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City of Heroes
City of Heroes News
City of Heroes: Profitable or Not?
Jan 4th
The closing of City of Heroes by NCSoft was a heartbreaker for many current and former players. In an investigative piece here at MMORPG.com, we take a look at the closure and whether or not CoH was a profitable game raising speculation about why it was closed in the end. Read on and then join the conversation in the comments.
In my most recent MMOFTW show, I chose the City of Heroes closure by NCsoft as one of the year’s top MMO-related news stories. In the segment, I mentioned that CoH was not profitable, and this is why it was shut down in November. Why? Because this is what we were told by NCsoft as one of the driving reasons behind the closure of the game. Several readers reached out to tell me this was inaccurate. But more than that, former Paragon Studios and NCsoft employees reached out to our own Rob Lashley to tell him what they believed to be true regarding the studio’s earnings in a phone interview.
Read more of Bill Murphy's and Rob Lashley's City of Heroes: Profitable or Not?.
City of Heroes: Livestream Q&A Postponed!
Dec 20th
We hate to be the bearer of the bad news, but those of you excited for our livestream Q&A with Matt 'Positron' Miller are going to have to wait just a little bit longer!
Unfortunately, we have had to push back the livestream event to Friday, December 21 at 7:30PM EST.
City of Heroes: Livestream Q&A with Matt ’Positron’ Miller
Dec 18th
MMORPG.com will be featuring former City of Heroes senior lead designer Matt 'Positron' Miller this Thursday, December 20 at 6:30PM EST to discuss the now shutdown superhero MMO as part of a livestream Q&A on our Twitch.TV channel.
Fans of the game are sure to have questions for Matt and we'd like to get you involved in the interview! Simply post any questions you have (as many as you like!) regarding City of Heroes in the comments below and we may select some of them to pose to Matt during our interview this Thursday.
City of Heroes: Farewell to CoH
Oct 31st
As the days of City of Heroes come to a close, we took the opportunity to revisit the game one last time during Wayback Wednesday. Take a nostalgic look at CoH with our Wayback leader, Rob Lashley, then leave us your thoughts in the comments.
I'd be a phony if I told you that I played City of Heroes on a regular basis. The truth is I did not; however, it is a MMO that I very much respected and appreciated for what it was. Who has not ever wanted to be a superhero as a kid? City of Heroes made that dream a virtual reality for many people over the past 8 years. Maybe you dreamed of being Magneto to someone else's Professor X instead? They had you covered there also. With City of Villains it was just as viable to be a bad guy as it was to be a good one.
Read more of Rob Lashley's City of Heroes: Wayback Wednesday Visits One Last Time.
City of Heroes: NCSoft Responds to ’Save CoH’ Movement
Oct 1st
City of Heroes fans have been busy since the announcement that the game would be shutting down this fall. Groups of players have organized in-game events, online petitions and more. Sadly, NCSoft says that, while they've heard players' voices, there are currently no plans to change the decision.
City of Heroes® Players and Fans,
We wanted to let you know that your voices have been heard and your concerns have been taken into serious consideration. We appreciate the overwhelmingly constructive and positive messages in the emails, notes, and packages you've sent in support of the game. It has not been an easy decision for us to close Paragon Studios® and prepare to shut down City of Heroes. We've exhausted all options including the selling of the studio and the rights to the City of Heroes intellectual property, but in the end, efforts to do so were not successful. City of Heroes has a special place in all of our hearts, and we want to ensure its reputation and the memories we share for the game end on a high note.
Once again, we will be holding events throughout the process of preparing for the game's end, and we encourage players and fans of the franchise to join More >
City of Heroes: Sunset FAQ Posted
Sep 25th
NCSoft and Paragon Studios have posted a new 'Sunset' FAQ surrounding the November closure of City of Heroes. In it, player questions are answered on topics including the exact end date, refunds of Paragon Points and much more.
When is City of Heroes closing?
The City of Heroes Freedom servers will shut off on November 30, 2012 at 12:00 AM PDT
Will I receive compensation for City of Heroes closing down?
We are processing refunds for unused game time that may have been applied to your account.
Can I create a free account and play until the end of City of Heroes?
Unfortunately new account creation has been disabled.
Am I able to upgrade my account to VIP untilt he end of City of Heroes?
Upgrading to a VIP account has been disabled
Read the full FAQ on the City of Heroes site.
City of Heroes: Dinner’s On Us
Sep 13th
The sponsors of last week's City of Heroes Unity Rally have announced that they have successfully completed a fundraising activity called "Dinner's On Us". Fans of the game donated money to purchase dinner for the entire Paragon Studios team in thanks for their years of dedication to the game that was recently announced as closing down.
We the community want to show our appreciation to the people who have given us such a wonderful outlet for our creative energies over the years. They've talked to us, they've listened to our feedback, they've even socialized with us on a level that no other game developer ever has. We're still hopeful that the game will end up where it belongs, in the hands of Paragon Studios. But no matter what happens, we just want Paragon Studios to know that we're here for them and appreciate all of the hard work they've dedicated to us.
Source: Email press release
City of Heroes: Reflecting on City of Heroes
Sep 12th
With City of Heroes and Paragon Studios set to close by the end of the year, we're taking some time this week to reflect on the game.
Really try and think back to 2002 or even ahead to 2004 when the game officially launched and consider what MMOs were like at the time. Cryptic Studios was really going against the grain both in gameplay and theme. City of Heroes focused on doing ‘action combat’ before it became a buzzword and players could group up with each other regardless of level and party size due to the way the game’s instanced content and sidekicking system worked. You could fly around, leap across the city, speed through tunnels, all the while tossing fireballs, going super nova, or just smashing some dude into the air with a hammer made entirely of stone. This all from a first-time developer that really fought an uphill battle trying to bring the game to market.
Read more of Michael Bitton's Reflecting on City of Heroes.
City of Heroes: Gamers Rally to Save City of Heroes
Sep 6th
Mountain View CA, September 6, 2012: The online heroes of Paragon City are currently in an epic battle. Not against the forces of crime and evil that they have been facing for eight years, but against the decision of a company that is preparing to turn off the game servers and end a game that has been running since April 2004.
NCsoft, the publisher of City of Heroes, announced last Friday that it is shutting down Paragon Studios, the game development studio responsible for City of Heroes. Operation of the flagship will cease by November 30 due to a realignment of NCsoft’s focus.
To its community, City of Heroes is more than just a game, it is a vibrant, welcoming community. City of Heroes was the first online role-playing game for many gamers, and introduced them to the wonders of flying through the skies and battling epic menaces with friends. City of Heroes has brought together families, offered comfort during troubling times, and inspired charities that have raised nearly $30,000 for children, members of the armed forces, and to fight hunger.
The City of Heroes community quickly rallied and formed a campaign to save the game from virtual extinction. “We’ve been saving Paragon City for eight More >
City of Heroes: Issue 24 with Matt Miller
Aug 8th
City of Heroes is expanding again with Issue 24: Resurgence. We had the opportunity to chat with Senior Lead Designer Matt Miller about the expansion, what it brings to the game and much more. Check it out and then discuss the interview in the comments.
MMORPG: What are your favorite design concepts in Resurgence? Is making changes to the game more difficult because of its rich history?
Matt Miller:I love the fact that the overall meta story for the game is moving forward. We build upon the storylines of previous issues. For example, after Issue 23, Praetoria was devastated from the Magisterium Incarnate Trial. Much of Issue 24 deals with the repercussions of that as many signature Praetorians make a new home on Primal Earth. This kind of story telling happens “out of sync” with the normal timeline of things that happen to you in order of your leveling up, but we make it clear on the contact introduction that elements of the content that contact gives assume events from a previous issue have taken place, no matter what level you are.
Read more of Garrett Fuller's City of Heroes: Issue 24 with Matt Miller.