asia posts

NCsoft aims for Aion to be second only to WoW in US

by James Egan Aug 12th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, MMO industry, New titles, News items

NCsoft has big plans for their fantasy MMO Aion in the west, and they're hoping to emulate their Asian success in the North American market. Kris Graft reports for Gamasutra that Aion generated 40.6 billion won (USD 32.7 million) in Q2 2008, which he notes is a strong start. In an earnings call, NCsoft CFO Jaeho Lee said, "I believe the performance of Aion in the US and European markets will be very successful. ... We are guessing that Aion will be -- could be -- the second [most] successful MMO in the US market next to World of Warcraft."

Bold optimism, to be sure. What really caught our attention, though, was that Graft pointed out a mention of the now dead-and-buried Tabula Rasa during that earnings call, another title NCsoft once had high hopes for in western markets. In answer to a question about how many boxes of Aion will ship as opposed to Tabula Rasa, Gamasutra quotes Lee as having said, "It's very unfortunate to hear the name of Tabula Rasa at this conference call... and we all want to forget and erase that memory from our performance."

Tags: aion, asia, earnings-call, fantasy, gamasutra, jaeho-lee, korea, kris-graft, mmo-industry, ncsoft, new-titles, north-america, tabula-rasa, united-states, world-of-warcraft, wow

Korea's Dungeon Fighter Online sets sights on the West

by James Egan Jul 13th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Free-to-play

As graphics in massively multiplayer online games push ahead year after year, a few developers are taking a different approach to these games, some with a stylized 2-D look. "Different" is an understatement when it comes to Nexon's Dungeon Fighter Online -- a blending of an MMO with an old-school arcade game which Massively previewed at E3 2009.

Although the side-scrolling action is reminiscent of games like Street Fighter, Dungeon Fighter Online will have classes and subclasses, skills, and a level-based system of advancement as with the majority of MMO titles. The game has done very well for itself in Korea (where it's known as Dungeon & Fighter) and is coming to North America, with a closed beta on the way.

Tags: 2-d, 2d, arcade, asia, betas, brandon-sheffield, dungeon-fighter-online, free-to-play, gamasutra, interviews, korea, mmo-industry, neople, new-titles, nexon, north-america, yunjong-kim

Which version of Aion will be available at launch?

by James Egan Jul 1st 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Aion, Launches

NCsoft is hoping that the pairing of flight and fantasy in Aion will prove to be a hit in both North America and Europe. Gamers who were accepted into the betas have been asking the Aion team about which version of the title the Western markets will see at launch. NCsoft has announced: "Aion is planned to release with version 1.5, the third major game update, bringing the content as up to date as possible. The Aion team strives to keep the game content consistent between territories, and releasing with this game version brings us one step closer to this goal."

Our own Lesley Smith has been writing about her experiences with the game through Aion's various beta test phases, particularly the experience of becoming a Daeva as an Elyos or as an Asmodian; we recommend reading her hands-on series if you're interested in this title. Massively will continue to cover Aion leading right up to the game's September launch.

Tags: aion, aion-the-tower-of-eternity, asia, asmodian, betas, daeva, elyos, europe, fantasy, flight, korea, launches, mmo-industry, ncsoft, north-america

New legislation in China outlaws gold farming

by James Egan Jun 29th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Economy, MMO industry, News items, Legal

Gold farmers. We know you hate them... We know. And we've mentioned the associated gold spam as being the bane of many MMO players' existence a number of times in the past. But is the situation ever going to change?

Perhaps, given the new legislation coming out of China this week. Of course while all gold farmers certainly aren't based in China, a substantial percentage of gold farming operations are in fact run from the country. Such operations may now find themselves under greater scrutiny by the Chinese authorities; the government has now established its first official rule on the use of virtual currency in China.

Essentially, it states that virtual currency cannot leave the sphere of influence of its issuer. (Exact wording: "The virtual currency, which is converted into real money at a certain exchange rate, will only be allowed to trade in virtual goods and services provided by its issuer, not real goods and services.") If the law is actually obeyed and enforced, it would curb all manner of black market activities in China connected with the virtual.

Tags: asia, black-market, breaking, china, economy, gold, gold-farmer, gold-farming, law, legal, ministry-of-commerce, ministry-of-culture, mmo-industry, rules, virtual-currency, virtual-goods

NCsoft aims to bridge the East-West divide with Aion

by James Egan Jun 18th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles

Stereotypes and ingrained perceptions can be frustrating to deal with, but let's face it -- some stereotypes do exist for a reason, and this can certainly apply to games as much as to anything else. There have been no small amount of Asian import MMOs that have been localized poorly for the western market, and this has certainly left a bad taste in gamers' mouths. Localization is a major challenge for any developer, and there's a rather wide chasm between what makes a game popular in an Asian market like Korea and what players embrace in the west. The westward-bound MMO that many people are focusing on right now is Aion, from NCsoft.

The westernization of Aion is the subject of another solid interview at The MMO Gamer by Steven Crews, who sat down with Aion producer Brian "Xaen" Knox, the person largely responsible for NC West's localization of this title. Knox talks about what he sees as being the best aspects of both East and West in terms of game development, and how some western influences on Aion's design have actually proven to be successful in Korea. It's a fairly in-depth interview and hits on a number of Knox's ideas about how a game can begin to bridge the game culture divide between East and West, seen in the context of Aion. Check it out over at The MMO Gamer.

Tags: aion, asia, brian-knox, east, fantasy, game-design, game-mechanics, interviews, korea, localization, nc-west, ncsoft, steven-crews, the-mmo-gamer, west, xaen

The Daily Grind: Is an MMO's origin important to you?

by Lesley Smith Jun 7th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Age of Conan, Aion, EVE Online, Perfect World, Culture, MMO industry, The Daily Grind, Final Fantasy XIV

MMOs fall into two main categories: eastern (titles like Aion and Perfect World International) and western (AoC, WoW and EVE Online). I've noticed over the past week's Daily Grind columns and a piece I did on Perfect World International that a lot of our readers seem naturally wary of any MMOs not made in the west, barring familiar franchises like Final Fantasy.

Now part of this I can understand, eastern MMOs usually have very anime-like visuals and often borrow from unfamiliar Asian mythologies. This can often scare off western players. At the same time, players in Asia seem to lap up western MMOs like WoW. I'm curious, readers, do you judge an MMO the location of the company which made it? Do you prefer western MMOs or are you just as curious to try eastern games which other players just don't get?

Tags: age-of-conan, aion, aion-the-tower-of-eternity, asia, asian, asian-mmo, asian-mmogs, eastern-mmos, eve-online, final-fantasy, perfect-world, perfect-world-international, the-daily-grind, western-mmos, world-of-warcraft

Tom and Jerry and Ben 10 coming to the MMO realm

by James Egan Jun 2nd 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, Casual, Kids

We've written a bit about the Cartoon Network MMO FusionFall of late, which enjoys a great deal of popularity with younger MMO gamers. Now it looks like two other cartoons will be coming to the MMO space: Tom and Jerry and Ben 10. Tom and Jerry is going massively multiplayer (for Asia in 2010) through TurnOut Ventures Limited, a joint venture between Turner Entertainment Holdings Asia Pacific Limited and Outblaze Investments Limited.

Hong Kong-based Typhoon Games (who are developing Hello Kitty Online) is developing the Tom and Jerry MMO. A look at the TurnOut Ventures product page also shows they're working on Ben 10 Omniverse. Both massively multiplayer titles are being built on the Unity game engine, for PC and Mac compatibility. There's no announcement at this time for North American or European releases of either title.

[Via Kotaku]

Tags: asia, ben-10, ben-10-omniverse, cartoon, cartoon-network, cartoons, casual, hello-kitty-online, kids, mmo-industry, new-titles, outblaze, tom-and-jerry, turner-entertainment, typhoon-games, unity

The9 sues Blizzard in WoW China operation fallout

by James Egan Jun 2nd 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Legal

Foreign game companies operating in China face a business, regulatory, and legal climate that can be confusing or even turbulent at times. These are the chances a game company takes when trying to succeed in the China market; there are risks, certainly, but there's also a great deal of profit potential. Blizzard Entertainment partnered with games operator The9 to bring World of Warcraft to millions of gamers in China in an arrangement that's worked for four years. Things must have soured in this last year of operation, however, as Blizzard has dropped The9 and partnered with NetEase to operate World of Warcraft in China as of this month.

Clearly, this does not sit well with The9. The latest report we've seen on the fallout from the Blizzard/The9 split shows it's getting ugly. The9 is taking action against Blizzard in the Chinese legal system, with lawsuits over software copyright infringement, assets damage, and commercial defamation. All three suits are being heard in Shanghai courts.

One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!

Tags: asia, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, china, lawsuits, legal, mmo-industry, netease, shanghai, the9, world-of-warcraft, wow, wow-china

Atlantica Online selected for Game and Game World Championship 2009

by James Egan May 6th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Events, real-world, MMO industry, PvP, News items

Atlantica Online, the free-to-play turn-based MMO from NDOORS Interactive has been selected as an official title of the 2009 Game & Game World Championship (GNGWC). For those unfamiliar with this event, what is GNGWC? It's an annual Korean game festival and tournament that's held in major cities around the world representing different regions -- Los Angeles, Leipzig, Singapore, São Paulo, Tokyo, and Yongin (South Korea). Regional tournament champions are ultimately invited to the Grand Finals held in Korea. GNGWC is run by the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency (KIPA) which aims to promote Korean games to players globally.

The announcement mentions Atlantica Online being played in GNGWC 2009: "Selected as a GNGWC title for the second year in a row, Atlantica Online features a revolutionary turn-based battle system that utilizes free PvP leagues and a new 100v100 tactical battle system for PvP combat. Atlantica has proven to be an ideal title for e-sports competitions with its unique PvP combat." Top-ranking competitors can earn prizes, including cash prizes in the Grand Finals. Beyond the NDOORS Interactive title being a prominent aspect of GNGWC, the release also mentions that Atlantica Online will be expanding to new territories in Asia: Taiwan and Vietnam.

Tags: asia, atlantica-online, e-sports, gngwc, korea, mmo-industry, ndoors, ndoors-interactive, pvp, tournament, tournaments, turn-based-strategy

The9 reportedly loses WoW license in China to NetEase

by Lesley Smith Apr 15th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Events, real-world, Expansions, News items

This has been on the horizon for some time but JLM Pacific Epoch are reporting that The9, the publisher of World of Warcraft in China have lost their license to publish the game to rival NetEase.

According to the report, an internal letter was sent out to employees of The9 from company president Xiaowei Chen on earlier today suggesting that the license had been lost and that Blizzard have requested the servers, data and employees relating to the game be transfered to another local publisher. There have been some concerns about the company's financial state given the fact that Chinese players are still playing The Burning Crusade six months after the EU/US launch of Wrath of the Lich King. There have also been reports of issues relating to Wrath's content, leading many to believe the game has been banned, even though this is not the case. The9's license was due to expire on June 8th.

The report also says that, according to an unnamed source, NetEase will formally announce the license later today.

Tags: asia, breaking, breakingnews, censorship, china, death-knight, expansions, world-of-warcraft

Martial arts and robots MMO Titan Online goes open beta this month

by James Egan Apr 15th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Betas, New titles, Free-to-play

Korean MMO developer EYA Interactive has announced that their game Titan Online will enter open beta for its international version on April 28th. Massively had a look at Titan Online at GDC 2009, a game that EYA Interactive explains as "an epic title based on traditional Asian culture... a fusion MMORPG that boasts a unique combination of martial arts and robots that takes place in a spectacular fantasy world."

Gamers interested in getting in on the open beta can sign up at the Titan Global Site. EYA Interactive has also stated they will allow players to keep their existing open beta characters once the game goes live, with no account wipes from open beta onwards.

[Via Worlds in Motion]

Gallery: GDC09: Titan Online

Tags: asia, beta, betas, china, chinese, eya-interactive, f2p, free-to-play, gdc-2009, korea, martial-arts, open-beta, robots, titan-online

Chinese online games market saw 63% growth in 2008

by James Egan Apr 13th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Economy, MMO industry

Business is booming for online game operators in China. The market grew by 63% in 2008 according to analyst group Pearl Research. They also predict that online gaming in China will be a $5.5 billion market by 2012, as reported by Gamasutra's David Jenkins.

In a country where broadband speeds are continually improving coupled with the widespread adoption of the web, China's netizens have embraced the relatively low-cost entertainment that online gaming offers. This is good news for gaming companies, particularly in these lean economic times. Jenkins writes, "Online operators in China have apparently seen little downturn in their business during the world economic crisis, with six companies now making revenues greater than $200 million (Tencent, Changyou, The9, Netease, Shanda and Giant)." You can see the full story on China's online games growth over at Gamasutra.

Tags: asia, changyou, china, david-jenkins, economy, gamasutra, giant, giant-interactive, mmo-industry, netease, pearl-research, shanda, tencent, the9

Statistics point to China's growing significance in MMO industry

by James Egan Mar 20th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Legal

We've been mentioning a bit about some of the regulatory issues in China affecting massively multiplayer online games, particularly as they concern some Western game companies. However, a number of gamers in the West have wondered something along the lines of, "What does this have to do with me?" Well, in terms of Western markets directly, not much. But China is significant for the MMO industry seen as a whole.

China will be the world's largest MMO market moving forward and as broadband speeds and penetration increase, the numbers of online gamers will keep rising. The current regulatory changes put forth by China's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) stands to have a major impact on how online games are operated in this market, ranging from implementation of a "fatigue system" (where play time is limited each day) to censorship of game content. The country has over 55.5 million online gamers, with a total market for virtual transactions between USD 1.4 billion and 1.9 billion (RMB 10-13 billion), according to 2008 statistics released by the China Internet Network Information Center (as reported in English by JLM Pacific Epoch).

Tags: asia, censorship, china, cinic, cnnic, culture, fatigue, fatigue-system, gapp, jlm-pacific-epoch, legal, mmo-industry, regulations, regulatory, virtual-goods, virtual-transactions

China to impose more restrictions on foreign online games

by James Egan Mar 16th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Business models, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Legal

We've mentioned some of the issues that China's licensed World of Warcraft operator The9 faces with bringing Wrath of the Lich King to market, and what this latest round of regulation could mean for the the operator. The government's newfound concern with controlling exactly what content exists in online games played in China may have an impact that goes far beyond World of Warcraft. Other foreign MMOs are presently operating in China, while others have their eyes on this growing market.

JLM Pacific Epoch cites (the Chinese-language news portal) Sohu, which reports that the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) will "tighten approval criteria for online game imports in an effort to protect the development of online game enterprises and avoid the excessive penetration of foreign culture among Chinese youth."

Tags: asia, business-models, censorship, china, culture, gapp, jlm-pacific-epoch, legal, mmo-industry, operator, operators, protectionism, regulations, sohu, the9, wow-china

China's The9 faces bankruptcy if Wrath expansion not approved by government

by James Egan Mar 13th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Business models, Expansions, MMO industry, News items

We reported the other day on the issues that The9 is having with getting the Wrath of the Lich King expansion released in China. The government is unwilling to approve the World of Warcraft expansion, citing 'health' and decency concerns about the game's content. The9 is the licensed operator of World of Warcraft in China, and the company paid a significant amount in licensing fees to Blizzard Entertainment in April of 2008 to secure the rights to operate Wrath, according to Shanghai-based JLM Pacific Epoch.

Although the Chinese regulatory body, the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), is chiefly concerned with removing "unhealthy" content from the game, their stance could prove disastrous for The9. If GAPP doesn't green light the Wrath of the Lich King expansion in China, The9 will not be able to recoup their losses and may face bankruptcy.

One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!

Tags: asia, business-models, censorship, china, expansions, fantasy, gapp, jlm-pacific-epoch, licensed-operator, mmo-industry, operator, regulation, regulatory-body, shanghai, the9, world-of-warcraft, wotlk, wow, wrath, wrath-of-the-lich-king