MMOEXP: One thing you should notice in Blade and Soul NEO
The NCSOFT self-developed titles were not really doing as well as it hoped or not really meeting NCSOFT’s expectations. So basically, there were a lot of discussions about revamping the Western business and [restrategizing] the company’s Western publishing business. So I was brought [on] to lead those initiatives. And I actually thought it BnS NEO Divine Gems was going to be a very good challenge for me, for my career, and also I thought it was going to be a very meaningful challenge to me, because NCSOFT is a very unique company.
That uniqueness comes from NCSOFT’s pedigree as one of the first-ever online game developers, launching Lineage in 1998, only a year after NCSOFT officially formed. Since then, the company has released incredibly popular and influential MMOs over the years, finding incredible success across Korea and in other Asian markets. However, it has always struggled to find a solid foothold here in the West, despite a dedicated following of hardcore players. This popularity, especially with Lineage, has helped NCSOFT boast over 200 million registered players across all of their games, with the vast bulk coming from the Lineage series.
It’s important to note that NC America is not handling the operations of ArenaNet or publishing Guild Wars 2 here in the West. That is still technically being handled by NCSOFT West, which is a separate entity from NC America (confused yet?). As far as the relationship between NC America and ArenaNet, JJ likens it to a “brother and sister” relationship.
Both of us are under NCSOFT and NCSOFT’s brand. And we’re the only two entities operating our cheap BnS Classic Divine Gems games in the West under NCSOFT. So I think for now, we are not publishing ArenaNet titles, but we are just now sharing some insights and information and ArenaNet is taking care of the Guild Wars franchise on their own.