So, in the 9th February 09, Mark Gerhard introduced himself to the runescape community has the new Jagex CEO.

And, of course, that brings some changes, of which he talked.

First, a little review on what Jagex is ; maybe it’s what he always felt it was like but what he admits wasn’t until now? A passionate team that actively plays the games they make and are so user-friendly? Humm, I would put my bet on this being what he wants to make of Jagex and not what Jagex was until this point.

Then, he publicly apologises for some things he thinks Jagex has done wrong in the past. He says the company wasn’t really that open to the community and its suggestions, and that he doesn’t want Jagex to be seen as just another self-marketing companies, but as a game developer one, that listens to their players. That, in my opinion, if really happens will be a fresh restart to the whole concept they have had us used to since they brought the game up; let’s face it, runescape developers haven’t been the best listeners in the world.

Thirdly, he announces the removal of the video ads at the log in process in ftp worlds, as well as more support to the free players, saying members is to be seen has an expansion to the free game and not as the real game, having the free version as a demo. This can mean some drops in subscription count, you say? Not quite. Members will still have the most updates, and the game is WAY bigger there. It will simply make free-to-players have a taste of what it’s like to be a member, improving their favourite game even further. They will be happy, they will be addicted. And then, they’ll subscribe. Better profit AND better costumer relationship. Max score for Jagex on this field from me.

And they’re on the roll for a revolution in the way they approach the players, what would otherwise be their costumers/buyers. No BtS, which can’t be good. Sure, surprises are nice, but without Behind the Scenes people will just have no clue on what can make them keep playing. They will also have Developments Diaries, but that doesn’t fix it. I think this isn’t a good move by the new CEO here.

And to finalise his first row of thoughts, he makes a commitment on regularly improving everything from graphics to new game play mechanics.

Then starts the final part of his ‘inaugural speech’. He is obviously changing the way they’re facing the game and community, but not everything in the old management was bad. He still find the time to defend Jagex from some critics, by saying the game is in no way aimed at kids, but says they’ll be happy to remove some over-zealous features in the game. Another smart move by the new boss, realizing success is in that direction.

He then kicks things off with a few minor notes, like his age (young) and telling us he will be open for questions in the short term. But, the choice of the questions to answer is just as important as the answer themselves, keep that in mind.

He is committed to be more user-friendly and all, and although the future can’t be guessed, I like t3h n3w b055 a lotz already. =P

3,2,1…COMMENT.