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.

Nexon America's latest addition mixes arcade action with RPG leveling, allowing players to step into the role of a Fighter, Gunner, Priest, Mage, or Slayer to beat the living hell out of anything that moves; even each other. The open beta launches tomorrow, allowing all comers to sign up at http://dungeonfighter.nexon.net/ and get a piece of the 2D brawling action.

"Video game fighting has never been so fun in an online environment," said Min Kim, Vice President of Marketing for Nexon America. "Dungeon Fighter Online is like a Molotov cocktail of fun, mixing the fast and furious action of arcade fighting games with an online community and the customization features found in role-playing games."

I got a chance to play a little Dungeon Fighter Online at PAX earlier this month, and for a free-to-play 2D online title it's rather sweet. Traversing dungeons works just like any other side-scrolling beat-em up you've encountered, only with a bar full of powers and attacks like you might find in an MMO. I even got to take on another convention-goer on PVP, which was extremely entertaining, though I did win both rounds so my perception might be a little skewed.

Nexon America's revenue for August was up 32% over the previous year, and if the company's celebratory press release is any indication, Combat Arms had a lot to do with its "explosive growth". Since Combat Arms launched in July 2008, Nexon has updated the title on a regular basis, adding in new game modes like Quarantine and Fireteam, aping modes in popular retail releases to tremendous effect.

"We have worked extremely hard to make sure that our players get new, fun and interesting content delivered as frequently as possible," said Min Kim, Nexon America's vice president of marketing. "The progress we have made with Combat Arms is significant, substantial and added a great deal to the outstanding summer success for Nexon America."

Nexon continues to grow Combat Arms, recently adding new zombie maps to the Quarantine mode and a new mercenary character modeled after a movie action hero, and I can't see them stopping anytime soon. You can almost rest assured that if a new FPS game type becomes popular, Combat Arms will get a free version of it eventually. It's a business model that work - just ask those three million users. Visit the Combat Arms website if you're interested in becoming one of them.

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.

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.

While I still haven't gotten a chance to try out the game, I know a couple people who play actively and have had nothing but good things to say about it. Of course one of them is 8 years-old and technically shouldn't be playing it, but still - a shining recommendation.

Nexon’s “Combat Arms” ENLISTS One Million REGISTERED Users

Milestone Celebrated with Debut of New Map and A Revolutionary Game Mode Introduced for the First Time to First-Person Shooter Game Genre

LOS ANGELES, October 22, 2008 - Nexon America Inc. (www.nexon.net), a world leader in free-to-play, multiplayer online games, announced today that Combat Arms, its new online multiplayer first-person shooter game, surpassed one million registered users since its open beta launch in July. Combat Arms was commercially launched on October 1 with the addition of the highly anticipated "Black Market," the in-game item shop that allows users to spend real money to further customize their characters. Combat Arms is available free for download at http://combatarms.nexon.net.

To commemorate this milestone, Nexon will unveil two patches including a new map and game mode that will offer a variety of game play options for users to fully experience the dynamic world of multiplayer online first-person shooters (FPS). The new map, “Waverider,” which is set in a European hilltop town, will be the game’s largest map. Waverider will be complemented by the addition of new weapons, two supply cases, special event gear and a new male mercenary for Halloween

In addition, Nexon will introduce a new hide-and-seek game mode, “Bounty Hunter,” which has never been introduced to a FPS-genre game. The new mode enables one player to randomly become the “bounty,” who will be the target hunted by other players. The longer the bounty stays alive, the more in-game currency that player will earn.

"Nexon is dedicated to providing an interactive online gaming experience with our high quality games that are easy to pick up and entertaining at every level,” said Min Kim, vice president of marketing for Nexon. "Combat Arms’ successful commercial launch demonstrates the game’s huge mass appeal and validates market demand for great, free-to-play, online experiences.”

Combat Arms features personalized characters, various combat modes, maps, and weapons. In addition, Combat Arms offers a high level of socialization with Web 2.0 community tools for users with buddy lists, integrated clan systems in-game and on the web, and an in-game messenger system. This mix of elements ignites a revolutionary FPS experience: a dynamic, evolving game that encourages both friendly competition and friendship among its players.

"We’ve received overwhelming feedback from Combat Arms players who loved the mix of the fast-action FPS game play and ability to communicate with other players in-game," said Herb Yang, producer of Combat Arms. "People are really embracing the socialization features of Combat Arms, especially the built-in features enabling people to track their personal performance as well as to create and join clans, personalize their clans with items such as emblems, and participate in official clan matches on dedicated servers.”

Since the successful launch of MapleStory in North America, Nexon has been at the forefront of creating a broad roster of high quality multiplayer online games that appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers. The company is also a pioneer of implementing a profitable online microtransactions model in North America with its prepaid game cards being one of the top selling cards in major retail outlets including 7-Eleven and Target.

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.