Cryptic and Crytek/EA/Dice. There is a difference between Cryptic's take on games and theirs. That difference, that take or mindset doesn't cost anything but time and probably the right people.

Its just a lil game on the side thats had its 15 minutes and its something you go back to from time to time.

The seasons. replays etc... Is this game serious? So im going to have to wait for seasons, episodes etc and this is what im paying for. This aint wow.. you cant just do what wow does.

The game just stinks. It has some good aspects. Bit overall its not a money maker and it wont ever be. The gaming market is getting more and more crowded all the time. There is no room for stupid lil dev studios like Cryptic and they are suffering for being too mediocre!!!

Im at the alter night and day for Activision or EA or THQ to buy this studio and to GUT it. Gut it from arsehole to breakfast time!

Because above all else. I'd rather have it known Trek gaming is profitable. Then! you see attention, then you'll see some good trek games.

[Mr. D]

And Cryptic's buyer:
Perfect World

http://pc.ign.com/articles/117/1171609p1.html

[Capt-Drake]

Yep. I can see STO could go free to play. Since Perfect World's games are majority of free to play. Also it is a chinese company. With China disclosing that they made thier inmates play WoW for 12 hrs a day to fund their war machine. This is not looking good for STO. I hope they keep pay to play.

[Alexraptor]

Free 2 Play does not have to mean anything bad.
A lot of games are going F2P these days and many of them are doing a lot better than when they were Pay 2 Play.
LOTRO ended up tripling its revenue by going F2P and F2P MMO's continue to develop content for the game as before.

[Capt-Drake]

There is good and bad with Perfect World getting Cryptic. The good. They would dump alot of money into the company and getting new content. The bad. Perfect World games are known to have botting. You think the c-store is bad. Their games they charge you for everything. As in if you want that shiny armor. They charge you for every piece of it. One of the things is that they want to hit the western market area. Their games aren't doing to good over here. Also you need to remember that CBS owns the rights to Star Trek. Alot of times Perfect World's makes their game companies to do chages to games which aren't to bennificial at all. If they try to do anything with STO without CBS's permission CBS WILL, not if, they WILL pull the plug on STO. One of the reason's why Perfect World bought Cryptic is that they want that gaming engine that Cryptic made. That is just a working theory I have and from what I saw in the official forums some people feel the same way.

Do I want Cryptic to succeed yes I do. I am a Star Trek fan no matter what. It's just Perfect World's track record isn't all that great that thier "fanboys or girls" say it is. Another good posibility is that Perfect World leaves Cryptic alone and they will make the game better. The promblem is that perfect World is the equilvalent of EA.

[matronix07]

Im a Lifetime Member for STO (Ride or Die lol) and I feel like as long as the online star trek game continues to run in the star trek community, then its a plus for the fans. We do have to admit that being a star trek game ONLINE is a huge advancement in the community. Now, Im not just thinking of myself, but as a fan and loyal member of the star trek community. I say that lets look at the BIG picture of this.... we are now truly online and live! This has been in the works for a long time coming and Cryptic has come a LONG way with the game. Food for thought: This fleet history extends several years back and has come a long way with hard times, critiques, improvements, and so on. Same for STO, and who knows... Im sure that if a company can keep it running and improving, then the future may hold greater prospects. We are doing a fine job supporting it and thats the bottomline for me: Must keep Star Trek alive for many more years to come in our community and with a sense of prosperity, reaching out to the many fans out there in many ways. JJ Abrams Star Trek movie is a good example of keeping it alive; it probably reached out to a younger generation of fans passed on from the elder ones who grew up with Gene Roddenberry. " I'd like to be here when it [comes] back -- I'd like to see bright new talent do really exciting things."

--Entertainment Tonight, "Star Trek" 20th Anniversary interview with Gene Roddenberry

[Capt-Drake]

Oh don't get me wrong having a Star Trek MMO is awesome. It's just that Perfect world has been known to do things against what is would be good for their games. The company has been in the states for a long time and the main office in China doesn't listen to their office here. Hence why their games don't do to well in the MMO arena. All of their revenue comes through a game store. Like I said in my last post. If you want that shiney armor you will have to pay for it. Every piece of it. Honestly if Perfect world wants to change anything they will have to do it in the next three quarters. I hope they leave Cryptic alone so they can make a Star Trek game but, Perfect World has the purse strings and knowing their history they will probaly pull something.

[BobO369]

I think that CBS will have more pull than Perfect World when it comes to STO. So I see Cryptic getting more money and more staff which is a good thing. I see CBS calling the shots for STO, again a good thing when you consider the alternative. I also see Perfect World calling the shots for Cryptic’s other games like Champions on Line. There you might see the milking of the players for every little thing in-game.

That said only time will tell what is to become of STO. It is obvious to the Star Trek fans what the potential for STO is. This is a cash cow and should be easy as pie give the huge amount of information available in the Star Trek Universe form which you can make content. If Cryptic would just pull its head out of its ass and get a few people that are Star Trek fans on the development team. Then look at what works and what does not work in other Space based MMO’s (like Eve on Line) they could have a massive MMO develop from the current game.

IMO STO is a good game but it is not a great game. There are parts of the game I like and parts that I hate. They are moving to improve the game but I think they need to move faster to fix bugs and bring in new content. Most of the members in STO have already reached the level cap with their 2nd character and the game is just over a year old. Some of us have maxed out up to eight (8), yes I have no life. The Klingon side is a joke when you compare the content it has to the Fed side. PvP and Fleet support in the game just plain sucks. Research and crafting could use a complete overhaul. Space combat should have 360 degree flight. I could go on but you play the game so you now the issues.

Cryptic is revamping the ground combat and that should help elevate the game by fixing one of the least liked parts of the game. Now if they get a boost of money from Perfect World they could improve most of the other issues players have been complaining about over the past year. That would go a long way to making STO in to a great game. The concept of “if you build it they will come” applies to any great MMO. Cryptic just needs to keep that in mind moving forward.

[matronix07]

I definetly agree that getting fans involved internally on cryptic staff would help the situation at hand. They may need to move the needle a little faster in order to keep the non fan base (casual players). Season 4 should bring awesome additions to game like they have been doing every season. Perhaps slowing down promotions would also help those that have already maxed out their characters. Ultamitely im sure glad someone got the STO started and pushing it. Could be worse.