It’s probably not common knowledge that I’m not a huge MMO player. I could never get into the idea of playing a quest based multiplayer game, mainly because of the monthly subscription fees. After seeing NCsoft’s Aion, a Korean MMO being localized for the West, I may just upgrade my computer and start.
Guild Wars 2 will be delayed, this following news of financial hardships at NCsoft West. The sequel is now looking at a 2010/2011 release, with the reasoning behind the delay being levied at financial restructuring within the company.
Can you patent ideas? Worlds did, back in 2000. Their patent for “system and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space” is currently being put under scrutiny by NCsoft, who were unexpectedly hit with an infringement suit on Christmas Eve. According to Virtual Worlds News, Worlds claims “NCsoft has infringed on patent 7,181,690… through its games, including City of Heroes, City of Villains, Dungeon Runners, Exteel, Guild Wars, Lineage, Lineage II, and Tabula Rasa.” Read More »
Game Design, Gaming Videos, MMORPGs, Virtual Worlds
Unlike other MMO developers, NCsoft isn’t content sitting back and watching all their monthly payments roll in. They are constantly trying to one up their previous project and the title they hope will raise the bar set by Richard Garriot’s Tabula Rasa is their upcoming martial arts MMORPG Blade and Soul. They recently released a gameplay trailer; prepare to have your mind blown.
In their latest earnings report, NCsoft has apparently chosen to follow the time-honored “pretend I never got involved with that creepy artificially enhanced embarrassment, and maybe it’ll all just go away” strategy. I’ve got news for them: It didn’t work for David Hasselhoff’s herpes and it won’t work for the Tabula Rasa debacle either.
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