Publisher NCsoft has announced the results of its first quarter, showing sales up four percent to KRW 88.1 billion ($84.3 million), and profits down 43 percent to KRW 8.1 billion ($7.7 million) following a write-off after its decision to drop Spacetime's PC MMO
Blackstar from its lineup.
The company
announced the decision in January to end its publishing agreement with Austin-based Spacetime Studios for
Blackstar, resulting in layoffs at the developer. NCsoft says without the write-off, profits would have increased 8 percent to KRW 15.2 billion ($14.5 million). Spacetime announced in early May it had
re-acquired the IP and development continues on the project.
Elsewhere, NCsoft says its operating income was buoyed by continued popularity of the
Lineage series in Asia, and sales of
Guild Wars and
City of Heroes in North America and Europe. NCsoft notes in particular that its first quarter saw the highest sales of
Lineage II since its 2003 release.
By title, NCsoft saw sales made up by 43 percent from
Lineage II ($34.1m), 35 percent from
Lineage ($27.8m), 12 percent from
Guild Wars ($9.1m), and seven percent from
City of Heroes/City of Villains ($5.2m). By region it saw sales of 57 percent in Korea, 12 percent in North America, 10 percent in Europe, 11 percent in Japan, three percent in Taiwan and seven percent from royalty income.
Looking forward, NCsoft says its third closed beta test of
Aion is coming this summer ahead of its full launch later in the year, and casual titles
Point Blank, Punch Monster, Dragonica, and
Love Beat due for launch later in the year.
Said CFO Jaeho Lee said, “As proven once again in the Q1 financial results, we strongly believe our key franchise products, such as
Lineage and
Guild Wars, will meet our sales target with a strong customer base and continued content updates going forward. We plan to ensure the smooth launch of many new products in the next two to three years, which will strengthen our position as a global leader in online games.”
