NCSoft

NCsoft forms NC West

2008-09-11T03:08:23Z

Through a press release on NCsoft's website, we've learned that NCsoft will be uniting their western subsidiaries under a new banner called NC West. The current name is still a work in progress, and NCsoft expects to have the official name for the new branch finalized before its office opens. NC West will be located in Seattle, WA, with its office expected to open by the end of 2008.

With this new office comes new roles for a number of NCsoft's core executives. Chris Chung, previously promoted to CEO of NC Interactive, will be moved into a new position of CEO of NC West, with Jeff Strain -- an ex-Blizzard employee and co-founder of ArenaNet, makers of Guild Wars -- set to take up the position of president of product development. David Reid, who joined NCsoft earlier this year, will take the responsibility of president of production. Finally, Patrick Wyatt of ArenaNet will be taking over the role of CTO of the new entity. There will also be as of yet unnamed European executives taking over some of the roles of NC West as well, so when we find out that information, we'll be sure to share it with you.

“We are confident that by combining our subsidiaries into a unified global organization under Chris Chung’s leadership, NC West will become a more powerful force to be reckoned with in the western MMO market,” said TJ Kim. “Chris has become a guiding force within our company and has been extremely successful at every position he has held with us. His detailed first-hand knowledge of all aspects of our business is invaluable and will help establish NC West as a global leader.”

What this means for NCsoft's subsidiaries is unclear, but NC Austin laid off 21 employees last month after an increase in operation costs, and it looks like NCsoft Europe may follow suit, preparing to lay off as many as 50 employees. In both cases, the layoffs appear to be related to unannounced titles, so it seems a shift is occurring in the company to reduce the number of titles being worked on so that quality outweighs quantity.

With three key members of ArenaNet's team now heading up NC West, the future does look bright for NCsoft. Hopefully the western market sees a resurgence of quality MMO titles from the developer, that ship finished and provide players with entertainment, rather than frustration. Strain is no stranger to quality being the most important thing in game development as he left a senior position at Blizzard to co-found ArenaNet, so let's hope that design philosophy has a heavy influence in NC West's, and ultimately NCsoft's actions.

We'll be sure to bring you more news as it unfolds, especially related to the potential closure of Tabula Rasa's game service.

NCsoft Europe Layoffs & TR cancelation rumor

2008-09-10T13:48:33Z

Earlier this year NCsoft "had to" lay off 21 employees at their Austin, Texas office. While NCsoft assured everyone that this was only due to canceled projects and a natural course so to speak, many were skeptical to this and assumed more would happen.

Now GameIndustry reports that NCsoft Europe might lay off 50 positions as well. The reason is something that has been predicted previously, the cancelation of their untitled MMO which is being developed at their European HQ. It wasn't even a long time ago that the EU office expanded to take on this new game, however, by canceling this project – the people working on it are likely to have to leave as well.

While this is still a rumor and should be taken with a grain of salt, GameIndustry usually know what they are talking about.

A second rumor is that Tabula Rasa will be discontinued within the next couple of months, that's quite serious and of course we're hoping it isn't true, but we all know how the game has been doing and NCsoft appears to be out to balance their finances due to a recent report which show a 42% decrease in income.

Live Podcast from Games Convention

2008-08-22T02:02:50Z

NCsoft Europe's Community Team is having a live podcast from Games Convention 2008. You can listen to it here.

They will also have more podcasts over the duration of the Games Convention. To stay up to date with the latest information straight from the show floor, check their podcast page.

Rumors about the Austin studio closing down untrue

2008-08-14T21:08:45Z

NCsoft have confirmed that they are reducing their team at their Austin offices. 21 positions are being eliminated, which proves that the previous rumors of the entire studio closing down are very untrue.

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

The initial rumors said that up to 160 people or the entire studio was going to get eliminated. Good to hear that only a reduction is being made.

Blade and Soul Announced

2008-08-01T07:58:50Z

NCsoft has announced their next new big MMORPG, called Blade & Soul. Check out information about this new upcoming martial arts MMO below. There's also a trailer to be seen!

Blade&Soul’ is an Oriental Martial Arts MMORPG that breaks the traditional confined and monotonous game plays, providing the gamers a completely new experience. It is expected to open a new dimension of MMORPG through ‘game environment alteration,’ ‘expansion of tasks that a character can carry out within the game.

The Oriental world portrayed by its unique graphics, diverse stories embedded in Oriental fantasy tales, and maximized action that has never been witnessed in online games until now will lead gamers to a completely new experience.

Publisher: NCsoft
Developer: NCsoft
Genre: Oriental Martial Arts MMORPG
Website: -
Release date: N/A

Main Characteristics

Oriental Martial Arts Action: It is full of symbolic and well known Oriental martial art elements such as ‘Energy Ball’, ‘Inner Energy’, ‘Swift jump,’ etc. The important themes of Oriental martial art fantasies such as justice and chivalry are richly spread throughout the game by means of martial art.

Oriental-features: Breaking away from the traditional medieval fantasy world, it takes an Oriental mysticism as the background environment. The basic world-view is based on the Korean myth ‘Song of Genesis,’ and the factions within the game are also modeled after Korean mythological characters

Constantly Changing Environment: Within ‘Blade&Soul,’ many conditions change according to the play of the gamer, on the other hand, the environment creates diverse situations for the gamers. This system will provide the gamers with a new experience that has not been witnessed until now.

Powerful Action: The main motto of battles within ‘Blade&Soul’ is ‘super powerful action’ that can distinguish itself from existing games. Players can knock back opponents and use diverse fancy skills according to the condition the gamers are posed in. The game aspires to provide battles that are enjoyable even by just watching them. Everyone can enjoy the battles of ‘Blade&Soul’ through simple control.

http://www.bladesoulsource.com/ soon

NCsoft's Summer Plans

2008-07-15T01:47:55Z

Today NCsoft announced their summer plans. They're going to be showing up at the biggest gaming convention of the year – Games Convention – where they'll be showcasing Aion: The Tower of Eternity. You will also have a chance to play it and win swag.

The Games Convention, held in Leipzig, Germany, is open from 20-24 August, 2008. You can find the NCsoft booth in Hall 3, Booth B20. Enjoy the stunning visuals, music and the amazing gameplay experience which Aion offers.

Furthermore, select members of the European press will be given a private show of Aion at NCsoft Europe HQ on 29-31 July. Shortly after there should be plenty of previews and articles about Aion! It's always nice to hear more from the press and not only from AionSource, Curse and NCsoft.

Read more here

Summer Trade Show and Event Plans Announced

2008-07-02T21:38:17Z

NCsoft sent us a press release which cover their summer trade show and event plans. Noticeably change in the exposure of Aion can be noted, since they'll be showing said game both in England and later on during Games Convention.

At Comic Con International in San Diego, July 23-27, the NCsoft booth (#5209) will feature game stations set up for attendees to play the comic book inspired City of Heroes®, as well as other NCsoft games, Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa® and Exteel™. In addition to other activities, City of Heroes fanzine artist, Dave Hamann, will be on hand to draw City of Heroes’ character sketches for players.

A few days later, the spotlight will move to Brighton, England, where NCsoft Europe will open its doors to the media, presenting its highly anticipated fantasy MMO Aion®: The Tower of Eternity™ to select members of the press. Showing July 29-31, this will be the first time for western journalists to see Aion since the summer of 2007.

August 20-24, Aion will be on display once again at one of the world’s largest computer and video games events, the Games Convention (GC) in <b>Leipzig, Germany. Situated in Hall 3, Booth B20, the NCsoft booth will be the destination where consumers get to try the game out for themselves at several demo kiosks. Press will be invited to attend presentations of Aion at the Flashpoint booth, within the Media Centre (Booth J50).

Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is the final stop for the NCsoft summer tour in Seattle, August 29-31. PAX continues to grow larger by the year and NCsoft will have a booth (#642) where attendees will have a chance to play Aion, as well as Exteel, Dungeon Runners™, City of Heroes, Guild Wars® and Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa®. Guild Wars’ fans will be treated to a special player tournament while Exteel and Dungeon Runners’ teams will conduct play sessions in the PAX special LAN area. Additionally there will be speaking sessions in the convention center’s auditorium where fans can learn more about NCsoft games.

Anyone planning to attend any of these events? Perhaps all of them? Gaming Conventions were brought up earlier today as well.

Lisa Bell-Cabrera as New Vice President of Sales

2008-05-29T22:27:08Z

AUSTIN, Texas, May 29, 2008— NCsoft® Corporation (KSE: 036570.KS), the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announces the promotion of Lisa Bell-Cabrera to the position of vice president of sales for the company’s North American business.

Bell-Cabrera is a long-time veteran of the games industry and has been working as national sales manager at NCsoft since 2005. In her new position, she’ll be overseeing strategic sales initiatives across multiple sales channels in North and South America.

Prior to her time at NCsoft, Bell-Cabrera served as vice president of sales at Atari, director of sales at GT Interactive and director of market development at Go Daddy.

“This is my dream job,” said Bell-Cabrera. “The online gaming industry is moving at an incredible pace these days and keeping up with how our customers make their purchase decisions requires a willingness to try new things. That’s what NCsoft is all about. There couldn’t be a better opportunity in this business.”

“I couldn’t be more pleased with Lisa’s performance here at NCsoft,” said Chris Chung, president of NCsoft North America. “She has a great track record in strengthening our relationships with our retail partners. Also, I’m confident in her ability to lead the effort to grow digital distribution, international sales and affiliate label business within our organization. With her experience in the gaming industry and her long-standing relationships with key partners, this is a perfect match for NCsoft.”

New subscribers will counter profit fall

2008-05-28T18:53:48Z

The CEO of NCsoft EU is explaining how they plan to recover from the 43 percent fall in profit that they reported in its first quarter financial results. Heath told GamesIndustry.biz that NCsoft's "robust portfolio" would enable it to regain what they lost.

"This is a pretty robust business - if you get it right - you've only got to look at World of Warcraft," Heath explained.

"With the online games business, it's all about growing your subscriber base. If you can do that by improving on your existing products you don't necessarily have the pressure of getting a product out to market to make your revenue for the year," he added.

NCsoft has recently released City of Heroes' Issue 12: Midnight Hour update, adding new content to its superhero and super villain MMOs, and plans similar updates across its range of titles.

Marc D'Souza, Creative Director for NCsoft Europe Q&A

2008-05-16T02:08:07Z

Developmag recently published an exclusive Q&A with the Creative Director for NCSoft Europe, Marc D'Souza.

Many of the MMO companies are focused on chasing Blizzard's tail. Do you think that is a viable strategy?

In MMOs, as in any other genre, there are companies that will tend to lead from the front and there are companies that tend to chase. In the case of GTA, for example, there were a whole load of companies that tried to jump on the so-called bandwagon with varying degrees of success and I'm not sure that it was ultimately profitable for them to do so. In the same way, by simply redressing the World of Warcraft game mechanics in a different style, I'm not sure if you're actually adding value that gives consumers choice. I'm very much from the school of thought that says you build the experience from the ground up. Building from the ground up gives players an experience that is distinct from a pre-existing experience.

How does NCsoft build from the ground up?

I can't speak for NCsoft as a whole, only about our development strategy in Europe. What we're looking to do is to create novel game experiences, not to make copycat games in any way. While we totally appreciate games like World of Warcraft, that is not our starting point for developing new products. What we do is to identify a number of game concepts at a very high level that could be interesting, and we put them through an incubation process which we use to prove the game mechanics before even considering pre-production. We do that through a series of iterative processes.

Check out the full Q&A.

Record L2 Sales Power NCsoft Profits

2008-05-15T03:43:40Z

Today NCsoft released their Q1 2008 Financial Results, and thanks to the best sales for Lineage II since its release in 2003, the company saw profits rise 63% from quarter-to-quarter, and 16% over last year's first quarter at a Net Profit of KRW (Korean Won) 8.1 Billion (US $7.7 million) and total sales of KRW (Korean Won) 88.1 billion (US $84.3 million).

The entire press release is quoted below, direct from NCsoft.

Results Show Quarterly Consolidated Sales of KRW 88.1 Billion, Operating Income of KRW 19.7 Billion and Net Profit of KRW 8.1 Billion; Operating Income is up 63% Quarter over Quarter and Increases 16% Year over Year

SEOUL, South Korea-- NCsoft® Corporation (KSE: 036570.KS) today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. On a consolidated basis, sales came to KRW (Korean Won) 88.1 billion (US $84.3 million), operating income of KRW 19.7 billion (US $18.9 million), and net profit of KRW 8.1 billion (US $7.7 million). Operating profit showed significant improvements quarter over quarter (63%) and year over year (16%).

Popularity of the Lineage® series in Asia, sustained sales of Guild Wars® and City of Heroes® in North America and Europe, and a decrease in expenses such as advertising and other variable sales costs were some of the primary reasons for the increase in operating income. Of note in Q1 2008, Lineage II reached record-high sales since its 2003 release.

In Q1 2008, NCsoft decided to take a one time write-off expense for the advanced development costs associated with the Spacetime Studios project, after determining the project did not fit into the company’s core development plan. That left a net profit decrease of 22% quarter over quarter and 43% year over year. However, excluding the write-off expenses, net profit would be KRW 15.2 billion (US $14.5 million) an increase of 48% quarter over quarter and 8% from the same quarter last year.

By region, sales came to KRW 49.8 billion (US $47.7 million) in South Korea, KRW 10.9 billion (US $10.4 million) in North America, KRW 8.9 billion (US $8.5 million) in Europe, KRW 9.6 billion (US $9.2 million) in Japan, KRW 2.8 billion (US $2.7 million) in Taiwan, and KRW 6 billion (US $5.7 million) in royalty income. The percentage breakdown of sales by region shows 57% in Korea, 12% in North America, 10% in Europe, 11% in Japan, 3% in Taiwan and 7% from royalty income.

By game title, sales came to KRW 29 billion (US $27.8 million) from Lineage, KRW 35.7 billion (US $34.1 million) from Lineage II, KRW 5.4 billion (US $5.2 million) from City of Heroes/City of Villains® and KRW 9.5 billion (US $9.1 million) from Guild Wars. The percentage breakdown of sales by game title shows 35% from Lineage, 43% from Lineage II , 7% from City of Heroes/City of Villains and 12% from Guild Wars.

NCsoft CFO Jaeho Lee said, “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.” And he added, “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.”

This summer NCsoft plans to launch its third closed beta test of Aion® before formally launching the much anticipated product later in the year. Casual online games such as Point Blank™, Punch Monster™, Dragonica™, and Love Beat™ are also scheduled for an official service launch later in the year.

2008 Q1 Consolidated Earnings Summary (unit: KRW in millions)

	Q1, 2008	Q4, 2007	Q1, 2007	QoQ	YoY
Sales	88,143	89,069	84,715	-1%	4%
Operating Income	19,732	12,078	17,067	63%	16%
Pre-tax Profit	11,160	14,057	19,773	-21%	-44%
Net Profit	8,074	10,289	14,121	-22%	-43%

NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, Lineage, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Aion, Point Blank, Punch Monster, Dragonica, Love Beat, PlayNC, PlayNC.com and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Note: 1$US = 1,045 KRW (Korean Won)

Associate CM for Exteel and Lineage 1 wanted

2008-05-14T02:07:04Z

NCSoft Austin is looking for one Associate Community Coordinator for Exteel and Lineage 1. You must be eligible to work in the US.

Description

NCsoft Austin, the U.S. branch of NCsoft, the world’s largest independent developer and publisher of online computer games is seeking a creative and motivated Associate Community Coordinator to join the production team behind the Massively Multiplayer Game: Lineage 1 and Exteel. This position is located in the beautiful rolling hills of Austin, TX and this individual will assist in a wide range of activities aimed to nurture the games’ online communities and promote player retention.

Responsibilities

Moderation and administration of the games’ Official Message Forums
Assist in the creation and distribution of community content and news items via the official games’ websites
Monitor and interact with the games’ communities to serve as the voice of the player to marketing and product development
Advise the various communities to facilitate customer awareness and understanding of recent developments and issues
Work collaboratively with NCsoft Marketing, Sales, PR, Support and Lineage II development teams to enhance and grow the community base

Qualifications

Strong verbal and written communication skills
Significant professional experience in Massively Multiplayer Online Game support and community work
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
Passionate, committed and high level of energy
Strong sense of ownership and urgency
Team player
Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends as needed
Computer skills: MS Office applications and familiarity with basic HTML and web site design principles and applications
Lineage 1 playing experience is a plus

A casual work environment, comprehensive benefits package and competitive salary are all part of the package.

Check out more here.

NCSoft + Vivox = Voice to the players

2008-05-14T01:53:36Z

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — May 13, 2008 — NCsoft Corp. and Vivox today announced a partnership to bring high-quality, full featured voice to the NCsoft player community.

Through this partnership, the NCsoft player community will enjoy market-leading voice chat from Vivox. Players will have the ability to communicate with scalable, full featured voice within and across NCsoft games via an NCsoft branded game communication portal. Vivox will also deliver advanced features such as voice fonts, voice mail and in-and-out of game communication via regular phones and text messages.

“Voice is a significant feature for the ongoing development of the NCsoft community,” said Peter Jarvis, vice president of operations at NCsoft North America. “By partnering with Vivox, we will be able to offer our players a commanding set of communication tools that will simplify communications amongst the player base with far reaching options. Vivox is the clear leader in quality, features and operational excellence and we anticipate a successful integration and long-term relationship.”

“NCsoft is an industry leader in the advancement of gameplay and engagement of the player community,” said Rob Seaver, CEO of Vivox. “They recognize the power of a communication solution that is open to all players and lets them communicate effectively and reliably. Vivox is gratified in this collaboration and we look forward to contributing to the advancement of the NCsoft community.”

Diversity is NCsoft's strength

2008-05-05T17:17:45Z

NCSoft is still a pretty young company, but, they are doing extremely well and have many MMO's to offer. Apperently that is their goal and strength: diversity. Not too long ago we posted the news of NCSoft acquiring a couple of Unreal Engine 3 licenses for several unannounced MMO projects. It should prove very interesting to see what games they have in store for us!

Gameindustry.biz have interviewed NCSoft Europe's Sebastian Vidal. Sebastian explain that NCSoft's goal is to provide players with a lot of diversity.

Unlike some publishers who focus on one or two MMO titles, typically within the fantasy setting, our strategy is to provide players with a portfolio of online gaming options, catering for all tastes and payment options, for both hardcore gamers and the casual audience

Check out the full interview.

NCsoft Names David Reid Vice President of Marketing

2008-04-24T01:59:57Z

This morning NCsoft sent us a press release announcing the addition of a new member to the NCsoft North America team. David Reid -- formerly of Turner Broadcasting's GameTap -- has been named Vice President of Marketing for NCsoft North America. David has also worked in marketing at Microsoft for the XBOX 360 -- leading the global marketing and product planning -- so he's no stranger to what it takes to successfully market a gaming product.

What does this mean for Aion, NCsoft's next major title? Well, hopefully it means we'll begin to see the game receive the spotlight attention it deserves from here out -- especially in North America -- where the game has the potential to capture quite a few loyalists to current MMOs with its focus on quality gameplay and graphics.

The press release has been included in full below.

NCsoft Corporation
NCsoft Names David Reid Vice President of Marketing

AUSTIN, Texas, April 23, 2008- NCsoft Corporation (KSE: 036570.KS), the world's leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announces the hiring of David Reid as vice president of marketing for the company's North American business. Reid comes to NCsoft from GameTap, the online gaming service from Turner Broadcasting, where he served as vice president of marketing. Prior to that he worked at Microsoft as director of global platform marketing, where he led global marketing and product planning for the Xbox 360. At NCsoft, Reid will lead strategic initiatives in marketing and brand management for NCsoft and all NCsoft products published in the North American market.

He begins his new duties immediately. "David brings a wealth of experience to our marketing group," said Chris Chung, president of NCsoft's operations in North America. "His impressive background in the entertainment software industry plus David's savvy surrounding some of the new technology and tools that are now available in the online space are the primary reasons we wanted him to be part of our NCsoft management team. On top of that, he's an avid gamer so he brings the complete package to the job." Said Reid, "NCsoft is a creative and technical leader in the online gaming industry, staffed by amazingly talented people. It is an honor to join NCsoft in its quest to become the global leader in this space. There is no bigger opportunity in the business."

About NCsoft Corporation

NCsoft North America is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, with its own development and publishing offices in Texas and California, also works with other NCsoft subsidiaries and third party developers throughout North America to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. The company has successfully launched multiple online titles in the last three years and continues to support its franchises, which include Lineage/Lineage II, City of Heroes/City of Villains, Guild Wars/Guild Wars Factions/Guild Wars Nightfall, Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa and Dungeon Runners. More information about NCsoft can be found at Best MMORPGs and Online RPG Games by NCsoft.

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NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall, Tabula Rasa, Dungeon Runners and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.