Wow. I didn't see that coming. I wonder what this means for Rift and Trion's future MMO plans.
But will they relaunch rift as it should have been with true dynamic content ? They really missed the mark when the decision was made to scrap that approach... RIFT would stand much taller if it was about the dynamic content and open world pvp around that..Definitely a good thing. But Trion has changed dramatically since when Rift was being developed.
I would probably be more excited if he was in charge of game development rather than runninng the entire organization. I still think it is good though as his management has always been top notch, people like working for him, and he puts the customer first.
Rift was pretty damn good I thought. Just the same ol ' same ol' was the problem.You can expect another incredibly hyped MMO that will turn out to be junk like Rift.
Lars was the founder and did put some of his cash down to start the company. He also brought in Hartsman to be his tech/creative guy. Butler was a former EA executive, and part of me wonders how much of their crappy corporate mentality he brought to the table. If I had to guess, I'd say Hartsman was never sold on Defiance and that might have hastened his departure in a political fight with others. The fact Defiance somewhat tanked and they laid off most of their staff probably opened up the Board's eyes on things.Never did get a good vibe from Lars Butler. He was pretty cocky.
LOL. I wouldn't go that far, but yes I think Smed has made some pretty bad decisions on his watch but he keeps getting lucky, so I don't see him going anytime soon.I would let a drunken janitor replace smed =)