BLOG PIECE: Modding as a hobby versus modding as a career, and the position of the Nexus

[Rakarth802]

In response to post #23719594. #23737919, #23743949, #23746339, #23751059, #23751089, #23758904, #23759199, #23759404, #23763944, #23812394, #24585289 are all replies on the same post.

Shezrie wrote:

zidders wrote: To me at least it's not a question of whether they're 'worth' a certain amount although I would argue that -most- (but not all) mods are pretty worthless, Sturgeons law being what it is but as far as why it's important mods remain free...well like Dark0ne has pointed out-it's more than just about playing games. It's about expressing creativity and sharing the experience. It's like a bunch of artists creating together in a commune. What happens when you go from the primary motivation being shared creativity to the primary motivation being money?

I dunno...it's definitely a tricky situation but not everyone is saying modders are worthless or their mods have no value. Only idiots and people looking to take advantage of others are saying that.

Skabb92 wrote: I see, one of those, "its ok for me to be greedy and concerned solely with profit as long as someone uses my greed to gain some small amount of pleasure then I can say I did it for them." Modders will NEVER make any money off of mods and if they try, modding will go away. NOBODY asked for these mods, well, I take that back, Ive read nexus comments, most people expect a modder to spend hours so that some jerk can have the color scheme they felt they deserved. But I guarantee if you said "Im making a mod to sell for $15 dollars..." people would reply "good for you, Im positive you will make around $30. To say that modders should get paid is the height of absurdity. Look at apps, 90% on any platform are lies, BS and/or scams. Your greed would turn nexus and steam workshop into the apple app store. For that, I hope you suffer immensely.

CyniclyPink wrote: Brilliantly written!

Nobadovah wrote: I wouldn't pay for mods on steam workshop (or anywhere) before testing them because :

- Steam does not deserve a single coin only a kick in the ass

- Bethesda deserves nothing more than what i already paid for the main game and DLCs (and i buyed only a cheap legendary version) because most glitches got fixed by unnoficial patch made by modders and there were a lot (i played games in closed beta with far less glitches than skyrim when released)

- Some mods seem great in the description but end up being huge disappointments, when they do work at all and don't conflict with other mods.

Now a few modders deserve my respect and my thanks, but mostly my respect, because they did things i could barely imagine. A few others brought me to places i wouldn't even have had imagine. But i think that if you're doing it for money then you should stop, you probably use to do it for fun or because you hoped people would enjoy. And if you now want to sale what you first meant as a free gift for anyone to enjoy then i feel sad for you :/

By the way i'm not selling anything anywhere but writing may be harder than you think, even if it's only 10 pages. It sometimes takes a week or more to get one sentance to feel right.

RGMage2 wrote: The only reason all mods for Bethesda games have been free up til this point is because that's the rules set down by Bethesda. If/When Bethesda changes those rules to allow paid modding, this community will not be consulted and will have no say in the matter. Beth will make their decisions based on what they think is best for their business.

Will people pay for mods? Robin already answered that question. Valve reported 228 million dollars in revenue from mods, that's over a quarter of a billion, from a business model that is probably still in it's infancy. Bethesda can't ignore those numbers.

What's a mod worth? Depends on the mod, but you know there are some people here who are willing to spend 5 dollars on a cup of coffee from Starbucks, and IMO buying 5 mods for the same price would be much better value for your money.

The way I think this will all work out will be free mods and paid mods being available side by side in the same marketplace. There will probably be some kind of vetting process to decide what mods can have a price tag and for how much.

To Make this work though, Bethesda probably needs to buy the Nexus, or close it down. Better that they buy it really, and then try to continue Robin's legacy and nurture the modding community, and they would have good reason for doing that as the modding community here could be a cash cow for them. We could even see a greater level of cooperation from them than we have in the past. They might be more willing to provide some support for tools that the modding community until now has had to come up with on it's own. A lot of modelers that were active in Oblivion have sat out Skyrim because of the lack of Skyrim support for Blender. Bethesda could have solved that problem if they had enough financial incentive.

Andragon wrote: To me, the idea how much my time to create a mod is worth, never came to mind. My mods were created because I enjoyed the process of making them. My pay was the fun to make the mod, learn something, getting in touch with fellow modders and last but not least the feedback I got from users enjoying what I have created.
I released the source scripts for other authors to build on and frankly I don't care if they want to make money on what I have created. I decided that I was doing it for fun and starting to get greedy afterwards because someone else gets money just simply does not fit my character.
I do enjoy the freedom to tell people to shove it, if they demand support that is uncalled for in a free product but my experience never showed many of those people. Most people simply ask questions or give cool and giving feedback.

Shezrie wrote: Thank you for your feedback everyone.

Rolfskytte wrote: So very right Shezrie.
I agree that many people don't seem to realize that real folks have made the mods they are playing.
Gratitude never hurts! Give more thanks people!

Ithlia wrote: Well said Shezrie

NeoNord wrote: well and truly said!

phantompally76 wrote: I knew the second I read this comment last month that you would be among the first to charge for mods.

While it's certainly well within your rights to expect monetary compensation for all your long, arduous hours of changing values in Bethesda's Creation Kit, it is also certainly well within my rights to refuse to pay for early access to in-development, unfinished content with no support.

You stand behind your principles, and I'll stand behind mine. At the end of the day, you'll have a few extra dollars in your pocket, along with the satisfaction of knowing you were complicit in the decline of interest in the hobby of modding video games.

And furthermore, the value of a mod is determined by its QUALITY, not the number of hours spent developing it, nor how hard an author professes to have worked on it (neither of which guarantee quality). I've been working my butt off on a player home mod for over a year, and I've worked really hard on it, but that doesn't change the sad fact that it absolutely sucks and deserves neither recognition nor monetary compensation.

I hate to say it, actually no I don't hate to say it but you sir are a retard. The modders go into modding knowing they might not ever see a single cent in return outside of donations from those who actually have the money to cough up. Mods are and should ALWAYS be free as it is an extension of a game, and should not EVER be pay to play, EVER. Don't get me wrong, I love the content modders create, but i'm not going to pay for it because I've already paid for the game that I want to play and I'm not paying hundreds, or even thousands of dollars extra for extra content to enjoy.

So, my point being, unless it's content PROFESSIONALLY developed and MAINTAINED I'm NEVER going to pay for it, ever.

At this rate, mods are going to end up pirated more than anything else, and it's just going to hurt everyone more than anything. It's going to turn into a mess of legal issues as people are going to rip mods from legitimate content creators and try to sell it for a quick buck. why try to change something that already works? Honestly, this is just straight up stupid on so many levels by Valve and Bethesda.

But for real though, I'm poor enough as it is, I'm not going to pay for content that may conflict with other content I may want to use.

For the person or people who develop Skyrim Script Extender, please for the love of modding, force a CTD if it detects a steam workshop mod. Edited April 24, 2015 by Rakarth802

[Deleted6919211User]

Dear Mr. Scott,

In the desperate times in which we face possible conflict, it only makes sense to prepare for the worst case scenario. I'm not saying its time to start digging bomb shelters, but any of us with an ounce of distrust for the system... (for which I have TONS) should start manually downloading copies of all of their favorites, before the S*#T hits the fan.

And in the worst case scenario- what provisions will be made for those who've already shelled out the big bucks, to ensure this right to download mods freely, right here... FOR A LIFETIME? Those of us who have already paid for a lifetime membership, (LIKE MYSELF) which were promised free access to the mods contained within this site, should be EXEMPT from these new fees that are being proposed. I, for one, have dual licenses- I own a hard copy, as well as having a purchased copy of Skyrim from the Steam Workshop. We simply CANNOT take this lying down!!! I great many of us would have never considered being a part of all this if constant dividends were the order of the day! That is why I never have (and NEVER will) subscribe or support any pay-by-the-month MMORPGs , like World of Warcraft.

I bought this darn PC and came out of the Dark Ages to play a modded SKYRIM! This was a level of enjoyment that was HARD-EARNED. I have disabilities that have kept me unemployed for over a year.

If my ability to enjoy games on this platform was threatened- I think I'd rather roll over AND DIE!

Never mind the fact I sit in front of a PC which I cannot even finish paying for! GOOD GRIEF!

Consider this:

I have been a Premium member for well over a year. Patrons such as myself, should be protected by a "Grandfather Clause". If you didn't protect the Premium Members in this way, you'd be negating the agreements of the original contract.

For those of you unfamiliar with this term, it goes like this:

 

" A grandfather clause (or grandfather policy) is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from the new rule are said to have grandfather rights or acquired rights. Frequently, the exemption is limited; it may extend for a set period of time, or it may be lost under certain circumstances. For example, a "grandfathered power plant" might be exempt from new, more restrictive pollution laws, but the exception may be revoked and the new rules would apply if the plant were expanded. Often, such a provision is used as a compromise or out of practicality, to effect new rules without upsetting a well-established logistical or political situation. This extends the idea of a rule not being retroactively applied."

If anything in the way of EXTREME should be done, perhaps the preemptive formation of a coalition that strongly opposes these changes should be formed. I would most definitely stand among those ranks!

FIGHT THE POWER!!!

-Dallesse

[nagothm]

Steam has already earned a reputation for not policing mods ripped off from their original creators. If so many people would rip so much content just for people to think they are cool and creative, how many mods and assets will be stolen and put up there for sale when the thieves can be paid for their theft. The amount of pure chaos this will create is breathtaking.

 

Bethesda's big issue with combining assets from different games has always been that there are third party assets that are licensed only for sale by Bethesda for that one game.

 

How will that work with those assets being modified and then sold by a modder? Would that not be a violation of their legal agreements with those third party companies? If not, then why have they been so antagonistic over the years towards multi-game mods such as Tale of Two Wastelands, Skyblivion, etc.

Edited April 24, 2015 by nagothm

[Korgan]

In my trying to figure this all out, would future support after paying for a mod be provided? I mean if Dawnguard or some other dlc needed a patch I wouldn't have to pay for it, so if Whatever Mod 1.0 became Whatever Mod 2.0, am I going to have to pay for the newer version of Whatever Mod? If I have to pay for a mod (and I admit, some I would) I imagine future update support or I can't see this working. I love our modders and always endorse in support of the ones I use, I just don't honestly see how this is going to work out....yet.

[craterlord]

In response to post #23719594. #23737919, #23743949, #23746339, #23751059, #23751089, #23758904, #23759199, #23759404, #23763944, #23812394, #24585289, #24593829 are all replies on the same post.

Shezrie wrote:

zidders wrote: To me at least it's not a question of whether they're 'worth' a certain amount although I would argue that -most- (but not all) mods are pretty worthless, Sturgeons law being what it is but as far as why it's important mods remain free...well like Dark0ne has pointed out-it's more than just about playing games. It's about expressing creativity and sharing the experience. It's like a bunch of artists creating together in a commune. What happens when you go from the primary motivation being shared creativity to the primary motivation being money?

I dunno...it's definitely a tricky situation but not everyone is saying modders are worthless or their mods have no value. Only idiots and people looking to take advantage of others are saying that.

Skabb92 wrote: I see, one of those, "its ok for me to be greedy and concerned solely with profit as long as someone uses my greed to gain some small amount of pleasure then I can say I did it for them." Modders will NEVER make any money off of mods and if they try, modding will go away. NOBODY asked for these mods, well, I take that back, Ive read nexus comments, most people expect a modder to spend hours so that some jerk can have the color scheme they felt they deserved. But I guarantee if you said "Im making a mod to sell for $15 dollars..." people would reply "good for you, Im positive you will make around $30. To say that modders should get paid is the height of absurdity. Look at apps, 90% on any platform are lies, BS and/or scams. Your greed would turn nexus and steam workshop into the apple app store. For that, I hope you suffer immensely.

CyniclyPink wrote: Brilliantly written!

Nobadovah wrote: I wouldn't pay for mods on steam workshop (or anywhere) before testing them because :

- Steam does not deserve a single coin only a kick in the ass

- Bethesda deserves nothing more than what i already paid for the main game and DLCs (and i buyed only a cheap legendary version) because most glitches got fixed by unnoficial patch made by modders and there were a lot (i played games in closed beta with far less glitches than skyrim when released)

- Some mods seem great in the description but end up being huge disappointments, when they do work at all and don't conflict with other mods.

Now a few modders deserve my respect and my thanks, but mostly my respect, because they did things i could barely imagine. A few others brought me to places i wouldn't even have had imagine. But i think that if you're doing it for money then you should stop, you probably use to do it for fun or because you hoped people would enjoy. And if you now want to sale what you first meant as a free gift for anyone to enjoy then i feel sad for you :/

By the way i'm not selling anything anywhere but writing may be harder than you think, even if it's only 10 pages. It sometimes takes a week or more to get one sentance to feel right.

RGMage2 wrote: The only reason all mods for Bethesda games have been free up til this point is because that's the rules set down by Bethesda. If/When Bethesda changes those rules to allow paid modding, this community will not be consulted and will have no say in the matter. Beth will make their decisions based on what they think is best for their business.

Will people pay for mods? Robin already answered that question. Valve reported 228 million dollars in revenue from mods, that's over a quarter of a billion, from a business model that is probably still in it's infancy. Bethesda can't ignore those numbers.

What's a mod worth? Depends on the mod, but you know there are some people here who are willing to spend 5 dollars on a cup of coffee from Starbucks, and IMO buying 5 mods for the same price would be much better value for your money.

The way I think this will all work out will be free mods and paid mods being available side by side in the same marketplace. There will probably be some kind of vetting process to decide what mods can have a price tag and for how much.

To Make this work though, Bethesda probably needs to buy the Nexus, or close it down. Better that they buy it really, and then try to continue Robin's legacy and nurture the modding community, and they would have good reason for doing that as the modding community here could be a cash cow for them. We could even see a greater level of cooperation from them than we have in the past. They might be more willing to provide some support for tools that the modding community until now has had to come up with on it's own. A lot of modelers that were active in Oblivion have sat out Skyrim because of the lack of Skyrim support for Blender. Bethesda could have solved that problem if they had enough financial incentive.

Andragon wrote: To me, the idea how much my time to create a mod is worth, never came to mind. My mods were created because I enjoyed the process of making them. My pay was the fun to make the mod, learn something, getting in touch with fellow modders and last but not least the feedback I got from users enjoying what I have created.
I released the source scripts for other authors to build on and frankly I don't care if they want to make money on what I have created. I decided that I was doing it for fun and starting to get greedy afterwards because someone else gets money just simply does not fit my character.
I do enjoy the freedom to tell people to shove it, if they demand support that is uncalled for in a free product but my experience never showed many of those people. Most people simply ask questions or give cool and giving feedback.

Shezrie wrote: Thank you for your feedback everyone.

Rolfskytte wrote: So very right Shezrie.
I agree that many people don't seem to realize that real folks have made the mods they are playing.
Gratitude never hurts! Give more thanks people!

Ithlia wrote: Well said Shezrie

NeoNord wrote: well and truly said!

phantompally76 wrote: I knew the second I read this comment last month that you would be among the first to charge for mods.

While it's certainly well within your rights to expect monetary compensation for all your long, arduous hours of changing values in Bethesda's Creation Kit, it is also certainly well within my rights to refuse to pay for early access to in-development, unfinished content with no support.

You stand behind your principles, and I'll stand behind mine. At the end of the day, you'll have a few extra dollars in your pocket, along with the satisfaction of knowing you were complicit in the decline of interest in the hobby of modding video games.

And furthermore, the value of a mod is determined by its QUALITY, not the number of hours spent developing it, nor how hard an author professes to have worked on it (neither of which guarantee quality). I've been working my butt off on a player home mod for over a year, and I've worked really hard on it, but that doesn't change the sad fact that it absolutely sucks and deserves neither recognition nor monetary compensation.

Rakarth802 wrote: I hate to say it, actually no I don't hate to say it but you sir are a retard. The modders go into modding knowing they might not ever see a single cent in return outside of donations from those who actually have the money to cough up. Mods are and should ALWAYS be free as it is an extension of a game, and should not EVER be pay to play, EVER. Don't get me wrong, I love the content modders create, but i'm not going to pay for it because I've already paid for the game that I want to play and I'm not paying hundreds, or even thousands of dollars extra for extra content to enjoy.

So, my point being, unless it's content PROFESSIONALLY developed and MAINTAINED I'm NEVER going to pay for it, ever.

At this rate, mods are going to end up pirated more than anything else, and it's just going to hurt everyone more than anything. It's going to turn into a mess of legal issues as people are going to rip mods from legitimate content creators and try to sell it for a quick buck. why try to change something that already works? Honestly, this is just straight up stupid on so many levels by Valve and Bethesda.

But for real though, I'm poor enough as it is, I'm not going to pay for content that may conflict with other content I may want to use.

For the person or people who develop Skyrim Script Extender, please for the love of modding, force a CTD if it detects a steam workshop mod.

Rakarth, what the hell are you calling Shezrie a retard for?

Everything you wrote in your post has NOTHING to do with he said. The entire point of his post wasn't to claim whether you should or shouldn't be spending money on mods and if it is worth it, but simply to remember that tons of work go into them and that they do have value.

Just because there are countless problems that make the monetization of mods impractical, including the couple you have stated, does not change the fact that many mods have value, which is the only thing Shezrie wanted to remind people about. Whether or not you would be willing to spend money on mods with the current system that is in place is completely irrelevant to the original post, so I really don't see why the hell you are calling anyone a retard.

And please don't ever address someone as 'you sir' just to insult them. It makes you look like a complete f*#@ing tool. Edited April 24, 2015 by craterlord

[z929669]

STEP will follow the Nexus philosophy on this topic by continuing to remain and support free and open modding, paying in time and frustration rather than in dollars and cents. Let's see where this goes ...

[DaVincix]

Mod products are (or were) in nature free fan based products with the basement of commercial games - fans share their hobby products to a fan community. Period.

 

In the past, afaik, all commercial game companies made clear in their licenses, that making money from modding is illegal, because mod products derive from commercial products.

 

Donations to mod authors or mod project groups are a whole other thing: Mod users honor the efforts of the mod makers with a bit money support - this is not the same as getting money for a commercial game product, and thus is is not or should not be an item to discuss.in this whole relation, imo..

 

I was a (extreme publicly active) modder for nearly ten years, not with Skyrim (or other Bethesda games), another big game branch, so i can tell and/or understand the whole thing, as the theme free modding and distribution vs. making money from such products is not a new one for me.

 

Imo., if modders decide to directly make money from creating game products, then they should go into the gaming industry as active company, as employee of a company, whatsoever - and option is also to just "simply" make a contract with a game company and "sell" a mod to them which happened within a few certain modproducts. In itself it is imo. not worse or wrong to get money for modding, after all modding is also work by nature. But a clear line must be drawn, am i going commercial or not with my "mod"-products. In principle, simple decision.

 

But in general: Paying for mod products (other than donation) destroys the whole idea and philosophy of modding and sharing such results, which is a relation from fan to fan.

 

The ones who decide to earn directly money from "modding", should just take the consequence and keep their appearance away from fan based modding community sites, and should go, as descibed above, the commercial way (which again, is not something that should be looked bad on, it is just not anymore what (old) modders see a s modding, that's all. Seriously, if mod projects provide a high gaming quality aka really high talented modders produce somehting that thousands of users want, then why shouldn't these high talented people not consider to start a gaming company - it happened so ... again, not something to look bad on, vice versa, they, those ex-modders, might be "icons", because they made a living out of their ex-hobby, not the worst option.

 

 

[Henpei]

Currated mods (or paid mods as it is called now?) is great! Now I can finally get my extra apple, my rubbish bucket and I can also finally give all my money to the nice lady outside of Whiterun! Good stuff! And who didnt wanted those horse genitals that we never had?

 

In all seriousness, what valve is doing is imo the wrong way to go.

[fo3nexus]

In response to post #24561094.

1oktoba wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I love Nexus, and depend upon their kindness. But we all know what is going to happen. Suits smell money in modding and WILL tender an offer of purchase for Nexus. The offer will be generous and irresistible, but the new ownership will be hidden behind offshore shell corporations. The Nexus site will (briefly) be improved, but shortly after will suddenly be shuttered, with all users being referred to Steam Workshop. A reporter will dig through the purchase paper trail and discover an investor pool of Steam, VALVe, Bethesda, and other developers behind the purchase and closing of Nexus in order to increase market domination for exclusive mod sales for their games.

Sound paranoid? To a naive teenager, perhaps. To any elder who pays attention to American business, not only is this expected behaviour, it MUST happen in order to maximize shareholder returns for that investor pool.

My small premium membership contribution holds no weight against a $50 million dollar buyout tender. Nexus will feel no shame in accepting a respectful cash-out offer, particularly with the community-supporting (but empty) promises the buyers will make. Promises that terminate once Nexus closes. Moddb, LoversLab and others will not be ready for the huge and sudden wave of new members and will crash under the weight.

Not that it matters much. Big developers, already cowed into exclusive DRM ties with Steam will make GECK/Creation Kit mods "Steam Workshop" only, and once market domination is assured, a subscription model for Workshop access is inevitable.

The future of our mod scene is not dark. It is certain. It will monetize. The pride and soul will be driven out. Horse Armour DLC is our future.

If you are a wealthy, business-minded gamer, the smartest thing you could possibly do is begin researching how to duplicate the success of Nexus, drive users to your sites once Nexus closes, then wait for your buyout offer from investor groups (Gabe, EA, etc.)

Nexus: Please don't ban me for stating the obvious. I love you guys, and will not hate you for accepting a huge buyout. Just know we're already saddened at its inevitability.

[fo3nexus]

In response to post #24561094. #24632254 is also a reply to the same post.

1oktoba wrote:

fo3nexus wrote: Don't get me wrong, I love Nexus, and depend upon their kindness. But we all know what is going to happen. Suits smell money in modding and WILL tender an offer of purchase for Nexus. The offer will be generous and irresistible, but the new ownership will be hidden behind offshore shell corporations. The Nexus site will (briefly) be improved, but shortly after will suddenly be shuttered, with all users being referred to Steam Workshop. A reporter will dig through the purchase paper trail and discover an investor pool of Steam, VALVe, Bethesda, and other developers behind the purchase and closing of Nexus in order to increase market domination for exclusive mod sales for their games.

Sound paranoid? To a naive teenager, perhaps. To any elder who pays attention to American business, not only is this expected behaviour, it MUST happen in order to maximize shareholder returns for that investor pool.

My small premium membership contribution holds no weight against a $50 million dollar buyout tender. Nexus will feel no shame in accepting a respectful cash-out offer, particularly with the community-supporting (but empty) promises the buyers will make. Promises that terminate once Nexus closes. Moddb, LoversLab and others will not be ready for the huge and sudden wave of new members and will crash under the weight.

Not that it matters much. Big developers, already cowed into exclusive DRM ties with Steam will make GECK/Creation Kit mods "Steam Workshop" only, and once market domination is assured, a subscription model for Workshop access is inevitable.

The future of our mod scene is not dark. It is certain. It will monetize. The pride and soul will be driven out. Horse Armour DLC is our future.

If you are a wealthy, business-minded gamer, the smartest thing you could possibly do is begin researching how to duplicate the success of Nexus, drive users to your sites once Nexus closes, then wait for your buyout offer from investor groups (Gabe, EA, etc.)

Nexus: Please don't ban me for stating the obvious. I love you guys, and will not hate you for accepting a huge buyout. Just know we're already saddened at its inevitability.

Don't get me wrong, I love Nexus, and depend upon their kindness. But we all know what is going to happen. Suits smell money in modding and WILL tender an offer of purchase for Nexus. The offer will be generous and irresistible, but the new ownership will be hidden behind offshore shell corporations. The Nexus site will (briefly) be improved, but shortly after will suddenly be shuttered, with all users being referred to Steam Workshop. A reporter will dig through the purchase paper trail and discover an investor pool of Steam, VALVe, Bethesda, and other developers behind the purchase and closing of Nexus in order to increase market domination for exclusive mod sales for their games.

Sound paranoid? To a naive teenager, perhaps. To any elder who pays attention to American business, not only is this expected behaviour, it MUST happen in order to maximize shareholder returns for that investor pool.

My small premium membership contribution holds no weight against a $50 million dollar buyout tender. Nexus will feel no shame in accepting a respectful cash-out offer, particularly with the community-supporting (but empty) promises the buyers will make. Promises that terminate once Nexus closes. Moddb, LoversLab and others will not be ready for the huge and sudden wave of new members and will crash under the weight.

Not that it matters much. Big developers, already cowed into exclusive DRM ties with Steam will make GECK/Creation Kit mods "Steam Workshop" only, and once market domination is assured, a subscription model for Workshop access is inevitable.

The future of our mod scene is not dark. It is certain. It will monetize. The pride and soul will be driven out. Horse Armour DLC is our future.

If you are a wealthy, business-minded gamer, the smartest thing you could possibly do is begin researching how to duplicate the success of Nexus, drive users to your sites once Nexus closes, then wait for your buyout offer from investor groups (Gabe, EA, etc.)

Nexus: Please don't ban me for stating the obvious. I love you guys, and will not hate you for accepting a huge buyout. Just know we're already saddened at its inevitability.