NCSoft: Difference between revisions
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In 2011, NCSoft purchased Hotdog Studio, a mobile game studio based in Seoul that produces phone and smartphone titles such as ''Dark Shrine''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36127/NCSoft_Purchases_SeoulBased_Mobile_Dev_Hotdog_Studio.php|title=NCSoft Purchases Seoul-Based Mobile Dev Hotdog Studio|last=Caoili|first=Eric|publisher=Gamasutra|date=July 27, 2011|accessdate=July 27, 2011}}</ref> |
In 2011, NCSoft purchased Hotdog Studio, a mobile game studio based in Seoul that produces phone and smartphone titles such as ''Dark Shrine''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36127/NCSoft_Purchases_SeoulBased_Mobile_Dev_Hotdog_Studio.php|title=NCSoft Purchases Seoul-Based Mobile Dev Hotdog Studio|last=Caoili|first=Eric|publisher=Gamasutra|date=July 27, 2011|accessdate=July 27, 2011}}</ref> |
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In June |
In June 2012, NCSoft launched ''Blade & Soul'', their first MMORPG since ''Aion'' launched in 2006. |
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In 2012 [[Nexon Co. Ltd.|Nexon]] acquired a 14.7 percent interest in NCSoft for $688 million.<ref name="vb">{{cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2012/06/08/korean-game-togetherness-nexon-acquires-14-7-percent-of-ncsoft-for-688m/|newspaper=VentureBeat|title=Korean game togetherness: Nexon acquires 14.7 percent of NCsoft for $688M|first=Dean|last=Takahashi}}</ref> Nexon sold all of its shares of NCSoft in October 2015. |
In 2012 [[Nexon Co. Ltd.|Nexon]] acquired a 14.7 percent interest in NCSoft for $688 million.<ref name="vb">{{cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2012/06/08/korean-game-togetherness-nexon-acquires-14-7-percent-of-ncsoft-for-688m/|newspaper=VentureBeat|title=Korean game togetherness: Nexon acquires 14.7 percent of NCsoft for $688M|first=Dean|last=Takahashi}}</ref> Nexon sold all of its shares of NCSoft in October 2015.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} |
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On November 19, 2015, NCSoft West announced the formation of Iron Tiger studios, a developer based out of San Mateo, California focused on adapting Korean-made mobile titles for the West, as well as developing their own mobile games.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://us.ncsoft.com/uk/about-us/#ncsoft_west_unveils_iron_tiger_studios|title=About Us|website=us.ncsoft.com|access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref> |
On November 19, 2015, NCSoft West announced the formation of Iron Tiger studios, a developer based out of San Mateo, California focused on adapting Korean-made mobile titles for the West, as well as developing their own mobile games.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://us.ncsoft.com/uk/about-us/#ncsoft_west_unveils_iron_tiger_studios|title=About Us|website=us.ncsoft.com|access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref> |
Revision as of 03:42, 15 July 2019
File:Nclogo leftright.svg | |
Company type | Public |
---|---|
KRX: 036570 | |
Industry | Computer and video games Interactive entertainment |
Founded | 11 March 1997 |
Headquarters | Pangyo, Seongnam, South Korea[1] |
Key people | Taek Jin Kim, CEO |
Products | |
Revenue | |
Total assets | |
Total equity | |
Number of employees | 3100 (including 16 global subsidiaries, as of Dec 31, 2015) |
Website | http://www.ncsoft.com/ |
NCSoft is a South Korean video game developer. The company has produced Lineage, City of Heroes, WildStar, Guild Wars, Aion, Blade & Soul, Exteel and Master X Master.
History
NCSoft was founded in March 1997 by T.J. Kim. In September 1998, NCSoft launched its first game Lineage. In April 2001 the company created a US subsidiary under the name NC Interactive (based in Austin, Texas, and would later become NCSoft West) after acquiring Destination Games, headed by Richard Garriott and Robert Garriott.[3] In 2004, NCSoft launched two MMORPGs, Lineage II and City of Heroes.[4]
The company formed NCSoft Europe in July 2004 as a wholly owned subsidiary with its main office in Brighton, England. They brought City of Heroes to several European countries on February 4, 2005, and have since established European service for WildStar and Blade & Soul as well. [citation needed]
On April 26, 2005, NCSoft published Arenanet's first MMO Guild Wars Prophecies as well as Arenanets follow up campaigns Factions and Nightfall and the expansion Eye of the North. NCSoft also published Guild Wars 2 but stopped being the publisher for Guild Wars 2 in 2015 with the release of Heart of Thorns.
On September 10, 2008, NCSoft announced the formation of NCSoft West, a subsidiary which manages NCSoft's other western organizations, and established its headquarters for that subsidiary in Seattle, Washington.[5]
On July 8, 2011, NCSoft started talks with SK Telecom to acquire Ntreev Soft Co., Ltd.[6] The talks were expected to last less than a month, but it took seven for NCSoft to complete the acquisition; purchasing 76% of Ntreev's stock for ₩108 billion (US$96.7 million) on February 15, 2012.[7]
In 2011, NCSoft purchased Hotdog Studio, a mobile game studio based in Seoul that produces phone and smartphone titles such as Dark Shrine.[8]
In June 2012, NCSoft launched Blade & Soul, their first MMORPG since Aion launched in 2006.
In 2012 Nexon acquired a 14.7 percent interest in NCSoft for $688 million.[9] Nexon sold all of its shares of NCSoft in October 2015.[citation needed]
On November 19, 2015, NCSoft West announced the formation of Iron Tiger studios, a developer based out of San Mateo, California focused on adapting Korean-made mobile titles for the West, as well as developing their own mobile games.[10]
Subsidiaries
Current
- ArenaNet
- Iron Tiger Studios
- Ntreev Soft
Former
Customer satisfaction
NCSoft and RightNow Technologies were both recognized in 2006 with the "Beagle Research 'Whiz Kids' Award for Innovative Embedded Customer Service Solution."[11] for NCSoft's integration of RightNow's customer support software.
Controversies
Stolen source code
On April 27, 2007, Seoul Metropolitan Police said that seven former employees of NCSoft are suspected of selling the Lineage III source code to a major Japanese game company.[12] According to NCSoft, the potential damages may exceed US$1 billion.[13]
Worlds.com patent lawsuit
Worlds.com CEO Thom Kidrin claimed the idea of a "scalable virtual world with thousands of users" is patented by his organization[14] and targeted NCSoft for patent infringement in 2008,[15] in what he says will be the first of many lawsuits against MMO developers.[14] On April 23, 2010, the Worlds.com case settled, but the terms of the settlement were kept confidential.[citation needed] On July 22, 2010, Worlds.com requested the case be reopened.[citation needed]
Richard Garriott termination
Richard Garriott, lead developer of the failed MMORPG game Tabula Rasa, sued NCSoft for US$24 million in damages concerning his termination from the company. Garriott asserted in his suit that he was forced out of the company and was made to sell his 400,000 shares in NCSoft's stock, costing him millions of dollars. In addition, he claimed that the company was guilty of fraud by forging his resignation announcement.[16] On July 30, 2010, a jury in a Texas federal court awarded him US$28 million in damages. NCSoft described Garriott as someone "who keeps finding different ways to turn the company into his personal ATM," and that "Garriott left the company voluntarily to catch his ride to the International Space Station." Citing his questionable work ethic and the failure of his video game project despite a $84.4 million investment, NCSoft pulled the plug on the game after which Garriott announced he would be leaving the company. This came after he boarded a much-publicized news on his boarding of a Russian aircraft, which cost $30 million.[17] Garriott again prevailed on appeal and NCSoft was required to pay an additional US$4 million, bringing the total damages awarded to Garriott to US$32 million.[18]
Closure of Paragon Studios and City of Heroes
On August 31, 2012, NCSoft liquidated Paragon Studios and announced the closure of City of Heroes. Over 21,000 players signed an online petition contesting the shut-down[19] and many used social media to promote their criticisms.
Games
Under development
Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Project TL | NCSoft (Team TL) | MMORPG | TBA |
AION 2 | NCSoft | RPG | TBA |
Blade & Soul M | NCSoft (Team Bloodlust) | Action MMORPG | TBA |
Blade & Soul S | NCSoft | Strategy RPG | TBA |
Blade & Soul Console | NC Interactive (NCWEST) | Action MMORPG | TBA |
Lineage II M | NCSoft (Team L2Live) | RPG | TBA |
Blade & Soul 2 | NCSoft (Team Bloodlust) | Action MMORPG | TBA |
Available
PC Online
Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Aion | NCSoft (Team Aion) | MMORPG | Active since September 22, 2009. |
Blade & Soul | NCSoft (Team Bloodlust) | MMORPG | Active since June 30, 2012. |
Guild Wars | ArenaNet | MMORPG | Active since April 26, 2005. |
Guild Wars 2 | ArenaNet | MMORPG | Active since August 28, 2012. |
Lineage | NCSoft (Team L2Live) | MMORPG | Active since September 3, 1998. |
Lineage II | NCSoft | MMORPG | Active since October 1, 2003. |
Love Beat | CrazyDiamond | Dance/Rhythm | Released on Steam January 13, 2016 |
Jan Ryu Mon | NCSoft Japan | Mahjong | Active. |
Mobile
Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Aion: Legions of War | NCSoft | RPG | Active since July 28, 2017 |
Final Blade | NCSoft | RPG | Active since February 2017 |
Lineage Red Knight | NCSoft | RPG | Active since December 8, 2016 |
Lineage M | NCSoft | MMORPG | Active since June 21, 2017 |
Pangya Mobile | NCSoft (Project G Team) | Casual | Active since December 14, 2017 |
Pro Baseball H2! | Ntreev Soft | Sport | Active since March 2017 |
Trickster: Wanna Be a Summoner | Ntreev Soft | MMORPG | Active since April 2015 |
Closed
Title | Developer | Genre | Date Closed |
---|---|---|---|
Auto Assault | NetDevil | MMORPG | 2007-08-31. |
Dungeon Runners | NCSoft | MMORPG | 2010-01-01 |
Dragonica | Gravity | Casual MMORPG | 2011-07-13 |
Exteel | NCSoft (E&G Studios) | TPS | 2010-09-01 |
Point Blank | Zepetto | FPS | 2011-07-13 |
Tabula Rasa | Destination Games | MMORPG | 2009-02-28 |
City of Heroes | Paragon Studios | MMORPG | 2012-11-30 |
Trickster | Ntreev Soft | MMORPG | 2013-02-27 |
Master X Master | NCSoft (Studio MXM) | MOBA | 2018-01-31 |
WildStar | NCSoft (Carbine) | MMORPG | 2018-11-30 |
Titles not available in English
Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Murim Jekook | Longtu Network Technology | Strategy | Korean release only. |
Punch Monster | Next Play | MMORPG | Korean release only. |
PangYa | Ntreev Soft | Sport Casual | Thailand release only. |
In addition, NCSoft is also the developer and maintainer of a variety of web-based board games in Asian markets.
References
- ^ "NCsoft's Global Network". NCsoft. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "4Q 2017 earnings release". ncsoft.com. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
- ^ "NCSoft". kr.ncsoft.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ^ "Seven years of City of Heroes statistics". eurogamer.net. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- ^ "엔씨소프트의 역사" [History of NCsoft]. kr.ncsoft.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-05-23.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Weber, Rachel (July 8, 2011). "NCSoft in talks to acquire Ntreev Software". Gamesindustry International. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ Caoili, Eric (February 17, 2012). "League of Legends and NCsoft's Ntreev acquisition, this week in Korean news". Gamasutra. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Caoili, Eric (July 27, 2011). "NCSoft Purchases Seoul-Based Mobile Dev Hotdog Studio". Gamasutra. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean. "Korean game togetherness: Nexon acquires 14.7 percent of NCsoft for $688M". VentureBeat.
- ^ "About Us". us.ncsoft.com. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
- ^ "RightNow and NCsoft Win - January 19 2006 - RightNow - RightNow". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
- ^ "Former NCSoft Employees Suspected of Stealing Lineage III Code". WIRED. 30 April 2007.
- ^ "Chosun Ilbo article". April 26, 2007. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Worlds.com CEO: We're 'Absolutely' Going To Sue Second Life And World Of Warcraft". Business Insider.
- ^ "NCsoft Faces Patent Infringement Suit". WIRED. 29 December 2008.
- ^ massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/06/richard-garriott-blasts-ncsoft-with-24-million-lawsuit/
- ^ Kim, Tong-hyung (July 30, 2010). "Garriott wins $28 mil. in NCsoft lawsuit".
- ^ "Garriott wins appeal in NCsoft case". RICHARD GARRIOTT v. NCSoft CORPORATION. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ^ "Save CoH movement invites NCsoft execs to play, petition passes 20,000 signatures". joystiq.com. September 27, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.