NCSoft has released their finances for the first quarter of 2014, and the results are certainly worth taking a look at. Revenues and profits fell by approximately 20% in the first quarter due to a drop in sales in Lineage 1. The report states that in-game item sales were “scaled back,” and were responsible for much of the loss in profit. Lineage’s sales dropped by nearly half, from $70 million last quarter to $40 million this quarter. Lineage II and Guild Wars 2 saw a drop in revenue, while Aion and Blade & Soul increased by a modest amount.
Blade & Soul continues to perform strongly in China, adding to NCSoft’s royalty revenues. NCSoft did not market as heavily in the first quarter, seeing marketing expenses drop nearly 40%. As for demographics, royalties now make up 25% of the overall income distribution. European revenue dropped heavily, down to just under 3% of NCSoft’s total income. Korea dropped off heavily but still remains at the top with 52% of revenue, and North America increased slightly to 13%.
(Source: NCSoft Financial Documents)
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