Tag: Nexon

Legion of Heroes Seeks Android Beta Testers


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Nexon M, Nexon’s mobile publishing arm, has announced that it is seeking beta testers for their upcoming mobile MMO, Legion of Heroes. Beta testing begins on June 26th, but eager players can sign up starting today with testers being accepted on a first come, first serve basis. Legion of Heroes hopes to recreate a pc-quality MMO experience for tablets and phones.

Interested gamers can sign up at the following link. The beta client requires an Android device running 4.0 or later.  Legion of Heroes launches later this year on iOS and Android.

(Source: Nexon Press Release)

Dungeon Fighter Online Returning In English


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It looks like Dungeon Fighter Online may be returning in English. Neople, the developer behind Dungeon Fighter Online, has opened up an alpha test for a global English server. The only way to play at the moment is to sign in with a Facebook account, noting that the server may be down intermittently for maintenance and that the service is in no way affiliated with Nexon America or Nexon Europe. Dungeon Fighter Online was shut down by Nexon last April in North America.

You can dive into the open alpha starting today.

(Source: MMO Culture)

Dungeon Fighter Online Shutting Down In North America


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Dungeon Fighter Online launched in 2009 in North America and despite some complaints about issues with gold spam, it was actually a fun game to play. Despite the shortcomings of gold farmers and hackers, DFO was a solid side scrolling hack and slash game, one that probably deserved a much warmer reception than it apparently received. Sadly fortune does not always find us, and Dungeon Fighter Online never caught on with the kind of audience Nexon expected, and the developer has posted a notice on the official website that services will be coming to an end on June 13th. The ramping down will begin on April 11th with the closure of the game’s cash shop.

For more than three years, our teams worked hard in hopes of building a strong community through new content updates, service fixes, and events.  We tirelessly battled hackers and farmers.  We even had the honor of presenting the game to you at E3 and PAX.  However, Dungeon Fighter Online was not able to grow beyond its very special and proud core following. Sadly, Dungeon Fighter Online has not attracted enough player interest to properly service the game.  Internally, we struggled deeply with the popularity of DFO in North America as the title is immensely popular overseas.  For more than three years, we went through many milestones and several pushes before we came to this very difficult decision.

Information regarding compensation will be coming on April 11th.

We will compensate the purchase of Permanent, Durational and Consumable items purchased within the past six months. The dollar value is correlated with the time of purchase.  Please note that this compensation is non-transferable.

(Source: Dungeon Fighter Online)

Rumor: Nexon Making Offers To Purchase Electronic Arts


File this one under pipe dream, Yahoo News is reporting that Nexon has contacted Electronic Arts with an offer to buy the company.

Japanese online game company Nexon reportedly contacted Electronic Arts (EA) about making an offer, according to Bloomberg, citing a South Korean newspaper.

The contact is still a rumor, and even if it holds true does not mean Electronic Arts will respond. EA’s stock has seen a steep decline, down almost 40% since this time six months ago. Also, to clarify: Nexon is primarily a South Korean company, but its headquarters is based in Tokyo, Japan.

(Source: Yahoo News)

Mabinogi Celebrates New Year: Offline Indefinitely


Given the recent malicious activity that has been taking place in-game, it is with much disappointment that we announce that we will take the Mabinogi game service offline temporarily while we work to remedy these issues.

This isn’t the first time Nexon has shut down Mabinogi to combat real world trading and bots, they did it back in October for somewhere around a week. Not that hearing one of Nexon’s games having problems with real money trading and rampant botting is surprising, to say the least, but hearing that the publisher is making some tough decisions to eradicate the trouble makers is worth an ear.

Mabinogi went down yesterday before 7pm pacific with no estimated time to return. We will update with a new post when more information is available.

Please do know that we do not make this decision lightly.  In light of all the tickets and forum posts (which we do read) of this malicious activity, we feel that we have no choice but to take the game down in order to prevent any further malicious action.

(Source: Mabinogi Website)

NCSoft, Nexon, Others Relieved Of Identity Attacks…


Over in Korea, players have a lot more to lose when a company leaks their information. Unlike in most other countries, players are often required to register to MMOs with the Korean equivalent of the social security number, and more than once data leaks have resulted in these numbers being readily available for the gaming public. An entire black market has surrounded these games, and at least once per year I am contacted by a group offering entrance into several Korean only betas with accounts registered with stolen identities.

Nexon made big news last month when they announced that the details of thirteen million accounts in Korea were stolen, including the Korean RRN (Resident Registration Number) in an encrypted format. In response, a number of Korean developers have announced plans to stop collecting Korean numbers and instead outsource the collection process to a third party agency. Rather than storing the sensitive data, the agency processes the RRN of the registrant, matches it up to the list, and reports to the developer if the person is an adult, child, nonexistent, or a bot.

Rather than jump on the bandwagon of hate, I think this is a good thing for everyone. Players no longer have to worry (as much) about their identity being stolen, and the developers have a massive load taken off of their backs. Korean MMOs require a player’s identification because the country has strict laws on minors playing certain games and during certain times, and requires companies to enforce such restrictions. As a result, developers have become prime targets for identity theft and security breaches by hackers in search of the delicious gooey center of personal data.

So developers not having access to your RRN can only be a good thing. For those of you in the states, would you trust Turbine or Sony with your social security number? Neither would I.

Nexon, Hanbitsoft, NCsoft Block Korean Probe Into Gambling


You’ve most likely heard of “jackpot items,” even if you aren’t entirely familiar with the term itself. These items cost real money and only offer the chance at a high level piece of equipment, usually a very slim chance at that. I’ve been rather critical of jackpot items in the past, I’ve referred to them as taking advantage of people with gambling problems, and criticized a certain company on using it in conjunction with abusing the name of charity to gain funds.

But the question remains as to whether or not such an item constitutes gambling. While you or I might say yes, the Games Rating Board of South Korea asked ten publishers to hand over information relating to their jackpot items. The companies reportedly revealed names, costs, and currencies involved, but refused to hand over details of payout percentages. When pressed, the GRB was met with statements that the data constituted confidential company information, and was not under the jurisdiction of the GRB.

The Games Rating Board is now accusing these companies of obstructing an investigation. It is unclear at this time what, if any, ramifications these companies could face.

Eve Online Heading To Japan Under Nexon


Despite what some may like you to believe, the cultural differences between the East and West are astronomical, and nothing showcases these differences better than our choice in consumer goods. In the MMO sector, grind-based cutesy free to play cash shop MMOs tend to do better in the east while the west prefers  less anime games, has a far higher tendency to reject pay-to-win cash shops, and isn’t afraid of paying a subscription or two.

CCP announced today that Eve Online is heading to Japan, partnering with Nexon who will take care of the localization. Japanese players will connect to Eve’s Tranquility server, unlike the Chinese market. The game hits Japan later this year, with Nexon also handling the release of DUST 514 in Japan.

It’ll be interesting to see how well received Eve becomes in Japan, given a major focus of the game is how corporations deal with one another, between players building up empires and stabbing each other in the back. More on Eve Online as it appears.

Dungeon Fighter Online Does Not Constitute 360 MMO


Part of my job here at MMO Fallout includes predicting the future, and occasionally I am wrong. This is not one of those times. Now, those of you who follow this website know that I have historically suggested that MMO players who want to play on the console choose the Playstation 3 over the Xbox 360, foremost as there will never be an MMO on the 360 (apart from Final Fantasy XI). Thanks in part to Microsoft’s stringent policies clashing with the inherent requirement that the game be available for regular content and patch fixes, even Square Enix has admitted that the only reason Final Fantasy XI made it onto Xbox Live was due to the system being in its infancy.

So although I offer my congratulations to Nexon for managing to get Dungeon Fighter Online on Xbox Live Arcade, I have to play devil’s advocate and point out one important fact: Dungeon Fighter Online is not an MMO. Structurally, there isn’t much difference between Dungeon Fighter and, say, Castle Crashers. The game is still run via P2P networking.

What this does bode well for is lobby-based, not really true-MMO titles, coming out on the Xbox360, which was never really a problem to begin with. As far as the traditional MMO, well you’re still better off with a Playstation 3, given the system already leads its competitor by multiple MMOs.

Nexon: $1.2 Million and All Proceeds


I’ve said it already, and I will continue saying it: The outpour of support from MMO developers and the community toward Japan has been absolutely overwhelming. Already we have seen support from Square Enix, Sony Online Entertainment, CCP, Hi-Rez, and NCsoft, and the list just keeps on growing.

Nexon today announced a two-tiered plan to send aid to Japan, via select relief agencies including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. On the first tier, the company has donated $1.2 million USD in initial corporate contributions. But that’s not all. Players can have a direct effect on the second tier of contributions via the game’s cash shop:

In addition to Nexon’s donation, from March 14 through March 20, Nexon America will be donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of many of our in-game items to the Red Cross for the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami disaster relief efforts.

The following games are included in the charity movement: