<![CDATA[Kotaku: maplestory]]> http://tags.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: maplestory]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/maplestory http://kotaku.com/tag/maplestory <![CDATA[Nexon America Throws A BlockParty]]> Over the next several months, Nexon America is transforming into BlockParty.com, a social networking website where fans can keep track of their games and stalk their friends to their heart's content.

The games will stay the same, but the way you experience them and share them with friends while not playing will change drastically once Nexon completes the rollout for BlockParty. In the works for several years, BlockParty will wrap Nexon's stable of free-to-play online games in a robust social networking website.

Players will be able to view a play feed of in-game accomplishments, share their thoughts and moods with friends, manage contacts, show off their avatars, and establish an online identity that is closely linked to the games they play.

"BlockParty will be one part games, one part portal with a twist of social networking. Nexon America's goal for BlockParty is to create the biggest online party with great games and awesome gamers," said Min Kim, Nexon America's vice president of marketing. "BlockParty will allow Nexon to better serve our players by extending the community experience to a central web-based communication hub. BlockParty will also make it easier for players to access Nexon's growing list of games, and at the same time, allow them to share their online gaming adventures with their friends."

Nexon is currently testing and tweaking BlockParty and will continue to do so through the remainder of the year. Those interested in a preview can visit www.Nexon.net and click on the little BlockParty critters at the top of the page.

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<![CDATA[Japanese Newspaper Wonders About "Game Addicts"]]> The Mainichi Daily News is running a three part series on online game addiction.

Most of it seems like scare mongering — students who start playing Maple Story and suddenly became poor students. There's even worse with one mother saying this about her game addicted child, "Sometimes, he'll throw the remote control at the TV, overturn the dining table, bite my hand, or try to strangle me. It's enough to get me wondering if he'll kill me."

Sounds like there are deeper issues here than online gaming...

Game Addicts: What's a parent to do? [Mainichi]

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<![CDATA[Maple Story... Chewing Gum]]> Starting this week, 2D action MMORPG Maple Story is getting chewing gum from candy maker Lotte. It's available at convenience stores across Japan.

Printed on the gum's wrapper is a serial number that can be used to claim rare items in Maple Story. Sure, it's just Lotte's blueberry gum with a Maple Story wrapper, but Lotte's blueberry gum is delicious.

コラボ企画始動『メイプルストーリー』ロッテのガムで限定アイテム進呈 [Gpara]

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<![CDATA[Soulja Boy Kisses Maple Story Through The Phone]]> Rapper Soulja Boy has posted this Maple Story version of his song "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" video on his YouTube.

It's created by xl0vemeh, viralerrific and certainly sporting more sprites than cleavage. Fewer old people kissing, too. There's ROFLMATION, too. All good things!

Thanks AwesomeGamerGirl for the tip!

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<![CDATA[Nexon Shutters Vancouver Development Studio]]> Thanks to numerous tips, Kotaku has now confirmed with staff at Nexon America that the company's Vancouver-based development studio has shuttered its doors today, leaving upwards of 90 employees looking for jobs.

We've just gotten off the phone with the helpful, friendly receptionist at the Vancouver Nexon America development studio, who informed us that all of the approximately 90 employees at the location were let go this morning, and that the studio was now closed. One of our tipsters indicates that the news came by way of a studio-wide meeting this morning, which was expected to result in only half of the workforce being let go.

The Vancouver studio was actively working on the development of Nexon titles. The company's existing properties - MapleStory, Combat Arms, Mabinogi, etc. - should not be affected by this closure.

Our hearts go out to the displaced employees of Nexon Vancouver, especially the incredibly helpful receptionist manning the phones in the face of such turmoil.

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<![CDATA[AsiaSoft Cracking Down On Home-Run MapleStory Servers]]> MapleStory's Singapore distributor looks to cut down on a rash of home-run pirate servers, as a plucky teen take the world of big-headed platform battles into his own bedroom.

A story from The Straits Times focuses on 16-year-old Sean Lee, who runs a pirate server out of his bedroom, allowing players to access the pay portions of the game without actually paying. Needless to say, pirate servers are extremely popular with the kids.

'Some items in games are rare and impossible to get on the official server,' said 15-year-old Melissa Ong. 'On a private server, I get the chance to obtain it and test it out.'

Apparently someone is missing the point here. Either way, plucky or not, Sean Lee's server is probably not long for this world.

'We are currently working with developers to take action against the service providers of private servers,' said Mr Ng Kok Khwang, marketing director of AsiaSoft Online.

Lee states that if he receives a warning letter he will shut down immediately, though he worries about letting his community down. I'm not sure if I should be proud of his dedication or upset about the whole law-breaking thing.

Home-run online game servers risk legal action [Asia One Digital]

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<![CDATA[Chinese MMO rips off WoW, Ragnarok, Maple Story, Etc. Etc]]> Some payers of Ragnarok Online decided to check out the browser-based rival game Aurora Blade and were surprised find certain aspects were a little bit familiar. And not just to Ragnarok Players...

Posters at the Ragnarok forums reckon that in addition to some suspiciously similar monsters turning up in both Ragnarok and Aurora Blade they have spotted similarities between the Chinese-developed MMO and several other games including World Of Warcraft (skill backgrounds), Maple Story (class icons) and LaTale (character creation icons).

IGG, who publish the game in the West, have been contacted for comment. Meanwhile, the company posted a statement on the Aurora Blade forums claiming that they were not responsible for the content of the game they hosted and threatening posters with banning if they referred to the controversy.

Warning - Aurora Blade Similarity
Many forum members have posted threads regarding similarity betwen Aurora Blade, and other third party games

Note:
We would like to explain that SkyUnion(IGG) is not responsible for the developing of the game, that is any character, artwork and graphic is developed by another company and this game is HOSTED by IGG.

Any thread or post containing information about other games that including screenshots, game info or any other information will be deleted, as its against the forum rules.We will also take actions against members that will repeat breaking the forum rules.Therefore we have to ban members according to the severity.This may lead to a permanent ban from the forum.

Please take note of the warning!

[Thanks to reader 'Onis' for the tip]

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<![CDATA[Even Nexon America Is Doing Up Black Friday]]> Black Friday deals don't have to be limited to actual physical items you can hold in your hand. Nexon America proves that even fake things can benefit from post-thanksgiving shopping madness.

The online game operator has just revealed plans for special deals going on over Thanksgiving weekend in their popular MapleStory, Mabinogi, and Combat Arms titles. The adorable MMO platformer MapleStory will be discounting different items every hour during the course of their event, with limited quantities available per server to help simulate being trampled to death by housewives. Meanwhile, in Mabinogi, they'll be doing that same thing every two hours, along with a 5% discount on everything in the Item Shop during the event. Finally, Combat Arms players will enjoy various items at 20% off, including the Golden Mei female merc package, complete with gold-plated AK-47.

Black Friday - It's not just for real crap anymore.

Nexon America Delivers Black Friday Bargains

Combat Arms, Mabinogi and MapleStory Offer Sale Items Throughout Thanksgiving Weekend

LOS ANGELES – November 26 2008 – Nexon America Inc., a world leader in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, welcomes bargain hunters to take advantage of Black Friday sales in three of its most popular games: Combat Arms, Mabinogi and MapleStory. This sale rewards Nexon America’s millions of registered users with the opportunity to purchase Cash Shop items at a huge discount.

Here are are the games and dates for each holiday sale:

* Combat Arms – November 26-December 3
* MapleStory –November 28- November 30
* Mabinogi – November 25-December 5

Black Friday might not be an official holiday but it is in the MapleWorld, where users can take part in the popular annual sale, which offers a wide variety of exceptionally fashionable items at a discounted price for exactly one hour. There will be a limited quantity of these items sold per server so users will need to log in every hour to see what’s being offered.

In Mabinogi, there will be a special sale on November 28, which features a single discounted item every two hours. This sale begins at 10 a.m. and there will be exclusive items featured during this program. Players will also get to enjoy a five percent discount on everything sold in the Item Shop throughout the entire sale.

Combat Arms is discounting prices by up to 20 percent and offering various discounted package deals, including the Golden Mei Package, which gives users a discounted price on the female mercenary Mei and the gold-plated AK-47 so players can frag their foes in style.

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<![CDATA[MapleStory Arrives Late To The Pirate Party]]> Welcome to the pirate party, MapleStory? Where you been? We already ate all the finger food and drank all the rum, but you're welcome to the super-powered martial arts moves we set aside for the ninja, as none of them showed up. At least we assume they didn't. Nexon America has just added a new character class to their adorable free-to-play platformer MMO, and while they're called pirates and look like pirates, the fact that they can transform into not one but two glowing super forms with magical powers makes me think that someone's concept of nautical raiders could use a little work.

Still, giant-headed pirates with magical powers are much better than giant-headed pirates with missing limbs any day. Hit the jump for the press release that explains the pirates' dragon-like powers and sea creature summoning. Words fail me, in a good way.

Pirates set sail into Nexon America’s MapleStory

An innovative class of characters delivers a new series of adventures and mythology to MapleStory

Los Angeles, CA – November 12, 2008 – Nexon America Inc. invites gamers to step aboard the Nautilus ship in MapleStory and become a member of the game’s newest class, Pirates. This game-changing addition assures MapleStory, one of North America’s most popular online games, remains a great gaming experience for its six million registered users.

The Pirate expansion provides Maplers with new gameplay features, which can be used throughout the entire Maple World. It also opens a variety of new maps, many of which are aboard the Pirate ship, Nautilus, the ultimate Pirate haven. Once a pirate, players can develop their characters and choose one of two paths through four tiers of job progression. Pirates can advance to become Brawlers, the masters of hand-to-hand combat, or Gunslingers, dynamic quick-draws that drown foes in a hail of iron lead, for a 2nd Job, Marauders and Outlaws as a 3rd Job and finally, Buccaneers or Corsairs as a 4th Job.

As players move through the ranks of the Pirate class, new skills can be obtained, including the ability to sneak past monsters in an oak barrel, sustain longer jumps and summon multiple sea creatures, including an octopus or seagulls, to boost attacks. Pirates can also earn a transformative power which gives a boost in strength, speed and jumping as well as summon dragon-like powers to attack multiple enemies at once.

To celebrate this expansion, Nexon America will host several Pirate-themed events throughout the month. Players can compete for prizes by dressing like a pirate, earning the top rating in the Pirate class, creating Pirate-only guilds or developing user-generated content for a Pirates commercial. The event coincides with the launch of a brand new server, Demethos, which provides a fresh start for new and veteran players.

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<![CDATA[Nexon Teams With 7-Eleven For Slurpee Goodness]]> 7-Eleven continues to push their whole mini-gaming store initiative, teaming up with online game operator Nexon America for the ‘Where You Play for Free’ Slurpee and Online Games advertising campaign. Now through December 31st, 7-Eleven stores will be carrying four different Nexon game branded 22 -oz. Slurpee cups. Purchasing a Slurpee in one of said cups gets you a limited-edition DVD containing all four of the games featured - Maple Story, Combat Arms, Mabinogi, and Sugar Rush.

Look, none of this is really all that important. The important thing here is that if I don't get a Maple Story 7-eleven cup, someone is going to die. Statistically speaking someone is going to die anyway, but getting a collector's cup with a cute little pirate standing on a mushroom on its surface would assure everyone that I wasn't directly involved.

Nexon and 7-Eleven® Launch ‘Where You Play for Free’ Slurpee® and Online Games Campaign

Millions Can Instantly Experience Nexon’s Free, High-Quality Online Games via Redeemable Codes on Branded Slurpee® Cups and Game DVD Giveaways

LOS ANGELES—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Nexon America, a world leader in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, and 7-Eleven, Inc. have kicked off the “Where You Play for Free” Slurpee® drink campaign in the U.S. to introduce and promote the world of free-to-play online games.

The promotion, running now through Dec. 31 in more than 5,600 participating U.S. 7-Eleven® stores, includes four Nexon-branded 22-oz. Slurpee cups, each featuring different eye-popping images from Nexon’s games: MapleStory, Mabinogi, Combat Arms and Sugar Rush.

7-Eleven customers also receive a collectible Nexon game DVD with the purchase of a 22-oz. or larger-size Slurpee beverage while supplies last. The DVD features the four Nexon games on the branded cups so users can easily download these games onto their PC.

Each Nexon-themed Slurpee cup has an exclusive game code that is redeemable for customized 7-Eleven and Slurpee-branded in-game virtual items in the four games. The game code also provides 7-Eleven customers access to participate in the closed beta stage of the highly anticipated MMO game Sugar Rush, which is scheduled to launch in early 2009. Customers can learn more by visiting http://slurpee.nexon.net.

“7-Eleven is a great advocate of free-to-play online games, and now millions of its customers will have the chance to join in the fun through the pre-loaded DVDs that allow them to quickly install our games with the click of the mouse,” said Min Kim, vice president of marketing for Nexon America. “Then, once they’re in one of our games, which span from role playing to first-person shooters, they can use the Slurpee game codes to access free, exclusive content.”

To further commemorate the promotion, 7-Eleven also introduced a new, promotional flavor, Vanilla Créme, a variation of vanilla that mixes well with other Slurpee flavors. For more information on all things Slurpee, go to www.Slurpee.com.

“We’ve seen great success with the Nexon pre-paid cash cards and this partnership further solidifies 7-Eleven as a premier gaming destination,” said Brad Haga, 7-Eleven’s senior product director of services. “Free-to-play games are more popular than ever in North America, and with Nexon, we can deliver a dynamic experience for our customers looking for great entertainment.”

Nexon offers gamers a chance to select one of the following options with a Slurpee game code:

— Combat Arms (http://combatarms.nexon.net)

— 7-Eleven-branded cap and supply case (which offers a random weapon to use)

— Mabinogi (http://mabinogi.nexon.net)

— Slurpee potion which has healing powers (20 potions per code)

— MapleStory (http://maplestory.nexon.net)

— 7-Eleven-themed Double Experience Points card, which lasts for one hour

— Sugar Rush (http://sugarrush.nexon.net)

— Exclusive closed beta access and Slurpee set, which includes a Slurpee-style straw, 7-Eleven T-shirt and Slurpee hair with cap

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<![CDATA[Whither the Rest of the World?]]> A few months ago, Chris Plante had a thought provoking suggestion for the gaming industry: what we need is more global games. I thought it was an interesting position, and one that I more or less agree with –- but the problem isn’t simply lack of ‘global’ games. On the whole, mainstream gaming press is seriously cut off from anything outside the typical mainstream purview. It would probably do all of us some good if we started looking seriously at game development and industry news coming from elsewhere.

As a person in an East Asian centered field, I’m constantly baffled by the deafening silence from most of the Western gaming press when it comes to East Asia (or Asia in general) outside of Japan – and we can just forget other, younger markets. Don’t get me wrong, I realize most of my colleagues don’t spend their lives neck deep in, well, non-Japanese Asiatic goodness (thank god for that), and we tend to target our news at what the readership is looking for (which is frequently ‘news that effects you!’, whatever that happens to be). Still, with all our high-minded talk of ‘improving gaming journalism,’ shouldn’t one of the key points of that be looking outside our comfort zone and outside ‘mainstream’ topics? And I don’t just mean brief looks that poke fun at weirder aspects of foreign gaming culture. Yes, the ‘Vii’ is pretty funny – but there’s more to China than cheap knockoffs, I promise.

While the response to many China or Korea-related articles here is a shrill chorus about crappy games, intellectual property rights, and/or evil nasty gold farmers, it’s shortsighted to dismiss many of the industry-related developments abroad. You may not care now -– and many people may not ever care -– but it doesn’t take a genius to see that the East Asian market is of increasing importance, and East Asian companies are increasingly moving into Western markets. You may not be playing whatever latest free to play import has hit the American market, but plenty of people are -– and that fact does matter to the Western market. There are more and more discussions surrounding virtual worlds, at least in part spurred by the gradually growing market share of Asian imports that are proving themselves to be viable parts of the market without gigantic advertising blitzes and TV spots.

We all have issues we like to soapbox about; in my academic life, I cheerfully foam at the mouth regarding the unfortunately blinkered, China-centric viewpoint that has a long legacy in my field. I find the opposite to be true in my gaming life -– I’ve had a great many conversations with various people in the industry who ask, ‘Where’s the news from China? From Korea? Why don’t they get more attention?’. It’s not an invalid question. I think most of us who wonder why there isn’t broader coverage of slightly more out of the way areas have somewhat selfish reasons for wanting to see more thoughtful discussion. I have personal and academic interests in what’s shaking in East Asia; on the other hand, I look at the masses of information that’s virtually ignored by most mainstream press and wonder how we manage to just bypass great swaths of the world.

There is an increasingly transnational character to gaming –- outside the regular ‘hotspots’ -– with more and more back and forth going on between markets. Who knows what the landscape is going to look like in 10 years? It’s no longer simply a matter of Blizzard setting up shop in China and enthralling chain-smoking internet café denizens with nothing (except perhaps some outsourced production) going back the other way. Companies like Beijing Perfect World continue to eye the American market, and it’s impossible to read most round-up type articles on ‘virtual worlds’ without running across Nexon, NCSoft, and other South Korean companies. With increasingly robust domestic markets, and more companies eyeing a lucrative Western market, the chances that these corners of the industry aren’t going to have some impact on “our” markets is incredibly shortsighted.

Coming from what is essentially a connoisseur’s position, it’s not hard to see why the bulk of the audience finds games like MapleStory ‘silly’ or downright stupid. It is, in many senses, a completely different take on the MMO concept, and one spawned from a foreign market no less. True as all that may be, it doesn't deserve the condescension and scorn it seems to receive from players and much of the gaming press, there's clearly a reason it boasts the number of subscribers that it does. It’s not hard to see why MMO players who cut their teeth on subscription-based models look askance at the free to play model. It’s foreign, it’s different, it seems unfair when one is coming from a more egalitarian “everyone pays the same money” system. What I don’t understand is the unwillingness to even look at the issues in a serious, thoughtful way. There are some absolutely tremendous, less-frequented sites that do put a heavy emphasis on what’s going on elsewhere – usually the type that has no choice but to look outside the bounds of the Western ‘mainstream’ due to thematic issues. Why should they be relegated to the outskirts?

Whether we like it or not, the landscape of gaming is rapidly changing. As much as the devoted “hardcore” may want to cling desperately to the notion that “all the rest” doesn’t matter, it does. The way we interact with games, who games and why, and how developers think about producing games is a moving target. To do nothing more than point fingers and laugh is nothing more than burying our heads in the sand and pretend that the gaming industry that the hardcore knows and loves is immune to change. It’s not. Keeping a watchful, thoughtful eye on the edges also includes a good bit of looking inwards.

I realize that talking about gaming culture and games that may be foreign falls way, way short in the popularity race when put up against tits and sensation. Still, there’s room for everything, isn’t there? Why aren’t we talking about some of these issues more? Can’t we put aside our condescension for a bit and think about our little slice of the gaming industry and culture in context? It surely couldn’t hurt, and a more transnational approach to the way we think and write about gaming will probably be a tremendous help.

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<![CDATA[Japanese Woman Jailed For Virtual 'Murder']]> And you thought MapleStory was all fun and games. A Japanese woman has found herself in jail, potentially facing charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data, after deleting the character of her in-game 'husband' who divorced her rather suddenly. "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry!" she is quoted as saying:

The woman, a piano teacher, is in jail in Sapporo waiting to learn if she faces charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

She was arrested on Wednesday and taken 620 miles (1,000 km) from her home in southern Miyazaki to Sapporo - where her "husband", a 33-year-old office worker lives.

If charged with the offences, and convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 ....

A Sapporo police official, according to the Associated Press news agency, said the woman had used the man's ID and password to log in to the game last May to carry out the virtual murder.

I love the fact the BBC is describing this as murder (though I imagine it would be quite upsetting to log in and discover your character had gone 'poof'); for those of you considering virtual revenge, tread carefully.

Woman in jail over virtual murder [BBC, thanks rumi!]

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<![CDATA[Japanese Woman Jailed After Killing Virtual Husband]]> A 43-year-old Japanese piano teacher found herself in jail after viciously murdering her ex-husband...in MapleStory. According to reports, the woman's virtual, big-headed anime husband suddenly divorced her in mid-May, which lead to her logging on with the 33-year-old man's username and password and deleting his character. When the man discovered the death of his character, he called the police. The alleged virtual murderer has now been jailed for suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, which could carry a five-year prison sentence or a fine of up to $5,000.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.

My god, do you know what this means? I need to start playing Maple Story immediately!

Online divorcee jailed after killing virtual hubby [Yahoo! News - Thanks Russ!]

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<![CDATA[MapleStory Expands With Crimsonwood Keep]]> Nexon America has unveiled a massive expansion to the world of MapleStory in the Crimsonwood Keep expansion, which allows players to venture through the newly expanded Phantom Forest on the continent of Masteria, into the new areas found around the Crimsonwood Mountain. The update adds 31 new maps, 11 new enemies, and 12 new story-focused quests, while also adding a new skill for pets and improving the language filters so younger players can keep their exposure to dirty words contained to TV, movies, and what they overhear their parents saying.

MapleStory will be updated with the new content tonight at 9PM Pacific, with the whole process taking about 9 hours, which means getting the kids to bed tonight will be that much easier. The adult players will just have to suffer. Hit the jump for screens and more info!

Nexon America Unleashes Massive MapleStory Expansion

North America’s most popular free-to-play MMORPG begins new epic storyline and adds original maps, enemies, story-focused quests and weapons

Los Angeles, CA – August 13 2008 – Nexon America Inc. unveils one of the largest expansions in the history of MapleStory, adding to the continent of Masteria and delivering a truly new gaming experience to one of the most beloved games in North America, with over 5.9 million players.

The “Crimsonwood Keep” expansion delivers a wealth of new content including 31 new maps, 11 unique enemies, 12 extensive, story-focused quests and a collection of new weapons and objects. The update will also give pets an additional skill and improve the user interface with language filter updates and additional platforming features.

MapleStory has amassed over 87 million users worldwide by creating a fantastical online world. One of the most popular places in the MapleWorld is the continent of Masteria. Here players will get a chance to explore the expanded Phantom Forest, which is filled with leprechauns, wraiths, the Headless Horseman and a new boss monster, Bigfoot.

Players who navigate their way through the forest will reach the Crimsonwood Mountain, featuring numerous new enemies and challenging platform-style game play.

MapleStory’s popularity has also led to the opening of a new server—Yellonde. To celebrate the new opening, Nexon will award the top 75 ranked players across the first month with prizes!

In addition to all the new content, MapleStory delivers the second part of its Summer Break Events, including two exciting video events. Participants can win a wide range of prizes and learn more about the events – and expansion – at http://maplestory.nexon.net.

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<![CDATA[Understanding Free to Play]]> maplestory.gif Min Kim, Nexon America's director of game operations, sat down with Gamasutra to talk about the free to play model, Nexon's expansion to the 360 and the DS. On the issue of people dismissing the business model:

I don't want to discount people, but I don't think they're doing all the right research, because I see all the misconceptions that people have about what our business is. If they're going to ask the right questions, we could probably tell them.

Or if they would just go in and experience our games. A lot of people talk about it like, "Hey, this can't work," or "It doesn't have the right balance," and then when I ask them questions like, "Have you played it or seen it?" they're like, "No, but it's like this!" and I'm like... (laughs)


I think the misunderstandings and dismissals are a fact of life in regards to the free to play model, with Kim arguing that people don't really understand what it takes to make it work. It's an interesting interview on a gaming model that is becoming more and more popular (and plenty of other stuff besides).

Understanding Free-To-Play: Nexon's Min Kim Speaks Out [Gamasutra]

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<![CDATA[7-Eleven To Appear In MapleStory, Vice Versa]]> Any slight itching I may have had to try out Nexon's MapleStory just went completely down the toilet. Today the company announces that prepaid Nexon cards will be available for purchase at 7-Eleven stores around the country, offering teens and 'tweens' a more convenient way to spend all of their parent's money on virtual frippery in any of Nexon's online games. Pretty nifty, until I read this:

An animated version of a 7-Eleven store and an employee will appear in the popular MapleStory MMOG. This type of integration is cutting-edge, according to Nexon. It brings relevant content to consumers and provides 7-Eleven with a new way to use virtual worlds to expand its marketing.
First off, calling a 7-Eleven employee 'animated' is being far too generous with the definition of the word. Secondly, this is not cutting-edge. This is cutting-stupid. It's one thing to run a 7-Eleven ad on the splash page. It is something completely different to create a virtual 7-Eleven store in a fantasy-themed MMO. Gah.
7-Eleven® Brings Nexon America Game Cards To Teen, 'Tween Customers

Real Card Buys Kids Virtual Shopping Experience

DALLAS — November 29, 2007 - While most big news in the videogame industry revolves around the midnight launch of a hot, new game or the latest, greatest console to hit store shelves, 7-Eleven, Inc. is promoting a new videogame initiative that is less about hardware and software than it is about going on a virtual shopping spree.

One of the biggest global gaming phenomenons is the "Massively Multiplayer Online Game" (MMOG), a computer game that is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. The games are played on the Internet and feature at least one virtual world. MMOGs can enable players to cooperate and compete with each other, as well as interact meaningfully with people around the world. While many of these games are free to play, gamers can spend money to create the coolest avatar, a graphic or visual online identity.

7-Eleven® stores and their 24-hour operation make it more convenient for the millions of MMOG fans to personalize their play with certain online games by offering the Nexon Game Card at its U.S. stores.

7-Eleven has an agreement with Nexon America Inc., the U.S. division of Asia's leading online games company, Nexon Group, to be the first convenience retailer in the United States to sell these cards. Gamers can use the prepaid cards to redeem virtual in-game items and accessories within the MapleStory, Audition and upcoming KartRider games produced by Nexon. The prepaid game cards available in 7-Eleven stores are sold in $10 and $25 denominations.

"We have a great assortment of prepaid cards and now we have one especially for 'tweens and teens who are the biggest fans of these online games," said Brad Haga, 7-Eleven senior product director for business development and services. "They're perfect for young people on a budget and should appeal to the Slurpee®-beverage crowd."

7-Eleven and Nexon worked with InComm, a technology firm that develops, markets and distributes stored-value gift and prepaid products, to add the Nexon gift cards to 7-Eleven's extensive services category. An animated version of a 7-Eleven store and an employee will appear in the popular MapleStory MMOG. This type of integration is cutting-edge, according to Nexon. It brings relevant content to consumers and provides 7-Eleven with a new way to use virtual worlds to expand its marketing.

"Offering these exclusive game cards is an important first for a convenience chain and massively multiplayer online (MMO) publisher," said John H. Chi, president and CEO of Nexon America Inc. "By partnering with 7-Eleven, we're able to reach a much broader audience than ever before. Many of Nexon's customers are teenagers without access to credit cards. Now they will have a more convenient option to getting the cards."

The Nexon Game Card can be used within any of Nexon's games, which are free to download at http://www.nexon.net. Players use an innovative cash shop system (called microtransactions), that provides the option to individualize Audition and MapleStory characters and create unique identities. These features are purely optional, and players can try out items in virtual dressing rooms before making a purchase. Items range from hip haircuts and stylish clothes in Audition to vibrant, colorful outfits and fire-breathing pets in MapleStory.

"7-Eleven is eager to offer more products and services for tweens and teens who have fun personalizing elements of these online games and interacting with other players around the world," said Haga. "The Nexoncards are a perfect fit for our prepaid product selection."

As the pioneer of the microtransaction, or Item-Selling business model, Nexon has sold millions of virtual items worldwide through MapleStory and other hit titles like KartRider and BnB: Crazy Arcade. In February 2007, Nexon America reported that North American players spent $1.6 million on 600,000 virtual products within MapleStory alone.

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<![CDATA[MapleStory Cards And The Black Bunneh]]> My article about the MapleStory iTCG yesterday missed some salient points, so Wizards of the Coast shot me the official launch press release to fill me in on the details. Aside from featuring the most adorable anime art on every card, the card game of Nexon's side-scrolling MMO also includes codes that unlock special rewards in the game, much like Upper Deck's World of Warcraft MMO, except that every booster is guranteed to contain one. Rewards include coveted artifacts, news quests, and rare virtual pets, including the card-exclusive black bunny, which is driving players a little nuts. It is teh call of teh bunneh. I'm actually planning on getting my YuGiOh playing nephew to try the game out with me on Thanksgiving, so I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.

Oh, and before you correct me, bunneh is the bunny way of saying bunny. It's pronounced "boon-eh". Trust me on this. I know my bunnehs.

MapleStory iTrading Card Game Hits Shelves Today

Wizards of the Coast, Nexon take tabletop gaming to the next level

November 6, 2007 (Renton, Wash.) - Gaming giant Wizards of the Coast debuts its highly-anticipated MapleStory iTrading Card Game (iTCG) today, a unique analog extension of the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) MapleStory, giving players an added dimension to their game playing experience. The cards feature iconic anime art from Nexon America Inc.'s popular MapleStory online game and are designed to interact as a turn-based strategy game. Adding to the excitement, the iTCG cards feature codes that unlock exclusive rewards and game experiences in the online game.

With the introduction of the MapleStory iTCG, Wizards of the Coast and Nexon take TCGs to the next level by giving players an integrated experience between the online and offline worlds. Each pack of MapleStory iTCG cards includes a code redeemable for online rewards and game experiences such as highly sought-after artifacts, rare virtual pets, and all-new quests.

Also announced today is the name and image of a new virtual pet, black bunny (preview shown below). The black bunny is exclusive to the iTCG and thus can only be acquired online with an iTCG code.

The MapleStory iTCG Starter Set (MSRP $9.99) and Booster Packs (MSRP $3.99) are available in the US and Canada at hobby game shops and other major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Target, select GameStop stores, Toys 'R' Us, Kmart and Meijer Foods.

Wizards of the Coast popularized trading card games with the creation of Magic: The Gathering® in 1993. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play.

For more information and to learn how to get a complimentary exclusive code, please visit www.maplestorycardgame.com

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<![CDATA[Why Did I Buy MapleStory Cards?]]> So I am at Target last night, buying one of about fifty copies of Assassin's Creed they had there after a GameStop employee with a shit-eating grin told me I should have preordered, when I spot an odd little mushroom creature smiling at me from the trading card game aisle. Apparently, while I wasn't paying attention, Wizards of the Coast got together with the MapleStory folks and released a trading card game. They had apparently just arrived, judging by the lack of price tags (and the fact that I had been there in the morning looking for AC), so I bought a starter deck for $9.99, took it home, and stared at it for awhile. Why did I buy this? Sure, it comes with a booster pack, starter deck, and a game CD, but I know no one who will play this with me and have no intention of playing MapleStory. Then it hit me. You, okay? I bought them for watching by you!

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<![CDATA[MapleStory Anime Characters Look Fugly]]> Yup, these are the MapleStory anime designs. No, really. They look like anything BUT the cute characters that populate the Korean MMORPG. Not as though we were counting the days down until it airs this October on TV Tokyo, but this cartoon must be a cruel joke! Who is creating this garbage! Seriously!!
MapleStory Character Designs [Dark Diamond]

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<![CDATA[Nexon's Min Kim on What's Next For Nexon]]> kartrider.jpg Nexon - the Korean company responsible for MapleStory and KartRider - has been expanding (quietly) beyond its home borders. With MapleStory already in the US and KartRider due to launch sometime in the near future, Nexon's been making a quiet-but-succesful entry into Western markets. Worlds In Motion has an interview up with Min Kim of Nexon America talking about MapleStory, KartRider, the Nexon recipe for success, and what's next for the company. Not surprisingly, great swaths of his thoughts are pretty sensible (in a market glutted with free-to-play games, yours better be fun or else no one's going to play it), but sensible and game company plans do not always go hand in hand.

... For Kim, the business model is step two. "In terms of our products doing well, it's that our games are very fun, and I think that's the core to all games that are going to be successful in terms of the business model we're in," he says. "It's one of the most competitive markets out there, because we're selling free. So unless your game is good, nobody's going to play it. There are a lot of free games, so your game really has to be very good. And once the game concept is good, then you build the business model around it. So those business models never took off because the games weren't fun. We all understand we're working with a hit-driven market and we're fortunate. I think in Korea, there are only four products that have broken the 200,000 concurrent user level. Three of those games are ours."

Nexon is not without criticism - KartRider bears a rather striking resemblance to Mario Kart, and MapleStory has left plenty of people saying 'No thanks' - but there's no question that they're a company to keep an eye on, even outside of their home turf of Korea. We'll see if they can manage their stated goal of creating the next Mario-like characters in terms of popularity and visibility.

Q & A: Nexon's Min Kim on KartRider, MapleStory and Things to Come [Worlds In Motion]

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