While we disagree, I would like to elaborate on some of the points you made.
To me, there is a balance between doing what is necessary to keep the game alive and doing what is best for the game/players. And while I acknowledge Jagex is a business and not a charity (although this point is contradictory given their charity initiatives in the past), this doesn't justify the decisions made. Jagex was making plenty of money to pay the bills beforehand even with the eradication of bots. At some point (likely when the controlling interest was bought by another company), it became about profit generation. This isn't something Jagex or MMG can control, but it does change the dynamics of the decision making process.
Jagex certainly could have dealt with bots sooner, in a better manner, and with better results than the way they did. Sure, they needed time to develop and implement the technology, but to me, it never seemed like the priority from the get go. They realized it was a problem, but failed to put in the time and resources to address the problem as quickly and effectively as possible. Jagex finally came up with a solution, but seemingly too late with player numbers on the devline.
When it comes to micro transactions, real life circumstances should have no bearing on in-game success/advantages. End of discussion. Perhaps you don't agree on this point, but I think most gamers would agree with me. The fact any game these days has micro transactions that give an in-game advantage is problematic. It dilutes the integrity of gaming and makes it less enjoyable for those who do not want to participate. It is irrelevant in my mind that players have an option not to participate. It's not about players not wanting to participate. It's about micro transactions not having ANY PLACE in gaming whatsoever. The only goal is to make money, not to "pay the bills." I did write an
article on the subject if you want to read more on my thoughts on the subject, although I think I've pretty much summed it up here. Also, the fact that other MMOs have issues with pay-to-win does not relate to how Jagex should do things. True, Runescape is not like other MMOs in this regard which is good. But the fact it does have some type of pay-to-win feature is unfortunate. I would be more open to increasing membership fees than implementing micro transactions.
To say "Yes, Mod MMG, did have the best interests of the company in mind, but that does not mean it was not in the best interests of the players too" doesn't rule out the possibility that the decisions he made at times WERE more so in favor of the business over the players. And this is understandable. From the standpoint of Jagex, it makes sense that MMG as the CEO would favor the interests of Jagex over the players. While companies should try to balance both interests, most fail to do so. This isn't just a Runescape issue, but a problem with gaming companies as a whole. Also, even though MMG said he looked at things from the side of the player, to me these are just empty words as they weren't proven by the decisions he made. We probably disagree on that as well.
And I'm not saying his job wasn't tough. It definitely was. No decision is easy or simple from the standpoint of a CEO. As I said before, praise/blame for Runescape's successes/failures shouldn't be placed solely on MMG. It is a team that is responsible for Runescape, not one man alone. Did he do a decent job? Sure, I could agree with that. Could he have done better? Most definitely imo. Will the game be better off because of how it changed under MMG's leadership? Only time will tell with a question like that. From the standpoint of a player, he didn't cut it as CEO. He didn't tread the line between player interest and company interest equitably, nor should we have expected him to. Most CEO's put business before the consumer while putting on the facade of things being the other way around.
All in all, he did alright. I just can't buy his statement that EVERYTHING they ever did was with Runescape's best interests in mind.
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