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Huxley: The Dystopia beta signups begin
Huxley: The Dystopia is the re-monikered MMOFPS from Webzen that will be published in the West by NHN USA and ijji. Huxley clearly puts more emphasis on FPS than MMO although elements of the latter are certainly there, and Massively had a chance to see a bit of what the game can offer at GDC 2009. Shortly afterwards, they launched a teaser site counting down to... something. We admit, we must've looked away from that countdown for too long because the teaser site changed today, adding video footage, forums, screenshots, character descriptions and backstory info. The main thing we'd like to mention to our readers is that Huxley: The Dystopia is currently taking closed beta signups. The signup period is May 6 - May 20, and the first round of closed beta testing will last from June 3 - June 14. If you've been looking forward to fragging in Huxley, head on over to the Beta Test Registration page at ijji, and check out all the new info about the game they've added to the site.%Gallery-48874%
Global MU Online begins Season 4 beta testing with Webzen
Webzen has announced today that it will directly publish the fourth season of MU Online's global version, which already boasts 56 million registered users to date. "You can expect a better service since the company that has been developing the game for many years is now operating the global server," says ChangKeun Kim, CEO of Webzen Inc. "MU Online has a world-wide user base and we are planning on providing a stable global service for them. Our new global game portal webzen.com is going to be a communication link for our customers throughout the world."Global MU Online had originally launched its servers on October 13, 2003, but in 2005, the global publishing rights were transferred from K2 Network following a signed license agreement. The Season 4 beta testing will run from April 28th through April 30th, and registered users will have the opportunity to use master level characters to try out the new content. For more information on this beta, head over to the Global MU Online website.
GDC09: Massively previews Huxley, a hybrid sci-fi MMO and FPS
Huxley: The Dystopia is a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS) in development at NHN USA. We haven't heard much about the title since mid-2008, so we were happy that NHN USA was willing to sit down with us at GDC 2009. We spoke with Andy Hong, Huxley's Project Manager, who showed us some of the basic concepts behind the game. Huxley is a persistent world built upon Unreal Engine 3 foundations and is a game that differs from many of the MMOs we cover at Massively. Like other titles entering the market such as Global Agenda, Huxley is a marriage of the twitch combat of a first person shooter with classes, skills, trading, banking, and player housing we associate with MMOs. "At the core of the gameplay in Huxley, at its heart, it's an FPS," says Hong. But the depth of the rest of Huxley's gameplay, not limited to its quest and crafting systems, makes it a title quite unlike any pure FPS. %Gallery-48874%
GDC09: Massively previews Huxley: The Dystopia page 2
Quests and PvP You can pick up quests in the city. Those are either story quests or instanced quests where you can either go solo or group up to wipe the map of enemy NPCs. Huxley's cities are large and while a player can navigate on foot, it's much faster to take a hoverbike, or travel by tram or train. The quests themselves often bring a player outside of the city (via train) or beneath the city, where they need to fight against the hybrids in the sewers. While the game's quests can either be handled solo or in squads, players can also advance in Huxley through PvP. "With PvP you earn experience points as with quests, but you also earn rank points which let you level up your rank, such as private, sergeant, lieutenant, and beyond. The benefit of higher rank is access to the most powerful S-type weapons and bragging rights. People see the symbol next to your name and see what rank you are," like a title system, says Hong.
Aion ascends in Korea as competitors fall
In many respects, watching the MMO industry in Asia is a litmus test of sorts for the western markets. While the preferred game mechanics of your average Korean MMO, for instance, differ markedly from what a North American MMO gamer expects from a title, the broader ideas -- in terms of business models -- represent what may yet be for those of us in North America, Europe, and Australia. So when industry leaders aren't doing well in their primary market, it may not bode well for their smaller titles running in other regions of the world.We've come across an interesting piece in The Korea Times about some sea changes in Korea's MMO industry, focusing on NCsoft as well as its competitors -- Nexon, Webzen, and Hanbitsoft. We've previously reported that the Aion: The Tower of Eternity beta has, thus far, been quite a success in Korea and is perhaps a ray of hope for NCsoft in some troubled times. NCsoft's fiscal health is a big issue for fans of City of Heroes, Guild Wars, Tabula Rasa, and Lineage II, among others. So it comes as good news that NCsoft has nearly 200,000 concurrent users playing Aion: The Tower of Eternity in beta. The Korea Times, however, describes the country's MMO industry as being in a state of flux.
Joystiq looks at South Korea's PC Baang culture
No PlayStation, No Nintendo, No Sega. In a sprawling metropolis on the brink of a technological revolution what place would eschew console gaming? It was South Korea, and for the longest time there was an embargo against Japanese made imports. In the embargo's wake an unstoppable PC gaming utopia and a molding of an anomalous social culture evolved. With the government push for broadband access and the proliferation of PC Baangs, online PC-game rooms, a remarkable 70% of South Korean internet users have played some kind of MMOG. The Korean MMOG invasion on the western market has spurned resentment but some MMOs like Nexon's Maple Story found a successful niche. What is fascinating, are not the endless failed imports or the lucky few that do succeed in the US but the radical differences in our gaming cultures. Joystiq's Geoffrey Brooks is residing in Seoul, South Korea for the summer. Indulging his senses in this part of the world Brook posits about South Korea's PC Baangs and the masterful technological wired revolution and contrasts it to the lagging-behind United States. It's a must read, especially if you know nothing of the PC gaming culture in South Korea other than asking "isn't Starcraft big there?"
Huxley enters open beta (in Korea)
Webzen published a press release today announcing the start of Huxley's open beta test phase in South Korea. No word yet on when gamers in other regions will be able to participate. There have been hints that Webzen is backing away from the North American market, but today's press release reiterates the company's dedication to releasing Huxley "in markets around the world." This comes after an announcement that portal NHN will be distributing the game in North America and Europe, so we're pretty sure things are good.The press release is full of not-quite-true statements that Huxley is the very first game to combine the FPS and MMO genres. PlanetSide and Neocron come to mind right away, and there have probably been others. Still, we're watching Huxley with curiosity. Its production values are sky high (just look at the recent cinematic trailer) and its Unreal Engine-powered graphics are impressive. Webzen plans to release the game in Korea in 2009, so we'll be waiting a while yet.[Via Big Download]
Huxley in-game footage reminds us of something
It's not a bad thing that Huxley gameplay looks a lot like Unreal Tournament III, but it is a bit disconcerting for anyone interested in the MMOFPS in regards towards its possible uniqueness. The fact that what we're seeing in this video amounts to a standard deathmatch is probably the biggest reason for the comparison. While we professed our enjoyment of Huxley's recently released cinematic trailer, neither that nor this look into the game have told us why Huxley is any different than the many other FPS and MMO games currently proliferating across the market.Don't get us wrong, though. We're always interested in different experiences here at Massively, so you can expect us to be playing Huxley whenever it manages to wash up on our shores. We're just hoping that the experience amounts to more than running around beautifully rendered worlds shooting things up, because that can be found elsewhere.[via Rock, Paper Shotgun]
Huxley video expands on non-combat areas
We have to concede, we were not terribly impressed when we got wind of some of Huxley's non-combat areas as long as four months go. Chalk it up to the editing, we suppose, but the ten consecutive minutes of clomping around a barren cityscape left us barely able to keep our heads up. We were much more impressed with the recent cinematic trailer for the game, but it did little in the way of explaining how Huxley was going to change the way we play MMOs.Well a new video has surfaced with better editing, the removal of that incessant clomping sound of walking on pavement, and some looks at non-static NPCs, shops, and the games' train system. We realize that Huxley's success probably hinges more on whether the FPS action is up to current standards, but for MMO junkies like ourselves, the little things like shops and quest hubs can have a much greater influence on whether we choose to play the game or not. Check out the new video after the jump.
Impressive Huxley cinematic trailer surfaces
German website PCGames.de is hosting a new trailer (and several screenshots from said trailer) for Webzen's massively multiplayer online first person shooter (what a mouthful) Huxley. If you've not heard of the game, all you need to know is that it runs on Unreal Engine 3, is developed in Korea, and features large-scale, instanced PvP battles.The trailer doesn't show any gameplay footage (but past ones have). It just shows a really well-orchestrated cinematic sequence. It looks very Unreal or Gears of War. Unfortunately, all the dialogue is in Korean, so we have no idea whether or not it reveals any interesting story elements.Note that a giant worm-like monster makes an appearance at the end. That might imply that players won't just be fighting each other. Huxley recently found a Western publisher, so we're looking forward to seeing for ourselves. [Via Blues News]
Hey, look, another Korean developer licenses Unreal Engine 3
Epic Games is apparently doing a good job selling and supporting its Unreal Engine 3 in the Korean market. Yet another developer has licensed the engine for an MMO project. This time it's T-Entertainment, which is working on a "space opera" MMO called L2. Wow, that sounds like the name of another Korean MMO!Welcome to the club, T-Entertainment! Meet AcroGames and Bluehole; they're also Korean developers using Unreal Engine 3. Oh, and of course you know about Webzen's Huxley, which is built on Unreal Engine 3. Yes, also Korean. Let's not forget the illustrious NCsoft, which already used the previous version of Unreal for Lineage II, and plans to use version 3 for not one but two new projects.There was an interview with Epic Games' Mark Rein at Gamasutra several months back. He said that Epic is working hard to propagate Unreal Engine 3 in Korea, but described serious challenges -- particularly with customer support. It looks like Epic is finding ways to deal with those challenges after all.[Via Worlds in Motion]
Huxley's Xbox 360 fate still in the air
One of the first MMOs announced in the new generation of consoles, Huxley, is having a difficult time making its way to consoles. While Huxley developer Webzen has announced that the PC title will finally make its way to North America after signing a new deal with publisher NHN USA, the Xbox 360 version continues its release limbo.Other items that need to be ironed out of for the Unreal Engine 3 MMO/FPS include the business model approach for the title and a firm release date, as Webzen only specifies an expected PC release in late 2008 for North America and Western Europe.[via Big Download]
Huxley coming to NA and Europe by way of NHN USA
The rumors of Webzen's North American demise have been greatly exaggerated. News on the inter-streets is that Webzen has found a PC-version publisher for their MMOFPS game Huxley in gaming portal heavyweight NHN USA, which is a subsidiary of the Korean NHN. There still isn't any mention of the 360 version, however. This is a pretty big deal for Webzen as it means that Huxley will be sold through the incredibly huge ijji.com videogame portal. That's the same portal through which over six million people play tons of games including Gunbound, Gunz, Drift City and Soldier Front.You may or may not know about ijji.com, but trust us when we say it's a pretty big win for Webzen. Originally announced when Hoover build the dam, Huxley has been in the works for a long, long time. Which is the main reason we've all been questioning its US release solidity. All joking aside, the real question we should be asking is whether or not NA and European players will even like the game. Some of us here at Massively haven't been decidedly impressed by anything so far. Only time will tell.
Where's Webzen?
Two Hammers at MMO-centric blog gamebunny writes that Webzen is slowly making a retreat from the North American market. The Korean publisher, currently developing the much-anticipated Huxley, has cut Parfait Station and Wiki (aka Project Wiki) from its game roster on the North American site. Although Webzen has not announced cancellations of the titles, only three games remain displayed on the site: MU, Soul of the Ultimate Nation, and Huxley. Release dates are not set for SUN and Huxley. The disappearance of Parfait Station and Wiki comes on the heels of Webzen relinquishing their publishing rights to All Points Bulletin, three years after having obtained them. Real Time Worlds bought back the rights to APB in April. These changes could diminish Webzen's presence in the North American market for the foreseeable future, and their radio silence on where Huxley is in terms of release doesn't help matters. Quite a number of people seem to be excited about Huxley, particularly among the Massively team; we can only hope that Webzen is just re-prioritizing their projects and releases for North America, and that they're not going to disappear on us anytime soon.
Huxley: a Brave New World?
It is a curious thing to hear of a game being themed after a classic speculative fiction novel. It's even more curious because the novel in question, Brave New World, has little in common with Starship Troopers (as the game's images suggest) and a whole lot in common with Idiocracy (did they have sex hormone gum in that movie?). Brave New World itself was Aldous Huxley's take on American excessive trust in technology, the future, manufacturing, science, and hedonism, culminating in images such as babies being processed in factories instead of born, people being altered to meet almost cookie cutter standards of beauty, and sex being so casual as to almost require assigned seating. One can only imagine what Aldous Huxley would think of the United States in 2008. Huxley promises to be a great game combining the MMO and FPS genres in a new and entertaining fashion, and I am all for creativity and license. But that's just the problem. When I heard about Huxley the game, my mind immediately leaped to the possibilities of some other first person shooter games derived from the other works of Aldous Huxley, and frankly, that boggles the mind.
All Points Bulletin to become Grand Theft Auto Online?
Eurogamer is reporting on rumors of what could be the holy grail of online gaming: a Grand Theft Auto massively multiplayer game. Rumors are circulating that Realtime Worlds reaquired the publishing rights for their in-development All Points Bulletin for a very specific purpose. Originally to be published by Webzen, Realtime now hopes to sell the game to Rockstar as a framework for a GTA MMO.According to the site, they were tipped off that a GTA transition was the rationale behind the rights re-purchase. The article goes on to report that Realtime is claiming ignorance of this rumor. They admit that they pulled back the APB rights from Webzen to "give them some options", and that they'd be open to working with other companies to see the game published. Rockstar hasn't, as yet, commented on the rumor.Have you been enjoying GTA IV? Would you jump into a GTA MMO?
APB's Walter Kong on financial flexibility
In a new interview with Walter Kong, the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Realtime Worlds, explains the logic behind his team's recent reacquisition of the publishing rights for their upcoming game All Points Bulletin. Their latest round of fund-raising, which netted them a cool $50 million, gives them the a much higher degree of flexibility than they would have had under Webzen, so they took the opportunity to go independent, for a while anyway.Kong explained that just because that just because they moved out from under Webzen doesn't mean they are necessarily looking to self-publish; they just want to keep their options open. What seems clear from the way they've handled themselves so far is that all the veteran blood, including CEO David Jones -- the brainchild of the Grand Theft Auto series, has made them shrewd in the ways of the business. Here's hoping they're as savvy at making their game as they are financing it.
Realtime Worlds buys back rights to APB franchise
Big news comes from Realtime Worlds today with word that they are putting their recently acquired $50 million to work, acquiring the global distribution rights to their upcoming MMO All Points Bulletin.GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that Realtime Worlds purchased the APB distribution rights back from Webzen to "ensure that gamers around the globe experience the revolutionary gameplay we envisioned when we first began creating the property." We aren't sure exactly what their global release plans entail or how much they had to put up for the rights, but we're sure they didn't come cheap. Lesson learned kids. When sleeping with Webzen and things turn sour, know that you'll have to buy your way out of the relationship. That said, you could probably apply that lesson to all relationships you encounter.
Realtime Worlds takes APB distribution rights from Webzen
It always seemed to us that MMO-maker Webzen had a bit too much on its plate, what with working on APB, Huxley and Soul of the Ultimate Nation year after year with no signs of any actual releases. Well, Webzen's plate got a little less full today, as developer Realtime Worlds announced it has regained the global distribution rights to APB. Realtime Worlds' announcement follows a an intriguing demo of APB at February's Game Developer's Conference and a $50 million cash infusion for the Crackdown developer in March. As for Webzen, maybe this disquisition will finally give it the focus it needs to finish up the long-dormant Huxley.
All Points Bulletin publishing rights returned to Realtime Worlds
Gamasutra is reporting that Realtime Worlds, makers of the Xbox 360 title Crackdown, has regained publishing rights for their in-development MMO. All Point Bulletin has been in development for some time, and the publishing rights for the game were sold to Webzen (Mu Online, SUN, Huxley) back in 2005. A large round of venture capital investement has afforded them this opportunity, though the article notes it hasn't been publicized what those rights cost.Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones is head of the company, and says that this move 'marks a major milestone' for Realtime. The Urban MMO is slated to be arriving on PCs and Xbox 360s in the near future.
