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NCsoft increases profits, maintains revenues
It's a banner year over at the NCsoft household, as the company is showing a strong rise in net profits for the first quarter this year. Even though NCsoft's revenues have held relatively steady during Q1 2011, profits are up by 30% for a total of $37.5 million due to recent promotions in Lineage and Aion. The vast majority of NCsoft's money comes from Korea, with Chinese and Western markets trailing behind. According to Gamesindustry.biz, Aion is making the most bank for the company (accounting for 44% of revenues), followed by Lineage (28%) and Lineage 2 (22%). NCsoft's Sara Rogers sees nothing but good news in these numbers: "NCsoft consistently delivers strong figures in a way that most other games publishers can only dream of. These results prove that we have the MMO brands that people want to play and that we're able to grow and maintain customer loyalty, which is crucial in successful MMO publishing. This year, Gamescom will be very significant for us. We'll have a major presence and maybe even steal a headline or two."
Gamescom 2011 opens travel and accommodations service
Gamescom, the world's single largest games event, is gearing up for another great show from August 17th through the 21st in Cologne, Germany -- and the organizers are doing all they can to get you there. Today the official website has opened up its service portal to help attendees make travel and lodging arrangements. If you're planning on attending, it might behoove you to check out some of the deals that are being offered for the early birds. There are plane tickets starting from 30 euros, train tickets from 79 euros, and hotel rooms from 90 euros. Especially frugal travelers could pitch a tent in the Gamescom campgrounds for just 29.50 euros a night. The service portal will help you with flying, train travel, driving directions, lodging, the Gamescom camp, travel packages, day trips, and general information about Cologne. This will be Gamescom's third year. Last year, the event was host to 254,000 people and 505 exhibitors from 33 countries.
Paradox CEO outs Fatshark's next project, codenamed 'Project Postman'
Fatshark's next game is "primarily a PC title to begin with," Paradox CEO (and head of snappy haircuts) Fredrik Wester told me in a recent interview at Joystiq's NYC offices. "We're doing a new game with them at the moment, which is also multiplayer-focused," Wester added. "Project Postman" is the working title for a game currently in development at Fatshark, with Paradox signed on as publisher. "We'll see about consoles," Wester skittishly noted. As you might imagine, his company is a bit wary of confirming console games that may or may not ever arrive, given past experiences. Without going into details about the game itself, Wester did reveal that the title would be "announced later this year," though he specifically pointed out that it won't be a big E3 announcement. "I think we're actually waiting for summer, or maybe GamesCom in Germany where we have more stuff to show." He also said that the unnamed game would likely have a trailer by the time GamesCom happens in August. As for why his studio names its projects after Kevin Costner films ... that's less logical. But in a good way. Head past the break for the hilarious roots of Paradox's strange tradition.
Gamescom 2011 advance tickets on sale now
Advanced ticket sales for the upcoming Gamescom 2011 convention in Cologne, Germany are now on sale, so if you're planning to be in the area then (or have the money and time to flit over to the continent whenever you want -- lucky duck), you can see the sights for just a few Euros. The cheapest day passes, at just €6 ($9), are for students and senior citizens, while standard passes are around €10-15 ($14-21). Note that these tickets are for the public -- they'll let you in the "entertainment area" of the show, but the business side of the event is only for trade and media attendees. But that's no problem. You can still go over there and have yourself a big ol' partyzeit anyway. The convention kicks off on August 17, 2011.
The Daily Grind: Did you go to a game convention last year?
It is, in many ways, the ultimate gamer's pilgrimage -- to make the long trek to attend a gaming convention. Whether it be PAX, Dragon*Con, Fan Faire, BlizzCon, Leipzig or GamesCom, it's surprising the amount of money, time, effort and willingness to stand in line with sweaty people that we put up with just to see the latest games and talk to our favorite developers. It's hard to explain the allure of these conventions to outsiders, but there's something thrilling in seeing crowds of people who share your same hobby and get excited over all the same stuff you do. Plus, there's the swag. OH, the swag! Did you make your pilgrimage in 2010? Did you manage to get away to a fabulous retreat (from reality) and attend a game convention? And was it everything you'd hoped, or did it let you down? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Aion: Assault on Balaurea podcast
Compared to the rest of us, only a lucky few get the pleasure of attending Gamescom or PAX, so NCsoft has released a video podcast to let the rest of us in on what's been talked about. Featuring several members of the Aion dev team, this podcast highlights some new features of the free expansion, Assault on Balaurea. Touched on in the video are pets, the increased level cap, the new zones, new flight mechanics, and the new instances (including solo ones!), along with the new Twitter integration -- Right from the UI, players can now tweet, include up to ten of their favorite screenshots, and brag about their in-game exploits without ever tabbing out! Whet your appetite for tomorrow's launch and glide past the cut to watch the podcast.
Video: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood gameplay walkthrough
Here we were, thinking -- foolishly, might we add -- that this holiday season might not be packed to the gills with games we're way excited for. And then Ubisoft dropped this walkthrough of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood from Gamescom, reminding us that there's one more game to be crazy excited about. Did someone say "war horse?" Yep, the narrator of the walkthrough certainly did. In addition to all the other new stuff Ezio can do in Brotherhood, he's able to hop from his horse to others -- including the war horse, one of several new horse types. If that doesn't get your pulse going, you may have already been assassinated. Head past the break for the entire video.
A look at Gamescom 2010: Part two
As promised earlier this week, we present part two of our video series documenting Gamescom 2010 from the good people at Maverick Media. In this one, we have a look at Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, TERA, End of Nations, The Secret World's amazing booth and Ben before his morning coffee and makeup. If you enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek humor of the first video, you'll certainly love this second video found just after the jump. So check it out and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Guild Wars 2 necromancer revealed
This is not your ancestor's necromancer. Much like the ranger, the necromancer in Guild Wars 2 is bigger, badder, and deadlier than her Guild Wars counterpart. The Guild Wars 2 necro was officially revealed today, and though we've pretty much known it was coming since Killeen made fallen soldiers dance in the sewers of Ebonhawke, it's still nice to see descriptions, videos, and screenshots straight from ArenaNet. Follow along after the jump as we take a look at the necro and all of her glowy green skills and abilities.
Black Prophecy wins "Best of Free-to-Play" at Gamescom
Gaming publications Gamestar and GamePro were keeping an interested watch on the happenings at Gamescom last week, and earlier this week they handed out their own round of awards. Gamigo and Reakktor Media received top honors in the free-to-play category for Black Prophecy, beating out several other nominees including Battlestar Galactica Online and Mytheon, another Gamigo game. "We feel quite honored. This award is recognition for all the hard work our team has put in over the past few years," said Kirk Lenke, CEO of Reakktor Media. The full story can be read on Gamestar's site in the original German or an English translation.
The weirdest booth attractions of Gamescom 2010
While most booths at Gamescom relied on the games themselves to attract visitor attention, there were plenty of booths that went to some ridiculous lengths to stand out from the crowd. Take the above picture, which was set up to promote some sort of tractor simulation that's apparently popular in Germany. And that was actually one of the more game-related booths we captured for the odd gallery below. And you thought Gamescom was all about the games. You're so silly.%Gallery-100139%
The Cosplayers of Gamescom 2010
Given the hundreds of thousands of people who turned out for Gamescom 2010, the number of cosplayers in attendance was surprisingly small. Or maybe it wasn't surprising, given that this year's show didn't even encourage the costumed patrons with a feeble world record attempt or anything. As you browse this collection of photos, see if you can spot: The two guys who I suspect may have been gang members and not actually cosplayers A character that is usually not seen eating popcorn eating some popcorn Link pulling a reverse-Michael-Jackson (you'll know it when you see it) The best use of a pacifier for Day of the Tentacle cosplay you will ever see %Gallery-100135%
Flameseeker Chronicles: The view from the cheap seats is pretty darn great
I did not go to Gamescom. I was kind of not anticipating last week at all, because I envisioned it as a week of me looking at all the wonderful things I couldn't have, much like a starving orphan outside a bakery (or maybe a homeless orphan in some player's home instance). I figured it would be very un-fun. In fact, the opposite was true. Sure, I couldn't play hands-on, but I enjoyed all the Guild Wars 2 news flooding out of Gamescom just the same. I imagine being there would have made it impossible to take in all of these details from every direction -- it just would have been too overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, it's not sour grapes. I would have loved to be there! But since I couldn't, I'm really enjoying my bird's-eye view, so to speak. Even from this point of view, the amount of new information we have is nearly impossible to keep track of, so for Flameseeker Chronicles this week, I thought I'd take all that we've heard this week and try to distill it into a guide on where you can find information. It's felt a bit like trying to take an octopus and 15 of his closest friends and convince them all to fit comfortably in one small sandwich baggie, but I've done my best. Follow along after the jump to see where you can find the latest and greatest from Guild Wars 2 at Gamescom.
So say we all: Battlestar Galactica Online's blueprints revealed
Whether you're a human, a Cylon, a human working for the Cylons, a Cylon working for the humans, or a slightly off-kilter Massively editor, Battlestar Galactica Online promises to appeal across a wide spectrum. Ten Ton Hammer got in the good graces of Bigpoint at Gamescom this year and smuggled out information vital to the war effort. While it's not even in the alpha stage as of yet, BSGO is reportedly looking solid, especially for a browser-based title. The primary focus of this space-shooter MMO is the PvP conflict between human and Cylon forces. Players should expect to handle ships from the series (such as the Viper), but Bigpoint is planning on creating new spacecraft unique to the game. Each ship will handle differently, forcing users to adapt on the fly or die. Although the main stage of the game is the struggle to control systems (and their precious, precious resources), you'll be able to explore areas on foot, such as the titular Galactica, although this is mostly for atmosphere and storytelling. For players worried about the game's microtransactions model, Bigpoint promises that everyone will be able to experience the game from beginning to end without being forced to spend a penny.
Seen @ Gamescom: Napoleon, Caesar debate Civ 5 tactics
Watching two of the world's greatest leaders debating politics and strategy for Civilization 5 was a highlight of Gamescom. 2K Games went all out and created clones of Napoleon Bonaparte and Augustus Caesar to check out the game and QA test some strategy. We're sure the duo's feedback to the dev team will be invaluable leading up to the game's September 21 launch -- we just hope they're not listening to Napoleon's "100 days" plan. We already know how that ends, folks.%Gallery-98863%
What Killzone looked like before it was Killzone
The E3 2005 trailer for Killzone 2 quickly became well-known (infamous, even) for its supposedly unatainable levels of in-game graphical prowess. But the initial trailer for the game that would become the original Killzone has been much less well known ... until this past week at GDC Europe. Guerilla Games Managing Director Hermen Hulst showed off the circa-1999 concept video in a keynote speech in Cologne earlier this week, calling it a "showcase of technical competence" prepared for their first meeting with Sony. Even though Hulst admits there's "nothing really 'Killzone' about it" at this early stage (for instance, the Helghast and their glowing eyes don't even make a cameo appearance) we thought it was an interesting look at the pre-history of one of Sony's biggest exclusive franchises. To see the video in full, follow us past the break.
Nintendo support was crucial to uDraw's creation
THQ may be the company publicly pushing the recently announced uDraw tablet controller for the Wii, but a presentation of the new technology at Gamescom this week emphasized just how important Nintendo's support was to the device's creation. "When we came to [Nintendo] in the beginning with the idea for uDraw, they said 'that's brilliant, let's figure out how to do this,'" THQ director Luis Gigliotti said during a presentation. "It's been an incredible partnership. ... I've been working in game development for 17-plus years and I can honestly say this is one of the smoothest collaborations with a first party I've ever had, just because everybody got it on day one." Gigliotti specifically pointed out that Nintendo's hardware design expertise was key to transforming the monstrous uDraw prototype (nicknamed "Frankenstein" by the THQ team), into the light, sleek unit shown off at the show. "[The prototype] was a like bunch of lasers and mirrors and loose parts, it was wood and it had brass on it," he recalled. "I said, 'There's no way we can get this to something like this [the current hardware] without it costing a fortune.' Nintendo said, 'Don't worry about it. You guys are software developers, we are the kings of hardware. We will figure this out.' And they did, for one reason -- the idea was solid. Everybody knew it was a good idea, so we figured out the rest."
Shattered Dimensions creative head interested in Noir or 2099 Spider-Man game
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is like a Costco-size sample platter of four different Spidey universes, but Beenox Creative Director Thomas Wilson wouldn't mind focusing on just one of the wall crawlers for a game. During Gamescom the developer told us that if he could, he would want to focus on Noir or 2099 spidey, but immediately followed it up by saying, "That's not up to us to decide. We're looking with Activision at what's next." "They're interesting, they're different, they're new," Wilson told us on why he'd choose the lesser-known dimensions. He continued, "I think it would definitely be something interesting." Pssst, Activision -- we agree.
Demo for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 unchained before game's release
A LucasArts representative told Joystiq that there may be some tweaks before it's set free, but Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 will be getting a demo that's very similar to what we played at Gamescom. We were also told that the forthcoming game's demo will be made available publicly prior to retail launch on October 26. The demo we played begins with returning protagonist Starkiller attempting to escape his cloney confines on Kamino. He plummets down a tower, avoiding obstacles en route, busts through a giant dome, and then fights his way out of the facility. Force pushes, mind tricks, and force lightning follow as the Dark Apprentice redux attempts to steal a Tie Fighter and get off the planet . And it appears there won't be too long of a wait before you try the demo yourself -- that is, if you're not already in Germany attending the public days of Gamescom.%Gallery-95704%
Redspotgames looking to continue publishing for Dreamcast
Redspotgames, the small publisher behind relatively recent Dreamcast releases such as Last Hope, Rush Rush Rally Racing and Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles, says they are looking to continue publishing games for the long-dead system into next year. "We have seen some stuff on the PC, and we [are] talking to to the companies to see if they will agree to release on the Dreamcast," Redspotgames marketing and sales director Adrian Loudero told Joystiq at Gamescom this week. "We also have plans for 2011, maybe a new release, but this is really all I can say right now." Loudero told us that Redspotgame only sells a few thousands copies of each new Dreamcast game it releases. As such, the company has recently expanded to WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade development to stay afloat. But he also said that he's heartened by the way the Dreamcast demo units at the company's small Gamescom booth draw double takes and appreciative play from passers-by. "I think the Dreamcast is still famous," he said. Asked if he thinks Sega should get back into the Dreamcast game-publishing business, Loudero responded enthusiastically. "Yes, of course, please."
