hanbitsoft posts

An insight into the art of Torchlight

by Seraphina Brennan Sep 10th 2009 at 10:00AM

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

While many eyes are glued to the revitalization of the Mythos IP, many other eyes are looking in the direction of Runic Games's Torchlight. For those not in the know, Torchlight is being made by the original Mythos team -- the ones who were on staff at the time of Flagship Studios's untimely closing -- while Mythos is now in the hands of HanbitSoft, the publisher who had a massive stake in Flagship.

While Torchlight won't be ready for the MMO scene anytime soon, the developers are still coming up with the single-player game that will be the base component for the MMO edition. With that in mind, we'd thought you'd like to check out this Gamasutra article that focuses on the art style and history of Torchlight and how exactly Mythos has impacted that style. It's a great read (although it's a little long at six pages of narrative) and a must see for all fans of the upcoming action RPG.

Tags: art, art-direction, flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, mythos, runic-games, torchlight

Mythos teaser and closed beta registration page emerges

by William Dobson Aug 15th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, New titles, News items, Mythos

Things are stirring behind the scenes in the world of Mythos, the little MMO that could. A newly launched site offers a very small teaser, but also, a closed beta registration form which is of far more interest. While Mythos was much-loved in its previous form, we don't doubt the followers of the Diablo-esque dungeon-crawler are keen to see if the magic is still there in HanbitSoft's re-envisioning.

If you're not up on the history of this title, now (at its new beginning) seems a good time for us to sum things up. It started out as a way for Flagship Studios to test their networking technology for the then-upcoming Hellgate: London, but soon grew into a popular game in its own right through a widespread closed beta test. It was all set to transition from experiment to fully-fledged title and move into open beta when the well-documented trouble at Flagship derailed the whole thing.

However, Flagship's Korean publisher HanbitSoft acquired the game's license and decided to make use of it. They reassured eager fans only a few months ago that Mythos would be re-born better than ever. Only time will tell if that's true, but with this new closed beta registration, it shouldn't be too long before a select group finds out for themselves. In the meantime, all of the old Mythos devs will be working away on Torchlight at Runic Games. Torchlight undoubtedly stands to be significant competition for Mythos in the future, but it won't be ready (in its MMO form at least) any time soon.

Tags: breaking, closed-beta, flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, mythos, registration, runic-games, teaser, torchlight

We're assured that Mythos is coming back

by Kyle Horner May 7th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: New titles, News items, Mythos

Mythos seems to hold a cult fan status among those who were lucky enough to play the game before last year's Flagship kerfuffle unceremoniously halted the games' production -- and with good reason. The game was a lot of fun, as all those cult fans know. Which is why we're torn about this news.

It appears as though Hanbitsoft -- the Korean developer who picked up the rights to Mythos last year -- has come out and said they fully intend to bring the game back into the world. They've also said they realize the game is basically inspired fully by Diablo, and plan to, "-put in more content for more exciting multiplayer." That's great and all, but we worry that the beta that we played last year and this retooled Korean flavored version aren't going to elicit the same kind of excitement.

This is also compounded by the fact that, well, the original Mythos team has already formed Runic Games and will be presenting their spiritual successor to Mythos, entitled Torchlight, at E3 in just about a month. Now, while Torchlight is only a single player RPG for the time being, Runic has clearly stated their plans to build it into an MMO down the road. So for now, with one game the closer, we'll just decide to be excited for E3 come early June.

Tags: blizzard, diablo, e3, e3-2009, flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, korean, mythos, runic-games, torchlight

Aika to be first free-to-play fantasy RvR MMORPG

by Brooke Pilley May 5th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, Free-to-play

Move over Dark Age of Camelot. Step aside Warhammer Online. There's a new realm vs. realm MMORPG on the block, and it's free-to-play! Gala-Net, Inc., a leading free-to-play online game publisher, recently announced their partnership with HanbitSoft to publish Aika Online in the North American market.

Having watched some videos and read some reviews, the game appears to share several similarities with both of Mythic's aforementioned RvR innovators. Aika will feature quests, item crafting, gender-locked classes, and yes, large scale RvR including keep sieges. The publishers claim they can handle battles up to 1000 vs. 1000. That will be quite a feat considering the detailed graphics and animations.

That's about where the similarities seem to end though. Aika is an MMO of South Korean descent and definitely has the look and sound effects. The MMO will also be free to play (just how free, we don't know yet), boast sophisticated voice-overs, and come packaged in a tiny 300MB download. And then there's the interesting (some might say creepy) "Pran system." Prans are kind of like pets from traditional MMOs, except that they are young girls. According to one review, you can interact with your Pran, dress it up, give it dolls, help it grow, and boost its intimacy/relationship rank.

Tags: aika-online, dark-age-of-camelot, free-to-play, gala-net, hanbitsoft, pran, rvr, south-korea, voice-overs, warhammer-online

Hellgate: London wants to come back, it really does

by Shawn Schuster Apr 3rd 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, MMO industry, Hellgate: London

Still confused on the true status of Hellgate: London? Well, let us help confuse you a bit more. According to Korean publisher HanbitSoft, they're interested in resurrecting the game in the U.S. and Europe, but their hands are tied by Namco Bandai. Of course HanbitSoft acquired the title from Flagship, who was the original developer of the game. On top of this, the game is alive and well in Korea under HanbitSoft's domain.

Maybe Kee Young Kim, CEO of HanbitSoft, can explain it better: "HanbitSoft does own the intellectual property of Hellgate: London and is interested in providing the game in the US and Europe, but is unable to do so at this time because Namco Bandai has the publishing rights for those regions." Any way you look at it, it seems Hellgate: London is trying hard to come back to its loyal fans.

Tags: flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, hellgate-london, namco-bandai

Hellgate: London is dead, for real this time

by Seraphina Brennan Mar 5th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, Hellgate: London, Free-to-play, Legal

It's up! It's down! It's up! It's down! It's... sideways?

That's the story for the ever growing saga of Hellgate: London in a nutshell. This time, however, it's not coming back and there should be no more rumors that it is coming back. HanbitSoft, the Asian publisher of the game, has finally clarified to GameCyte that they do not have the publishing rights to Hellgate: London in the United States or Europe, just in Asia, excluding Japan.

Currently those rights are held by Namco-Bandai, who have made the decision to shut down the Hellgate servers as of February 1st.

So it's not coming back. Even though it will still have press releases in English and have updates being made by a US developer, it's not coming back. However, if you really want to play, we suggest moving to Asia, as it will still be going strong over there.

Tags: flagship, flagship-studios, free-to-play, gamecyte, hanbitsoft, hellgate, hellgate-london, namco-bandai, revival, servers, shutdown

Hellgate's US/EU servers and website slam shut

by William Dobson Feb 2nd 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Business models, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Hellgate: London

The show is now over for the Hellgate: London that we once knew. The game's servers and the official website have poofed, and stranded fans will now turn their attention towards HanbitSoft's grand plans to revive the troubled title in a free-to-play format, complete with new content and gameplay changes. HanbitSoft's press release did not specify a date for the re-launch, nor did it say which territories it will be servicing, so we're looking at a bit of downtime for the moment.

Scott from the Pumping Irony blog has written about his time spent online during Hellgate's final hours. Plenty of players turned up to see the "end of the world", and many donated their soon-to-be-worthless in-game currency to the War Drive NPC, granting buffs to the masses. Scott's transcript of the last few moments of chat are an indication of the kind of solidarity and sadness that the most faithful fans displayed as their world was crumbling around them. It's all on HanbitSoft now to save these folks from their Hellgate-less existence.

Tags: flagship, flagship-studios, free-to-play, hanbitsoft, hellgate, hellgate-london, servers, shutdown

Hellgate: London staying alive through free-to-play

by Shawn Schuster Jan 26th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Hellgate: London, Free-to-play

Always named in the popular lists of "Failures for 2007/2008", Hellgate: London may not be dying off as easily as we thought. As reported by Gamasutra, HanbitSoft has announced that they will be keeping the game alive as a free-to-play model after the initial closure date of January 31st, 2009. They can do this (despite Namco-Bandai's decision to close the game) because they own the IP, engines and source codes for the Flagship Studios title.

In November of last year, we touched on this a bit, as HanbitSoft mentioned their continued efforts with the game, which might even include an expansion. At that time, the rumor was that it would be available only in Asia, yet this newest announcement is for global availability. This brings up an interesting thought though: If Hellgate: London can do it, can the others?

Tags: f2p, flagship-studios, free-to-play, gamasutra, hanbitsoft, hellgate-london, namco-bandai

The Daily Grind: Would you like to see more lifetime subscriptions?

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 7th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Business models, Economy, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Yesterday's grind concerned the very real problem of having to let one of your subscriptions lapse due to the state of the economy. When the times are tough and money is tight, sometimes you need to find what will ultimately pay off in the end for you. So, today's question is ultimately derived from yesterday's question -- would you like more games to offer lifetime subscriptions, like Lord of the Rings Online?

For those unfamiliar with the system, Lord of the Rings Online offers subscribers the ability to pay a fee, about 299 dollars, and then that's it. No more paying a monthly fee for the rest of the lifetime of the game. While it's an extremely high upfront cost, the benefit is that you will never pay again to keep your account active. Instead of worrying about lapsing subscriptions, you can play when you want, whenever you want.

The downside to this, besides the upfront cost, is the problem that may occur if your game doesn't do so well. Hellgate: London lifetime subscribers are currently feeling this problem, as their game is leaving them high and dry. The lifetime subscription is only good if your game survives long enough to make it worth your while -- the one downside to this type of payment plan.

But, we leave the final judgment to you, readers. Would you like more of your games to offer this type of subscription plan? Comment away!

Tags: hanbitsoft, hellgate-london, lifetime-subscription, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, subscription, the-daily-grind, turbine

Anti-Aliased: You've been Auto-Assaulted

by Seraphina Brennan Dec 1st 2008 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Tabula Rasa, Anti-Aliased

"Absolutely. [The restructuring] has no impact on Tabula Rasa. ... I don't know where the rumors are coming from, but with [marketing blitz] Operation Immortality in full swing, the team's very dedicated to that game, and they are still working on it," said David Swofford, Director of Public Relations of NCsoft to Edge Online on September 11th.

"Tabula Rasa is a triple-A MMO. It is a game that is very much in the wheelhouse of what NC West and NCsoft globally are all about," said David Reid, President of Publishing of NC West on September 24th. "...we see improvement happening in Tabula Rasa. We're encouraged by it."

So, NCsoft, how does it feel to absolutely lie through your teeth to players and staff about Tabula Rasa?

Tags: anti-aliased, auto-assault, eab, earth-and-beyond, featured, hanbitsoft, hellgate-london, joystiqfeatures, mco, motor-city-online, namco-bandai, ncsoft, ncwest, tabula-rasa, the-sims-online

Aion ascends in Korea as competitors fall

by James Egan Nov 18th 2008 at 2:30PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Aion, Business models, MMO industry, News items

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.

Tags: aion, aion-the-tower-of-eternity, asia, beta, betas, business-models, city-of-heroes, finance, guild-wars, hanbitsoft, kim-tong-hyung, korea, lineage, lineage-ii, mmo-industry, ncsoft, nexon, playnoevil, tabula-rasa, the-korea-times, webzen, zera

Hanbitsoft admits their Hellgate rights don't extend to US/EU

by Michael Zenke Nov 5th 2008 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, MMO industry, Hellgate: London

Hellgate London's state of flux over the past week has been somewhat infuriating for us to follow. No doubt it must be even moreso for players who just want to know if they'll get their game back after Namco Bandai's servers close in the spring. First it seemed that Hanbitsoft would be rezzing the game worldwide, then it was less clear based on Redbana's development. Now it seems even Hanbitsoft has acknowledged that they don't have rights to the game in the US and EU.

WarCry is reporting based on a press release from Namco specifically stating that they own the IP for publishing here in the states and over in Europe. Gamecyte follows that announcement up with a more detailed look, noting that Hanbitsoft would like to run the game and do some profitsharing with Namco for these two lucrative markets. Namco's position on the matter, though, seems to be that the service is closing and everyone is moving on. So - for the time being - it looks like we'll be bidding farewell to Hellgate London.

Tags: hanbitsoft, hellgate-london, ip, namco-bandai, publishing

HanbitSoft plans Hellgate: London relaunch and new expansion

by James Egan Nov 3rd 2008 at 1:45PM

Filed under: Horror, Expansions, MMO industry, Hellgate: London, Rumors

The Hellgate: London IP saga continues. While we had some dire news that the servers will go dark at the end of January, we also know that development for the title is still being done in Redbana's California office... just not for which region. The latest word we've received on this seems to indicate the continuity of Hellgate: London, but to date this is only confirmed for service in Asia -- so we cannot (yet) offer a definitive, "Yes, HG:L will continue for North America and EU." That being said, Gamasutra has picked up on company blog posts by HanbitSoft's Global PR Manager, Janelle. One is a definitive announcement that HanbitSoft owns both the Hellgate: London and Mythos IP, while the other is more telling.

Janelle republished an email sent from Hellgate: London's Product Manager about the future of the title.The message in its entirety, as shown on the Game Espresso site for HanbitSoft, is reprinted below the cut.

Tags: asia, breaking, eu, european-union, fantasy, gamasutra, hanbitsoft, hellgate-london, hgl, horror, janelle, mythos, north-america, redbana, redbana-usa, rumor, rumors

Hellgate London status: Purgatory

by James Egan Oct 30th 2008 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, Hellgate: London, Rumors

There have been so many twists and turns with the future of Hellgate: London (and Mythos) that it's hard to know what will happen next. We've heard on a few occasions that Hellgate: London was about to face its demise, only to be saved. Adding to the confusion was the dispute over who even owned Hellgate: London, Flagship Studios or HanbitSoft. After Flagship folded, HanbitSoft's claims seemed to be genuine, and the IP was left in the hands of T3 Entertainment. Subscriptions, however, were then suspended. Shortly afterwards Namco-Bandai swept in, prominently featured HG: L on its site... and subsequently removed it. Despite this, the game has been kept running ever since, although Namco-Bandai's stated that the servers will shut down at the end of January, 2009.

Gaming site HellForge has picked up on what we're not ready to call anything more than 'rumor' at this point, but something that perhaps bodes well for the future of the game. Another company name has been thrown into the mix: Redbana (based in Taiwan, connected with the aforementioned T3 Entertainment). HellForge writes: "Further research leads to findings of a new San Francisco office for the company, which is where Hellgate offices were located previously." This seems to be in line with what we reported about the future of both titles in August. While we hope this information could be a positive sign for Hellgate: London and perhaps Mythos as well, at this point it's still largely conjecture.

[Via Blue's News]

Tags: bill-roper, flagship-studios, hanbitsoft, hellforge, hellgate-london, hgl, horror, mmo-industry, mythos, namco-bandai, redbana, rumor, rumors, t3-entertainment, taiwan

Mythos lives!

by James Egan Aug 3rd 2008 at 12:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, MMO industry, News items, Mythos, Rumors

These have been some turbulent times for both Mythos and Hellgate: London. Following the closing of Flagship Studios, recent news revealed Namco-Bandai Games as Hellgate: London's saviors, while the fate of Mythos remained uncertain, but grim. However just over a week later, the Hellgate: London page at Namco-Bandai has already disappeared.

In another turn of events, Gamasutra reports that Korea's T3 Entertainment, perhaps best-known for their online music game Audition, is seeking programmers for its new development studio in San Francisco: "T3 Entertainment is searching for creative minds to passionately continue development of Hellgate: London and Mythos, along with other new games, which are being published by HanbitSoft Inc." This may put to rest the dispute over IP which HanbitSoft was engaged in with Flagship Studios, as T3 Entertainment is HanbitSoft's largest stockholder. With any luck, the opening of a North American studio signifies a healthier future for both Mythos and Hellgate: London. We'll keep you posted, once more details become available.

Tags: audition, beta, fantasy, flagship-studios, gamasutra, hanbitsoft, hellgate-london, horror, ip, ip-dispute, korea, mythos, namco-bandai, rumor, rumors, t3, t3-entertainment