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Lineage II: behind the gates of the Steel Citadel
Here at Massively, we've always striven to provide you with as much information as we're able to gather about our favorite games. Well, we were lucky enough to catch up with Tim Tan -- North American Producer for NCsoft's Lineage II property -- and had the chance to discuss with him his views on Lineage II itself, the Hellbound expansion, and his feelings about the game's fourth anniversary. With him was Jessica "Alyra" Folsom, Community Manager for Lineage II, so we took the opportunity to pick her brain, as well.For those unaware of the excitement, Hellbound went live on 23 April, the same day the Lineage II team launched Luna, their brand-new European server. Tie both of those events in with the fourth anniversary of their title, and you can see why Tim's so excited about the success of this labor of love. Okay, labor of love, and a lot of coding. Closing the last link in the chain of the First Throne saga, Hellbound brings into existence the horrors and triumphs foreshadowed in earlier installments.
What's so great about being Hellbound in Lineage 2?
We've been following the development of the Lineage 2 Hellbound expansion, and it sounds like there's some interesting stuff in there for veteran players. A brand new pet upgrade system, new mounts to carry you into battle, and of course the perils of the Steel Citadel itself. Facing down Beleth sounds like a truly epic encounter. Today NCsoft has sent over a dev diary running down the numerous features we'll see in next week's release of the expansion and the 4th Anniversary edition of the game. Along with all the expansion goodies (a new level cap included), the 4th Anniversary edition has some nice toys, like half-mask, a piggie friend, and discounted veteran rewards. Fun fact: did you know that you can change your avatar's gender in Lineage 2 for the price of $10?Read on for the full details on Hellbound and the 4th Anniversary edition of the game (and pine with us that we in the states don't get anything as cool as the EU Collector's Edition.)%Gallery-19265%
NCsoft fights back against software piracy
NCsoft certainly doesn't mess around when it comes to combating the use of illegal servers and copies of their games. Dating back to 2006, the company has a proven record of fighting those companies and individuals who insist on stealing their intellectual properties. Many of these cases, in cooperation with the FBI, have led to the shut-down of companies such as L2extreme which claimed to run as many as 50,000 fraudulent Lineage II users on their servers.Currently, NCsoft Europe is taking action against many Eastern European corporations which are deemed to be in breach of international copyright laws. This includes a recent court order against the Greek company e-Global following several raids unveiling illegal software usage on their net cafe servers.
More L2 expansion details and teaser site revealed
The latest Lineage II newsletter came packed with information about the new Hellbound expansion, including a link to the notes for the expansion's update from the test server. The notes are extensive, providing detailed information about new class skills, the rare transformations that are being added, the pet system additions, and a long list of quest and item updates. The new transformations come from books found on raid monsters, and the names of these monsters are kindly given, along with the name of each transformation and its level requirements.We're also ushered in the direction of a teaser site for Hellbound, which opens with a sharp animation and kicks into a trailer for the expansion -- fans of big swords and evil-looking dudes getting chopped to pieces ought to go have a look.
NCsoft releases sales numbers for 2007
NCsoft's corporate monkeys released their sales numbers yesterday, showing off a solid net profit of $48.4 million, an increase of over 18% last year. Something has to be said for NCsoft's execs like new President Chris Chung, as the company was able to post a strong increase in profit, even as global sales dipped 3% since last year to $355.1 million. Sales for the crucial fourth quarter were up however, jumping 11% to $95.9 million on strong sales from the Lineage series and the launch of Tabula Rasa in November.Korea continued to be NCsoft's dominant market, accounting for 59% of global sales, as compared to the 17% attributed to North America. This, of course, would account for the fact the relative success of the various franchises. Lineage and Lineage II, which are still wildly popular in Korea, ran sales of $34.2 million and $36.4 million, despite their age. Tabula Rasa, a title ostensibly aimed at the North American market with it's sci-fi and shooter fascinations, saw relatively meager sales of $5.4 million since it launched in November. This is further proof that the Asian market is simply too big to ignore. Companies looking to break Blizzard's grasp on the market may do well to look abroad.
NCsoft's North American head honcho speaks to the masses
Chris Chung, the new president over at NCsoft North America, has been a busy man since taking up the position a few weeks ago. Between his interviews with IGN and 1Up, Massively, and other sundry blurbs here and there, he still felt it necessary to address the masses directly - blog style. And it's a fantastic read.His latest statement doesn't give us any additional earth shattering news about what the company is going to do under his rein - that's been covered ad nauseam, but it does give us a much better perspective on who Chris Chung the person is. I found his honestly particularly comforting because NCsoft is "my" gaming company. While I don't much care for Guild Wars or Lineage II (even though they are absolutely breathtaking in their graphical beauty), I play every one of their other games (Exteel, CoX, Tabula Rasa, Dungeon Runners), played Auto Assault from beta until it ran out of gas, and I can't wait to get my hands on Aion. It humanizes him in a manner that we don't see too often -- in any industry. He talks openly about how it can be a burden taking over for someone as experienced and respected as Robert Garriott. He believes that he got the job as president not because of some special talent, but the lack thereof. Perhaps the most insightful thing Chris talked about was his managerial style. I can relate because I too am a manager. What, you think I do this full time? While I'm not a manager for a company as large as NCsoft, the tenants stay the same: it's all about taking care of the people. And because I understand that, the thing that will stick with me the most is this quote: my job is to make sure that the employees here at NCsoft do what they do best and that the management team takes care of their needs so we can continue to produce great products for this industry.If you've been leery of all the changes at NCsoft... don't be. They're in good hands.
AcroGames using Unreal Engine in new online game
AcroGames, an upstart Korean game development company, has licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3 for a new game. Epic told Gamasutra that the new game is an online title for the PC. There are lots of different kinds of online titles, but AcroGames is partly comprised of former Lineage II team members, so it's a good, educated guess to suggest that the new title is an MMO. Also, Lineage II was developed using the previous Unreal Engine iteration. Epic VP Jay Wilbur was quoted in Gamasutra, saying: "AcroGames is a promising team comprised of top talent and we look forward to working with them. We are committed to supporting the Asian game market with best of breed development tools, and our agreement with AcroGames marks a significant achievement in this effort."In an interview published just yesterday, Epic's Mark Rein described the language-barrier-related challenges Epic is having with supporting its engine in non-English speaking countries (specifically Japan, in that article). One wonders if they'll run into the same troubles when working with a Korean studio.
NCsoft: has the focus shifted?
NCsoft -- known for such stunningly beautiful games as Guild Wars and Lineage/Lineage II -- is slowly expanding its focus in Korea into the non-game sector. Working with in-house studio Openmaru, the company is building a series of online services to aid in comforting investors. Admittedly, the South Korean Won (KRW) is trading in a slightly stronger position against the United States Dollar (USD) now than it was in October, but that doesn't stop their concern over seeing NCsoft's stock slowly spiral downward from 86,4000 KRW in October (approximately $94.43/share) to 45,000 KRW ($48.27/share) as of Friday's market close. As a result of this move, CEO Kim Taek-jin has promised that the company will increase its investment in online applications, including data and schedule management programs and social-networking services.
Gamasutra's "China Angle" reports on The9, Giant Interactive, NCsoft
To North American and European MMO players, China is more than just a different country; it's a different universe. But it's important to keep an at least one eye on the Chinese market. Gamasutra ran its latest "China Angle" column today. Here's what we learned this time. The9, the Chinese publisher of World of Warcraft, will be responsible for the Chinese version of EA's FIFA Online 2. The9 already operates the original FIFA Online in the PRC, and EA owns a 15% share in the company, so that's no surprise. Newer company Giant Interactive -- who are behind the highly profitable Zhengtu Online -- saw a $38.7 million profit in Q3 2007, and all 800 employees of the company were given actual, real-life gold coins in celebration. The company is also actually awarding stocks to some of its customers. Finally, Korean MMO supercompany NCsoft has selected a new partner company called Shandra to distribute their new title AION. NCsoft opted not to work with their old partner Sina this time. The decision to change may have been influenced by disappointing Chinese numbers for Lineage and Lineage II, two NCsoft titles which were brought to the Chinese market by Sina.
NCsoft 2007 Q3 financial results & MMOG subscription numbers
NCsoft raked in $88.3 (US) million in sales for the quarter, a cool $11.2 million profit, and $10.7 million in operating costs, all on a consolidated big money-pit basis. Sales exploded in Europe mainly in due part to Guild Wars: Eye of the North, helping to rocket sales in Europe by 81% compared to those that took place in Q2. Overall sales jumped 5% compared to the previous quarter. Operating income and net income were not so lucky, sinking 8% and 5%, respectively, when compared to Q2's numbers. Taiwan saw an increase in net sales that rose by 15% thanks to a pick-up in Lineage II sales. Royalty sales increased as well by 20% due to strong Lineage sales in Taiwan. By game title, sales in the quarter for Lineage recorded $26.2 million, Lineage II $35.8 million, City of Heroes/City of Villain $6.3 million, and Guild Wars $14.4 million. Lineage and City of Heroes/City of Villains sales dropped 7% and 10%, respectively, and Lineage II and Guild Wars increased by 1% and 57%, respectively. NCsoft MMOG subscription numbers:Lineage[World-Wide]: 1,143,699 subscriptions (-47,026 from 2007 Q2)[North America]: 6,999 subscriptions (-2,094 from 2007 Q2)Lineage II[World-Wide]: 931,263 subscriptions (+27,007 from 2007 Q2)[North America + Europe]: 78,953 subscriptions (-5,767 from 2007 Q2) City of Heroes[North America + Europe] 139,313 subscriptions (-14,018 from 2007 Q2) Guild Wars[North America + Europe] 4,500,000 boxes sold (+583,000 from 2007 Q2)
Halloween festivities for NCsoft titles
We already filled you in on CoX getting some Halloween fun underway, but NCsoft has now let 1Up know what their plans are for their other titles.Guild Wars players can expect the return of the infamous Mad King Thorn. This joker typically visits different areas of towns telling people what to do, rewarding those that listen and destroying those that don't. The two cities he will make appearances at are Lion's Arch and Kamadan, and you'll need to be around between October 26th and midnight October 31st to catch him.Lineage II fans will see the "Trick or Transmutation" event for their Halloween celebration. This will involve a treasure hunt for some Alchemist's Chests, to create Philosopher's Stones and unlock rewards. Some of these rewards will reportedly be unique to this event, and if you're interested in trying your hand at the hunt, the event begins October 26th.Finally, NCsoft is even infusing their unreleased MMO Tabula Rasa with Halloween madness. Those who have preordered the game will get to play a few days early, in the headstart promotion, and will be able to go on missions to earn special Halloween masks.If you want to find out about the celebrations already going on in CoX check out our previous coverage, and a link to 1Up's article is provided below.
Lineage II free expansion, The Chaotic Throne: The Kamael, and new gender-bending service
A new official website has launched to show off the features of upcoming Lineage II expansion, The Chaotic Throne: The Kamael. It is to be a free major content update, featuring the titular Kamael, a soldier race with a single angel wing. Let's hope they aren't trying to fly anywhere with half a wingspan and heavy armor. They will have a new class tree, with a few of the final class choices being available exclusively to one gender. Males get the melee-centric Berserker class, and females can be the ranged-attacking Abalester. On the subject of gender, the expansion will also see a few new services introduced to Lineage II. Two of them are fairly mundane, but useful, a character transfer service and name change service. However, the third ought to raise a few eyebrows (and has already been commented on at Warcry's Razorwire), as players can organise to change their avatar's sex. Razorwire speculates that this may be to do with a ban in China of cross-gender MMO play, but this was only in one game, King of the World, and they confusingly only prohibited men from playing female characters -- women can still play whatever they want, provided they prove their gender by webcam. Riiiight. Moving on.The Kamael also contains some new areas to explore. Isle of Souls is a low level zone for the Kamaels to start in, and there will be new high level and raid content elsewhere. Additionally, Fortress Battles will be introduced to allow sieging to happen at any time, instead of needing to wait for a castle siege to occur. Follow the link below to check out the preview site for yourself.
FBI raid brings down illegal Lineage II service
The FBI's cyber squad has unsealed details of a California man's bid to host an illegal emulation of NCsoft's Lineage II MMORPG. The scheme was simple enough: obtain a copy of the game's stolen source code, rent some servers to host the game, undercut NCsoft's subscription fee -- and watch the money pile up. Blinded by greed, hoisted up by his arrogance, the man would let NCsoft hate (all the way from South Korea). They ain't gon' do nothin' 'bout it...When the man failed to shutdown his fraudulent site following a stern request, NCsoft turned to its Austin, Texas offices (didn't know about those, did ya?), which quickly contacted the FBI. Last November, agents raided the man's home and thereafter put an end to the crooked enterprise. The accused now faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.[Thanks, Froren]
