Lineage 2

A recent earnings report suggests that NCsoft's sales have slipped from Q4 2012 to Q1 2013, although the studio is quick to point out that the showing was "solid" particularly when compared to sales from a year ago. While sales were down 35% and net income was down 49% from the last quarter, sales were up 31% and net income was up 322% year-over-year.

Guild Wars 2 accounted for 21% of sales in the first quarter, in addition to Blade and Soul's 9%, Aion's 16%, and the usual Lineage cavalcade (Lineage 1 represented 38% of sales alone with its subscriptions).

While 64% of NCsoft's sales were in Korea, only 13% were in North America and 8% in Europe. The decrease in NA and EU contributions was due to "the reduction in Guild Wars 2 package sales," according to the report. All of NCsoft's subsidiaries posted drops in sales from last quarter except for NC Taiwan.

[Update: Also of note in the earnings call is the news that NCsoft's Nah Seong Chan says the company is "preparing an expansion pack" but has yet to decide when it might launch. Very interesting news indeed as ArenaNet said as recently as March that it was not working on an expansion. Thanks to Mike and Robert for the tips!]

Before Lineage II's big Lindvior update hits servers in May, players can participate in an inter-server PvP competition for a chance at some impressive prizes, including piles of adena, R99-Grade eternal armor sets, weapons, wigs, and more. During the month of April, up to 32 different teams will fight for the title of greatest PvPers in the 2013 Battle Tournament.

Unlike many PvP tourneys, this one will be focusing on skill by removing gear discrepancies; all participants will set up with a premade level 99 character on a special event server. Folks who use any items or skills that differ from the premade settings will be disqualified along with their entire team. To qualify for this event, all players on a team must be from the same server, at least level 85, and from a different Awakened classes. All qualified teams must also pay an entry fee of 350 million adena.

For complete details on how to enter, check out the official rules and requirements. And you can watch trailers for both the Battle Tournament and the upcoming Lindvior update after the break.

[Thanks to FizzyFreeze for the tip!]

Continue Reading

Sequels are both the bane of and a fact of life for movies and video games. Well, "bane" is a strong word, and you're probably thinking of Batman right now anyway, but personally, I'm always willing to give the benefit of doubt to any continuation of a favorite franchise. While we don't see sequels pop up as often in MMOs, they do exist and have significant effects upon the original title that bears the same name.

It's here that MMOs diverge from movies and other video games. With those, the original is not in any sort of danger, other than the perception of having its legacy dragged down into the muck (Caddyshack II, anyone?) and perhaps overstaying its welcome. An MMO sequel, on the other hand, can cause serious consequences to its ancestor.

Here at Game Archaeologist, we look at classic games that have often seen their time come and go. But what happens to one of these titles when a sequel attacks? Almost anything, it turns out.

Continue Reading

While wading into virtual battle in your skivvies may invite the wrath of the PC police, doing so in the world of Lineage II will give you substantial stat bonuses.

NCsoft is running a Choose Your Underwear promotion from now through March 13th. The unmentionables in question are broken down into five cash shop sets, each of which grants the wearer base stat bonuses in the form of +35 to physical defense, +15 to magical defense, +7 to speed, and +15 to elemental attributes (fire, water, wind, etc.). The garments can be augmented with additional stats and skills via life stones and gem stones.

Lineage II's business model relies completely on the cash shop, as 100% of the game's content is available to all players for free.

[Thanks to everyone who tipped us!]

NCsoft just released its fourth quarter 2012 earnings report, and things are looking pretty good across the board for the multi-MMO company. NCsoft's earnings are up both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year due to the releases of Blade & Soul and Guild Wars 2, not to mention "record-breaking annual revenues" from Lineage.

Guild Wars 2 accounted for 45% of the company's sales in Q4, followed by Lineage (24%) and Blade & Soul (10%). ArenaNet's newest game increased the North American market from 16% in Q3 to 25% in Q4.

It's not completely sunshine and roses, however. Lineage II and Aion both experienced declines during the period. NCsoft's net income was in the red for the quarter and its stock has slid since September, losing half of its value in the process.

[Thanks to Paul for the tip!]

Lineage II went free-to-play last year, and according to the newest state of the game letter, that conversion went very well indeed. The letter points out that more than one and a half million new accounts were created in 2012 alone, an impressive number for any game and doubly so for a game approaching its ninth anniversary. Over 800,000 store items have been sold, solidifying the game's performance and moneymaking capabilities. In other words, if you were worried the game wasn't doing well, you can stop worrying.

But what about the future? Well, there's another major installment of the Goddess of Destruction series due out. The development team is also looking into a variety of improvements for players including tradeable shop items, methods of gifting microtransaction currency, and more options to pay for your cash shop purchases. There's also discussion of more events and tournaments for everyone to enjoy, showing that the title is aging but still has quite a lot of life left.

I'm a big fan of Korean MMOs. I don't know why, exactly, other than I'm partial to the unquantifiable exoticness on display in games like ArcheAge, Aion, TERA, Lineage II, and others.

Unfortunately from my perspective, the powers-that-be in the MMO industry usually decide that Korean MMOs must be "westernized" before they debut in America, and while the term means different things to different games, it usually involves monkeying with the progression curve, rewriting quests that depend on cultural context, etc.

I'd just as soon play Korean MMOs exactly as they were originally designed (albeit with a quality English text translation). How about you, Massively folk? Assuming you like eastern MMOs, would you prefer a straight-up language translation or do you support "westernizing" a game to make it more palatable to American or European audiences?

[Note: Something is wonky with the comments on this post today. Sorry for the weirdness!]

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

Beyond amazing character design, compelling narratives, and the presence of dragons, there is one thing that all MMOs depend upon for success: player loyalty. Without returning subscribers, a loving community, or folks dropping a few dimes in the cash shop now and again, MMOs simply wouldn't be a feasible way for a games studio to do business. Smart development teams have player retention departments tasked specifically with tracking and analyzing the rise and fall of player allegiances and finding ways to leverage loyalty is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the creation process.

Even the non-gaming world is getting in on the fray. Back in November, researchers at the University at Buffalo School of Management published a study tracing the roots of player loyalties in a variety of MMO environments. The study outlined the mentalities of MMO gamers and the things that successfully encouraged them to keep coming back for more looting, more grinding, and more /hugging. Most importantly, the study declared that an MMO that increases loyalty by just 5% can increase profits by 25-95%.

We sat down with Dr. Lawrence Sanders, co-author of the study, to dive a little deeper into the researchers' methods, results, and plans for future MMO investigation.

Continue Reading

Remember Lineage II? Yeah, we know it's been nearly a decade since it released in the States, but it still boasts some of the best PvP in the MMO space. Now, NCsoft has released a 10-minute monstrosity of a trailer that offers a "glimpse of a possible future."

If you haven't played the game in a while (or if you've never played), much of the trailer's narrative will be lost on you. That's OK, though, because fantasy ultraviolence rarely needs an explanation. According to NCsoft's YouTube verbiage, the developers are considering some sort of server wars concept, too, so there's that. The clip is all yours after the cut.

[Thanks to WarElf for the tip!]

Continue Reading

Hallelujah, the Glory Days are here! NCsoft released the update for Lineage II today, which is certainly one of the most sizable the game's ever seen. The publisher said that the patch was directly influenced by player suggestions and comments.

Glory Days adds a something for the whole family of gamers. The update includes new raids, zone overhauls, a nifty clan wars PvP system, dual classes, subclasses, zombie quests, and a whole mess of smaller changes and improvements. If this is your game, then you will want to clear about a half-hour or so to read through all of the patch notes.

We've got the soul-stirring trailer for Glory Days after the jump!

Continue Reading

When SOE announced that EverQuest's 19th expansion would be titled Rain of Fear, I instantly found myself tripping over the name. I shouldn't have -- it's a few simple words that are first round picks for spelling contests -- but it defied the traditional naming conventions for MMO expansions. Many people I talked to kept wanting to write "reign" instead because "rain" seemed like a deliberate misspelling by some intern in Smedley's empire.

Homophones aside, Rain of Fear is hardly the worst expansion title I've ever seen. The industry has had its share of bad names, from the confusing to the downright unpronounceable. Sure, we get used to these titles, and perhaps it's nit-picky to lug them out at such a late point in many of their lifespans, but petty is my middle name. My first name is Tom. And these are 10 poorly named expansions. Deal with it.

Continue Reading

Another update for Lineage II is approaching, and this one promises to be full of glory. Days of it, even. But if you weren't sure about what the Glory Days update will offer for players, you can now stop at a handy teaser site that contains all of the upcoming features and expansions to Lineage II's existing gameplay. And there's a lot in there.

High-level players can venture to the Isle of Souls for solo or small-party play, take on Pagan's Temple for solo or group play, make a small team to infiltrate Nornil's Cave, or take part in the daily instanced raid of Nornil's Garden. Meanwhile, all players can enjoy the revised Mentoring and Reputation system, while players with a Subclass can enjoy special dual-class abilities as well as a free subclass level reset. And there's a whole revamped system of Clan Wars coming, complete with contestable halls. Really, if you're an avid Lineage II player, you might want to just look at the site.

[Update]: Glory Days will launch on October 24th.

Change is inevitable in any MMO, but in a letter to players Lineage II Development Director Gon Namkun acknowledged that not all change is good. As Lineage II has developed over the years, classes have been added and then changed around and stripped of many of their distinctive characteristics in the name of balance. And NCsoft wants to bring some of the diversity back to the classes.

Gon Namkun explains the need for diversification and offers four possible solutions. However, instead of just forging ahead with changes, the development team wants player feedback: Players can vote on their preferred method through a poll on the official site. This poll, open until September 26th, 2012, is specifically for Western players as the Korean market poll has already been completed.

NCsoft may have more banking on Guild Wars 2 than once thought. The mega-publisher announced that its second quarter earnings were lower than expected; it posted a $6 million loss for the period.

Revenues were down 12% from last year to $130 million, of which a vast majority came from NCsoft's online titles. The company stated that it dipped into the red due to rising labor costs, an increased marketing budget for Blade & Soul's Korean launch, and the acquisition of Ntreev. Aion was also blamed for the company's financial woes, as revenues in that title sharply decreased due to fewer microtransaction sales.

Both Lineage titles composed a great share of the company's revenues, with the first game producing 45% of sales and the sequel 13%.

NCsoft said that it is banking on Guild Wars 2 to produce a profitable third quarter, however.

Have you ever wished MMO developers could put away their checkbooks, pluck out the best bits of their respective MMOs, and weld them together to construct the megalopolis of MMOs? We do too! So today, we're launching a brand-new opinion column, MMO Blender, in which the Massively writers will mix and match their favorite features from existing MMOs for your amusement. But do our choices create a perfectly honed machine or a lumbering, speechless frankenstein of an MMO that deserves to be put out of its misery?

First up: Livestreamer extraordinaire and Contributing Editor Jeremy Stratton with a potent, sandboxy blend of Fallen Earth, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and more. Wet your whistle after the break and look for more MMO Blenders from the rest of our staff in the coming weeks!

Continue Reading