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Daybreak Game Company Lays Off 70 Employees - MMORPG.com News

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  • cheyanecheyane Member LegendaryPosts: 9,386
    Scorchien said:
    Scorchien said:
     There really is no "Good" time to lay off.. IMO they did them a favor doing it before Xmas , would it have been better to wait till first week of Jan, after they had blown a bunch of money of gifts thinking they had a job .. Id rather know before .. and be more frugal if i was in that situation
    I was considering the kids more than the adults.  Dad or mom goes home right before christmas to announce they lost their job and although sally or johnny were good this year, Santa might not make it.  

    That sucks as I have know folks who have had to do that before.  Unemployment does not pay shit so that does not help most people.  Only thing that we do not know is if some package was offered on their way out.
    I here ya i have 3 kids .. well 2 are out of college now , But i would still rather know beofre Xmas and handle my fiances properly , rather than blowing a big nut on Xmas and finding out 1/1/19 i dont have a fucking job ... 

      Thats a much worse scenario imo
    I suppose that is worse.
    Garrus Signature
  • ConstantineMerusConstantineMerus Member EpicPosts: 3,338
    As someone who had to fire a lot of people right before the holidays not once, not twice, but thrice, I have mixed feelings about this. Because each time I asked the employees if they'd preferred to learn about their termination before the holidays or after, answers were about 50-50. I guess it also depends on one's financial situation. If someone is comfortable with the money they probably prefer to enjoy their holidays in ignorance of what's coming. 

    I don't know. I have never been fired myself. Good luck to those 70 people. Heck, I'm feeling generous, good luck to whoever's reading this too.
    craftseeker
    Constantine, The Console Poster

    • "One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
  • MargraveMargrave Member RarePosts: 1,370
    At Christmas to do this is low. Boo!
    Gdemami
  • MaldrekMaldrek Member UncommonPosts: 14
    Sad really been saying for awhile they just trying to squeeze every last red cent outta the games before they dump them entirely .My only hope is someone picks up the everquest IP and does something with it . Theres potential even if SoE and DBG has tarnished the name . #savenorrath
  • kitaradkitarad Member LegendaryPosts: 8,164
    Utinni said:

    Phry said:

    What a wonderful christmas gift to give their employees, are things really so bad at DBG that they had to do such an aweful thing to so many people before christmas, well if they were still on my christmas card list that would definitely have got them taken off of it! :/



    How do you know that the employees are christian
    Everyone celebrates Christmas even if it is to go to a friend's for Christmas. I am not a Christian and where I come from we celebrate it by going to a friend's for Christmas and they come over for Deepavali and we go to my other friends' place for Hari Raya .

  • kitaradkitarad Member LegendaryPosts: 8,164
    DMKano said:
    Every smaller western publisher/mmo dev is doomed.

    Daybreak - it's only a matter of time before they meet the same fate as Trion, Carbine, Gazilion etc..

    Is there a single small independent non-indie MMO studio left in the west at this point? 

    I don't think there is one.
     
    It is like how Amazon is putting so many businesses out of business. These huge cooperations swallow everything like krill eating blue whales.

  • Solar_ProphetSolar_Prophet Member EpicPosts: 1,960
    "Merry Christmas everyone! The Board has decided to give you fine folks an early present: The opportunity to seek employment elsewhere!"

    70 people will now spend what should be a joyous time of year stressed out and frantically looking for a way to support themselves. F**k you, Daybreak.

    AN' DERE AIN'T NO SUCH FING AS ENUFF DAKKA, YA GROT! Enuff'z more than ya got an' less than too much an' there ain't no such fing as too much dakka. Say dere is, and me Squiggoff'z eatin' tonight!

    We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD. 

    #IStandWithVic

  • goboygogoboygo Member RarePosts: 2,141
    Could have waited another 3 weeks........

    But hey their successful line up of games and all the upcoming hits speak for themselves right????
    No companies do that who run a calendar year budget.   That's not in line with GAP and they are obviously running by calendar year.  If they were running say a fiscal year budget that started in February then their lay-offs would of been in January.
  • Rastan1Rastan1 Member UncommonPosts: 74
    They got rid of any promising franchise that they did have and haven't made a move towards anything at all. While this is a dirtbag move at this time of year why were those people there to begin with? When they Scrapped EQ next and landmark and had nothing to offer you'd think people would have gotten the hint. I don't much see any reason to report on this company further until they become a gaming company.
  • lahnmirlahnmir Member LegendaryPosts: 5,050
    70 people is quite a lot for a company of their size.

    Also, while it may not be "cool" or "classy" to lay off people in December, it is a pretty standard thing to do. In business, Christmas dont mean much. In fact, it is quite usual as the companies do not want their salaries in the budget for next year.
    This, the desperate need people have to inject emotion into this. Hell, a lot of employees prefer it this way. Or perhaps we’re all getting angry because ir is “evil” Daybreak?

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'

    Kyleran on yours sincerely 


    'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'

    Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...



    'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless. 

    It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.

    It is just huge resource waste....'

    Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer

  • illutianillutian Member UncommonPosts: 343
    So...basically, fuck Daybreak [Company & BoD].

    Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising everytime we fall.

  • Luther512Luther512 Member UncommonPosts: 7
    Right before Christmas just like other companies, AT&T, not to mention names. Nothing says we hate our employees and are bitter about having to had paid them for their work than firing them during the holidays. I hope those canned can get better gigs elsewhere. EQ2 was an amazing experience..until the first expansion. Some EQ2 expansions have been really good but just never compared. Had a lot of fun in Planetside 2 as well. I hope EQ franchise gets sold to another company that can run with it. This company seems to be going downhill in a massive way. If I were an employee I would have bailed a long time ago.
  • asdfsdf34534asdfsdf34534 Member UncommonPosts: 52
    Shit rolls down hill, fuckem. All their employee's should of been looking for a new job years ago.
    [Deleted User]
  • SaelemSaelem Member UncommonPosts: 31
    Sad to read, I hope EQ and EQ2 are bought if DBG continues to slide. I’ve actually really enjoyed my time on the EQ2 TLE server for the last year or so.
  • syltmackasyltmacka Member UncommonPosts: 404
    day break games. and now ppl.
  • gervaise1gervaise1 Member EpicPosts: 6,919
    goboygo said:
    Could have waited another 3 weeks........

    But hey their successful line up of games and all the upcoming hits speak for themselves right????
    No companies do that who run a calendar year budget.   That's not in line with GAP and they are obviously running by calendar year.  If they were running say a fiscal year budget that started in February then their lay-offs would of been in January.
    Not listed.

    I doubt they are running a fixed yearly budget though. Probably a rolling costbase out to some date with maybe quarterly (?) updates to the forecasts. Yearly wouldn't be flexible enough.
  • HatefullHatefull Member EpicPosts: 2,503
    Asm0deus said:

    TEKK3N said:

    When Daybreak do something, they do it in style.

    Right before Xmas....classy.




    It's a pretty common practice in NA from companies big and small. The right before Xmas part that is as they save money that way.
    Usually, because the end of year budget reviews happens around now, and if you are falling below your profit margin, then you have to make changes. The sad part of a business is you can't think with your heart, you have to go by the bottom line. Too bad DBG isn't GM they could just get a government hand out and keep doing whatever they do. Hell GM even gave their executives BONUSES for mismanaging their company soo badly.

    Companies lay people off every day, Smedly being the terrible manager he is, should know this very well, he is one of the reasons they are DBG and not SOE right now.

    Weird though, whenever I log into PS2 I can find a battle with several hundred people taking place no matter what time I show up.  They must be doing something right.

    If you want a new idea, go read an old book.

    In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.

  • seshsesseshses Member UncommonPosts: 67
    Everyday i wish for a better fate for the Everquest franchise that i played from 1999 , it breaks my heart
    craftseekerBlueliner
  • HatefullHatefull Member EpicPosts: 2,503
    edited December 2018

    H0urg1ass said:

    When SOE first launched it felt like they were making games from the ethos of "What would the players really enjoy playing?"  The games were fun, they were packed with options, choices, great storytelling and good gameplay.

    Over the years, however, they slowly morphed into a company that started making new games from a standpoint of "How can we best monetize this to drag every penny out of our player's wallets per month?"

    Planetside 1 and Planetside 2 are prime examples of this.

    Planetside 1 felt like the developers sat down and said, "How can we make the best MMOFPS ever designed?"  To this day it's truly some of the most fun I've ever had online in a game.  The combined arms approach of Infantry, Armor and Air was done very well for the most part with a few missteps in the later years like adding the completely unnecessary mechs that really unbalanced the game.

    Planetside 2 felt like the developers sat down and said, "Ok, how can we take Planetside 1 and re-imagine it to drain absolutely every penny from the player base on not just a monthly basis, but a daily basis if possible?"  It was so monetized it was jaw dropping, and none of the tactics and  charm of the first game were present whatsoever.  



    Except you can be one of the best players in the game and not spend a dime. That isn't a very strong monetization model. You can actually get things out of the cash shop for free just by playing events. The game is pay to look pretty, not pay to win or pay for advantage. Is PS2 way different than 1? Yes, absolutely, but it is no way a cash grab and never has been.

    I can't speak to EQ or EQ2 or any of their other titles, but you are pretty much dead wrong on this one. Other than drawing a distinction between the design ideas, which, at the time PS2 was being put together was pretty much the norm, so to say it was native to DBG (or SOE at the time) is inaccurate also. As far as Free to play goes, DBG's model is pretty much one of the best out there as far as making it fair to the players.


    If you want a new idea, go read an old book.

    In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.

  • Shana77Shana77 Member UncommonPosts: 290
    And to think that this company once (in it's previous iteration) used to dominate the MMO space with Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies and Planetside. They where the innovaters and leaders. This is what happens when you stop listening to your customers. When you do stuff like forcing Vanguard developers to push out their game to release way to early.

    For those who think that Blizzard is "Immortal" look at these guys and see that no king rules forever.
  • cheyanecheyane Member LegendaryPosts: 9,386
    Shana77 said:
    And to think that this company once (in it's previous iteration) used to dominate the MMO space with Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies and Planetside. They where the innovaters and leaders. This is what happens when you stop listening to your customers. When you do stuff like forcing Vanguard developers to push out their game to release way to early.

    For those who think that Blizzard is "Immortal" look at these guys and see that no king rules forever.
    Vanguard was released before SOE took over. I love how this lie keeps on being repeated.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigil_Games_Online
    Hatefullcraftseeker
    Garrus Signature
  • BeansnBreadBeansnBread Member EpicPosts: 7,254
    edited December 2018
    Shana77 said:
    And to think that this company once (in it's previous iteration) used to dominate the MMO space with Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies and Planetside. They where the innovaters and leaders. This is what happens when you stop listening to your customers. When you do stuff like forcing Vanguard developers to push out their game to release way to early.

    For those who think that Blizzard is "Immortal" look at these guys and see that no king rules forever.
    I mean, yeah, WoW won't last forever. It's only dominated the MMORPG scene for 14 years in NA and EU. The absurdity of the strawman that WoW is immortal is obvious. But for fucks sake. That game has been ridiculously influential and ubiquitous.
  • milayskymilaysky Member UncommonPosts: 39
    optimizing our wallets and now we never going to buy anything from them ... ever ..our quest ..next
  • MaldrekMaldrek Member UncommonPosts: 14
    cheyane said:
    Shana77 said:
    And to think that this company once (in it's previous iteration) used to dominate the MMO space with Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies and Planetside. They where the innovaters and leaders. This is what happens when you stop listening to your customers. When you do stuff like forcing Vanguard developers to push out their game to release way to early.

    For those who think that Blizzard is "Immortal" look at these guys and see that no king rules forever.
    Vanguard was released before SOE took over. I love how this lie keeps on being repeated.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigil_Games_Online
    I bought Vanguard when it came out see that little tag in the bottom right corner this is the box cover BTW my original differs only in the fact that it had pre-order on  it .Then there was the emails SoE sent out for free EQ2 accounts sayin "While we work on bug fixes and optimization for Vanguard please Try one of our flagship MMOs  " So ya i don't know where we get this stuff from 
    Image result for vanguard saga of heroes
  • cheyanecheyane Member LegendaryPosts: 9,386
    edited December 2018
    It was co published by Sigil Games and SOE so saying SOE forced them to release the game is nonsense. It was only in May 2007 that SOE acquired Sigil Games's assets. The game as released in January 2007.

    If you have the time go and check the history behind Vanguard and realise SOE was responsible for fixing the horrible state of Vanguard. This is one case where SOE should not be blamed for the state of the game. The game was bad because Sigil Games was inapt.

    Read it yourself
    https://www.docdroid.net/ig50duw/brad-mcquaid.pdf#page=8
    [Deleted User]craftseekergervaise1Liljna
    Garrus Signature
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