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NCsoft 'actively developing' for consoles - but not Xbox 360 News
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Korea-based online gaming giant NCsoft is preparing to launch titles on next-generation consoles, according to chief executive Tack Jin Kim, who confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that development work is already underway.
The company, which is behind the world's largest massively multiplayer game series, Lineage, as well as titles including City of Heroes and Guild Wars, has until now focused exclusively on the PC platform.
However, Kim - who is founder and president as well as CEO of the firm - openly confirmed that the company is now "actively developing" for next-generation consoles, which he considers key to building the firm up in markets outside Korea.
NCsoft is already the largest gaming company in its native country, and its titles are proving a major draw at this week's G* games expo at the Kintex exhibition centre near the capital city, Seoul.
Kim did not discuss specifics of the company's development work on next-generation consoles, nor did he reveal which platforms the firm is working on - but sources close to NCsoft's European division revealed that Xbox 360 is not part of the company's plans at the moment, suggesting that the PS3 is the target platform for NCsoft's first console titles.
Speaking today at NCsoft's head offices in Seoul, Kim also confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that a European development location is part of the firm's plan for the future, joining the company's other development studios - NC HQ Studios in Seoul, Guild Wars creators Arena.Net in California and Richard Garriott's NC Austin Studio.
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from reading the title i would think that TJ Kim himself said that they were'nt developing for xbox 360, turns out it was supposedly some "source close to NCsoft's European Division", you know, a friend of a friend of a friend...
Way to go EG, something tells me that if you'd switch xbox 360 for PS3 in that article, it would never make it to the news... |
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OK EG, here is what you should do:
1 Select the text of all your news items 2 Find and Replace "PS2", "PS3", "GCN', "GBA", "PSP' with X360 3 Find and Replace "Interesting" with "Exceptional" 4 Find and Replace "Sony" and "Nintendo" with "Microsoft" 5 Find and Replace "Not" with a blank There. You are good to go, back on the road to journalistic integrity! |
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This is good news. City of Heroes/ Villains, would be an ideal next gen console MMORPG. The monthly fees will be an issue though for console gamers. Although in the US, PS2 owners are paying for Everquest Online Adventures and Final Fantasy XI but not in huge numbers. THe PS2 version of FFXI is popular in Japan too.
The number of PS2 MMORPG subscribers in Europe must be very small especially as the hard drive needed for FFXI was not released here.
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 10:37
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Come on, look at the article title : "NCsoft 'actively developing' for consoles - but not Xbox 360". The "but not Xbox 360" part sounds like a statement, not a assumption.
I’ll admit that some of the whining regarding EuroGamers’s so called anti-Xbox 360 stance is far fetched, only if you admit that EG is adding fuel to the fire on purpose with titles like this... |
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erictheking
11/11/05 @ 10:48
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if you were developing an MMORPG for the next gen consoles surely you would aim for the one with the tried and tested on-line infrastructure? Doesn't make sense to me.
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BartonFink
11/11/05 @ 11:02
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Sorry but I have to agree with some of the griping.
Why bother putting in the 'but not Xbox 360' bit at all it only serves to fuel the fires to those who think EG is anti-360 Seems like EG do tend to try intentionally to put a negative spin on any story remotely linked to 360. Just an observation, I am not saying it's true, but it is starting to form that impression. |
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deepmenace
11/11/05 @ 11:11
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guild wars
lineage 2 both are mmorpgs
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 11:04
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But I beg to ask: What is EG's fault if NCSoft chose not to develop for the XBox 360? And by the way, in other news:
1 Nintendo has no plans to port Mario Kart DS to X360 2 Shadow of Colossus not to make it onto the XBox after all 3 "We would sooner shoot ourself than port Halo 3 to PS3' , says Bungie] 4 "Next generation 5 series not to use Rover 75 platform', says a BMW insider. |
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gamesb*tch
11/11/05 @ 11:15
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I disagree, I think it's valid 'if' NCSoft are not considering 360. With the reach of their successful and wholly owned (no licenced tat) games, if it's true, it's going to definitely be a pain point for M$oft.
Or maybe it's a ploy for Bill to c'mon over with a cheque, heh. Or maybe M$oft have signed an exclusive with 360? ;) |
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Not the Xbox360?
They will change their minds as too much money could be made from the 360 to ignore it. Stupid japs sucking up the PS3 because another Jap made it. Its getting like "im not developing games for your console because your not a jap" Bad business sense if you ask me also XboxLive is kicking ass, they are daft not to use it! btw.. NO offense intended.
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 11:11
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gamesb*tch
11/11/05 @ 11:16
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"Nintendo has no plans to port Mario Kart DS to X360 "
You sir, are an arse. |
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/is happy.
/hates mmo's. /doesnt have enough time to play them :( "Stupid japs sucking up the PS3 because another Jap made it. Its getting like "im not developing games for your console because your not a jap" " I dont know, but arnt they korean? 0_o
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 11:12
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gamesb*tch
11/11/05 @ 11:18
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"Stupid japs sucking up the PS3 because another Jap made it."
Yeah stupid Japs in Korea with a German technical lead and an international staff. Those stupid Japs are so stupid. Unlike you, genius. |
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"But I beg to ask: What is EG's fault if NCSoft chose not to develop for the XBox 360? And by the way, in other news:
1 Nintendo has no plans to port Mario Kart DS to X360 2 Shadow of Colossus not to make it onto the XBox after all 3 "We would sooner shoot ourself than port Halo 3 to PS3' , says Bungie] 4 "Next generation 5 series not to use Rover 75 platform', says a BMW insider. " ROFL. Good post:P |
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This should be a discussion about MMORPGs on consoles rather than the wording of Eurogamer's article.
Whatever NCSoft may say, if they want to be a major player in console MMORPGs, especially those aimed at western gamers, then they'll have to develop for the 360 anyway. Only Sony Online Entertainment has a good excuse not to mess with the Xbox. |
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PearOfAnguish
11/11/05 @ 11:37
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Well done, Glitch. You win the special Retard of the Month award. Congratulations!
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"Only Sony Online Entertainment has a good excuse not to mess with the Xbox."
Yes and no - There might not be the opportunities for NCSoft to charge a decent subscription fee on Xbox 360 because everything(?) goes through Live, controlled by Microsoft. Sony have said there is going to be no central platform which leaves PS3 quite open for NCSoft to control their own player database and billing system, like on PC. |
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@tengu: +1. And the worst part is, the dev in question is Korean.
@rauper: Wow, good point. Thanks to your post, Sony's decision not to develop an exclusive online service makes some sense to me, since it will leave everything open to the devs. Not to mention that they might not have the cash for it right now as well.
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 11:40
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king_skins
11/11/05 @ 11:51
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"Yes and no - There might not be the opportunities for NCSoft to charge a decent subscription fee on Xbox 360 because everything(?) goes through Live, controlled by Microsoft. Sony have said there is going to be no central platform which leaves PS3 quite open for NCSoft to control their own player database and billing system, like on PC."
Wrong, MMO games are DO NOT require a Gold Membership, only a Sliver membership (free) and are charged by the publisher of that game separately |
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optimusprym8
11/11/05 @ 11:51
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hmm but at one of the xBox 360 E3 talks, there was an NCsoft logo in the "developement partners" section... curiouser and curiouser...
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PearOfAnguish
11/11/05 @ 11:58
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hmm but at one of the xBox 360 E3 talks, there was an NCsoft logo in the "developement partners" section... curiouser and curiouser...
From the article: "sources close to NCsoft's European division revealed that Xbox 360 is not part of the company's plans at the moment" 'Sources' could be anyone. I'd be very surprised if NCSoft is ignoring what's set to be the biggest next-gen console, this source is probably a friend of a friend. If this was the Sun I'd say it was just made up. :) Isn't Guild Wars free of charge? Wouldn't that work on live, or NDS? Yeah it's free. That's a possible for one of the earlier launches since it would encourage lots of sales, but they might also hold it back until they've got a steady revenue stream from pay-monthly titles. Someone mentioned City of Heroes - that would work very well since it's a lot simpler than many other MMOs.
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 11:54
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*Shakes head at the poor excuse for a news article.*
Ok who ever wrote that article either: a) Knew that Xbox fanboys would read it and spread the word(cheap way to get more traffic) b) Has some serious bias against Xbox/360 and therefore should not be able to report or review any Xbox/360 games and what not. c) This "source" is a Sony Zombie trying to creat a negative buzz around Xbox360(not going to happen the list of games in developement is impressive to say the least... I'll try and find the OXM list)
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 12:07
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Look folks, haven't we hammered on about this supposed 'negative' stance that EG have taken on the 360 for long enough? They are not being negative - they are simply highlighting the facts (and rumours) that are floating around the industry as we near the launch of the 360. With all the hype and speculation that's been thrown at us from numerous sources over the last few months (not just EG), it's innevitable that as final details are confirmed, some of the news people won't want to hear - and because of that they view it as being negative. I guarantee you the same will happen with the PS3 and Revolution as we come closer to their unveiling.
It's like saying that you wish the 10 o'clock news would stop reporting about war, famine and disaster because it's 'negative press' about the countries involved - whether it's a negative or positive statement, if it's a fact, it's a fact. Plain and simple. And if it's not a fact - and just speculation - then what's the issue? Keep a healthy balance of cynicism and optimism with EVERYTHING you read (including the normal news regarding world issues), and you might not be so shocked when it turns out to be wrong or just half the story. Media is media folks and journalism will never change. If there's a hint of a story, someone will report it. If you don't like, read something else.
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 12:02
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"Atleast get someone else in to balance it out if you allow this sort of thing to go on, someone who hates Sony to wind up the Sony Zombies reporting about how Sony is all hype and no innovation, relying on third party developers for the odd fresh idea along with their mostly average to crap in-house games. "
Wow Calgon, you are The One, you with your balanced views and rational mind. I salute your objectivity and exemplary grasp of facts and history. Hire him at once EG and salvage your plummeting reputation! @Fatfish: The problem is, wherever they go, they find the same thing. However, only EG provides readily accessible forums that are so frequently visited. So there.
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 12:05
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@Calgon : EG do seem to be just a *little* bit biased... there has been more than one occasion when I've read a story here which I knew was not true, but due to my NDA I could not comment... of course, I do not know who their sources were for these stories and it may well be that someone else simply lied to them and they reported it... who knows?
/sighs EDIT: BTW, I know nothing about NCSofts plans, which is why I can comment on this story :)
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 12:06
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king_skins
11/11/05 @ 12:20
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Talha "But I beg to ask: What is EG's fault if NCSoft chose not to develop for the XBox 360? And by the way, in other news:"
That is not their point, is it? We don't know if NCsoft are or are not developing for the 360, its just a rumour from some source. Their point is that EG ignores negative rumours about the PS3 and always makes and emphasises the negative rumours about the 360 |
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Talha and L42yB lol ok point taken Id already edited before I read your replies... I dont like Sony Fanboys and the article did appear to be biased... pehaps I was a little hastey. You know the console wars have never been as viscous as they are these days surley.
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 12:17
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So a longtime online PC developer is going to ignore the console with the closest ties to a PCs and with a working online component in favour of another console with no reasonable online record, utterly unfamiliar tools and as was pointed out, constructed by Korea's mortal enemies?
Sounds a titch unlikely. |
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king_skins
11/11/05 @ 12:25
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All EA games also piggyback on live and use their own servers... its the reson EA didn;t make any live games for so long.
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 12:19
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@king_skins: Actually if it is JUST a rumour, I agree that EG should indicate so in the headline instead of mentioning the obscoure source in the text.
As for PS3, the whole thing is a rumour right now, while X360 is close to launch. Since the launch games are not out yet, the sites (not only EG) are printing any news item they can get their hands on about the 360. So chill out man! Come 2006, Revo and PS3 are bound to get the same treatment. @Calgon: I appreciate that you understand. Being a fanboy is no bad thing, but what is wrong is Sony fanboys dissing the X360 without reason, and X360 doing the same for PS3. Liking one console does not mean you have to hate another.
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most recently on 11/11/05 @ 12:24
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@king_skins: Actually if it is JUST a rumour, I agree that EG should indicate so in the headline instead of mentioning the obscoure source in the text.
Yeah, who's going to bother reading the article, that's so lame, we should just putt everything in small headlines. So you don't have to putt in any effort, because reading the news is just tooooo hard man, can't focus my attention long enough. Oh look birds....and a shiny thing...... /wanders off aimlessly |
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