Comic Book Guy Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 South Korea-based Guild Wars house NCsoft reported a 451 percent profit rise for fiscal Q2, thanks in part to the release of the MMORPG Aion in Asia -- and the company has big expectations for the game once it launches in the West. Profits for the quarter ended in June were 33.75 billion won ($27.12 million), way up from Q2 2008's 6.12 billion won ($4.92 million). Sales for the quarter were up 70 percent from the same quarter a year prior to 137.78 billion won ($110.96 million). Sales and profits were up as royalties from Asian online game operator Shanda grew on the release of the MMORPG Aion and continued operation of Lineage 1 and Lineage 2. Aion is NCsoft's next big game, and is currently up and running on around 225 servers across South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Japan. The game generated 40.6 billion won ($32.7 million) in revenues for the quarter, excluding royalties -- a strong start for the game. But Aion has yet to launch in the US and Europe, where, like many regions, Activision Blizzard's World of Warcraft dominates the MMORPG landscape. Other major MMORPGs, such as Funcom's Age of Conan and Electronic Arts' Warhammer Online launched to very strong initial commercial reception, but did not make a dent in WoW's userbase. Aion is due to launch in the US on September 22 this year, and in Europe three days later. NCsoft won't say that it believes that Aion will overtake WoW, but in an earnings call, CFO Jaeho Lee said the game could accomplish the next best thing in the West. "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." He said it would be "very hard" to match the success of World of Warcraft, "but Aion will be a very successful product. We are very confident in it." Lee's excitement for the launch of Aion was dampened when an analyst asked how many boxes of Aion were shipping to retail as compared to NCsoft's MMORPG Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, a game that cost tens of millions and many years to make, only to shut down after a little over one year. "Ok, um, it's very unfortunate to hear the name of Tabula Rasa at this conference call," Lee said above the nervous chuckle of the analyst. "And we all want to forget and erase that memory from our performance." Lee also hopes, for the sake of Aion's success, that retailers in the West will forget about NCsoft's connection with Tabula Rasa. "We did a very poor job with Tabula Rasa, and we disappointed our retailers in US markets and also European markets. Because of that, our retailers may be very reluctant to take orders for Aion." He said, though, that as time goes by and anticipation for the game becomes apparent to retailers, they will be able to get more copies on shelves. "We are taking more orders now," he said. Richard Garriott, the lead man behind Tabula Rasa's creation, in May sued NCsoft for $27 million, alleging he was "forced out" of the company, which led to the loss of millions in stock options. In 2008, Garriott traveled to the International Space Station with Russia's space program. Pre-orders for Aion's collectors edition recently held the top spot on the dollar sales charts on Valve's Steam digital distribution service. On the strong Q2 numbers, NCsoft raised its 2009 revenue guidance 17 percent to 586 billion won ($471 million). The publisher also raised annual profit guidance by 80 percent to 180 billion won ($144.76 million). Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obiwong Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 i think this is a very good time for Aion. i think a lot of people (well mainly raiders) are getting fed up of Blizzards constant nerfs to content and their "make content/gear more accessible to everyone" attidude. a lot of players are probably going to start looking for a new game and it just so happens that there's a lot of hype around Aion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted August 13, 2009 Veteran Share Posted August 13, 2009 i think this is a very good time for Aion. i think a lot of people (well mainly raiders) are getting fed up of Blizzards constant nerfs to content and their "make content/gear more accessible to everyone" attidude. a lot of players are probably going to start looking for a new game and it just so happens that there's a lot of hype around Aion. Really? I'm looking for a new game because Blizzard can't balance their game properly and because they keep reserving decent gear for only people that can get a 10-25 person raid together every night of the week. The exact opposite. :) I hate arenas and I don't have time to raid dungeons every night for hours on end. They need more to satisfy casual players, not less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obiwong Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Really? I'm looking for a new game because Blizzard can't balance their game properly and because they keep reserving decent gear for only people that can get a 10-25 person raid together every night of the week. The exact opposite. :) I hate arenas and I don't have time to raid dungeons every night for hours on end. They need more to satisfy casual players, not less. this is the same argument i heard where there were only 40mans people wanted smaller raids. they got them. then the raids were too hard. they got nerf'd. then heroics where to hard. they got nerf'd. getting badges were too hard, blizzard started to hand them out like candy. pre-BC only the top guilds on the server had epics. in BC, EVERYONE had epics and everyone continues to have epics. the main reason i quit WoW is because it's way to easy to get anything done. having all purples lost it's meaning because everyone has them. i've played WoW as a raider, a PvPer and a casual, it is very easy to get the gear very fast (compared to the 40man days). i don't see how blizzard can make the game any easier. they're practically handing out epics. blizzard has bent over backwards to satisfy the casual market as the expense of their raiders. my gf who was a hardcore raider in BC has also quit the game because she's fed up for the same reasons i am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Blizzard ruined World of Warcraft by making it too casual-tard friendly, bring on the next big MMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comic Book Guy Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 I stopped playing WoW because I cannot get past one quest, and this is on the original WoW not any of the expansions, I need to place a listening device on a barrel on a tower, and the damn mobs are to damn hard and can't find anyone to help me with the quest so it's been about 2 years since I last logged into my account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minifig Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Hahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaha HahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahHahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahaha HahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahaahahahaha... Won't ever ever.. ever happen. And.. CBG.. you need to calm down posting all these dang stories. You're rivaling HUM now. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead.cell Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Yeah, WoW may have its issues, but NCSoft is going to have to get their asses in gear if they want to ensure success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obiwong Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Aion won't take down WoW. i've always said that the only game that will beat WoW is WoW2. Even the title says that Aion is expected to be second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minifig Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 It won't even be second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gotenks98 Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 I can see myself getting Aion it seems fast pace compared to the other fantasy MMOs I have seen. In general I usually hate the whole fantasy type MMOs because combat and travel is so slow. As for as it being a WoW killer, thats possible, WoW is just so overrated. Its why I feel that there are times when yes 13 million people can be wrong. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deletedxyz Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 And.. CBG.. you need to calm down posting all these dang stories. You're rivaling HUM now. :/ Copy Pasta is best served with spam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Spork) Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 I stopped playing WoW because I cannot get past one quest, and this is on the original WoW not any of the expansions, I need to place a listening device on a barrel on a tower, and the damn mobs are to damn hard and can't find anyone to help me with the quest so it's been about 2 years since I last logged into my account. ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL aion is good but i dont see it being a threat to wow ... sadly but hey you never know with the way blizz is making wow super easy more and more people will start to jump . i did about 6 months ago i think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookie Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Aion is a PvP centric game. If people expect to get to 80 only to raid 'the next big instance' they won't find it in Aion. I'll give it a month before people find it isn't their cup of tea and it sinks to the bargain basement like AoC & WAR. I'm not saying Aion is a bad game it's just part of a small niche of MMOs only the loud vocal types play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minifig Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 NCSoft aims really high with all their MMOs but always fails to realize exactly what people want. People are leaving CoX in droves because they're FINALLY granting people the ability to change the color of their powers. After they promised it that it'd be in issue three or four. It's coming in issue 16.. Not to mention, you can only change your powers colors ONCE, which Champions Online allows you to change them at any time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trag3dy Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Why do the doubters really care? It will sink or swim (or fly or crash?) and we'll know how well it's going to do in 2-3 months for sure. It's not like if Aion does good you have to stop playing WoW or whatever other MMO you're playing. I kind of get the feeling from some people that they think that. Also, the people who are really interested in Aion and know what we're getting into with that game (pvp game with less focus on pve, but it's still there, just not the same as WoW) don't want Aion to become as massively popular as WoW. WoW's popularity ruined the game. That's just my opinion but a lot of people feel that way too. So as long as it does well enough to not get canned and has a decent player base with a few thousand new players joining every month then I think that it will do just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookie Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Why do the doubters really care? It will sink or swim (or fly or crash?) and we'll know how well it's going to do in 2-3 months for sure. It's not like if Aion does good you have to stop playing WoW or whatever other MMO you're playing. I kind of get the feeling from some people that they think that.Also, the people who are really interested in Aion and know what we're getting into with that game (pvp game with less focus on pve, but it's still there, just not the same as WoW) don't want Aion to become as massively popular as WoW. WoW's popularity ruined the game. That's just my opinion but a lot of people feel that way too. So as long as it does well enough to not get canned and has a decent player base with a few thousand new players joining every month then I think that it will do just fine. Who said we did, coincidently, why do Aion fans get so defensive when someone doesn't highlight then game in a promising light? I think you're mistaken. People don't think like that. That's fine for you, but that's not what PlayNC want. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trag3dy Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Who said we did, coincidently, why do Aion fans get so defensive when someone doesn't highlight then game in a promising light? I think you're mistaken. People don't think like that.That's fine for you, but that's not what PlayNC want. :) Fortunately it doesn't really matter what NCsoft wants. The customers dictate that. More customers playing means more people complaining about the game being to hard means more pressure for NCsoft to make the game easier. And that's exactly what happened with WoW. Also NCsoft west has nothing to do with the gameplay elements themselves. That's all coming from the Korean side. I'm not trying to be so defensive, I'm the sort that would rather say "wait and see" than others who are stating it like it's a fact that it will become second most popular or fail completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x9248 Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Eh I'll wait for FFXIV I've played FFXI, WoW, and WAR and FFXI was the only one I liked... it wasn't casual-gamer friendly at all tho. Aion just looks like another typical Korean MMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slane Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Trag3dy is nearly right. If any game is going to beat out WoW (any time soon) it will have to be just as, if not more, casual-friendly than WoW is. That's why WoW has huge database. It isn't hard to level at all in the game (compared to when it was first released), it takes very little time to get epic'd out (basically instant compared to Vanilla) and there's a fair amount going in the game that is easy to accomplish but still a mix of challengeing (varies in difficulty) to suit nearly every skill level of player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookie Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 If any game is going to beat out WoW (any time soon) it will have to be just as, if not more, casual-friendly than WoW is. I don't know about that. Casual is a word tossed around so much these days it's lost all meaning. If you mean easy to get in to, easy to understand, but still having some really ****ing difficult raids. Then yeah. Fortunately it doesn't really matter what NCsoft wants. The customers dictate that. More customers playing means more people complaining about the game being to hard means more pressure for NCsoft to make the game easier. And that's exactly what happened with WoW. Also NCsoft west has nothing to do with the gameplay elements themselves. That's all coming from the Korean side. I'm not trying to be so defensive, I'm the sort that would rather say "wait and see" than others who are stating it like it's a fact that it will become second most popular or fail completely. WoW is still difficult. If they can't strike a fine balance then that's **** poor design. To be fair to 'the others' they are right. Aion will never take Blizzards crown. As I said before the end game is PvP (dress it up all you like, you go about and kill other people for loot - that's PvP) and it's Korean. There is enough casual racism and stereotypes about Korean MMOs to make sure that it won't be a massive success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahhell Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 NCSoft does have good concepts/ideas for games but they always seem to **** it up somehow. Look what happened with Tabula Rasa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trag3dy Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I don't know about that. Casual is a word tossed around so much these days it's lost all meaning. If you mean easy to get in to, easy to understand, but still having some really ****ing difficult raids. Then yeah.WoW is still difficult. If they can't strike a fine balance then that's **** poor design. To be fair to 'the others' they are right. Aion will never take Blizzards crown. As I said before the end game is PvP (dress it up all you like, you go about and kill other people for loot - that's PvP) and it's Korean. There is enough casual racism and stereotypes about Korean MMOs to make sure that it won't be a massive success. Well if people don't play it because it's Korean and they buy into Korean mmo stereo types then that sucks for them. I'm not saying it's for everybody. No single game will ever be everything to all who want to play it. But NCsoft is going through a lot of trouble making sure it fits into US and EU markets. They're not just changing the language to english and calling it a day like they did with Lineage 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qumahlin Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Blizzard ruined World of Warcraft by making it too casual-tard friendly, bring on the next big MMO. Yes, they "ruined" it for the power players who want to show off their "phat lootz", but them making it "too casual-tard friendly" is also why its the best selling MMO of all time and why no one else can make a dent in their userbase. This is marketing 101 folks, you cater to the MAJORITY and the majority of players are not people who have hours to set aside for raiding. Why do you think small casual games do so well? They are easy for people to pick up, play, and stop playing just as fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trag3dy Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Yes, they "ruined" it for the power players who want to show off their "phat lootz", but them making it "too casual-tard friendly" is also why its the best selling MMO of all time and why no one else can make a dent in their userbase.This is marketing 101 folks, you cater to the MAJORITY and the majority of players are not people who have hours to set aside for raiding. Why do you think small casual games do so well? They are easy for people to pick up, play, and stop playing just as fast. Best Selling mmo yes, most popular mmo ever, no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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