Perpetual…Isn’t
By 
Hib in
Perpetual Entertainment, Star Trek, Star Trek Online, games, gaming, mmo, mmog, mmorpg on
November 27th, 2007
On just about every site on the internet that deals with MMORPGs, the news came out yesterday (thanks to a mandatory SEC filing by Korean company Gravity, the company behind Ragnarok Online) that Perpetual is being forced to liquidate their assets.
Pursuant to the Assignment, Perpetual transferred ownership of all of its rights in tangible and intangible assets (collectively, the “Assets”) to Assignee for liquidation. Assignee shall liquidate the Assets, wind down Perpetual, and distribute the net liquidation proceeds to creditors of Perpetual.
Gravity does not anticipate recovering any portion of the Company’s original investment of US $9 million made in Perpetual in 2006. The full amount will likely be reflected in its financial statement for 2007 as an impairment loss.
If this means what it seems to, then Perpetual’s suspension of development of Gods & Heroes last month was just a sign of things to come. This does leave the big question on the table, however…what about Star Trek Online? Well, according to Razor over at Warcry, there is no “what” about STO.
Gamasutra is reporting that Perpetual Entertainment is liquidating their assets. Which was the case last month when Gods and Heroes was shutdown. Gravity just decided to file the SEC report recently so I can understand where it looks like Perpetual is currently being sold off. If it weren’t for the fact that Perpetual was already sold off to new company called Perpetual Entertainment.
An interesting fact which seems to put the furor to bed. Except, of course, for this little gem over at Shacknews.com:
Perpetual has been acquired by new ownership, reportedly a media company looking to use Star Trek Online to make its first major inroads into the video game market. Along with the acquisition comes a partial retargeting of Star Trek Online to what our source describes as a “more casual” experience, one which may potentially eschew subscription fees in favor of the practice of charging real money for optional in-game items, a practice popularized by various Korean MMOs.
“More casual”. To appeal to a wider potential market, I’m sure. Wider…and younger.
“Captain…I seem to have lost all fine motor control and attention spa…why is that woman removing her bra?”
I’m not quite sure what anyone could accomplish with STO if it’s handled in the form of an RMT microtransaction “grinder”. I feel that a large percent of the Trek fanbase would be turned off by the idea, leaving just the fans that would play the solo edition of “Amputate!” (the deluxe boxed set that comes with the saw) if it was the Star Trek version. However, casual games are bigger (registered-user-wise) than subscription-based MMOs, so the potential may be there.
“You have run out of air on the Enterprise. Purchase breathable atmosphere at our handy item mall!”
There’s something that most gamers and fans seem to forget…when dealing with a property like Star Trek, there is going to be no, I repeat no way to please the fanbase. Does this mean that a successful, fun MMORPG can’t be made from that IP?
Of course not.
But it’s a path that will have to be trod very carefully if you’re in charge of the property, or you’ll wind up with a Star Wars Galaxies debacle on your hands.
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November 29th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Thanks for the background info.
A Star Trek MMORPG is at the TOP of my Most Wanted list because I’m an avid Trekkie. (Or is it Trekker, I can’t remember which one doesn’t wear fake ears and talk in Klingon.)
But Perpetual (or whatever they’re calling themselves) switching to a Korean-style or Guild Wars-style MMO would turn me off. In the case of the Korean-style games, they always feel like grind-fests, and they nickle-and-dime one to death; a lot of small purchases add up quickly.
In the case of Guild Wars, the game feels very, very shallow, despite great art and fun gameplay.
Ideally, I’d like a fusion of MMO styles demonstrated by Pirates of the Burning Seas, World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies (pre-nerf but with easier leveling), and elements of Guild Wars. Plus a dash of the old TrekMUSH fun and laughs.
November 29th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
I think it’s “Trekkie” that’s fallen out of favor…”Trekkers” are the cool geeks like us.
I agree…if this reported move is true, it’ll move STO from my “MUST PLAY” column into my “Not in a million freakin’ years” column.
December 2nd, 2007 at 4:55 am
Actually there’s been a brief post by an individual claiming to be a dev on the STO project saying that the rumors aren’t 100% true. Still waiting on more confirmation as everything up till this point had been too credible to ignore given Perpetuals history and lack of a quality product (Gods & Heroes).