NCSoft Cutting European Staff, Closing Tabula Rasa?

GamesIndustry.biz has posted a rumor this morning regarding big changes in store for MMO publisher NCSoft. According to "sources close to the company", the developer / publisher is planning on cutting 50 positions from their European office in Brighton, England following a decision to stop working on an unnamed MMO being developed there.

Along with job cuts comes the resurfacing of the rumor that Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, the ambitious MMO that failed to capture a significant portion of the MMO market, will be closing it's doors in the coming months as well, which would lead to more job cuts as NCSoft further streamlines their business.

An announcement addressing these issues is expected within the next day. We're currently looking into the rumors and will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

NCsoft to trim European office? [GI.biz]

NCSoft To Kill European Studio, Kill Tabula Rasa

According to "a number of sources close to the company", the British offices of developer NCSoft are to be closed following the cancellation of an unannounced MMO currently in development at the studio. Bad news, yes, particularly in the wake of recent layoffs at the company's Austin studio, but it gets worse: the same sources say that troubled MMO Tabula Rasa is on its last legs, and will be killed off in the next few months. A shame, that, since Lord Briitsh deserved better, but then with the game having failed to grab the attention of, well, anyone, it's hardly a surprise.

NCsoft to trim European office? [GI.biz]

Dragonlance Co-Author Joins Project Immortality

No matter what eventually happens to Crecente's DNA, be it used to create a clone army or otherwise, he'll surely be in good company when his cells are committed to the International Space Station as part of NCSoft's Operation Immortality. Best-selling author Tracy Hickman joins the cellular cast of the operation, his DNA traveling with Space Richard Garriott when he is launched into space on October 12th. Hickman is best known for co-authoring the original Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy with Margaret Weis.

”Mankind is at its best whenever we set our vision to the stars,” Hickman said. “One of my first memories was of watching Alan Shepard fly his Mercury capsule atop a Redstone rocket. I have lived my entire life dreaming of space. ’Operation Immortality’ is essentially a celebration of that same adventuring spirit and an offering of hope for the future. I am deeply honored to participate.”

Not only will a swab of his DNA be included in the "Immortality Drive" but samples of his work as well, so the aliens will have something to read on the space toilet while waiting for our impending doom to propagate in their labs.

NCsoft Lays Off 21

Today NCsoft confirmed to Kotaku that they are indeed laying some folks off from their Austin offices.

"We are announcing that 21 positions are being eliminated in the Austin office of NCsoft in the area of product development," an NCsoft spokesman told Kotaku. "Primarily this is related to products which we have not previously announced and were in prototype phases. We are also cutting some positions on the Dungeon Runners team after deciding not to port the client to other platforms at this time."

Among those let go, Scott "Lum the Mad" Jennings.

The news comes a day after parent company Korean-based NCsoft announced a bump in sales but a drop in operating profit and net income. The news is a stark contrast to rumors that surfaces earlier this week that 140 to 160 people were going to be let go and the office possibly shuttered. At the time NCsoft told Kotaku that the rumors were "not accurate at all" and "pretty outrageous."

NCSoft Austin Also Rumored To Be Hit With Lay-offs, Publisher Denies It

5211: World Braces for Crecente Clone Army

Last month NCSoft announced that they would be seeking out bits of DNA from gamers in order to shoot them off into space with Richard Garriott.

The idea is that Garriott is going to store digital versions of the DNA on a harddrive, codenamed the Immortality Drive, and store it in some dusty back corner of the International Space Station. This is all being done in case humanity gets wiped out and we need a human race reboot. Neat, Sci-Fi stuff.

Yesterday it became a little more real when I received a package in the mail. Inside? A DNA collection kit and papers to sign away my genetics to NCsoft, who I can't help but notice don't make any promises about not raising a Crecente Clone army or not populating mars with thousands of Crecetient beings.

Of course I want to send off my DNA, if only so I can tell people that not only have I been to outer space and visited the International Space Station, but that I'm still there.

Freaky DNA kit pics on the jump.

This Could Be Your DNA in Space!

We told you earlier about General British's (formerly known as Lord British) magnanimous move for the human race by offering to preserve the genetic material of a few lucky gamers aboard the International Space Station. In this brief video we take a look at the General's inspirations in pursuing the creation of this archive (flash drive) for the betterment of humanity in the face of a possibly impending global catastrophe.

Now let's think about this. Richard Garriott is going into space to save the world and preserve of all brilliant minds, the consumer market of Tabula Rasa. Sign us up!

Operation Immortality

Richard Garriott Wants Your DNA!

Richard Garriott is going to have 40 gamers with him when he travels to the International Space Station in October. But the lucky clutch of gamers won't be there in person, but rather in digital DNA.

NCsoft kicked off a contest today which will select five sets of eight gamers to have a digital form of their DNA sent into space with Garriott. The DNA will be stored on an "Immortality Drive", which will also house a digital archive of mankind's greatest achievements. The device will be stored on the International Space Station as a sort of "offsite backup" of humanity, NCsoft says.

“I’ve been able to do some very exciting things in the games business, but nothing of this magnitude,” said Garriott, executive producer for Tabula Rasa at NCsoft. “I’m thrilled we can offer the once in a lifetime chance to millions of gamers to virtually go to space with me. A select few will have their DNA digitized and sent. And, theoretically, if anything happens to the human race, it could be their DNA that is used to resurrect humanity."

But what happens with that DNA if and when you win?

NCSoft Seeds Retail Game Cards With Exclusive Goodies

The game card aisle in your local Target isn't just for gPotato and NEXON cash anymore. Beginning just this past weekend, NCsoft, in conjunction with technology firm InComm, have begun releasing specialized game cards to retail outlets throughout North America. More than just game time cards, The City of Heroes and Tabula Rasa cards both offer full access to their respective titles, meaning players can pick up a card, download the game, and go. Meanwhile their Exteel card contains 1,000 NCoin (plus 200 bonus) to purchase upgrades for your killer robots.

As an added bonus, both the $20 City of Heroes card and the $14.95 Tabula Rasa cards come with bonus in-game items - a jet pack and a rocket respectively. CoH and Exteel cards should be showing up at Target already, with those two and the exclusive Tabula Rasa cards appearing in Best Buy next week. Hit the jump for more info on pricing and availability.

Tabula Rasa Doing Just Fine, Thanks

Phew! And here we were all worried that Richard Garriott's latest MMO endeavor was doomed to failure! NCsoft has been in touch with Eurogamer to assure them that everything is rosy in the world of TR, with things looking up every day.

"Tabula Rasa offers players a different kind of MMO experience, enhancing our portfolio of game titles. The game play mechanics are very different to that of a typical MMO - those who have experienced the game have recognised these innovative features and applauded them. A recent European trial promotion was met with great demand; we will be doing a similar promotion later in the year."

NCsoft also went on to assure the gaming public that MMOGChart.com's data showing the game hovering at around 75,000 subscribers was not official, though they weren't forthcoming with official numbers.

As I've said before, Tabula Rasa is a solid little niche MMO title that does many things differently than your average game in the genre. It just wasn't my particular cup of space-tea. Good enough to survive, though I doubt it'll ever truly thrive. Yes, that rhymed.

Tabula Rasa is not in trouble, says NCsoft [Eurogamer]
Image courtesy of the excellent Steven Stahlberg