NCsoft announces Aion has gone gold, now being manufactured
by Lesley Smith 
Aug 17th 2009 at 4:00PM
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Aion
The announcement hits just a few days before GamesCom 2009 in Cologne, Germany where NCsoft will be demoing version 1.5 of the game, which includes The Shadow of the Balaur content patch that was released in Korea on August 5th. NCsoft will also be demoing this latest version of the game at this year's Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle and it will also be included with the North American and European versions of the game when Aion is released on September 22nd/25th. The Shadow of the Balaur promises new zones, instances, quests and some specially created Western looks within the expansive character customisation system.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
twolfer said on 4:10PM 8-17-2009
Meh- wake me up when the game becomes more than a shallow grindfest and pretty graphics please
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Whi said on 4:20PM 8-17-2009
Meh- talk when you actually know stuff about a game.
Not a grindfest like the Korean version. Do your research.
Keen said on 4:29PM 8-17-2009
Whi has a point. NA has been (stupidly) testing 1.0 when the game has had over a YEAR of development up to 1.5 that we have yet to see which, according to patch notes and impressions, changes all that you've bitched about.
twolfer said on 4:56PM 8-17-2009
ive beta tested it, and it reminds me of Lineage 2. thats a bad thing. at its core the game is a korean mmo, which i dont like. no ammount of spit and polish can change that.
Dblade said on 5:42PM 8-17-2009
Keen, are we going to see 1.5 actually implemented in the US though? Maybe the reason you are testing 1.0 is because, like a lot of other Korean MMORPGS, you only will get 1.0 and the Korean servers will get the current release. With Mabinogi it's like that.
Keen said on 6:32PM 8-17-2009
North America will launch on 1.5 and we will be kept current with all patches received in Korea. That's why the game has not launched yet - they're localizing a year of content.
It's been said by official NCsoft Peeps (Multiple times) that we get patch 1.5 and will be brought 100% current. It's also been said that the West will have influence in the game's direction from hereon out.
wolfsterne said on 4:23PM 8-17-2009
If it isn't made by Blizzard I'm not playing it...I'm so sick of half baked suckfest games. It's not even worth bothering anymore.
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They said on 4:35PM 8-17-2009
I'm so sick of people complaining about how terrible games are that they refuse to play. How would you know?
Also, just because Blizzard didn't make a game doesn't mean it can't be good. Creative people work for other companies too...
Stormdragon said on 4:26PM 8-17-2009
I have a feeling it will do much better in the UK than in North America.... NA is WoW country, and there is a brand new expansion pack on the way.
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Keen said on 4:29PM 8-17-2009
That expansion is more than a year away. There is a void right now that needs to be filled, and it's the perfect opportunity to succeed.
Stormdragon said on 4:34PM 8-17-2009
Opportunity doesn't mean much these days..all MMO's have an opportunity. WoW's losses will be minimal and most will return within sixty days.
Same as it ever was.
They said on 4:38PM 8-17-2009
People won't play WoW forever. Some people will, as long as it's possible. But it can't be on top forever!
Mr. Smite said on 6:43PM 8-17-2009
*Is one of the many happy players joining Aion having loved the beta*
After the suckfest that was Wrath of the Lich King I am finally happy to bid farewell to WoW (until Worgen, then I admittedly will come back for a little while because I love wolves).
Now how to get the girlfriend off of WoW...
erines said on 4:34PM 8-18-2009
Actually Asia is WoW country the players there far out number you in NA.
Cyspeth said on 4:36PM 8-17-2009
Some of us just can't play WOW anymore, it's been over 4 years and the carrot's don't do the job anymore.
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faymar79 said on 4:41PM 8-17-2009
I can understand that, but I just feel that number (at least in the US ) will be very low comparatively. The type of folks who like Aion was mostly playing WoW because FFXI got stale....Like storm I just don't see it having a major effect.
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Bossy said on 4:42PM 8-17-2009
Aion won't hold a candle against the launches of AoC and War.
I bet it will not go over the 300K at launch.
People are FED up with bad Wow clones and it shows already on Xfire.
The Beta of Aion in the lats weekend was even less played thn a month ago.
A bunch of standard boring quest with a 5 year old mechanism is NOT the answer.
Korean copies are B O R I N G.....
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Marcus Ferret said on 7:08PM 8-17-2009
Maybe your world is flat but Aion has already beaten BOTH AoC and WAR in the East.
erines said on 4:38PM 8-18-2009
LoL they already have 3.5 mil subs in Asia and the pre-order on Steam here is tops numero uno...research could have helped you.
Stormdragon said on 4:43PM 8-17-2009
Yes it can't be but there isn't a game in devlopement or even in the copnceptual stages that has a chance of touching it...so get use to it being King until Blizzard launches it's next MMO.
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