Omali Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 (edited) Speaking at the Develop conference this week, Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard said that it became a self-publisher out of necessity after several big time publishers basically told them "[bleep] you." The company responsible for the ultra popular browser-based MMORPG RuneScape said that it approached Electronic Arts and Activision, but were soundly rejected. Even after its game became a massive hit, publishers spurned them. "We went to publishers like Activision and EA and said we've got an awesome browser game, and they said 'f**k off'," revealed Gerhard at the Develop Conference in Brighton. "We went back and said we've got a million users and they said 'bulls***'". The necessity forced us to become a publisher."Gerhard said that, despite those hurdles, the company managed to do well; in 2005 Sony was willing to invest in the company. That's a a long way from being ignored by EA and Activision. Besides publishing RuneScape and casual games through the FunOrb portal, Jagex is also releasing titles such as War of Legends, which is "125 percent over target on revenues," according to Gerhard. "It's given us the confidence to do this on a larger scale," he added.The company has also managed to do well on iPhone with its first game, Bouncedown, which moved 4.5 million units in its first six weeks of release. This despite the fact that Gerhard has a pessimistic attitude towards the platform and worries that the market is too saturated already.. Still, Jagex shared its philosophy that maybe the reason why it has managed to be so successful; they make games that they want to play first and worry about the rest later. RuneScape is certainly a good indication of that. As he says, "success is side effect of great content." Source: GI.biz http://gamepolitics.com/2010/07/15/jagex-we-had-self-publish I never knew that Sony invested in Jagex back in 2005, but it's interesting to see how widely rejected the concept of Runescape was merely five years ago, and now the browser based MMO market is shooting up so high that many industry leaders are getting behind the idea, such as Richard Garriot (Ultima Online's creator), Free Realms, Fusion Fall (Cartoon Network MMO), and the millions of Evony clones. Edited July 16, 2010 by Danqazmlp Removed censor evasion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Recci Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 L O L. Thats all i got to say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brady Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 EA did the right thing. 99 Cooking - August 20th, 201099 Woodcutting - September 3rd, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matey Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 I'm not a fan of EA or Activision, so I guess I'm kind of glad nothing happened there. I'm quite interested that Sony invested in them, don't they publish/develop Free Realms, probably the closest thing to competition that RuneScape has? To hell with humanity;The more I see, the less I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nubbycubby Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 gf EA ☭ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh_pwning_ore Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 gj EA[bleep] EA act is beast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omali Posted July 16, 2010 Author Share Posted July 16, 2010 I'm not a fan of EA or Activision, so I guess I'm kind of glad nothing happened there. I'm quite interested that Sony invested in them, don't they publish/develop Free Realms, probably the closest thing to competition that RuneScape has? Free Realms is 100% Sony (San Diego). It started development back in late 2007/early 2008 I believe, was released in 2009, but they invested in Jagex in 2005. It is very possible that the success of Runescape inspired Sony to work on their own browser based MMO. EA did the right thing. Given how badly Warhammer Online crashed, I'm glad EA kept their hands out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danqazmlp Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 both EA and activision have a reputation for sucking games dry for all they have so I am glad that they didn't get involved in Runescape. I think if either had done, the massive changes to the game in 07' would never have happened as they wouldn't have the guts to make the change. Want to be my friend? Look under my name to the left<<< and click the 'Add as friend' button!Big thanks to Stevepole for the signature!^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mememe513 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 I think that FunOrb kind of failed. The other day, I tried playing Tetralink, only to find exactly one person on the server. Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@Dan3HitU Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 I think that FunOrb kind of failed.I believe it has too, despite what Jagex say. [-- DYNAMIC SIGNATURES FOR RUNESCAPE 3 & OLDSCHOOL 2007 RUNESCAPE --] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aneron Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 I think that FunOrb kind of failed.I believe it has too, despite what Jagex say. try playing arcanists or the football game lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_sunny Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 No noobtoobs or Sims in runescape, please. :-| By popular demand, this signature is back- however I currently do not have a blog up at the moment and if I did I wouldn't update it. Sorry, the sig links to nowhere :( . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triquos Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Funorb screams 'kiddies game' to me. I agree with EA on this one. I wouldn't want to support a game which has huge stuff ups every now and then which annoy many players, prime example being the climbing boots update. Plus whether Jagex think so or not, RS has become very player based, whereby if we don't like an update, we will riot!!! XD and most games I've seen never do that, and I'm sure companies like EA would not like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star_Fox Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 God, this is like a breath of fresh air. literally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 L O L.gf EAgj EA Sums up my thoughts. Given how badly Warhammer Online crashed, I'm glad EA kept their hands out of it. Yeah, im glad they said no. Doubt RS would be where it is today if Jagex hadnt done stuff for themselves. ........::::: Rainy's YouTube Channel - Rainy's Twitter - Rainy's Facebook - Rainy's DeviantArt - Rainy's Tumblr - Rainy's Tip.It Profile :::::......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golvellius Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Activision is now Activision Blizzard.Apparently, they wanted WOW instead. Exclusive Legacy Mode Player He just successfully trolled you with "courtesy" and managed to get a reaction out of you. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarg1010 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Thank god. Activision probably would've fired MMG to get out of paying him anyway... Just look at what they did with Infinity ward... ....... WAIT ACTIVISION RECONSIDER!!!! Unfinished netherrack symbol of Khorne. Never forget. ~creeper face w/single tear~ DO YOU HEAR THE VOICES TOO?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pulli23 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Speaking at the Develop conference this week, Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard said that it became a self-publisher out of necessity after several big time publishers basically told them "[bleep] you." The company responsible for the ultra popular browser-based MMORPG RuneScape said that it approached Electronic Arts and Activision, but were soundly rejected. Even after its game became a massive hit, publishers spurned them. "We went to publishers like Activision and EA and said we've got an awesome browser game, and they said 'f**k off'," revealed Gerhard at the Develop Conference in Brighton. "We went back and said we've got a million users and they said 'bulls***'". The necessity forced us to become a publisher."Gerhard said that, despite those hurdles, the company managed to do well; in 2005 Sony was willing to invest in the company. That's a a long way from being ignored by EA and Activision. Besides publishing RuneScape and casual games through the FunOrb portal, Jagex is also releasing titles such as War of Legends, which is "125 percent over target on revenues," according to Gerhard. "It's given us the confidence to do this on a larger scale," he added.The company has also managed to do well on iPhone with its first game, Bouncedown, which moved 4.5 million units in its first six weeks of release. This despite the fact that Gerhard has a pessimistic attitude towards the platform and worries that the market is too saturated already.. Still, Jagex shared its philosophy that maybe the reason why it has managed to be so successful; they make games that they want to play first and worry about the rest later. RuneScape is certainly a good indication of that. As he says, "success is side effect of great content." Source: GI.biz http://gamepolitics.com/2010/07/15/jagex-we-had-self-publish I never knew that Sony invested in Jagex back in 2005, but it's interesting to see how widely rejected the concept of Runescape was merely five years ago, and now the browser based MMO market is shooting up so high that many industry leaders are getting behind the idea, such as Richard Garriot (Ultima Online's creator), Free Realms, Fusion Fall (Cartoon Network MMO), and the millions of Evony clones.Still not blizzard, activision or ea who build the browser based games. - It was and is just out of their scope: they target a different audience.. First they came to fishingand I didn't speak out because I wasn't fishing Then they came to the yewsand I didn't speak out because I didn't cut yews Then they came for the oresand I didn't speak out because I didn't collect ores Then they came for meand there was no one left to speak out for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thegpguild2 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Activision is now Activision Blizzard.Apparently, they wanted WOW instead.well it seems activision was too stupid to make the better choice <_< TF2 Quotes"stabbity stabbity stab" - [tcf] Chaotic Flare"if life gives you an orange, you must be a mexican" - [tcf] PyrooryP"will! you! stop! sapping! my! sentry! gun! god! [bleep]it!" - [tcf] g0 di3 sp1e"he's like a bottle of soda with a skittle at the bottom, it doesn't really do anything it just sits there looking interesting and you can't drink it, so you basically just want to throw it out but you don't" - [tcf] sarrix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Yeng Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 L O L. Thats all i got to say Jagex=Rejected. GF! 2002 - 2003 RuneScape Classic Clans: Wild Dawgs (WD). Court of Dragons (CoD). BlacKnights (BK). Black Dragon Knights (BDK).2009 - 2010 RuneScape 2 Clan/Team: Hardly Dead (HD). Ex-Team Silent Ember (SE).~ Hmong Pride ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Kurity Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 If EA/activision got a hold of this game, we would be playing runescape VIII modern knighthood 2 And every year a new one would come out, with a new cost involved. O.O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danqazmlp Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 If it was activision we would have microtransactions by now in RS. Want to be my friend? Look under my name to the left<<< and click the 'Add as friend' button!Big thanks to Stevepole for the signature!^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashNburn Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Activision is now Activision Blizzard.Apparently, they wanted WOW instead.well it seems activision was too stupid to make the better choice <_< Picking WoW over RS from a business standpoint is not the wrong choice. Maybe I'm misunderstanding your post? Interactive dungeoneering floor mapper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hajutze Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Activision is now Activision Blizzard.Apparently, they wanted WOW instead.well it seems activision was too stupid to make the better choice <_<Ok srsly if you are a company which game would you prefer ? And just to mention - all you basically should care is just income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danqazmlp Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Activision is now Activision Blizzard.Apparently, they wanted WOW instead.well it seems activision was too stupid to make the better choice <_<Ok srsly if you are a company which game would you prefer ? And just to mention - all you basically should care is just income. A company the size of Activision would not have had to choose one or the other. They would have gone for both of them if they wanted. They both would have been individual itrms for them, with bare links. Want to be my friend? Look under my name to the left<<< and click the 'Add as friend' button!Big thanks to Stevepole for the signature!^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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