NCsoft game's

[joeorc]

well 2009 has just started , and Lord british, has left NCsoft, and i was looking for more development's about the new NCsoft Game's that will be going on the PS3.

LAST heard was this:

oldest:

Sep 12, 2007

American-branch CEO says a desire for entry into the console market was behind the Korean publisher's alliance with the Japanese game giant.

Gamers have been waiting for more than six years to scribble on lauded game designer Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, and on October 16, NCsoft will finally end the wait. Though the sci-fi massively multiplayer online game isn't currently slated to appear on the PlayStation 3, a strong possibility of such occurrence was raised during this year's E3 Media & Business Summit, when Sony announced it would be partnering with NCsoft on several unspecified games for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable.

While it's natural that Sony would want to acquire talent such as Richard Garriott for work on its platforms, the NCsoft partnership left many scratching their heads. That's because Sony has its own online-centric studio, Sony Online Entertainment (EverQuest, Star Wars Galaxies), which is an active rival of the South Korea-based publisher.

In a recent post to NCsoft's Web site, CEO of NCsoft North America Robert Garriott, Richard's older brother, addressed the eyebrow-raising deal. He indicated that it was NCsoft's urge to reach the console market, not necessarily Sony's desire for a new online studio, which sparked the arrangement. The elder Garriott noted, "We don't want to limit ourselves to the PC, especially while the console market continues to grow by leaps and bounds with every new generation...and console makers want to get into the online space." [Ellipsis in original.]

In contrast to development partner Cryptic Studios--which is currently working on a Marvel superheroes MMOG for the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista--NCsoft was attracted to the PS3 due to Sony's ability to provide "the best Internet connectivity and greatest freedom of Web access and interaction available to the user." Robert Garriott also mentioned that the focus of the partnership is for PS3 development "and perhaps the PSP." (SOE is currently working on a DC Comics-inspired MMOG for the PC and PS3.)

As for when NCsoft will debut the fruits of its labor on Sony's console, the elder Garriott said it is aiming for the 2008 holiday season. Though no specific titles were mentioned, he insinuated that the first project would be either a port or an extension to one of NCsoft's current properties. The publisher's portfolio includes Guild Wars, Lineage II, City of Heroes, and the forthcoming Tabula Rasa.

"We won't just be porting our games over to the PS3," explained the senior Garriott. "We want to make new products using our current, popular Intellectual Properties (IPs) that will take advantage of the console, specifically in terms of user interface, connectivity, and play styles."

When NCsoft games do begin appearing on Sony platforms, Robert Garriott said that they will follow all current business models, including subscription, microtransactions, and free-to-play games with membership options.

little newer:


We recently spoke with NCsoft North America President Chris Chung about NCsoft's growth direction for the next year. He believes the shift of MMOs to consoles is "inevitable."

by David Radd on Friday, February 01, 2008


NCsoft has traditionally been an MMO company, but at one point the direction of the wind seemed to be changing. While the company has signed an exclusive contract with Sony and the PS3, it was rumored late last year that NCsoft was going to focus more on its non-game products, at least in Korea. We recently talked with Chris Chung, newly appointed President of NCsoft North America, to get a feel for NCsoft's direction for the next year.

Over the next year NCsoft is going to be launching two new games: Exteel and Aion. When asked about those titles, and the direction he's hoping to steer the company in for the next year, Chung responded, "Exteel is one of those MMO titles that has a really unique feel, being a third-person shooter. It'll be a free-to-play micro-transaction game, so it's offering yet another way to play our content. With Aion, it's what we do best; a blockbuster MMO title. We're really pleased in how it's coming along. It was created from scratch in Korea, with a consulting staff in North America to help get it ready for the global market."

"We have to really optimize for consoles; we have to create an experience that's suited for the [PS3] and supports the MMO element. I think the shift [to consoles] is inevitable."

"We have a solid strategy of building a high quality portfolio of games and we're going to continue to do that," he continued. "This year, were also going to focus on things we haven't been doing, like improving the user interaction. Along those same lines, we've been asking the consumers what they want and we might build a universal NCsoft 'launcher' like what's included with Tabula Rasa. They also want the ability to purchase things online and communicate with their friends playing our games, so we're looking into that too."

GameDaily BIZ also asked about NCsoft's future growth plans and if they'll bring over Korean social network services, such as Openmaru to the U.S. "We're actively reviewing those and making sure it's a service our customers are looking for," responded Chung. "So we're carefully reviewing them. We don't have any plans at the moment, but we look them over constantly."

"We do a portfolio review twice a year, and we have a significant amount of titles over the next few years – we'll continue to grow our portfolio," he added. "We're always interested in talking to development teams everywhere. Our developers aren't centralized; we find talented people and then we form a studio around them. We'll continue to do this if there's a compelling development team we find out there."

As our conversation went on, we discussed the relatively insular nature of the Korean and American game markets, with few titles achieving true success in both. Chung agreed, saying, "If you look across the entertainment market, there are very few things that can appeal across the whole world. There are cultural barriers that prevent this, and game development culture is no different. I really applaud World of Warcraft for being successful, but that is few and far between. They somehow have the 'mojo' and we're looking to see how we could create a global property with a similar sort of appeal."

Finally, we queried him on the exclusive deal that NCsoft recently signed with Sony for the PS3. We've yet to see an MMO game take off on consoles, so how will NCsoft approach this challenge? "I think there are a lot of causes that factor into good MMOs on a console," Chang ventured. "These are elements like 'does the person have a standard definition TV or an HDTV?' You don't have a good a resolution on regular TV, and a lot of games were hurting for that. Ultimately, we have to really optimize for consoles; we have to create an experience that's suited for the [PS3] and supports the MMO element. I think the shift is inevitable; real-time strategy is one of the last PC genres moving onto consoles, and I think we'll see a similar trend for online games as well."

"We are excited about the prospects for the next three years. I mean, being involved with the online gaming industry has me pretty excited. We see things like free-to-play models and micro-transactions coming into the pool and... as an industry, were going to be offering a variety of ways to appeal to the consumer. We look to be part of that revolution and hope to open the door to more and more new users," he concluded.

update :
sortly after "lord british" left NCsoft

NCSoft on PS3 plans, PSP MMO, and Tabula Rasa
Posted Aug 08, 2007 at 09:54AM

JoyStiq managed to score an interview with NCsoft boss Richard Garriott and Executive Producer Brian Clayton. The talk revolved mostly around the MMORPG industry and their (NCSoft) plans to support the PlayStation 3 with MMO-type titles. Their latest project - Tabula Rasa - was also touched; and surprisingly, they also signified plans to dabble on developing for the PlayStation Portable in the future.

According to Clayton, they're looking at a number of ways on how to beef up the PSP games frontline. A fully immersive and working MMO for the said handheld isn't that farfetched, with Clayton saying that they "see a number of opportunities with the PSP as a standalone MMO or as an extension to our full-blown MMOs on PC and PS3". Hmm... MMO game on PSP, sounds good 'ey? Their plans are best summed in this quote:

I would argue that developing a handheld MMO could be the largest challenge in game development. For example, the game needs to be developed from the onset to address limited communication tools, screen real estate and controls, which are all intrinsic to providing a quality MMO experience. We have a number ideas and solutions to address the above-mentioned concerns, but can't go into those details right now.

Of course another issue that was brought up in the interview was their decision to back up Sony, instead of Microsoft or Nintendo, on their goal of having MMO invade the console scene. To this, Clayton answered that:

Sony has shown a commitment to developing robust console hardware with strong longevity which is crucial to any viable MMO console strategy. In addition, Sony understands that our MMO business model is different than the traditional console model and is giving us the flexibility to develop and publish AAA MMOs.

Finally, Lord British (or Richard Garriott to some) took part in the discussion and revealed their plans of making Tabula Rasa veer away from the level-centered feel of most MMORPGS in the market today. Rather, they're looking at making people keep on playing the game because of its story and gameplay. Here's Garriott on how they're planning to achieve this:

In Tabula Rasa, we've worked very hard to make your character's attributes and equipment less of a focus then they typically are in other MMO's. We also wanted to make content accessible through story and accomplishments rather than through leveling. Because in Tabula Rasa we have tried to downplay the importance of leveling, players can instead spend their time focusing on gameplay instead of manically grinding to reach new content.

Looks like NCSoft has some very promising tricks up its sleeve for the videogaming industry. These MMO projects, plans for consoles, and (hopefully) PSP MMO will be highly anticipated indeed. The full interview is available via link below.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/08/jo...hard-garriott/

any more news?