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Xfire notes slump in PC playtime, dubs it "Halo 3 effect"
If ever there was an industry prone to cannibalism, it would be the games industry. If gamers aren't playing one game, chances are it's because another game has captured their attention with its siren song. According to data by Xfire and reported by Gamesindustry.biz, hours played by subscribers to its service did not pick in October as expected. July and August are typically slow months for PC games, as many players take the rare opportunity to go outside and many also make the move to college during that period. But instead of rising again as the seasons changed, October numbers actually continued to fall. They've chosen to dub this the "Halo 3 effect," as Microsoft's hit shooter sent shock waves not just through the game industry, but through the larger entertainment business as well, reportedly stunting sales of moving ticket sales through that period as well.Xfire has a subscriber base over 8 million strong, so while they might not be the perfect indicator of larger trends in the game industry, they're certainly one of the best representative samples available. World of Warcraft continued to dominate the overall numbers, with 332,139 hours played during October, beating out perennial PC favorites Call of Duty 2 and Counterstrike: Source. The rest of the MMO crowd ambled behind, with EVE Online being the second most popular massive game, followed by Lord of the Rings Online, Lineage II, and Star Wars Galaxies.It makes you wonder what would happen if the rumored Halo MMO comes to fruition.
Massively's Massive Giveaways - Lineage 2 redux
Lineage II, as mentioned before, has much to recommend it if you're fond of PvP MMO content. One of the things that we thought was pretty cool about Lineage II is the updated version of castle sieges -- and the maneuvering involved in keeping a castle -- brought in from the original Lineage game. Here's a bit more on that from the L2 site: Numerous privileges are given to the clans who occupy the castle. They impose a tax on the shops around the castle, expand the facilities within the castle, manufacture various items, and offer the Castle Lord a Wyvern to conquer the sky. There are various systems in which the castle-owning clans operate and maintain many public facilities used by other players to make a profit. In this structure, the players and the clan who occupy the castle get win-win results through systems like the manor system. Even the clan that is strongest in force cannot maintain political power without support from other players.For our second and final Lineage II giveaway of the day, we're offering up a copy of Lineage II, as well as 2 60 day L2 time cards. This gives both new players and experienced players alike the chance to get involved in some good old-fashioned castle warfare in the lands of L2. All you have to do to enter is to leave a comment between now and 8:15 PM Eastern tomorrow (11/15) and be 18+, a U.S. resident, and eligible under the other official rules. For the chance to get some serious PvP on -- or possibly ride a wyvern -- we think a comment is a good trade!
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.
NCSoft pledges Sony support, exclusive PS3 online games
During Sony's E3 2007 keynote, President and CEO Jack Tretton announced a new partnership with developer NCSoft, creators of online titles like Lineage, Guild Wars, and City of Heroes. As part of the partnership, NCSoft will begin developing exclusive online titles for the Playstation 3 and its Playstation Network.This exclusivity can apply to both new and current IPs, although no specific games were mentioned. "Only the Playstation Network can support the types of games that NCSoft has become famous for" says Tretton. At the moment, it is unknown whether NCSoft will continue to support other platforms.
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]
Moscow's Lineage II meet up murder
The Moscow Times reports that according to Moscow police, a man attempting to break up a fight between two Lineage II players in the real world was killed when one of the men stomped him to death. Alexander Blyoskin, 22, died trying to stop members of two rival Lineage II clans from hurting each other during a meet up in a Moscow café Jan 12. The two men were allegedly posting negative statements about each other on Lineage forums and when meeting each other in person decided to take their differences outside.Statements differ about what happened outside. Some witnesses say Blyoskin hit his head on the ground after being punched and others say Alexander Ponamorenko stomped on his head after he fell on the ground. Ponamorenko has been formally charged with the beating death of Blyoskin and faces 15 years in prison.[Via Raph Koster's Website]
Nintendo holds key to franchise longevity, profitability
As noted earlier, a list published by UK newspaper The Independent reveals what many already assume; Nintendo's Mario is the best-selling franchise of all time. Coupled with the second best-selling franchise Pokémon (also a Nintendo property), the two series, which have sold a combined 348 million games worldwide, account for nearly 34% of the total sales of the top-twenty best-selling franchises; which include two additional Nintendo IPs ranked in the top ten, Donkey Kong and Zelda. So what's Nintendo's secret?Cross-culture appeal, spin-offs (e.g., racers, sports titles, puzzlers), brand saturation (e.g., apparel, card games, TV shows), and E-ratings all appear part of a profitable formula built for the long haul.
China online gaming trends
BusinessWeek online recently ran an article that effectively summarizes major issues in the burgeoning Chinese gaming industry, including MMO addiction, Internet population growth, and the increasing quality of China's homegrown titles. Also, the horse armor debate may soon find new life overseas, as there are plans for several Chinese game operators to switch from a subscription-based revenue model to the sale of virtual goods and other downloadable content "needed to advance various games".The article is supplemented by a slideshow that showcases China's hottest online games, one of which hails from the States -- Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach. This is consistent with vendors I visited during a recent trip to Shanghai who claimed that DDO was among their bestsellers.See also: More chaperones in China's Internet cafes SUN is most anticipated game in China Take-Two announces 2K Shanghai
NCsoft sued over identity theft
In South Korea, people whose identities were stolen and used to register accounts on Lineage and Lineage II plan to take legal action against NCsoft. Despite the theft not originating with NCsoft, lawyers appear to have found a convenient target for the blame.The lawsuit doesn't appear to be taking off, with only 100 plaintiffs paying the $1 fee to join; the suit is being filed on behalf of more than 230,000 people. It looks to be more scare-tactics than a valid lawsuit, but with $230m at stake, if it gets going it may become frightening indeed.[via digg]
