NCSoft Triples Its Profits In 2002

Net profits for the company hit 53.1 billion won ($45.3 million) -- a gigantic 357% increase over last year. Of note, there was a 135% increase in overseas royalties, which hit 21.8 billion won ($17.4 million). Next month NCsoft will launch Lineage Tournament in South Korea, which the company is marketing as "the world's first MMORPG-based combat game". That will be followed by a new series of Lineage episodes this summer. NCsoft said it will "make a serious advance into the Chinese online gaming market" this year, and plans to launch commercial services for its Lineage II game. As a result of the company's ongoing expansion, NCsoft's CFO Hong Heo said that he believes the company will hit 180 billion won in revenue this year. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, NCsoft has offices located in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Austin, TX. Its flagship game, Lineage, attracts over 300,000 concurrent users and claims 3.2 million active users from around around the world -- making it the largest MMORPG in the world.