Tag: NCSoft

NCSoft Tried Selling City Of Heroes, No Buyers


It’s been over a month since NCSoft announced that City of Heroes would be shutting down, and since then the community has thrown virtually every theory out there as to why there hasn’t been any news from the talks with Paragon Studios.  The question that lays on everyone’s mind is: If NCSoft isn’t willing to keep the game running, why didn’t they try selling the studio/game? As it turns out, they did try. In an announcement on the City of Heroes website, NCSoft offers a small bit of detail on what went down.

We’ve exhausted all options including the selling of the studio and the rights to the City of Heroes intellectual property, but in the end, efforts to do so were not successful. City of Heroes has a special place in all of our hearts, and we want to ensure its reputation and the memories we share for the game end on a high note.

So there is some kind of reassurance that NCSoft at least made an attempt to save City of Heroes. It may not be the answer that they want to hear, but it is an answer nonetheless.

(Source: City of Heroes)

NCSoft Admits Lineage II Faults, Wants Your Feedback


Lineage II has changed greatly since launch, and as Gon Namkung of NCSoft has admitted, not all of the changes have been for the better. In a letter to the community released today, Namkung admits that changes over the years have diluted what made Lineage II unique, from the removal of elements that made classes unique, to the unbalanced economy and weakened community. Attempts to fix the overabundance and imbalance in classes has resulted in classes that have lost their unique pull, and other classes that were no longer useful to groups.

So NCSoft wants to bring Lineage II back to its former glory, and they want you to help. While Korean players have already taken the poll, NCSoft wants to ensure that the two hemispheres are tailored for different tastes. Players are asked to take a poll asking them how they would like the classes to be diversified. The options to choose from are splitting the 8 Awakening classes into 34, adding race specific traits, and choosing 3rd class skills from 3rd class counterparts.

Each option is presented with its related pros and cons. Players can head over to the Lineage II forums (at the bottom of the page linked below) to vote.

(Source: NCSoft)

City of Heroes Details Reimbursement


Sorry, City Of Heroes players. NCSoft has finally broken their silence over the incoming shut down of City Of Heroes, and it wasn’t to announce that the talks with Paragon Studios and player support had moved them to change their minds. Rather, the publisher announced the expected round of compensation and reimbursement.

Players who were VIP as of September 1st will remain so for the rest of the MMO’s life. Outstanding balances as of September 1st will be reimbursed, as well as Paragon Points purchased after August 24th. If your outstanding balance was purchased with a game card, you will be required to submit a support ticket and have NCSoft call you to reimburse via wire transfer. If that is not possible, players will receive a check by mail.

There are several events planned to take City of Heroes to its sunset with a bang.

(source: NCSoft)

Guild Wars 2: Now On Mac!


Blah blah blah, no gamers on Mac, etc etc. With that out of the way, Arenanet has good news everyone! As of right now, Mac players will be able to download and play Guild Wars 2 on a native client. Currently in beta, the client supports all of the features that Guild Wars players enjoy on Windows. In order to download the client, players need an active Guild Wars 2 account, and the game can be downloaded through the account management section of the Guild Wars website.

The Mac Beta client is available immediately for all Guild Wars 2 players. It shares the same features and connects to the same live game servers as the PC client. Anyone who purchases Guild Wars 2 can now play it on both PC and Mac.

Check it out. Keep in mind that this is a beta client, and may have bugs that are not present in the Windows client. Guild Wars 2 on the Mac requires OSX 10.7 or later, Intel Core i5 or later, at least 4GB of ram, 25GB of hard drive space, and runs well on a variety of Mac computers from iMacs, Macbook Pros, and Mac Mini.

(Source: Guild Wars 2)

Night Cap: Save City of Heroes, Save NCSoft


Welcome to your night cap. If you pay attention to MMO news, odds are you already know that City of Heroes will be shutting down this November 30th. That is, of course, assuming NCSoft completely dismisses the overwhelming support given by the community and Paragon Studios to keep the game running. But for all intent and purpose, let’s assume the train is already halfway over the bridge, and the bridge is out. There is no turning back, the game is over. For the sake of this conversation.

NCSoft is growing its collection of disenfranchised customers. Auto Assault was shut down rather than humoring potential buyers, Dungeon Runners had a small but loyal community who also shot back at NCSoft when the MMO shut down. And I don’t think I have to point out the vile, and rather justified, hatred over the closure of Tabula Rasa and the fraudulent firing of Richard Garriot which left a $28 million hole in NCSoft’s pocket and a big dent in their revenue.

So assuming that talks break down and NCSoft refuses to change their minds, the end result can only be even more angry ex-customers. And where does NCSoft win in this equation? If City of Heroes was not drawing a profit, well the answer is obvious. But if the game was performing well as the players and Paragon Studios would like us to believe, then the benefits for NCSoft are rather foggy. Rather than making whatever profit was to be had from City of Heroes, apparently NCSoft would rather take no income at all. Then again, as NCSoft’s markets shift back over to Korea, and the Western hemisphere has shown little signs of interest in their import MMOs (Lineage, Aion), perhaps NCSoft doesn’t put much merit into what the North American and European markets think.

I have very little doubt that someone will open up a private server, so odds are people will still be enjoying City of Heroes, whether or not NCSoft sees a dime from it. Of course, MMO Fallout does not endorse the legally grey are of the internet that is the private server.

Good night.

City of Heroes Isn't Going Down Without A Fight


NCSoft may have announced that City of Heroes is shutting down on November 30th, but that doesn’t mean the community (or Paragon Studios for that matter) are going down without a fight. Since the announcement, the community has rallied in multiple ways, from encouraging users to write to NCSoft, setting up rallies in-game and on the official forums, and signing petitions to keep the game running. The petition has so far amassed over thirteen thousand signatures.

And Paragon Studios isn’t going down without a fight either. According to a post on the City of Heroes forum:

Alpha Wolf: Sorry guys but I don’t have any new update. I know Paragon management is having discussion with ncsoft and investors. Continue get people to sign online petitions, post on game forums, and just continue to make noises so ncsoft cannot ignore players.

Naturally this isn’t a guarantee that anything will come of the talks, but it offers hope to Paragon’s longstanding community.

(Source: Titan Network)

City of Heroes Isn’t Going Down Without A Fight


NCSoft may have announced that City of Heroes is shutting down on November 30th, but that doesn’t mean the community (or Paragon Studios for that matter) are going down without a fight. Since the announcement, the community has rallied in multiple ways, from encouraging users to write to NCSoft, setting up rallies in-game and on the official forums, and signing petitions to keep the game running. The petition has so far amassed over thirteen thousand signatures.

And Paragon Studios isn’t going down without a fight either. According to a post on the City of Heroes forum:

Alpha Wolf: Sorry guys but I don’t have any new update. I know Paragon management is having discussion with ncsoft and investors. Continue get people to sign online petitions, post on game forums, and just continue to make noises so ncsoft cannot ignore players.

Naturally this isn’t a guarantee that anything will come of the talks, but it offers hope to Paragon’s longstanding community.

(Source: Titan Network)

NCSoft's Sales Per Region, Per Quarter, Mapped


Click on me to enlarge. I look much better zoomed in.

I’ve mapped out the sales per region over the entirety of NCSoft’s financial statements, dating back to the first quarter of 2005. You’ll see that Korea makes up more of NCsoft’s sales generally than every other region combined, and occasionally even doubled. Sales in North America and Europe peaked in 2009 and have been on a steady decline since, with European sales you will see becoming virtually nothing in Q2 2012 (less than 1% of total sales for the quarter). Japan has its ups and downs but is on a general incline, and Taiwan has been relatively stable since its tracking began in 2007. Royalty sales are on an incline, with a few stumbles along the way.

NCSoft may be banking on Guild Wars 2 to save its sales in North America and Europe. Guild Wars sold millions of copies and did quite well in the West. Shutting down City of Heroes will cut NCSoft’s income by a small amount, small beans compared to the sales of Guild Wars 2.

Just a few notes:

  • Units are KRW in Mn.
  • Up until Q3 2008, royalties were included in Korean sales.
  • Taiwan was not listed until Q1 2007.
  • Up until around 2006, NCSoft changed its label “US” to “North America.” For the sake of continuity, N. America has been used for the entire list.

NCSoft’s Sales Per Region, Per Quarter, Mapped


Click on me to enlarge. I look much better zoomed in.

I’ve mapped out the sales per region over the entirety of NCSoft’s financial statements, dating back to the first quarter of 2005. You’ll see that Korea makes up more of NCsoft’s sales generally than every other region combined, and occasionally even doubled. Sales in North America and Europe peaked in 2009 and have been on a steady decline since, with European sales you will see becoming virtually nothing in Q2 2012 (less than 1% of total sales for the quarter). Japan has its ups and downs but is on a general incline, and Taiwan has been relatively stable since its tracking began in 2007. Royalty sales are on an incline, with a few stumbles along the way.

NCSoft may be banking on Guild Wars 2 to save its sales in North America and Europe. Guild Wars sold millions of copies and did quite well in the West. Shutting down City of Heroes will cut NCSoft’s income by a small amount, small beans compared to the sales of Guild Wars 2.

Just a few notes:

  • Units are KRW in Mn.
  • Up until Q3 2008, royalties were included in Korean sales.
  • Taiwan was not listed until Q1 2007.
  • Up until around 2006, NCSoft changed its label “US” to “North America.” For the sake of continuity, N. America has been used for the entire list.

City Of Heroes Sunsetting Later This Year


In a news post on the City of Heroes website today, Andy Belford has announced that Paragon Studios will be shutting down, and City of Heroes will be closing by the end of the year. The reason given in the article is “realignment of company focus” at NCSoft. Effective immediately, all subscription services and paragon purchases will be halted.

Thank you. Thank you for your years of support. You’ve been with us every step of the way, sharing in our challenges, encouraging us to make City of Heroes better, more than everyone else thought it could be. We couldn’t have come this far without you. I implore you all, focus on the good things of CoH and Paragon Studios. Don’t dwell on the “how” or the “why”, but rather join us in celebrating the legacy of an amazing partnership between the players and the development team.

More information will be coming within a few weeks. It appears NCSoft hasn’t picked up any (or much) of the Paragon Studios team, because Belford pitched this:

To any potential studios looking to grow your team; hire these people. You won’t regret it.

City of Heroes launched in 2004 as the first, and in many minds the best, super hero MMO. Since then it has gone on to release 22 issues (major updates), and three expansion packs. In June of last year, City of Heroes adopted a free to play model.

(Source: Paragon Studios)