Imagine being a developer and finding a publisher for your dream MMOG. Now imagine losing that publisher a year later before production was set to ramp up. That's exactly what happened to the guys at Spacetime Studios working on Blackstar, a space based MMOG. NCsoft canned the project last month over reasons unknown to the public. At first glance I have to wonder if I'd rather see Tabula Rasa canceled if I could switch it with this title. I'm not slamming TR with the hate, it's just that I think I'd find Blackstar a more interesting Sci-Fi MMO that appeals to my liking. But there is trouble brewing for NCsoft that may explain why Blackstar may be the victim of a bloated investment gone awry.
I believe monetary policy entered NCsoft's equation to cut-off Blackstar. NCsoft currently isn't in a great position to keep pumping money into their numerous development projects given Tabula Rasa's enormous failure. The numbers from NCsoft's last quarterly annual report are ugly. Tabula Rasa was in development for six long years. To fund it all NCsoft was rumored to have invested over 100 million dollars. Tabula Rasa closed last quarter with disastrous financial results that totaled a mere 5 million in revenue. The news resulted in NCsoft's stock to crash to an all-time-low. The timeline seems to fit and place the pieces together. Now that Blackstar is no longer backed by NCsoft, Spacetime Studios faces a difficult undertaking in finding a new publisher.
[Updated: 2/28/07. This post has been updated to reflect that the 100 million dollar figure was pure speculation and rumor that I acquired from an article by the Korea Times. David Swofford, Director of PR for NCsoft NA, has gone on record to debunk that number, claiming Tabula Rasa's development cost was a mere fraction of that cost .
"It's a fraction of the cost and more in line with what's generally accepted in this industry for a company to spend on a Triple-A MMO project. "
Swofford also went on record to say that Tabula Rasa's financial performance was not the reason behind NCsoft's decision to drop their contract with Spacetime Studios, whom are developing Blackstar.]
GDC is where the magic happens. Spacetime Studios is shopping Blackstar to potential investors and will be showing it at the West Hall Expo Suites, in Room MR9. If it doesn't get picked up at GDC that's not a good sign for what its future holds. I don't think the video is bad, but 20 seconds isn't really enough time for me to decide if I want to invest my million dollar war chest, or find some secret money beans that make magical trees that bear golden pears. If anything, the video is better than I expected. Keep in mind this is most likely early alpha stuff here, if that.
[Thanks for the great tip Justin!]
