I know a lot of things have been blown out of proportion in the past two weeks, but I think the current “Namco is going to/has acquired the IP rights to Hellgate” really takes the cake. Even IGN has
jumped on the bandwagon, going as far to say that the Namco Bandai representative, Zack Karlsson, who posted the post in question on the forums, “hinted” that they would “step in to keep the intellecutal property right going.” Let’s review Karlsson’s post, shall we?
“Hello Hellgaters,
I know everyone is looking for an announcement, and we’d love to make one — but right now, many things are in flux and we don’t have all the information yet. As soon as we do, we’ll post here on the forums, on the website, and anywhere else we can find you.
In the short term, please do not worry. The game is up, the servers are not going away in the short term and any major changes to status will be communicated in advance.
I’d like to ask for your patience as we try to figure it all out and chart a new course. We value your community, your commitment, and your passion for Hellgate and we will make sure that any solution that we architect will support all of you as best as we are able.
Thanks again. We hope to have a real announcement shortly.“
Remind me where Karlsson “hints” that they would “keep the intellectual property right going”? Fact is, someone
cried wolf and everyone ran to check. Okay, so, for one second, let’s forget that Namco was always a
partner with Flagship since the beginning of it all. Let’s also forget that Namco
removed Hellgate from their list of games as well. Let’s also forget that HanbitSoft has made the
claim that they are in the process of obtaining the IP rights and are even pursuing legal proceedings against Flagship Studios as well.
I’ve been trying to avoid talking about this story because Tiggs, who hasn’t been showing the greatest sense of professionalism in the past two weeks, isn’t clarifying anything at all except that news will be coming “soon.” I don’t know how long “soon” is, but it’s usually less than two weeks. Then again, given the standards of Flagship Studios, “soon” could mean two or three months. Since everyone loves it when I “debunk the real story, man!”, I’ll throw out an opinion into the mix. Notice how apparently the whole Namco mishap has everyone turned away from the lack of billing even being made noticed to the public or how no one is even talking about HanbitSoft’s claim any more? Yeah, I know how much of a big “spin” a theory on distraction is from the people who have been misleading us since day one, but hey, I’m sure someone is willing to shrug it off and not take notice of it. To those actually believing Namco is going to be in charge of things without any official word:
