NCSOFT
 | |
| Public company | |
| Traded as | KRX: 036570 |
| Industry |
Computer and video games Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | March 11, 1997 |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | T.J. Kim, CEO |
| Products | |
| Revenue |
 US$ 686.6 million (2012)[2] |
|
US$ 137.0 million (2012)[2] | |
|
US$ 142.0 million (2012)[2] | |
| Total assets |
US$ 1.2 billion (2012)[2] |
| Total equity |
US$ 922.9 million (2012)[2] |
Number of employees | 3100 (including 16 global subsidiareis, as of Dec 31, 2015) |
| Website | http://www.ncsoft.com/ |
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NCSOFT is a South Korea-based online, video and mobile game development company that has produced Lineage, City of Heroes, WildStar, Guild Wars, Aion and "Blade & Soul"
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. In 2004, NCSOFT launched two MMORPGs, Lineage II and City of Heroes.[3]
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 established Lineage II service for Europe as well.
On April 26, 2005, the company launched Guild Wars, a MMORPG with no subscription model. Expansions followed: Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall and Guild Wars Eye of the North. On April 24, 2009, NCSOFT announced that Guild Wars had sold more than six million units.[4] On August 28, 2012, NCSOFT launched Guild Wars 2.
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]
On June, 2012, NCSOFT launched Blade & Soul, the next MMORPG after AION, in 2006. NCSOFT has shown the next MMORPG before 2 weeks in Project[M] name and released Blade & Soul in NCSOFT Media Day in Korea.
In 2012 Nexon acquired a 14.7 percent interest in NCSOFT for $688 million.[9] Nexon sold all of its shares in NCSOFT in October 2015.
In November, 2012, NCSOFT closed down City of Heroes.
Customer satisfaction
NCSOFT and RightNow Technologies were both recognized in 2006 with the "Beagle Research 'Whiz Kids' Award for Innovative Embedded Customer Service Solution."[10] for NCSOFT's integration of RightNow's customer support software.
Games
Under Development
| Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lineage Eternal | NCSOFT (Team Eternal) | MMORPG | TBA 2016 |
| Master x Master | NCSOFT (Studio MBA) | MOBA | TBA 2016 |
| AION Legions | NCSOFT | RPG | TBA 2016 |
| Lineage on Mobile | NCSOFT | MMORPG | TBA 2016 |
| Blade & Soul Mobile | NCSOFT | TCG | TBA 2016 |
| Lineage Red Knihgt | NCSOFT | MMORPG | TBA 2016 |
Available
| 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. |
| PangYa | Ntreev Soft | Sport Casual | Active since 2004. |
| WildStar | Carbine Studios | MMORPG | Active since June 3, 2014. |
End of Life / Closed
| Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Assault | NetDevil | MMORPG | Closed August 31, 2007. |
| Dungeon Runners | NCSOFT | MMORPG | Closed January 1, 2010. |
| Dragonica (Korean Server) | Gravity | Casual MMORPG | Closed July 13, 2011. |
| Exteel | NCSOFT (E&G Studios) | TPS | Closed September 1, 2010. |
| Point Blank (Korean Server) | Zepetto | FPS | Closed July 13, 2011. |
| Tabula Rasa | Destination Games | MMORPG | Closed February 28, 2009. |
| City of Heroes | Paragon Studios | MMORPG | Closed November 30, 2012. |
| Lineage (North American server) | NCSOFT (Team L2Live) | MMORPG | Closed June 29, 2011. |
| Trickster (Current Landing page) | Ntreev Soft | MMORPG | Closed Feb.27, 2013 |
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. |
In addition, NCSOFT is also the developer and maintainer of a variety of web-based board games in Asian markets.
Corporate Social Responsibility
NCSOFT founded NCSOFT Cultural Foundation in 2012, which develops software for the handicapped and runs diverse social contribution programmes.
- My First AAC (2013~) : Developed Korean Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app and distributed free of charge for children with language disorders.
- Injini (2010~): Developed cognition enhancing game app and distributed free of charge for children with cognition impairment
- Sports programs for disabled kids and their families(2014~): Supports physical and rehabilitation activities for young athletes with cognition and development disabilities.
- Special school programs for healthy and fun learning environment(2012~): Provides cultural and sports activities for students with cognition and development disabilities.
- Storyhelper (2010~): Developed Korea’s first storytelling SW that supports writers’ contents creation in collaboration with Digital Storytelling Laboratory of Ewha Womans University.
- Freerice (2011~2015): In collaboration with UN WFP, it is both PC and mobile English quiz game that donates 10 grains of rice for every correct answers.
Controversy
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.[11] According to NCSOFT, the potential damages may exceed US$1 billion.[12]
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[13] and targeted NCSOFT for patent infringement in 2008,[14] in what he says will be the first of many lawsuits against MMO developers.[13] On April 23, 2010, the Worlds.com case settled, but the terms of the settlement were kept confidential. On July 22, 2010, Worlds.com requested the case be reopened.
Richard Garriott termination
Richard Garriott, lead developer of 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, losing him millions of dollars. In addition, he claimed that the company was guilty of fraud by forging his resignation announcement.[15] On July 30, 2010, a jury in a Texas federal court awarded him US$28 million in damages. NCSOFT appealed the ruling.[16] 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.[17]
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[18] and many used social media to promote their criticisms.
References
- ↑ "NCsoft's Global Network". NCsoft. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Ncsoft Corporation (036570:Korea Stock Exchange (Koscom))". businessweek.com. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ↑ "Seven years of City of Heroes statistics". eurogamer.net. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- ↑ "Guild Wars Announces Six Million Units Sold".
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20080913093345/http://www.plaync.com:80/us/news/2008/09/ncsoft_announce_31.html. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2008. Missing or empty
|title=(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.
- ↑ "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.
- 1 2 "Worlds.com CEO: We're 'Absolutely' Going To Sue Second Life And World Of Warcraft".
- ↑ "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.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to NCSOFT. |
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