Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Dragonica enters open beta in Europe]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/11/dragonica-enters-open-beta-in-europe/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/11/dragonica-enters-open-beta-in-europe/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/11/dragonica-enters-open-beta-in-europe/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


The free-to-play game Dragonica has entered open beta in Europe as of June 10th. Dragonica is a 3D side-scrolling MMO developed by Barunson Interactive and operated by gPotato (Gala Networks Europe Ltd.). The title is currently offered in English, French, and German languages and has very low system requirements, so it should run well on older hardware or even on netbooks from what Gala Networks Europe states.

Just for additional clarification, this open beta is for the EU's Dragonica operated by gPotato, not to be confused with the North American version of the game titled Dragonica Online, which we previewed at E3 2009.

MassivelyDragonica enters open beta in Europe originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>barunson-interactivebetasdragonicadublineueuropeeuropean-unionfantasyfree-to-playgala-networks-europegpotatoirelandnew-titlesThu, 11 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Aion: Tower of Eternity breaks all beta test records in Korea]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/14/aion-tower-of-eternity-breaks-all-beta-test-records-in-korea/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/14/aion-tower-of-eternity-breaks-all-beta-test-records-in-korea/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/14/aion-tower-of-eternity-breaks-all-beta-test-records-in-korea/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


While we had some grim news related to NCsoft's dip in profits yesterday, there may be a silver lining to this, in the form of Aion: The Tower of Eternity. A press release from NCsoft states that the Aion beta has surpassed all previous records for a beta test in Korea: "Concurrent user numbers have already jumped to more than 170,000 players, making it the most popular beta event in Korean history." That's a significant achievement, given how mature the market is in Korea. 11,000 people were logged into the Aion beta only two minutes after service began and hit 40,000 players within an hour. The rapid influx of players necessitated NCsoft having 25 servers running to accommodate them.

David Reid, president of publishing for NCsoft West in Seattle said, "The response we're seeing in Korea is incredibly exciting. Our Aion community in North America and Europe is rapidly growing. We've got aggressive plans for the western launch in 2009." On the subject of Aion's launch, the press release lists Korea's commercial launch as being just a few weeks away. As Reid stated, the North American and European Aion launches are set for 2009, but NCsoft hasn't nailed down a specific launch date for these markets at this time.

MassivelyAion: Tower of Eternity breaks all beta test records in Korea originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionaion-the-tower-of-eternityasiabetabetaseueuropean-unionfantasyflightkoreammo-industryncsoftnorth-americawingsFri, 14 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[NCsoft third quarter profits sliced in half]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/13/ncsoft-third-quarter-profits-sliced-in-half/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/13/ncsoft-third-quarter-profits-sliced-in-half/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/13/ncsoft-third-quarter-profits-sliced-in-half/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

MMO industry giant NCsoft has seen better weeks than this. First there was Richard Garriott's announcement that he's leaving the company for new horizons. Then came the news that NCsoft's third quarter profits fell by 50 percent.

Gamasutra reported today: "In the three months ending September 30th, the South Korean company's profit was down from 10 billion won ($7.2m) in 2007 to just 5 billion ($3.6m) in this year's third quarter." Gamasutra goes on to cite some additional figures in regards to NCsoft's operations, namely that its Korean titles are still the big earners, with Lineage and Lineage II comprising roughly 84 percent of its overall revenues. MMO titles popular in North America and EU account for roughly 15 percent of NCsoft's revenues. For further details, be sure to check out Gamasutra's piece on NCsoft's third quarter revenues for more statistics linked to the company's revenue dip.

MassivelyNCsoft third quarter profits sliced in half originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>asiabusiness-modelseconomyeueuropean-uniongamasutrakorealineagelineage-2lineage-iimmo-industryncsoftnorth-americaplayncprofitsrevenuesrichard-garriottThu, 13 Nov 2008 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[HanbitSoft plans Hellgate: London relaunch and new expansion]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/03/hanbitsoft-plans-hellgate-london-relaunch-and-new-expansion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/03/hanbitsoft-plans-hellgate-london-relaunch-and-new-expansion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/03/hanbitsoft-plans-hellgate-london-relaunch-and-new-expansion/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

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.

Continue reading HanbitSoft plans Hellgate: London relaunch and new expansion

MassivelyHanbitSoft plans Hellgate: London relaunch and new expansion originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>asiabreakingeueuropean-unionfantasygamasutrahanbitsofthellgate-londonhglhorrorjanellemythosnorth-americaredbanaredbana-usarumorrumorsMon, 03 Nov 2008 13:45:00 EST<![CDATA[WAR battles Spore, The Force Unleashed for top of EU sales charts]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/27/war-battles-spore-the-force-unleashed-for-top-of-eu-sales-chart/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/27/war-battles-spore-the-force-unleashed-for-top-of-eu-sales-chart/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/27/war-battles-spore-the-force-unleashed-for-top-of-eu-sales-chart/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Warhammer Online pulled off some impressive sales figures in the European market this past week. The Swedish sales chart shows WAR at the #1 and #4 (for the Collector's Edition) spots in that country, beating out the highly anticipated Will Wright project Spore. WAR also topped the charts in Spain. In Germany it came in second behind the heavily marketed console game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Of course an MMO dominating sales charts is nothing new. World of Warcraft has done so on and off since its launch four years ago, and Age of Conan debuted at #1 in many regions, even defeating the critically acclaimed BioWare tactical RPG Mass Effect which launched in the same month. It's also worth noting that the Warhammer IP is very popular in Europe, perhaps more so than in North America.

This news jives well with the report that half a million users have registered for the game. On the other hand, similar numbers were thrown out around AoC shortly after its launch. It's doing okay, but it didn't turn out to be a landscape-altering success that some folks projected, and that some are expecting from WAR as well

MassivelyWAR battles Spore, The Force Unleashed for top of EU sales charts originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocchartsea-mythiceueuropeeuropean-unionfiguresgermanymass-effectmythicmythic-entertainmentsalesspainsporestar-wars-the-force-unleashedswedenthe-force-unleashedwarwarhammer-onlinewill-wrightworld-of-warcraftwowSat, 27 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EU gives Activision-Blizzard a big thumbs up]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/17/eu-gives-activision-blizzard-a-big-thumbs-up/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/17/eu-gives-activision-blizzard-a-big-thumbs-up/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/17/eu-gives-activision-blizzard-a-big-thumbs-up/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

After reviewing Activision-Blizzard's case for a few weeks, the European Commission announced its approval of the huge merger yesterday. The EU had final say approving the merger because Vivendi is a French company. Officials decided the deal wouldn't threaten the fairness of the market.

The commission made a statement, saying that Activision Blizzard "would continue to face several strong, effective competitors, such as Electronic Arts, and the game console manufacturers, such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft." There were some concerns that the company could have an unfair advantage in licensing music for games because Vivendi owns Universal Music Group, but they were set aside because "competing game publishers would continue to have access to a sufficiently large portfolio of music rights from alternative suppliers."

The lesson: Activision Blizzard is officially not a monopoly, thanks to EA. We could go into extreme detail weighing the pluses and negatives of the decision, but we've analyzed this merger plenty enough already. At some point, you just have to decide to sit back and see what happens.

MassivelyEU gives Activision-Blizzard a big thumbs up originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionactivision-blizzardantitrustapprovalblizzardbusinesscorporateeaelectronic-artseueuropean-commissioneuropean-unionmergermoneymusicumguniversal-music-groupvivendiThu, 17 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EST