Funcom has a lot riding on The Secret World, and a new piece at MCV outlines stock prospects for the company as the horror-conspiracy MMORPG's June 19th launch date draws nearer.
Funcom stock has risen dramatically on the Norwegian Stock Exchange since last summer, and analysts expect further growth leading up to The Secret World's release. After that, though, the predictions aren't as clear given the significant fluctuations in Funcom's stock price since its 2005 introduction.
MCV notes that shares peaked with 2008's Age of Conan release, but prices dropped significantly soon after as the game "didn't make the expected sales impact." Nonetheless, analysts are enthusiastic about prospects for post-Secret World performance. "Funcom is one of the stocks that could double or triple in value. If Funcom's next game is a success, they will definitely end up as the stock of the year," Carnegie's Espen Torgersen says.
Reader Comments (54)
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 2:06PM Space Cobra said
@ssjiu
Peddle your shoes elsewhere, yon spam-bot of a foreign nation!
Away with thee and thine shoes and other domestic products of dubious origin!
Reply
Peddle your shoes elsewhere, yon spam-bot of a foreign nation!
Away with thee and thine shoes and other domestic products of dubious origin!
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 11:13AM Joaquin Crowe said
The focus on stock price is usually not good news for players, as the company is more committed to shareholder value over customer value.
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 11:14AM wufiavelli said
this game is up against GW2 it seems. Sucky timing for a game which seems like it could hold its own against any other game.
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 1:15PM (Unverified) said
@wufiavelli
Its too bad that they need to shove it out the door and start making profits asap. It could probably really benefit from extra polish and brew time.
Sitting on the back burner till the Guild War wave passes, is not a bad strategy, IMO. Give those GW2 players 3 months after release (enough time for the first wave of players to hit cap and burn out or to get annoyed that it somehow didn't live up to whatever they wanted). Add an extra months for recovery time (so those players start craving an MMO again) and then launch.
Reply
Its too bad that they need to shove it out the door and start making profits asap. It could probably really benefit from extra polish and brew time.
Sitting on the back burner till the Guild War wave passes, is not a bad strategy, IMO. Give those GW2 players 3 months after release (enough time for the first wave of players to hit cap and burn out or to get annoyed that it somehow didn't live up to whatever they wanted). Add an extra months for recovery time (so those players start craving an MMO again) and then launch.
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 11:16AM EvilCartographer said
A picture of (robot?) dinosaurs surrounding a dump truck is enough to get me interested in this game.
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 11:29AM EvilCartographer said
@yeppers
You say that like a t-shirt-wearing (robot?) dinosaur is somehow less awesome than a t-shirtless (robot?) dinosaur.
Reply
You say that like a t-shirt-wearing (robot?) dinosaur is somehow less awesome than a t-shirtless (robot?) dinosaur.
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 11:22AM jakofascalon said
@wufiavelli
All game studios are competing with one another these days. That's why there are so many WoW clones, i.e. Rift.
All game studios are competing with one another these days. That's why there are so many WoW clones, i.e. Rift.
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 11:49AM wufiavelli said
@jakofascalon
Yes but there is a difference between competing with rift and competing with GW2.
Reply
Yes but there is a difference between competing with rift and competing with GW2.
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 11:23AM Snowblind said
Guild Wars 2 is going to be a huge obstacle for this game, as is Diablo 3, assuming it's ever released, which may not be an MMO but is still going to create a vacuum of sales around itself.
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 11:24AM Triskelion said
Okay, I'm going to honest - I have no idea what to make of this game? Is it sci-fi? Medieval? I've watched the videos and in some cases I see zombies and demons, then in other screenshots it looks like APB with players dressed as civilians and running around looking like something out of the Matrix MMO.
What are you??????????????
What are you??????????????
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 12:12PM Triskelion said
@Primal Zed Very good, that does sum it up nicely, thank you.
Reply
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 12:52PM (Unverified) said
@Triskelion First and foremost it's a Funcom game, which means you don't buy it at launch unless you like being burned. If you find the setting intriguing, you wait a while before making a purchase. Do not let Funcom's hype or marketing fool you, they always try and sell you a product that is half-baked. Save your money and wait at least a month, or to be safer, at least 3-6 months before buying.
Reply
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 2:32PM Marz said
@Triskelion
I think part of what makes this game interesting is that it isn't a fantasy game with Elves and Ogres, it isn't a sci-fi game with pew pew lasers and space ships nor is it a shooter.
It isn't a "Role" game where you pick your class and then level it up and if you want to play a different "Role" you have to create a new character from lvl 1.
This is why I like what I see from this game... But, In the past, games that are too different have a tendency to fail. (Tabula Rasa)
Reply
I think part of what makes this game interesting is that it isn't a fantasy game with Elves and Ogres, it isn't a sci-fi game with pew pew lasers and space ships nor is it a shooter.
It isn't a "Role" game where you pick your class and then level it up and if you want to play a different "Role" you have to create a new character from lvl 1.
This is why I like what I see from this game... But, In the past, games that are too different have a tendency to fail. (Tabula Rasa)
Posted: Mar 7th 2012 11:28AM Ceridith said
Speculation is speculative.
The stock price could also plummet and become delisted if the game does poorly.
In other news, water is wet.
The stock price could also plummet and become delisted if the game does poorly.
In other news, water is wet.
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