NCSoft Fiscal 2004, No Tabula Rasa until 2006?

[Shockeye]

No Tabula Rasa In 2005?       
 
MMO game publisher NCSoft released their fiscal 2004 results today and announced their game release plans for fiscal 2005 but the long awaited Richard Garriott created game Tabula Rasa was not mentioned in those plans.

The Korean based developer reported that their overall revenues for fiscal 2004 reached $246 million, an increase of 48 percent over the previous year's numbers. Net profit for the developer/publisher for the year came in at $77 million. For 2005, NCSoft plans to launch Guild Wars, the fantasy multiplayer action-RPG from developer ArenaNet, on April 28 in the US and Europe and in Korea in the first half of the year. City of Villians, the expansion pack to developer Cryptic Studios's super hero MMO City of Heroes, will launch in the US in 2005, according to the press release, as will AutoAssault, the car combat MMO from developer NetDevil. City of Heroes is also scheduled to finally launch in Korean in 2005.

However, the press release did not mention Tabula Rasa at all in NCSoft's 2005 plans. The MMO game from Garriott, the creator of the Ultima series of RPGs that also included Ultima Online, was originally scheduled for release in late 2004 and was shown at E3 last May. However, Garriott posted up word on the game's official web site last September that due to "due to some noteworthy modifications and refinements we intend to make to the game", Tabula Rasa would miss its schedule release date and "likely won't be ready for some months beyond that." The absence of the game in NCSoft's financial press release for 2005 may single that the game won't be released until 2006 at the earliest. When speaking to Computer Games Magazine today, a spokesperson for NCSoft confirmed that Tabula Rasa would likely not be released this year but they do plan to show the game again at E3 this May.

Weep Garriott fanbois. Weep long and weep well.

[schild]

If this turns into NCSoft's "Duke Nukem Forever," I won't be able to help but laugh. It's a flagship title for christ sake. Their leaking less information than Darkfall and went through a management change that probably made some of the shit at Artifact look like small-time business.

Doesn't matter though. I still want me some Tabula Rasa. Though, I'll admit, whoever is next to make a decent virtual world will probably get my money. I'm jonesing.

[WayAbvPar]

I would rather wait for something playable than some POS rushed to market to placate the beancounters and the fanboys.

[schild]

I would rather wait for something playable than some POS rushed to market to placate the beancounters and the fanboys.

That's what strikes me as a problem here. Much like AE, Garriot is one of the bean counters.

[WayAbvPar]

In title, perhaps. But he is also an artiste, and an arrogant one at that. Seems reasonable that he will do everything in his power to keep it off the market until it is ready. And maybe until WoW loses some momentum?

[schild]

In title, perhaps. But he is also an artiste, and an arrogant one at that. Seems reasonable that he will do everything in his power to keep it off the market until it is ready.

From everything we've seen with every other MMOG? Not likely.

And maybe until WoW loses some momentum?

MUCH more likely. They're probably waiting to see if WoW is going to have an expansion in a year before they set deadlines.

[HaemishM]

Garriot has the money and the pull to be able to delay a game's release at his whim. I'm fine with that. Fuck, if MMOG history is any indication, delay that motherfucker as long as possible. I want Tabula Rasa to NOT SUCK, as well as to be unlike anything we've seen before. If that takes to 2006, I'm ok with it.

Now, City of Villains? GET THAT MOTHERFUCKER OUT THERE, BITCHES!

[MaceVanHoffen]

In title, perhaps. But he is also an artiste, and an arrogant one at that. Seems reasonable that he will do everything in his power to keep it off the market until it is ready.

I love Garriott as much as the next virtual-world-loving nerd does, but he garnered the reputation of releasing buggy games long before UO came out.  Heck, even Ultima III had some real doozies, and this was before patching software was easy.  I remember haunting BBS systems, downloading fix after fix for many of those early Ultima games.

It's precisely because Garriott is an artiste that Tabula Rasa will probably be buggier at release than most competing titles.  That won't stop me from buying it like the consumer whore that I am.  I ache for a game that is what UO could have been.

Let's just hope that City of Villains doesn't completely screw up the only MMOG I've actually enjoyed since the very early days of UO.  I so badly want it not to suck.

[WindupAtheist]

Didn't pretty much all of the old Ultimas come out late?

[WayAbvPar]

Buggy I expect. I just think Garriott has enough power to hold off the release until the feature set is reasonably complete. Maybe necromancy will ship! =P

[SirBruce]

Yes, the sechedule shows an entry to develop more "casual" games in 2005, with Tabula Rasa and some other names in 2006:

2005
Guild Wars - Fantasy
City of Heroes/Villians - Superhero
Auto-Assault - Vehicle
Casual - Casual
2006
Troopers - Mech Battle
Alterlife - Social Adventure
Aion - Fantasy
Tabula Rasa - Sci-fi

I had heard about Aion, but not about Troopers.  Tabula Rasa will probably be early 2006 unless they are really redoing everything...

Bruce

[schild]

I hope alterlife comes out in America. I want to play a giant companies attempt at making a girl's game.

[Arnold]

In title, perhaps. But he is also an artiste, and an arrogant one at that. Seems reasonable that he will do everything in his power to keep it off the market until it is ready. And maybe until WoW loses some momentum?

Maybe he is just waiting for someone to build a computer that can run his game well.

[Mi_Tes]

Seems reasonable that he will do everything in his power to keep it off the market until it is ready.

That is exactly the message Richard Garriott conveyed at the Austin conference.  When it is done, it will be done, and not before then.  So, not at all surprised that yet another game is delayed.  A 2006 date was hinted at for TR after the big changes as well as minimal information since then, no don't know anyone who was expecting anything before a winter 2005 release at the earliest.  More like a wait and see at this year's E3.

WoW and EQ2 have raised the bar on what is expected from a game, so anyone would be foolish to release something not up to that bar (that isn't nitch).  Add to that, enough games have made the same mistake of releasing before they should, and either flopped or had a very difficult road because of it.  Given Richard Garriot's position in NCsoft and with TR, I hope this does give him the flexibilty to release when done because Tabula Rasa is one game I am really looking forward to playing.  Hell, I thought it was fun to play last E3. 

[Signe]

I'm looking forward to this one, too.  I'm very curious about it.  Maybe Mi Ties and I will, for once, end up in a game, on the same server, on the same side.  At least we all have a bit of time to sort that stuff out, for a change.

[SirBruce]

I hope our ideogram disks will still get us into beta. :)

Bruce