Kotaku: Ncsoft

Dungeon Runner's Gold-Excreeting Bling Gnome Spotted

Brian Crecente — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:30:28 MDT

Starting in June people who pick up the box copy of Dungeon Runners at a store will get an in-game Bling Gnome.

The Bling Gnome is a pet of sort that runs around in the game as you play picking up all of the gold dropped from the baddies you kill while playing the free-to-play massive game. The gnome can also be told to pick up dropped items that aren't rare and eat them. He then poops out gold as a reward... seriously.

I love this idea, it saves all of the hassle of having to go back to town and sell off the crap you horde while out in the wilds adventuring.

Hit up the jump for the full explainer as well as some more pics of the gnome in action.

Dungeon Runners Bling Gnome: Excreting gold for fun and profit

Exactly what is the Bling Gnome you might ask? Similar to its cousin, the Garden Gnome, the Bling Gnome is a tricked-up helper gnome with a bit of attitude that will follow your character around and pick up all the gold dropped on the ground (that was intended for you to pick up) auto-magically. This way you don’t have to go running around and pick it up all the gold yourself, the little gangster will do it for you.

The Bling Gnome also has the ability to pick up dropped items, at the Rare level of availability and below (anything that’s not purple- or rainbow-colored), and eat them, converting them into gold. Another time saver! Instead of filling up your inventory with a clutter of items you just want to sell when you get back to Townston, the Bling Gnome will convert them into gold right then and there. That’s not all… though honestly, what would Dungeon Runners be without some scatological humor somewhere? Every once in awhile during this “swords-into-goldshares” conversion process, the Bling Gnome can produce amazing items from its rear end in rather spectacular fashion. In other words, it can poop out an ultra-powerful item (along with the gold). The more items you pick up at once, the higher the chance it can happen. How handy is that?

Players won’t have to look under a blarney stone to get their own Bling Gnome. By the end of June, players can go to just about any game retailer in North America and purchase a Dungeon Runners game pack that includes the soon-to-be-legendary Bling Gnome as well as six months of premium membership level game time for the price of four.

For more information on Dungeon Runners and the Bling Gnome, go to www.Dungeonrunners.com.

Tabula Rasa Doing Just Fine, Thanks

Mike Fahey — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:40:00 MDT

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

NCsoft Profits Fall 43 Percent On Blackstar Costs

Leigh Alexander — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:20:00 MDT

NCsoft reported a 43 percent year-over year drop in profits to $7.7 million, a decrease was due to a write-off expense for costs associated with The Blackstar Chronicles. The futuristic MMO, in development by Spacetime Studios, was ultimately dropped from NCsoft's lineup, and Spacetime will be pursuing the project on its own.

If not for the write-off, NCsoft stood to gain in profit 48 percent on the quarter and 8 percent on the year. The publisher's sales increased 4 percent to $84.3 million on the popularity of the Lineage series in Asia and strong performance for Guild Wars and City of Heroes in North America and Europe.

In particular, NCsoft said its first quarter brought all-time record sales for Lineage II, which launched in 2003 and continues to be the company's top-selling title with 35 percent of the publisher's total sales.

NCsoft's U.S. sales reached $10.4 million in North America and $8.5 million in Europe, and $9.2 million in Japan, numbers dwarfed by its $47.7 million performance in Korea, which accounts for 57 percent of the publisher's total sales.

Later this year, NCsoft will launch its third closed beta for Aion, slated for a launch later this year. NCsoft will also roll out a more casual online portfolio with Point Blank, Punch Monster, Dragonica and Love Beat

"As proven once again in the Q1 financial results, we strongly believe our key franchise products, such as Lineage and Guild Wars, will meet our sales target with a strong customer base and continued content updates going forward," said NCsoft CFO Jaeho Lee. "We plan to ensure the smooth launch of many new products in the next two to three years, which will strengthen our position as a global leader in online games."

Spacetime Rescues Blackstar From NCsoft

Mike Fahey — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:20:00 MDT

What exactly is The Blackstar Chronicles? Blackstar is a futuristic massively-multiplayer game that features both ground -based character combat as well as space-based ship combat on a massive scale. The developers at Spacetime Studios say it's based on the single-player traditions of "Wing Commander" and the multiplayer feel of "Descent." Lofty goals, but when your team is packed with Wing Commander and Privateer veterans you've got a good shot at getting it right. The IP fell into a bit of trouble after a 2006 publishing agreement with NCsoft fell through earlier this year, but the team at Spacetime has just announced that they've acquired the rights from NCsoft to soldier on, and that's a damn good thing. I would have hated to discover that the amazing character designs seen above and at their official website were never going to come to fruition. This is exactly the type of game I've been craving since the disappointment that was EA's Earth and Beyond.

Spacetime Studios Acquires Blackstar IP from NCsoft®
Blackstar is a highly stylized science-fantasy universe from developers of Wing Commander, Privateer, and Star Wars: Galaxies

AUSTIN, Texas - May 8, 2008 - Spacetime Studios, LLC announced today it has acquired the rights to the Blackstar IP from its previous publisher NCsoft. Spacetime Studios, an independent game development studio made up of industry veterans, now fully owns all the tools, technology and intellectual property from their previous publishing deal.

Set in the far future, Blackstar is a fresh universe full of wildly original space fighters, horrifying demonic enemies and epic drama. "The IP lends itself to almost any kind of gameplay that one could ask for, and was specifically designed to be a long-term franchise," said Cinco Barnes, creative director and co-founder of Spacetime Studios. "It's a nice sweet spot when you own all the puzzle pieces and we now have extraordinary flexibility in where to take the game universe next."

"After two years of development, the Blackstar universe is quite near and dear to our hearts" said Gary Gattis, executive producer and co-founder of Spacetime Studios. "Owning the IP as well as the engine and tool set puts a tremendous amount of potential in our hands. With all the developed components under the Spacetime team's control, the options for the IP are diversified."

The new "Blackstar Chronicles" development underway is a space fantasy combat game based on the single-player traditions of "Wing Commander" and the multiplayer feel of "Descent." "The Blackstar Chronicles is a very powerful product," said Jake Rodgers, art director and co-founder of Spacetime Studios. "The Blackstar universe has the potential to be something special and it's great that we are able to bring the IP to fruition."

Download a PDF about the IP at http://www.spacetimestudios.com/downloads/brochure_LoRes.pdf
More information about the studio can be found at http://www.spacetimestudios.com.

Industry Insiders Discuss ESA, E3's Future

Leigh Alexander — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:40:00 MDT

What's the fate of E3, and of the Entertainment Software Association? It's worth examining in light of recent events. This morning we broke the news that two major publishers, Activision and Vivendi, have decided to take a pass on the event and exit the trade association, while other companies have withdrawn their E3 attendance as well. At the same time, the ESA appears to be facing stirrings of industry discontent with the ESA's leadership, namely its current president, Mike Gallagher.

E3 is not the boon to publishers that it once was, says Penny Arcade's director of business development Robert Khoo, who as the organizer of the PAX fan expo clearly has an interest, to say the least, in how things turn out.

"The reason that E3 imploded in recent years was because the publishers felt that it turned into this sort of pissing contest between them... where they were trying to figure out who could one-up each other," Khoo said. "They all thought to themselves that it just wasn't worth it."

The controversial decision to re-format last year's E3 into a smaller, more toned-down event was what Khoo calls "a self-correcting measure by the members of the ESA," in an effort to address its constituency better.

"I would imagine that that show is still trying to look out for what the publishers want - that's the whole goal of that trade association, which is to deliver the needs and try to figure out what their members actually want."

Neither Khoo nor Penny Arcade are ESA members, so he couldn't speak to whether the association is acting optimally to assure its members' best interests. "The real question is whether a show like E3 is something publishers want," Khoo said. "I guess Activision, Sierra, Blizzard, Vivendi feel that is not the case."

Earlier today we reported that several companies skipping E3 blamed their departure on "business issues," which analyst Michael Pachter pinned on poor timing for the July event, inconvenient to those companies' fiscal calendars and overlapping with times during which they must observe a "quiet period" and avoid communicating with investors.

"That blackout period is definitely interesting," Khoo said. "We don't really deal with that at all, just given the timing of our show, because its smack dab in the middle of the quarter. I'm sure that is a genuine concern, but since the third quarter ends at the end of September, it doesn't affect us at all."

According to Khoo, the years where publishers knew what to expect from E3 appear to be over, and that's hurting the event and potentially the ESA by association. After last year's "transitional period," quite a bit looks still to be up in the air, he said.

"It's in flux, and since publishers have that level of uncertainty, that is an unattractive trait to have going into a fairly large investment not knowing what you're going to get out of it."

Several industry sources expressed the same opinion as analyst Pachter: that Gallagher's lack of involvement in the industry not only results in poor planning and poor communication regarding E3, but may weaken the ESA's power to serve the video game industry in the long run.

When prior president Doug Lowenstein gave his final, impassioned speech at DICE 07, he vented his frustration at developers and publishers who refuse to defend their creative work when it's controversial, saying, "Don't duck and cover when the shit hits the fan."

But that's largely what Gallagher did when the association failed to publicly defend Mass Effect during the infamous Fox News "SeXbox" controversy. In an interview with GameDaily, he promised to "support the thrust of the industry activities and the reaction of the video gaming community," but refrained from taking any public position on behalf of the ESA.

However, plenty of the major publishers, including Capcom, Take-Two and EA, continue to support both E3 and the ESA. "It seems that at least four very large members are on the floor and doing press conferences, and it seems like a fifth unaligned company is doing a large event contiguous to that," said EA's Jeff Brown, VP of corporate communications. "That means that there's going to be no problem getting a crowd into LA for E3 this summer."

For the first time in several weeks, Take-Two is in agreement with EA on something: "As a member company, Take-Two Interactive supports the Entertainment Software Association, its leadership and its efforts on behalf of the industry," said CEO Ben Feder. "Mike Gallagher has done an outstanding job as president of the ESA and we look forward to participating in the E3 Media and Business Summit this July."

"No plans to drop out, no issue with Mike, no comment," Capcom said, when asked for their thoughts on the usefulness of the ESA and the fate of the event.

Atlus USA is one of the companies declining to participate in this year's E3, but spokesman Aram Jabbari stopped short of placing the blame on the ESA. "The nature of the show changed when they changed it from a consumer show to an invite-only press show," he said. "A lot of things have changed, but our participation doesn't have to do so much with the changes... we just chose not to exhibit this year and we do wish the ESA and all the exhibiting companies the best of luck."

NCsoft said its refusal to attend E3 was related to a timing issue with their internal development schedule and not with any conflicts about E3, but PR manager Mike Crouch declined to comment on potential issues concerning the state of the ESA. "One of the primary functions of the ESA is to manage E3," Crouch said. "And we still believe in E3, and we would have gone this year had the timing worked out for us. In that regard, we don't have anything negative to say about the usefulness of ESA."

"We would have definitely found E3 useful had it fit into our schedule this year. The judgment would be the ESA serves its purpose as far as we're concerned, as far as E3."

ESA Confirms Activision/Vivendi Departure

Leigh Alexander — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:08:53 MDT

The Entertainment Software Association told Kotaku today that both Activision and Vivendi are no longer a part of the industry trade organization, confirming a rumor we broke earlier this morning.

"While the Entertainment Software Association remains the preeminent voice for U.S. computer and video game publishers, we can confirm that Activision and Vivendi Games opted to discontinue their membership. The ESA remains dedicated to advancing our industry's objectives such as protecting intellectual property, preserving First Amendment rights, and fostering a beneficial environment for the entire industry. Our high level of service and value to members and the larger industry remains unchanged."
- Rich Taylor, Senior Vice President of Communications and Research, Entertainment Software Association

This comes a day after it was noted that Activision and a number of other notable publishers were not listed as showing at the industry's big conference.

Neither Activision nor Vivendi have responded to requests for comment. More as this breaking story unfolds.

Tabula Rasa Offers Free Re-Enlistment Week

Mike Fahey — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:00:00 MDT

Tabula Rasa has only been up and running for six months, but they've already lost a sizeable enough chunk of folks that they'd do anything to win you back. Since release they've had 8 new content updates, introduced alien hybrids, and added respec tokens to the mix, and for the week beginning May 5th and ending May 12th players who've passed on the action can log into their accounts and see how the game has been shaping up, completely free. I played the game a bit during beta as well as a good month after launch, and it just couldn't hold my attentions, but I'll log in next week, just in case it was just a case of bad timing.

Talking Architecture With Guild Wars' Art Director

Maggie Greene — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:30:00 MDT

I love architecture — and still have days where I think I probably should've gone into architectural history — so I always enjoy BLDGBLOG's game-related posts. This week is a chat with Daniel Dociu, Chief Art Director of Guild Wars. The interview is worth reading for a look at the pictures alone, but a look at how gorgeous environments are created is interesting, too:

... I look back all the way to the dawn of mankind: to ruins, and Greek architecture, and Mycenean architecture, all the way up to the architecture of the Crusades, and castles in North Africa, and the Romanesque and Gothic and Baroque and Rococo - even to neo-Classical and art deco and Bauhaus and Modernist. I mean, there are bits and pieces here and there that make a strong impression on me, and I blend them - but that's the beauty of games. You don't have to be stylistically pure, or even coherent. You can afford a certain eclecticism to your work. It's a more forgiving medium. I can blend elements from the Potala Palace in Tibet with, say, La Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí's cathedral. I really take a lot of liberties with whatever I can use, wherever I can find it.

You can find more examples of Dociu's work at his website or BLDGBLOG's Flickr photostream.

Game/Space: An Interview With Daniel Dociu [BLDBLOG]

NCsoft Introduces Fake Money For Fake Things

Mike Fahey — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:00:00 MDT

Anyone will tell you that paying for items that don't technically exist always feels better when done through a middle-currency - gPotatoes, linden, and now, NCcoin. NCsoft is getting into the fake money business with the new NCcoin program, that will allow players to purchase fake money using real money to purchase fake in-game items. $1 equals 100 NCcoin, which can then be spent in Exteel - where the program is debuting - and eventually many other existing and upcoming NCsoft titles.

NCsoft's goal is to bring more and more people into the online gaming market, and part of achieving that goal is to continue to diversify how customers can pay and play," said Chris Chung, NCsoft North America's president. "This system will offer our customers much greater flexibility and convenience in paying for content.

NCsoft plans on introducing items that can only be purchased with their fake money, along with items that can also be earned in game, so it isn't just about skill, but cash as well. Awesome. Hit the jump for the press release.

NCsoft rolls out NCcoin, a new micro-transaction system for online games- Austin, Texas - April 16, 2008
NCsoft® Corporation, the world's leading developer and publisher of online computer games, unveiled today the details of a new micro-transaction system called NCcoin™. This system will allow customers to use real-world money to purchase in-game items and upgrades.

NCcoin, debuting in the action-packed game Exteel™, was designed so that each dollar spent (US$1) equates to 100 NCcoin, which can be used to acquire in-game items and for upgrade purchases. NCcoin is part of NCsoft's continuing efforts to offer a variety of business models while giving customers easier access to NCsoft games.

"NCsoft's goal is to bring more and more people into the online gaming market, and part of achieving that goal is to continue to diversify how customers can pay and play," said Chris Chung, NCsoft North America's president. "This system will offer our customers much greater flexibility and convenience in paying for content. Micro-transactions are a growing part of the online gaming industry and NCcoin will allow us to support micro-transaction based games efficiently, allowing developers and players to quickly enjoy the benefits of those systems. We will soon be rolling out more contents that leverage the flexibility of NCcoin."

In addition to Exteel, NCcoin is expected to be incorporated globally into many of NCsoft's existing and upcoming games. NCcoin is currently available in 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 denominations for $1, $5, $10 and $20 amounts, respectively.

For more information about NCcoin go to: http://www.plaync.com/us/nccoin/.

NCsoft Shuts Down Illegal Servers

Maggie Greene — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:30:00 MDT

NCsoft is stepping up the battle against IP theft, in this case targeting illegal servers in eastern Europe (concentrating on Greece and Russia). Last year, they successfully brought a suit against a Greek company who was profiting from the use of illegal Lineage II servers; they're continuing the global fight. Full release after the jump.

BRIGHTON, England (10th April 2008) - NCsoft®, the world-leading, publisher of massively multiplayer online games such as Guild Wars®, Lineage® II and City of Heroes®, today announced that it was stepping up its fight against the growing menace of intellectual property theft. This action comes as a direct response to the rise of illegal online game servers throughout Eastern Europe, particularly in Greece and Russia where NCsoft's fantasy-based online role playing game, Lineage II, is extremely popular.

The fraudulent servers in question are being used by players playing at home and in internet cafes, but such unauthorised servers often feature - or require users to download - illegally modified and potentially harmful game data, thereby changing the intended online experience.

NCsoft's European office has identified several prominent illegal servers across Europe and is in the process of taking action against individuals and corporations deemed to be in breach of international copyright laws. In a lawsuit that was commenced last year in Greece, NCsoft successfully obtained a court order against Internet Cafe business, 'e-GLOBAL' following which four of its cafes were raided and illegal software was seized. This led to the shutting down of illegal servers on which pirate copies of Lineage II software was loaded. Georgios Katostaris - Chairman of the Board and Managing Director, Constantinos Zygouras - Vice-Chairman of the Board and Managing Director, Athanassios Dobros - Deputy Managing Director and Dimitrios Koutsoukos - Administrator of the company under the name 'INTERNET DYNAMICS LLC' have all been made personal defendants to the proceedings that are continuing in the Greek Courts in which NCsoft is seeking damages as well as criminal remedies.

"Illegal game servers, such as those operating from e-GLOBAL, have a hugely negative impact on both NCsoft Europe and its customers," commented Max Brown, NCsoft Europe's Sales & Operations Director. "They seriously affect the player's experience of our products and rob the company of potential revenue that is used to further enhance the player experience on official servers. NCsoft's loss in revenue from e-GLOBAL's operation is estimated in excess of six million Euros. We are defiant in our resolve to stamp out theft of NCsoft's intellectual properties and are prepared to take the strongest measures to do so."

NCsoft has a proven track record in combating illegal servers, having worked with the FBI in November 2006 to shut down a substantial unofficial Lineage II server run by US-based website, L2Extreme.com. Following multiple raids across cities throughout the US, L2Extreme's fraudulent servers - which claimed to support 50,000 active users - were taken offline, as was the L2Extreme.com website.

NCsoft Readies Two More Unreal MMOs

Mike Fahey — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:40:20 MDT

NCsoft loves Epic's Unreal Engine, but then again who doesn't (hush Silicon Knights)? After successfully implemented the last version of the engine in Lineage 2 and the forthcoming Exteel, NCsoft is making the jump to next-gen, licensing the Unreal Engine 3 for two unannounced MMO projects.

"Unreal Engine 3 has a well structured rendering pipeline, and its graphical quality is superb thanks to advanced lighting and shadowing systems," said Young-muk Choi, lead programmer, Development Unit, NCsoft. "Tools within the Unreal Editor empower us to instantly produce and optimize our outputs, and we especially love how the engine enables designers to easily prototype concepts without the need for programming."

Hopefully UE3 will also be able to help them make a game that doesn't fail miserably.

NCsoft Announces Unreal Engine 3 License for Two Upcoming Projects
World-renowned online game developer expands on Unreal legacy

SEOUL, KOREA (March 25, 2008) - NCsoft® Corporation, the world's leading developer and publisher of online computer games, today announced that it has reinforced its relationship with Epic Games, Inc. by licensing Unreal Engine 3 to develop two unannounced, top-tier massively multiplayer online games. NCsoft has achieved spectacular results working with the Unreal Engine over the years, shipping the highly successful Lineage® II, and the soon to be released Exteel ™, using Unreal Engine 2.

"Unreal Engine 3 has a well structured rendering pipeline, and its graphical quality is superb thanks to advanced lighting and shadowing systems," said Young-muk Choi, lead programmer, Development Unit, NCsoft. "Tools within the Unreal Editor empower us to instantly produce and optimize our outputs, and we especially love how the engine enables designers to easily prototype concepts without the need for programming."

"NCsoft pioneered online game development using Unreal Engine, as evidenced by Lineage II, one of the most commercially successful and enduringly popular online games in history," said Jay Wilbur, vice president of Epic Games. "We are thrilled to take this next step with NCsoft, and are fully committed to supporting their projects. We expect to be completely wowed by what they do with our latest technology."

Developers and publishers around the world have licensed Unreal Engine 3 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Since Epic has shipped its internal titles across all supported platforms, the engine's content pipeline and technical capabilities have achieved unprecedented levels of maturity and accessibility. These advancements, combined with the continual incorporation of top quality middleware via Epic's prestigious Integrated Partners Program, has primed Unreal Engine 3 as the best possible offering for cross-platform game development for years to come. Through this licensing agreement, NCsoft will be able to take advantage of the latest enhancements to Unreal Engine 3, including dynamic ambient occlusion, a fracturing tool and runtime, a realistic crowd system and much more.

Dungeon Runners Heaves Up New Content

Mike Fahey — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:40:38 MST

NCsoft's free-to-play hack and slash game Dungeon Runners is getting another update, only this time it isn't a full blown "Chunk" expansion - merely a "Heave" - there's that trademark highbrow Dungeon Runners humor for you. New content includes Balzack's Barrow, which is a new dungeon for players 55 and up, an NPC snowman named Chill Bill *groan* available at level 30 that helps players fight enemies, and a visit to Townston by Shivery the Incorrigible Snowman, a victim of dungeon warming that gives players a special quest while telling them they were adopted. 51 new quests, new armor sets, new mythic items, a two-handed ranger rifle and some general interface tweaking round out the update.

"I think that Dungeon Runners players will find these new features, especially the snowmen as being pretty cool...literally," said Stephen Nichols, Dungeon Runners' producer.

Well that's some relatively mild hype. Pretty cool? I mean...oh wait...I get it! Snowmen! Cool! Hahahaha! I'm going to go cry now. Hit the jump for the full press release and more frosty screenshots.

NCsoft heaves out Dungeon Runners content update

NCsoft's Dungeon Runners team is keeping things cool for its players by launching a new content update that provides some frosty surprises including snowmen, a new dungeon, new items and improvements to the waypoint system.
The content update, which is considered more of a "Heave" than a full-blown expansion "Chunk," introduces a new dungeon called Balzack's Burrow for player levels 55 and up. Balzack's Burrow is loaded with loot, monsters and a final boss-battle that will require more than just mind-numbing violence in order to claim victory.

Chill Bill, a formidable snowman and the first NPC that players can summon in Dungeon Runners, is available at level 30 and can help players fight enemies. He has several specialized moves, such as the head butt, where Bill removes his head and bashes an opponent. Chill Bill is a low maintenance snowman that can be healed by hitting him with ice projectile spells.

Chill Bill also comes with several cool skills including "On the Rocks" which freezes Bill in a solid bock of ice, slowing down nearby enemies; "Snow Globe" which stuffs Chill Bill into a globe where he receives a major maximum health increase, and "Nippy Twigs" a skill buff which dramatically increases Bill's attack damage and slows enemies.

Closing out wintertime for Dungeon Runners is a visit by Shivery the Incorrigible Snowman who is quickly melting in Townston, so his stay in the game will be short yet filled with bitterness. Shivery, who is a victim of dungeon warming, will provide players with a loot-filled quest, but not without delivering a few pleasantries such as "...your parents didn't love you," and "...you are adopted."

Additionally, the Heave includes 51 new quests, two new fighter armor sets, new mythic items, a two-handed rifle for rangers and improvements to the user interface and the waypoints system.

"I think that Dungeon Runners players will find these new features, especially the snowmen as being pretty cool...literally," said Stephen Nichols, Dungeon Runners' producer. "We are always looking to create more ways for players to have fun while keeping the challenge compelling. Sometimes features can be a bit silly, but that is what makes Dungeon Runners so special."

For more information, or to download and play the game for free, go to www.dungeonrunners.com.

Guild Wars Sells 5 Million

Mike Fahey — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:40:26 MST

NCsoft and ArenaNet's first foray into the realm of free MMO's is faring quite nicely it seems, with the company announcing that the franchise has recently surpassed the five million units sold milestone less than three years after the original game's release. This of course includes sales of the add-on packs as well, which include Guild Wars Factions, Nightfall, and Eye of the North, but certainly impressive numbers either way.

"Guild Wars is a proven success and has set a new standard for online RPG games with its unique business model and superior playability," said NCsoft CEO Taek Jin Kim.

A success indeed! Makes you wonder why they even bothered making Auto Assault and Tabula Rasa subscription based, doesn't it?

Guild Wars Tops Five Million Units Sold

Guild Wars franchise breaks major milestone in less than three years.

Bellevue, WA. Feb. 26, 2008—NCsoft® and ArenaNet® have announced that the Guild Wars® franchise of online roleplaying games has surpassed five million units sold in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Published by NCsoft and developed by ArenaNet, the Guild Wars franchise consists of the original Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions®, Guild Wars Nightfall®, and the recently released expansion, Guild Wars: Eye of the North™. The Guild Wars games have been commercial and critical successes since the release of the original campaign in April of 2005. Its award-winning content and innovative subscription-free business model have created a large and loyal following that is highly anticipating Guild Wars 2™.

"Guild Wars is a proven success and has set a new standard for online RPG games with its unique business model and superior playability," said NCsoft CEO Taek Jin Kim. "ArenaNet is dedicated to creating games that expand the market and provide great new content to our loyal player base. This success has built a great foundation from which the next generation of Guild Wars games will grow."

With the development of Guild Wars 2 underway, ArenaNet will continue to provide dedicated support to current Guild Wars games and its millions of customers.

"Reaching the five million mark is extremely gratifying for us at ArenaNet because it shows the hard work and dedication we put into our games has resonated with the fans," said Mike O'Brien, co-founder of ArenaNet. "We are committed to supporting all of our Guild Wars players, and at the same time, we're extremely excited to work on the game's evolution. Certainly the future of Guild Wars is as bright as its past and present."

For more information on the Guild Wars franchise, visit the Guild Wars website at www.guildwars.com. The award-winning Guild Wars series, including the recently released Guild Wars: Eye of the North, can be purchased from retailers or downloaded from the PlayNC store at secure.plaync.com/cgi-bin/Store.pl.

Shanda Introducing NCsoft's Atrix To China

Maggie Greene — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:30:11 MST

NCsoft's Atrix, a casual online game that NCsoft describes as "a lively action fighting game," is making its way to China after being well received in Korea last year. Shanda has gotten the exclusive license to operate Atrix on the Mainland, part of the alliance between the two Asian giants announced this past November. I wonder if having a 'strategic alliance' will preclude any of the messy and protracted legal battles we've seen between Chinese and Korean companies? You can expect the game to be popping up on PRC PCs in 2009; full press release after the jump.

Shanghai, China - February 19, 2008 - Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: SNDA), or Shanda, a leading interactive entertainment media company in China, announced today that it has entered into an agreement for exclusive license with NCsoft Corporation (KSE: 036570.KS), or NCsoft, Korea's leading online game developer and publisher, to operate Atrix in mainland China. Atrix is expected to begin commercial operation in China in early 2009.

Atrix, created and published by NCsoft, is an online casual war game featuring exciting combat and breath-taking scenery. The game began official operation in Korea in June 2007 and has been well received by players.

Atrix is the second game to come out of Shanda's strategic alliance with NCsoft, which was announced in November 2007. At that time, Shanda announced the exclusive license for the highly anticipated MMORPG AION: The Tower of Eternity, which is expected to begin close beta testing in China in the second half of 2008.

"We are pleased to partner with NCsoft to introduce Atrix to China. We expect long-term success from both Atrix and AION, based on our strong integrated platform and expertise as the leading online game operator in China," said Tianqiao Chen, Chairman and CEO of Shanda. "We will continue to work closely with NCsoft to introduce additional high quality and exciting new titles to China."

"We are excited to cooperate with Shanda in Atrix, which marks our entry into casual games in China," said Kim Taek Jin, NCsoft's CEO. "Our strategic partnership with Shanda is an important part of our plan to become a truly international online game company, and we believe it will benefit both companies well into the future."

Tabula Rasa Totally Tanked? NCSoft Austin Downsizing?

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:00:09 MST

Apparently, MMORPG Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa bombed. And when games bomb, heads roll. If true, it's at NCSoft's Austin Studio! The Korea Times reports that the Austin subsidiary "has proven to be a financial disaster." Making Tabula Rasa was no cake walk, with rattailed Richard Garriott restarting the project several times, costing NCSoft added expenses. In a conference call, NCSofts chief financial officer Lee Jae-ho said:

Because of this disappointing result, some downsizing in Austin is inevitable. We are going to revamp our Austin development organization... I should admit that the actual result of Tabula Rasa has been disappointing... If you talk about our development cost we spent in the past several years, probably we are not making any money from this Tabula Rasa project. That should be the reality.

NCSoft hasn't decided how many Austin Studio staffers it will let go, but plans to keep enough for Tabula Rasa maintence. Of course, rattailed Richard Garriott won't get the axe. However, NCSoft games will no longer be developed at the Austin Studio as individual projects.

According to website Massively, contacts at NCSoft say The Korea Times article blows things out of proportion and omitted key details about the conference call. For example, NCSoft CFO Jae-ho Lee stated that "some" downsizing was going to happen, but that he hoped Tabula Rasa would eventually improve its revenue. What's more, NCSoft is putting several more million dollars into the game, which is launching in Japan later this year. (Garriott's games typically have done well in Japan.) Only the Tabula Rasa team will be effected by the downsizing. It is not uncommon for MMO teams to ramp up during production and then reduce after launch. Glaring omissions, damage control and rattails. This post has it all!
NCSoft Downsizing Austin Studio [The Korea Times via Massively]
Tabula Rasa Not In Dumps [Massively] [Pic]

Tabula Rasa Adds Fuel-Efficient Hybrids

Mike Fahey — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:40:26 MST

Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa has from the start been a story about humanity, but since before the game launched players have been clamoring to play something outside of generic human number five. The lack of character diversity is one of the main things I didn't like about the game, but that's all changed now. Patch 1.4 saw the introduction of human alien hybrids - human characters spliced with alien DNA to create something entirely new. Thrax, Brann, and Forean hybrids, each with unique stat bonuses, are unlocked via quests that start at level 15. In order to help facilitate the new options, new emphasis has been placed on player stats, clones can now reassign ability points, and an option to hide your helmet to show off your new blue head have all been implemented. Enough to draw me back into the game? Only free time will tell, my friends.

NCsoft's Chris Chung on Consoles, US Market, Direction

Maggie Greene — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:30:54 MST

GameDaily sat down for a chat with Chris Chung, NCsoft's North American president, on NCsoft's future direction, their deal with Sony for the PS3, and what's next for the company in general. Despite rumors that NCsoft's Korean arm would be shifting more towards non-game products, the North American branch seems to be trucking ahead with little sign of losing steam; they're also getting ready for the leap to the console market:

... We queried him on the exclusive deal that NCsoft recently signed with Sony for the PS3. We've yet to see an MMO game take off on consoles, so how will NCsoft approach this challenge? "I think there are a lot of causes that factor into good MMOs on a console," Chang ventured. "These are elements like 'does the person have a standard definition TV or an HDTV?' You don't have a good a resolution on regular TV, and a lot of games were hurting for that. Ultimately, we have to really optimize for consoles; we have to create an experience that's suited for the [PS3] and supports the MMO element. I think the shift is inevitable; real-time strategy is one of the last PC genres moving onto consoles, and I think we'll see a similar trend for online games as well."

Chung has some other, more general comments related to the casual and MMO markets and a little about the two new games NCsoft will be launching this coming year, Aion and Exteel.

NCsoft's Chris Chung On the Future, Worldwide Hits and PS3 MMOs [GameDaily]

Lineage II Offers $10 Sex Change

Mike Fahey — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:20:23 MST

NCsoft has just launched their new value-added services for MMO Lineage II, featuring name changes, server changes (coming soon), and the one we've all been waiting for - sex changes. For just $9.99 US you can trade in your outtie genitalia for an innie, or vice versa. Knowing how wishy-washy MMO players can be about their gender, the service allows you to change up to once a week, unless you are one of the winged Kamael, in which case you're already pretty close to gender neutral anyway. Launching alongside the discount nip and tuck is the name change service, which allows you to bury your bad reputation under another title for $29.99 as long as you remove yourself from any guilds and create a level 1 character with the desired name in order to reserve it. Once the server transfer service launches in a few weeks you will be able to start a completely new life as the woman or man you've always had lurking inside of you. Joy!

Lineage II Account Services Page [NCsoft]

Work and Play: A Peek Inside the Lives of Gaming's Greatest

Brian Crecente — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:00:32 MST

I've had a pet project I've been working on for years, three of them if my memory is right. It started as a simple idea: You can judge a lot from a person's desk. I bet you could judge just as much from their home entertainment system. So I decided it would be fun to try and track down some pictures from the work desks and home gaming set-ups of the people who work in and cover the video game industry. Simple right? Not so much.

Turns out that many of the people are either too busy or too private to want to participate in such a project. To make matters worse, there's always fear that something sitting on someone's desk, that ends up in a photo, could actually be news worthy. Like a secret project or the next big thing. But I didn't give up and about once a year I'd harass a bunch of game developers for photos. Finally, this year, the harassment paid off.

What started as a trickle of photos turned quickly into the collection of galleries you'll find on the jump: More than 40 different photo galleries from 17 studios, seven publications, two industry movers and shakers and a couple of fun surprises.

You'll get to see the desk of such greats as Sid Meier, Peter Molyneux and Tetsuya Mizuguchi along with plenty of others. Remember you can comment both on the next page and on each individual photo if you click on them.

If I find there is interest, I will try to periodically update this gallery of galleries with more developers, journalists and industry movers and shakers. Have fun.

DEVELOPERS
2K Games

ASTRO Gaming

Buzz Monkey Software

Capcom

Eat, Sleep, Play

Electronic Arts

Firaxis Games

Flying Lab Software

Gearbox Software

Harmonix Music

Incognito Entertainment

Insomniac Games

Kojima Productions

Lionhead Studios

NanaOn-Sha

Naughty Dog

NCSoft

NetDevil

Neversoft Entertainment

Ninja Theory

Pandemic Studios

Petroglyph Games

THQ

Q Entertainment

JOURNALISTS

Blue's News

BoingBoing

EGM

The Escapist

GameLife

Joystiq

Kotaku

MTV

Slashdot Games

VE3D

VH1

INDUSTRY FOLK

MISCELLANIES
I AM 8-BIT

Penny Arcade

Whorecraft

Video Games Live

What is NCsoft Up To?

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 07:00:34 MST

Lineage, City of Heroes and Guild Wars publisher is staying hush hush about its upcoming project. Rumors started circulating last week when it was noticed that NCsoft Europe was hiring and had put a buncha concept art on its website. As MMO site Massively points out, the concept art has a mystical-meet-militaristic vibe to it. NCsoft Europe is looking for a bunch of new recruits, so this could be part of the company's Sony deal to bring online games to the PS3 and the PSP. When asked what it was up to, NCsoft Europe replied, "No comment." Figures.
NCsoft Europe's New Project [Videogamer.com]

Be a Character in Tabula Rasa, Help Child's Play

Brian Crecente — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:20:05 MST

The folks over at NCSoft have amassed quite an interesting collection of eBay auctions for Child's Play this year. The auctions, which will donate 100 percent of the proceeds to Child's Play, includes signed copies of games and posters, rare finds and, the best one, having a Tabula Rasa NPC named after you.

City of Heroes Poster Signed by Dev Team Signed City of Villains Collectors Edition City of Villains Lord Recluse Statue Tabula Rasa Signed Game & Bonuses Tabula Rasa Signed Game & Bonuses Tabula Rasa NPC Named After You!

So far the auctions are up to more than $2500, but NCSoft is hopping to hit twice that figure, so get to the link below to find the auction of your choice and get to bidding/donating.

Help Child's Play [NCSoft]

NCsoft's Other Garriott Goes Global

Mike Fahey — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:40:47 MST

NCsoft's North American president and ace helicopter pilot Robert Garriott will be stepping up from his position next year in order to take up a role in global business development and planning.

"We're extremely pleased with Robert's plans to become more involved with our global business development," commented CEO Taek Jin Kim. "The future for NCsoft is very bright and his leadership in this area will be a huge step forward for the company.

Chris Chung, NCsoft's VP of worldwide product development will be stepping into the role as president of North American business. Meanwhile Richard Garriott - the Cyclops to Robert's Havok - will maintain his position as "The Man."

New role for Garriott at NCsoft [GamesIndustry.biz]

Aion Character Classes Revealed, Still Painfully Pretty

Mike Fahey — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:20:17 MST

NCsoft has released information on the character classes available in their upcoming MMORPG Aion: The Tower of Eternity. Players will be able to choose from four initial classes - Warrior, Scout, Mage, and Priest - which then branch off into two different advanced classes. For instance, the Scout can choose between Rangers and Assassins, while Mages morph into either Spiritmasters or Sorcerers. It's pretty much a watered-down version of the system already in place in games like Everquest 2 (before the changes) and Tabula Rasa, but who cares? Look how pretty it is! I've been avoiding Aion like the plague since it was first announced, because I don't want to get my hopes up about another pretty MMO that winds up playing like crap...but every time I see screenshots I wind up with a little puddle of drool on my desk. Just look at the detail on that armor! Gah! Must focus. Hit the jump for the full story on the character classes in the game if you can get past the pretty, pretty screenshots.

Advanced character class system gives players ultimate control of their destiny in NCsoft's Aion: The Tower of Eternity
NCsoft reveals the detailed character class system behind its eagerly anticipated MMORPG, Aion: The Tower of Eternity.
Wednesday 19th December/... Massively Multiplayer Online RPG fans can look forward to a wealth of career opportunities in NCsoft's forthcoming Aion: The Tower of Eternity next year, with gamers able to literally choose their destiny thanks to the game's two-tiered character class system.

Characters begin their journey by choosing one of four base professions - Warrior, Scout, Mage and Priest. This initial tier of development impacts on everything from a character's strength, to their combat prowess, to their magical abilities, ultimately shaping the players actions throughout the game. However, higher-level players can tailor their character further still, with each profession offering two advanced classes, bringing the total number of character types available in Aion: The Tower of Eternity up to eight.

While the initial choice of character class will largely depend on each player's personal style, the ability to develop a character through the advanced class system ensures that players have all the tools they need to create a character that is unique to them.

The Warrior
Bold, brave and possessing immense physical prowess, Warriors excel in close-quarter combat. Strong performers in a wide range of situations, Warriors are relatively easy to master and when fully realised can unleash a spectacular range of physically devastating skills.

Depending on how players prefer to approach combat, Warriors can specialise as either Gladiators, who concentrate on dealing damage through brute force, or Templars, who combine fierce fighting with defensive chants and techniques.

The Scout
The Scout combines great agility with swift attacks. Scout players require a deft and accurate touch to get the most out of this tricky class, however the rewards are great and offer the greatest variety in play style of all the basic classes.

Scouts that specialise in ranged combat develop naturally into Rangers, an advanced class equally adept in the use of blades and traps. For those Scouts who prefer to stay hidden and strike from the shadows, the Assassin class is the perfect choice of advancement.

The Mage
Mages compensate their weakness in physical combat with the ability to launch devastatingly powerful magic attacks. In addition, Mages must learn to divert and evade the enemy so that they're able to attack from the relative safety of range.

As Mages advance, so their mastery over the elements of water, air, earth and fire increase, their choice of advanced class determining how that mastery is manifest. Spiritmasters can summon and control elemental spirits, while Sorcerers channel elemental power into fearsome magical bolts and missiles.

The Priest
Spiritual warriors, Priests can use healing and self-protection spells to excel in melee combat, and launch powerful ranged magic attacks too. This makes them not only useful support characters in a party of adventurers, but also powerful combatants in their own right.

Priests that specialise in healing and protecting their allies naturally progress to the advanced class of Cleric, the ultimate support class. Alternatively, Priests can become Chanters, pious warriors that boast both healing and ability-boosting powers.

Players will be able to experience all eight character classes for themselves while exploring the incredible world of Atreia when Aion: The Tower of Eternity launches later next year.

NCsoft Releases New Lineage II Expansion

Maggie Greene — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 10:30:43 MST

NCsoft release their latest expansion for Lineage II, called Kamael. It would appear there's plenty of new stuff (including one-winged maidens in various states of skimpy dress) and the expansion is free for current subscribers. The full release is after the jump, or you can wander over to the Lineage II site to see what's new.

NCsoft® today announced the release of Kamael, the newest and largest addition to the Lineage® II franchise. At more than 1 Gigabyte, Kamael is the largest expansion ever for the massively multiplayer online PC game and adds an entirely new playable race, new lands, ongoing fortress battles, instanced dungeons and new account services to the game, which has continued to increase in depth and story.

The huge Kamael expansion is free to all current Lineage II subscribers. Lineage II is known as the gaming market's premier player-versus-player (PvP) MMO, and since its launch in late 2003, has reached more than 17 million players worldwide.

The main feature of the expansion is a new playable race called the Kamael, one-winged soldiers who control a form of dark magic and are presented in different class paths based on gender, with both male and female characters possessing distinct combat abilities. The ultimate goal of the Kamael warriors, born on the Isle of Souls, is to earn a second wing and reach the powerful "final form."

Adding to the intrigue and massive battles Lineage II is known for are clan-based, daily fortress battles. Smaller in scale to the enormous castle sieges, the fortress battles will allow smaller clans to gain a foothold on territory and elevating their clan in the larger political and military background.

Highlights for veteran players of the game include the addition of lands for those above level 70, Hellbound and the Isle of Prayer. Also coming soon, highly-requested game features such as character server transfers, name changes and gender changes will become available for purchase.

Newer players will enjoy new items and enhancements that will aid the solo play experience for those at lower levels, helping to make Lineage II more accessible without diluting the challenge for which the game is well known.

"The Kamael expansion is so epic that it is hard to pin down which feature is the most exciting," said Tim Tan, NCsoft's North American producer of Lineage II. "The new Kamael race is very unique and adds a new world of playability to the game. The new high-level lands will benefit our longtime players seeking harder challenges, while the new-player and soloing features will make getting to the heart of the game easier for more players. The sheer amount of content in this expansion is unbelievable and I really look forward to seeing the players' response."

Additional new features include a set of instanced dungeons and new item slots and items that include new more powerful weapons and armor. Instanced dungeons provide players a place where they can hunt by themselves, untouched by players or creatures. There are two different kinds of Instanced Dungeons: one that requires a quest to enter, and the other that requires the acquisition of a castle or fortress to enter.

Also, when players tackle particularly challenging adventures or overcome monsterous bosses, they can capture the moment on video with the game's newly polished record and replay system that allows players to speed up or slow down their footage when they view their captured battles.

Lineage II is available digitally in The Epic Collection edition, which includes the original game plus all five expansions in one box at the PlayNC® online store for an estimated street price of US $29.99. To purchase the game or other Lineage II merchandise, go to the PlayNC store at: https://store.plaync.com.

Dungeon Runners Blows Chunk 2

Mike Fahey — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:20:21 MST

NCsoft's free to download, free to play MMO Dungeon Runners has just received its second content update, Chunk 2, which changes the face of the game for non-subscribers completely. Areas and items previously off-limits to non-paying customers are now open for all, thanks to the introduction of the in-game advertising Mark Wilson reported on back in October. The ads will be seen during loading screens as well as in a banner that sits upon the screen as the main game is running. Paying members will have their bank pages increased from one to three and won't be plagued by advertising. Both paying and non-paying players will be able to enjoy the newly implemented item trading system and combat system refinements. Personally I think NCsoft is missing out on major ad revenue by restricting advertisements to loading screens and the banner. With its tongue in cheek, self-referential humor, Dungeon Runners is the one game that could get away with a +5 Sword of Pringles Fever.

NCsoft Launches Chunk 2, Adding Advertising, New Content to Dungeon Runners Game
AUSTIN, Texas—(BUSINESS WIRE)—NCsoft® today announced the release of Chunk 2, the second content update for its successful free-to-download and play game, Dungeon Runners™. This update includes in-game advertising in non-member worlds, more bank space for members, item trading, increased access to prime loot, and overall Player versus Environment (PvE) and Player versus Player (PvP) balance refinements.

Dungeon Runners is a free to download and play online multiplayer role playing game in a satirical, fast-paced sword-and-shield setting, where defeating monsters and evil enemies results in piles of loot, treasure, and non-stop fun.

The hallmark of Chunk 2 is in-game advertising which will help fund future development of the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) and keep it free for players. The in-game advertising will be visible to non-members in loading screens and in a banner that sits on top of the game window during play. Dungeon Runners members, who can subscribe to the game for only $4.99 per month, will not see any of the advertising.

Advertising in Dungeon Runners will open up new content and functionality for all players. Non-member players will gain access to new content previously unavailable to them, including dungeons and valuable items. Also, non-members will now have access to one page of bank slots, enabling them to store more items. Members will increase their bank storage space from one to three pages.

Also, by popular demand, a secure trade system has been added to Dungeon Runners. This new feature allows everyone to easily trade items (with the exception of gold) with other players through a simple interface.

"Chunk 2 unlocks an enormous amount of playable content for non-members that they didn't have access to before thanks to the addition of in-game advertising," said Stephen Nichols, NCsoft's producer and lead programmer for Dungeon Runners. "Our non-member players are very happy they can now use what was previously members-only loot, and our members are really excited about receiving additional bank slots to hold their items. These changes, plus our new secure trade system, make this update a win-win for everyone!"

Further enhancements include increased rare item drops and stackable potions for members and non-members alike, which lead to more success in this hack-and-slash game.

Dungeon Runners can be downloaded for free at http://www.dungeonrunners.com/join.html. Players can play for free or subscribe to the members version at any point for $4.99 a month. Members have access to such benefits as log-in queue priority, members-only servers, and the most powerful items, weapons and armor. Membership status also includes three bank pages for hundreds of loot items and the ability to stack potions in one inventory slot to save room for even more loot.

To find out more please visit the Dungeon Runners web site at: www.dungeonrunners.com.

The game is rated Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

Guild Wars Holidays In The North

Mike Fahey — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:00:39 MST

Guild Wars is celebrating the holidays by trying to give themselves the gift of more players and expansion sales! Starting today at noon, everyone who ever purchased and played the original Guild Wars gets free access to the first true expansion, Guild Wars: Eye of the North. For five hours. Whee! To make things even more enticing, players from levels 10-19 will receive a special buff that allows them to have a chance of surviving in the level 20+ lands of the expansion. It's their special way of saying, "Happy Holidays - Buy Eye of the North." Players who already purchased Eye of the North will also be getting bennies in the form of triple experience for primary storyline quests, double chance for rare items, triple drop rate on Lockpicks, double gold and experience for clearing EotN explorable areas in Hard Mode, and three special items that drop off of expansion mobs. This Christmas, give Guild Wars the gift that keeps on giving: your expansion cash.

Guild Wars Holiday event includes 5 free hours of Eye of the North and Triple XP
Starting today at noon, and lasting for 10 days, Guild Wars players can try out Guild Wars: Eye of the North for free for five hours. Also, the level requirement to play Eye of the North has been lowered from 20 to 10 to make it easier for players to access the exciting content in Guild Wars first true expansion. To help players be competitive in the level-20 plus world of Eye of the North, players at levels 10-19 will be buffed up to in order to go toe-to-toe with the new content.

Additionally, to help celebrate the holidays, players in Eye of the North will receive:

- Triple experience from all primary storyline quests in Eye of the North.

- Double the chance to receive rare items from chests, and triple the drop rate of Lockpicks in Eye of the North.

- Double gold and experience rewards for vanquishing Eye of the North explorable areas while playing in Hard Mode.

In addition, all weekend long, three special items will be added that can drop from all creatures in Eye of the North: Sparklers, Hunter's Ale, and Honeycombs.

For more information on the event and to receive a "universal access code", go to http://guildwars.com/products/eyeofthenorth/trial/.

NCSoft: We Have No Intention of Leaving Games

Brian Crecente — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:00:45 MST

This weekend's Korean Times story, full of woe and certain financial doom for NCsoft, may not be exactly on the mark says the online game developer.

While the Times story says that "NCsoft is slowly but steadily expanding to the non-game Internet service sector, while its cash-cow game business is losing vigor", NCsoft tells us that's not exactly true.

What reads like a negative story in the hands of the Korean Times, sounds like a positive in NCsoft's response to us. Hit the jump to read their official statement and then make your own decision on where NCsoft is headed.

"For over ten years, the core business of NCsoft has been Online Games. NCsoft has no intention of moving focus away from online gaming. As a matter of fact, NCsoft has recently announced some major gaming initiatives including the acquisition of the entire City of Heroes IP from Cryptic Studios and the formal announcement of Carbine Studios in Orange County, California. Additionally the company just released Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa earlier this month (growing accounts on a daily basis) and is set to release the highly anticipated Aion in Korea and other territories next year. Gaming is clearly the core of NCsoft's business and will continue to be that way for years to come.
As an online company NCsoft is constantly looking at new and innovative ways to interact with its audience and to bring its core content to players all over the world. There are many new developments right now that are shaping how our players interact and in general how people are using the Internet. We intend to move with the times and offer communication channels that are relevant to our audience.

For example we are now using Wikis to share official game information with our players; in addition we are in discussion with existing social networking sites in how to co-operate further. This isn't really newsworthy but just a natural progression of how we interact with our players. It doesn't detract from what we do day to day, it merely compliments it. It would be a little like saying launching a marketing website about one of our games now means we are shifting our focus from games to websites.

A few technologies are being rolled out in the Korean market we have not yet made any concrete plans to bring social networking applications to other territories, but we will evolve with the rest of the web and the demands of our consumers."

If it turns out that they're exploring new ways to blend social networks and massively multiplayer online games, I'm so down with that. Seems like a potentially very cool idea and we all know that the world of MMOs could use a bit of a shake up.

NCsoft To Shift Away From Games?

Maggie Greene — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 12:00:08 MST

Despite plenty of good news for NCsoft in the past couple of weeks (acquiring new IP and Tabula Rasa finally going live for all the non pre-order people), some of the higher ups are expressing doubt over the future of NCsoft in the gaming world: The Korea Times reports on one of NCsoft's new directions, and while it's still in the virtual realm, it's a definite shift away from gaming, moving towards social networking and the like. The reasons? A quickly declining stock price, a plateau in the Korean game market (and a declining subscriber base for the Lineage games), and somewhat lukewarm response to their other gaming ventures:

Korea's largest game company this year has released a series of social-networking services from Openmaru, an in-house software studio, with strong support from its CEO Kim Taek-jin. Meanwhile, its stock price almost halved over the past two months, as investors raised doubt about the prospect of its online games business.
CEO Kim said Wednesday that the firm will increase investment in the online services sector, which is dominated by big portal operators such as Naver, Daum and SK Communications.

"After games, the Internet has become my new dream,'' he said during a special lecture to students of Seoul National University ....

Steve at PlayNoEvil sees this as a potentially bad move and wonders why they don't just shift gears in the gaming market. Tabula Rasa may not have been the best advised project ever: "... Social networking / Web 2.0 type businesses are intensely competitive and a lot of innovation has come from new startups, not existing companies. It would seem more sensible for NCSoft to work on acquiring additional game properties and build on its existing market than move into a completely new direction." This might just be excitement over moving business in a new direction, but it will be interesting to see how this develops.

NCsoft Shifts to Non-Game Internet Services [Korea Times via PlayNoEvil]

Aion's Space Angel Battle Trailer

Mike Fahey — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:20:03 MST

Here's NCsoft's GameStar 2007 trailer for their forthcoming MMO Aion: The Tower Of Eternity, featuring the Elyos and Asmodian races locked in battle somewhere deep in the Abyss. For me it brings to mind pre-release trailers for games like Codemasters' RF Online and NC's own Lineage II. Not only is the look similar - Aion could very well be renamed Lineage II in Space judging by this clip - but all three games had trailers that depicted these massive, dynamic battles that were in no way indicative of the final gameplay. Dear Korea, could we possibly get a new artistic style going? Thanks.

NCsoft Thanks Players With CoH Goodness

Mike Fahey — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:00:37 MST

Yesterday NCsoft announced the purchase of full ownership of the City of Heroes games, and now they're thanking fans for their support in a big way. Since City of Villains release, players have had to purchase both in order to play for the other team, but now NCsoft has unlocked both sides for everyone! Players who only had access to one faction from now on have both. Neat! Other incentives include a complete debt wipe after the launch of the Episode 11: A Stitch In Time update, along with a Supergroup prestige bonus of 20,000 per character, amounting to up to 3,000,000. That's relatively insane. Finally they've announced that all players named Michael Fahey get to play the game for free forever, with the exception of Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, who gets more search results in Google than I do. Okay, that last one might have been a lie, but still! NCsoft loves their City of players!

NCsoft Acquires City Of Heroes, Creates New Studio

Mike Fahey — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:00:04 MST

NCsoft likes City of Heroes so much, it bought the IP! Formerly the joint property of NCsoft and developer Cryptic Studios, NCsoft has assumed full ownership of the game and its villainous counterpart. As part of a push to further develop City of Heroes, the company has also announced the formation of a new studio in Mountain View California dedicated to the title, centered around key members of the Cryptic and NCsoft City teams.

Matt Miller, Lead Designer on the City of Heroes project and formerly with Cryptic Studios said, "We're thrilled to be bringing the CoH franchise to the next level. And we couldn't be more pleased to be working completely under the NCsoft banner. We feel that City of Heroes' best days are in front of it."

This of course leaves Cryptic free to work on their ambitious Marvel super hero MMO without having to worry about that giant conflict of interest.

NCsoft Announces New Studio in North California; Takes Full Ownership of Successful City of Heroes Property

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 6, 2007—NCsoft® Corp, the world's leading developer and publisher of online computer games, today announced the formation of a new development studio in Mountain View, California. The announcement comes as the company begins a renewed push to further develop the City of Heroes® property, which is now 100 percent owned by NCsoft. Previous to today, ownership of the intellectual property (IP) was split between NCsoft and Cryptic Studios, the original developer of the project.

The new studio will be built around key members of the City of Heroes team from NCsoft and Cryptic Studios including the art, programming and design team leads.

"We're happy to announce that NCsoft has acquired full ownership of the City of Heroes IP," said Brian Clayton, NCsoft executive producer and manager of the new studio. "Our plans are clear. We are now in a position to make a major reinvestment in the City of Heroes product line. With our existing Cryptic and NCsoft team as the core, we will be able to run our current service without any interruption to our players, expand our studio to deliver triple-A content, and take City of Heroes to new heights."

NCsoft will soon be announcing formal plans for the City of Heroes IP, which will include expansions and sequels to the popular comic-book inspired massively multiplayer online (MMO) game.

Matt Miller, Lead Designer on the City of Heroes project and formerly with Cryptic Studios said, "We're thrilled to be bringing the CoH franchise to the next level. And we couldn't be more pleased to be working completely under the NCsoft banner. We feel that City of Heroes' best days are in front of it."

For more information about City of Heroes, go to http://www.cityofheroes.com.