Hellgate: London-Taking a Hit but Not Out of the Game Yet

Sometime, no matter how hard you try to fix a mistake, its repercussions just cannot be dodged. After a near fatal launch and months of tweaking to fix persistent bugs; not even the promise of a second content patch was able to do more than post pone the inevitable. Maybe someone in management dropped a ball somewhere along the way or maybe someone crossed an "I" instead of the "T"; whatever it was that happened, with whomever the fault may lie, the end result was that too little was done at too late a time; and so it was that a game that appeared to be on the verge of redeeming itself was unable to steer itself from the cliff ahead.

After a long weekend of rumors and unofficial statements from several sources, some more questionable than others, players were given an official statement on July 14 confirming massive lay-offs. For days players discussed all manner of issues that might have led up to the financial difficulties resulting in the lay-offs. With the obvious lack of support that comes with such an action players "left" the game in droves.

The more dedicated lot of players stayed on the forums and continued to discuss the future of the game, or rather, if there was a future for the game at all. Then it appeared that even the website forums were going to be shutdown, but fortunately someone decided to leave them up for the fans that were still playing the game, whose servers were still operational.

Lots of rampant speculation erupted across the internet, from people trying to translate Korea-based Hanbitsoft (they have a stake in Hellgate: London) statements to "official" Hanbitsoft claims of legal action against Flagship Studios to take control of their properties.

Yet, there is still some light at the end of this dark tunnel for fans of Hellgate: London; Bandai-Namco appears to have some leverage over the game and has made a "pre-statement" post on the forums to let the fans know that action is being taken to keep the game live.

So why try to keep the game afloat at all? If it didn't have enough of a player base to avoid financial difficulties in the first place, then why bother? Doesn't this failure indicate that the Hellgate: London model is a poor concept? At first glance, this is all true. However, many people are of the opinion that the management at Flagship Studios is at fault; that all the potential of Hellgate: London was squandered. There is a consensus that the game model is a winning concept, but has simply been in the wrong hands. Many people who played the beta version, but who quit after the launch would agree; the game is worth saving, but a change in management is the key for success.

Through all of this, there is a star player that must be recognized. I wish I had greater status to bring some weight with my words, but my limited (i.e. utter lack of) influence will just have to be endured.

She calls herself Tiggs on the Hellgate: London forums. Yes, she is truly a she and she has said so herself and she doesn't date gamers; specifically, she has no interest in dating YOU. I'm not even sure if she's currently employed and considering the economic troubles in America right now, would you really want to take the chance that she's just a mooch? I didn't think so, so go back to your naughty anime and leave her alone.

Seriously though, Tiggs has hung in there for the community the whole time. She's a forum moderator and well-liked; always uplifting and positive, not afraid to lock down a derailed thread, but never rude about it. She may be in need of a psychiatric evaluation over her lock obsession though. Tiggs has been the anchor holding the community together in the midst of the storm. If you do any posting on the Hellgate: London forums, be sure to give her a shout out, she deserves it.

Hope all goes well, I'd love to continue doing Hellgate: London articles, but I can't do that if the game shuts down. But for now, the servers are still up and if you were a subscriber you're not getting billed right now. So what's the harm?

There's no other game on the market quite like it, so come on in!