NCSoft is set to launch a classic server for Lineage II in Korea. The version includes legacy systems including the old inventory, pre-revamp locales, old crafting recipes, clan system, party system, xp loss, and more. All in all, it looks like the classic server will be somewhere in between the first versions of Lineage II. The beta servers are officially live on the Korean service, however NCSoft has not announced anything about the service coming to North America or Europe.
(Source: MMOcast)
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)
Today’s MMOrning Shots comes to us from Wildstar, where my character is sporting quite a leafy mustache. You too can have such a mustache by joining the Wildstar open beta, going on now until the 18th.
Check out MMOrning Shots (eventually) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out Wildstar, your time is coming soon. NCSoft has announced that Wildstar will enter open beta on Thursday May 8th. The beta is scheduled to run until May 18th and allows players to access content up to level 30. For more information on Wildstar, check out the website at the following link. Wildstar is set to go live on June 3rd.
(Source: NCSoft Press Release)
Molten Games, the San Diego-based developer founded by ex-Blizzard and Sony Online Entertainment employees, has lost its funding and laid off its staff. The studio was in development of Blunderbuss, a “core” MMORPG built on the Unreal Engine 4 and featuring action combat.
The layoffs were confirmed by the San Diego chapter of the International Game Developer’s Association on the group’s Facebook page.
We’re getting word from contacts at Molten Games that the studio has lost its funding and laid off its employees. They are currently seeking funding to continue development. Let’s be proactive and help our fellow developers land on their feet.
Molten Games was originally funded by NCSoft, who were not able to comment on the matter as an investor with no role in management.
(Source: Gamasutra)
Lineage II’s Hero Coin program launched approximately three months ago to some heavy criticism over the outrageously expensive reward system. As players spend more NCoin, they receive Hero Coins that can be spent on items in the reward store. We began to question just how much NCSoft expects some of its players will spend, as Hero Coins reset annually and some of the rewards require spending in excess of thirty thousand dollars.
NCSoft announced on the Lineage II website that prices for most items are being dropped by at least 40%. In addition, NCSoft is running promotions to increase Hero Coin gains. The move is unlikely to quell criticism of the game selling rare and valuable equipment at expensive prices.
(Source: Lineage II)
Carbine Studios has officially announced that Wildstar will launch on June 3rd, 2014. For those wishing to get in on the action early, preorders for the game will begin on March 19th, with early buyers receiving access to closed and open beta periods, three days of early access, an exclusive rocket house, a mini-ship house decoration, a ten slot storage bag, and the ability to reserve character and guild names prior to launch. Both a standard and collector’s edition of the game will be made available with the latter including exclusive items, titles, and costumes.
Executive Producer Jeremy Gaffney says that the Carbine Studios team is “stoked to launch Wildstar,” adding:
“We’ve aimed for fun and unique content for MMO gamers of all stripes from level one to level cap and beyond. WildStar is a brand new IP and new universe that has attracted more than 1.4 million beta signups already, so it seems like other gamers are also eager for something new and different in the MMO space.”
Wildstar will be available for preorder in one week, at the official website or from select retailers.
(Source: Wildstar Press Release)
I’ve been meaning to create this for quite a while now, but I finally got around to compiling a chart for NCSoft’s yearly sales figures on a per-game basis. Looking at the chart on a yearly basis rather than quarterly makes the difference in income all the more obvious, especially when you see that Lineage alone makes more than Lineage II, Guild Wars 2, and Aion combined. Lineage is also NCSoft’s only game to provide a consistent and growing cash flow, with Blade & Soul’s progress too early to tell, especially since the game’s exceptional overseas performance is not reflected in the figures above.
Over the next few weeks, I will be working on expanding our charts from NCSoft, Perfect World Entertainment, Funcom, and more.
NCSoft has released their Q4 2013 finances, and things are looking up for the Korean developer. Following the company’s major dip in the previous quarter, sales have recovered by 24% and profits by 85%, with pre-tax income up a staggering 97% over last quarter. Total sales amounted to $197 million in the fourth quarter, with operating profit at over $54 million. Royalty revenues from Blade & Soul contributed heavily to this outcome, thanks to the game’s ongoing success in China. Lineage continued to grow in Korea despite being the oldest game in the library, with Guild Wars 2 holding strong in its associated territories.
As already stated, Lineage saw a large rise in sales. Guild Wars 2 and Lineage II also saw bumps in revenue, with Aion remaining on a slight decline from the last couple of quarters. While Blade & Soul’s direct revenue decreased over last quarter, this presumably does not factor in sales from royalties in territories where the game is selling quite well. Cost of labor and marketing decreased year over year thanks to layoffs and launches of Guild Wars 2 and Blade & Soul respectively.
(Source: NCSoft Finances)
Prepare your expletive buttons, as they are about to get a workout. The good news is, Blade & Soul is once again expanding. Following the game’s massive success in China, NCSoft is following up on its 2011 announcement to bring the game overseas…to Japan. Sorry, westerners, but if you look to your right you will find several expired issues of Highlights magazine* with which to pass the time waiting. There is currently no ETA on when the Japanese servers will launch.
*magazine delivery not currently planned for North America, South America, Europe, and Oceanic regions.
(Source: MMO Culture)
MMO Fallout 