[MUD-Dev] Rubies of Eventide shutting down

[Mantees de Tara]

http://www.rubiesofeventide.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=38315&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

Posted by Marc E. Howe, President of Cyber Warrior, Inc., developers
of Rubies of Eventide:

--<cut>--
  Well, my dear friends, as expected, things are not looking any
  brighter. It is unlikely that I can continue to fund the company
  beyond December of this year.

  I have been vigorously examining the possibility of keeping the game
  alive as a hobby, however, even there it looks to be impossible to
  generate enough revenue on an ongoing monthly basis to sustain
  operations, provide cash to continue development, or maintain our
  levels of service.

  Such being the case, I have halted all billing as of yesterday
  afternoon. Bill and Chris are developing a list of those of you who
  have paid for service beyond the end of December; those people will
  receive a refund on any balance paid for into the new year.

  It is with great sorrow that I contemplate closing down Cyber Warrior.
  I will miss you all and had great fun playing with so many of you. I
  tried to develop and market a game whose mechanics and customer
  service were a cut above the rest, as you see, it is difficult and
  while we made great progress in that direction, ultimately, I have
  failed.

  Many contributing factors have forced me to this point. Our customer
  base continues to decline; as of yesterday we had only 806 paying
  customers( we lost another 41 over the weekend). Many of you have
  voiced great dissatisfaction on this board recently with the state of
  the games' development and you are right to feel that way, worse yet,
  there is little I can any longer do to remedy the many short comings.
  It takes people, whom I could no longer afford to pay. Additionally, I
  know many of you are planning on switching to Horizons when that game
  comes out( I don't blame you at all). Even if I could find the
  where-with-all to fund continued development, larger and larger
  companies and concerns now dominate the market and the market is
  becoming saturated with competing products. A company as small as
  Cyber Warrior simply cannot afford the type of hype and advertising
  that are required to establish and maintain a viable customer base.

  I wish you all the best and hope you all find the type of game fun you
  are looking for. I only regret that I failed to give that to you.

  Farewell
--<cut>--

Maybe you will find intersting this other post:

  http://www.rubiesofeventide.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=36280&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

--<cut>--
  Company and project status, Nov. 17, 2003

  Dear players,

  Against, much reasonable and prudent advice, I will once again, as
  I most often do, trust you with the truth.

  I do this out of respect for you all, both, because you deserve
  respect, and also on the general principle of the matter, for we
  all perhaps, far too often, show far too little respect towards
  one another.

  Cyber Warrior has almost reached the end of its financial
  rope. Subscriptions, which equate to revenues, have not risen to
  anywhere near the sorts of levels that would have been necessary
  to justify the sorts of ongoing operational and personnel expenses
  we have incurred, month by month, so far this year.

  Such being the case, drastic action was required to provide even a
  slight possibility of continued corporate survival. I am presently
  seeking to develop a realistic and sound strategy to remedy the
  situation and continue to move forward improving our service to
  you.

  I must admit to being greatly distressed by some of the hateful
  and false rumors that have spread regarding what was done and why
  or how, what was done, should have been done. Let me make it
  clear, nobody in my family has drawn any salary from this company
  for over a year. Quite the contrary, we have all invested both
  money and time almost without measure in this project.

  That sort of nonsense aside, the business math is simple:

    Previous balance sheet summary:

      Customer base = somewhat less then 1000 paying customers =
      about $10000 to $15000 per month.

      Expenses = $120000 to $150000 per month.

      Operating deficit = over $100000 per month.

  Without the injection of significant new capital, explosive sales
  growth, or radical expense reductions, I can assure you that
  things could not continue without change.  New capital could not
  be located and sales growth stagnated. I was left with only one
  option, radical and drastic personnel and operational expense
  reductions

  So, where are we today, Nov. 17, 2003?

    Revenues = about $10000/month
    Expenses = about $40000/month
    Operating deficit = $30000/month

  Still, as you can see, we are nowhere near out of the wilderness.

  Therefore, additional cost reductions will be required and an
  expansion of our paying customer base must also occur if we are to
  survive.

  Since we are unlikely to expand our customer base, let alone even
  retain you, members of our existing base, without regular and
  continual additions to content and features, a small development
  team will be reconstituted if I feel the likelihood of developing
  an ongoing business high.

  Let me address directly your risks, as paying customers. I am sure
  many of you are concerned about paying your monthly fee and then
  having Cyber Warrior disappear one morning with your cash. Please
  accept my assurances that I will not do this to you. Each of you
  is far too dear to me to entertain any thoughts of betraying your
  trust and faith in this game, this Company, or me.

  If it comes to a point where I feel we are no longer able to serve
  you, than I will endeavor to rebate the greater portion if not all
  of your unused subscription fees to you.

  If you want to be part of the solution, help us get and keep more
  customers.

  Thank you.

  Sincerely,
  Marc E. Howe, President
  Cyber Warrior, Inc.
--<cut>--

--
Mantees de Tara
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