[Translation] From the Horse's Mouth

[Hellrose]

In this one Tack-Jin Kim, the President of NCsoft, talks Aion and quite a bit about the NA/EU market as well. This is another two-in-one post since the articles cover the same event, but I didn't want to risk missing anything so I kept them separate.

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Source: Thisisgame
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NCsoft's Tack-Jin Kim was present at the ceremonies on the 23rd to talk about Aion as well as his wishes for it to revive the Korean game market currently suffering from a lack of hit titles. Tack (note:I'm going to call him Tack because calling him Kim would refer to like, a third of Koreans including myself.) spoke very sincerely throughout, expressing a lot of his honest thoughts and vision for the future.



"I can barely sleep at night these days." said Tack, reflecting on the anxiety and anticipation that comes with launching the first new title since Lineage 2. "I'm double checking every aspect of the Aion in preparation of the open beta".

"Lineage2 had a linear feel and a simplified game world. Aion is focused on diversifying in-game activities, from PvE, to harvesting and crafting, to RvR." In order to make sure Aion's vision was delivered without compromise, the production team alone went through 3 rounds of restructuring. Tack himself was involved in important decisions throughout.

"I wanted Aion to add to the mainstream growth of the MMO genre."

In regards to Aion's target market, Tack expressed his wish to reach further out to non-MMO players. "Lineage2 was a game for players that engaged MMOs from a hardcore perspective. With Aion I want to reach the players that have never played an MMO in their lives. It could be a good gateway game for those players."

He also spoke of his vision for mass PvP in Aion. "I wanted the RvR in Aion to interest people on a human level. RvR systems in Western games are often too impersonal for Asian players." Special attention was put in RvR to make it a system that involves both player-to-system and player-to-player relationships. An RvR with some wit, a lot of communication and co-operation within races, and a set of rules was his recipe for RvR in Aion.

China, NA/EU, Japan and Taiwan within 2009

How 'complete' is Aion?
"Prior to Aion, I had final say on launching dates on all our games. With Aion, the QA team decided November 11th as the open beta date. I've looked over the game very thoroughly and I feel that Aion surpassed the bar in every aspect."
Although the title for 23rd's press conference was 'Aion Global Launch Announcement', in reality launches over-seas will start at 2/3 month intervals after the Korean release.

"Within the next year we will have launched in China, North America/Europe, Japan and Taiwan, in that order. By 2010 Aion will also be present in Central/South America."

Game Engine Development

"We need to fight the drought in the Korean MMO market with new ideas, not more titles." said Tack, adding also that he saw a need for internally developed technologies to help carry out those ideas. His point was that the game engine itself often ends up dictating the content of a game, and for original content you also need original engines. "Blade & Soul will be the last game using an external engine (Unreal 3) for us. The company now has the proper infrastructure needed to develop our own." He was also open to licensing the engine out to other companies if possible.

On Richard Garriott

NCsoft recently combined the North American and European offices and created "NC West", putting Guild War's ArenaNet heads at the helm. Naturally, we were interested in NCsoft's situation concerning the infamous Lord British, now that his reputation was on the line due to Tabula Rasa's failure to capture the market.

"Tabula Rasa failed as a project, but it did bring visibility to the NCsoft brand. It was through Richard's deep industry connections we were able to make our connections with the 'City of Heroes' team, and through that, with the ArenaNet guys." Tack also implied that him and Garriott had 'numerous disagreements'. Tabula Rasa alone was sent back to the drawing board 4 times. Although he restrained from sharing details, his expression was one of mixed emotions.

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Source: Playforum
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Q: Aion is launching soon. How do you feel?
A: We're extremely busy readying ourselves and the game for the open beta on November 11th. Everyone says they only have one word in their head when they wake up, and that's 'Aion'. I'm also going over everything I need to twice over. I don't think this will end until the open beta date is here.

Q: Aion is your second IP to date. How do you feel compared to when you first launched Lineage?
A: To be honest it was so long ago I can hardly recall. I think in the future you will see us launch more often than every five years. This time around we focussed a lot more on accessibility. Lineage2 had a linear feel and a simplified game world. Aion is focused on diversifying in-game activities, from PvE, to harvesting and crafting, to RvR.

Q: You took a part in the development of Guild Wars. What input did you have on Aion?
A: The input was a lot more integrated with Aion. I was there for every important decision. Aion's production team went through restructuring three times for various reasons so it's much more memorable than any other projects. Too much suffering (chuckles)

Q: Was there a reason behind setting the open beta date to November 11th?
A: You might think that we set it on Pepero day on purpose (chuckle)(note: Pepero is the Korean version of Pocky. 11/11 is known widely in Korea (and somewhat in Japan) as Pocky day because the numbers are supposedly like Pocky sticks. People gift each other boxes of Pocky on this day.) but that's not the reason. It was in hopes of all the 1's in the date contributing to Aion becoming the #1 game. (chuckle)

Q: What are Aion's plans for launching over-seas?
A: We always had a world-wide launch in mind with this game. We will be launching in China, North America / Europe, Japan and Taiwan in that order, at 2/3 month intervals.

Q: What revenue ratio are you expecting?
A: We're expecting a 50:50 ratio between the Korean market and the other markets.

Q: Lineage 2 centered around PvP and politics. How would you describe Aion?
A: Aion encourages players to enjoy the game itself more. Hunting mobs was as simple as a mouse click in Lineage 2. In Aion we expect players to put more thought and co-operation into enjoying the game content. However in comparison to western MMOs, we designed the RvR to appeal more on the human level.

Q: We had expected to see an announcement of Lineage Forever in September..
A: The Lineage sequel is still in production. The quality wasn't yet up to standards so we will be announcing it next year, hopefully.

Q: Last words for the community?
A: We sincerely hope for Aion's success. There's no way we can know for sure if it will live up to that or not. The most difficult question for me this afternoon was one asking for revenue estimates. Estimates are only that, estimates. We are always concerned about the players' needs and feel humbled every day from the challenges, and we're always trying our best. In the end, we are people that have dedicated our lives to games and nothing interests us more than making it fun. Thank you.

[Griever]

well done Hellrose (:

[Aggelos]

By 2010 Aion will also be present in Central/South America.

OH **** OMFG WTF?! NCSOFT HERE?!

I still going to play in US I think but OMFG, I can't yet see all the advantages of this.

[Kindred]

Hmm so NA/EU 4-6 months after release then!

Thanks for the translation!

[Draconic]

I approve!

[Diablo]

And again thanks, so we're looking at 4-6 months after the Korean release.

So anywhere from May to September.

Originally Posted by Kindred

Hmm so NA/EU in 4-6 months then!

Thanks for the translation!

Be an active reader, 4-6 after the release not the beta, we are beat on betas.

[Kindred]

Good point. I know thats what he meant, but my brain froze and yeah that kinda sounds like its from now.. will edit.

Yep, figured it was going to be during the summertime :S . Just doesn't help that these teaser trailers come out so far before release

[justamemory]

He also spoke of his vision for mass PvP in Aion. "I wanted the RvR in Aion to interest people on a human level. RvR systems in Western games are often too impersonal for Asian players." Special attention was put in RvR to make it a system that involves both player-to-system and player-to-player relationships. An RvR with some wit, a lot of communication and co-operation within races, and a set of rules was his recipe for RvR in Aion.

nice!

Originally Posted by AionLuver

Yep, figured it was going to be during the summertime :S . Just doesn't help that these teaser trailers come out so far before release

summertime = free tyme!

[Haubix]

Thank you for the translation!

[lyankyj]

June then..figured so, and with that, PEs gonna start around march-apr, just like I expected few months earlier.

Thanks, Hellrose!

[Killer]

Thanks Hellrose

[twostep]

damnit ncsoft! hire more translators, hire hellrose! just kidding it's always good to see progress

[Calindor]

In regards to Aion's target market, Tack expressed his wish to reach further out to non-MMO players. "Lineage2 was a game for players that engaged MMOs from a hardcore perspective. With Aion I want to reach the players that have never played an MMO in their lives. It could be a good gateway game for those players."

He also spoke of his vision for mass PvP in Aion. "I wanted the RvR in Aion to interest people on a human level. RvR systems in Western games are often too impersonal for Asian players." Special attention was put in RvR to make it a system that involves both player-to-system and player-to-player relationships. An RvR with some wit, a lot of communication and co-operation within races, and a set of rules was his recipe for RvR in Aion.

Epic quote, its so true, I hate not having a sense of community or knowing who my enemies are in RvR games.

[Swati]

6 Months? I DON'T WANT TO WAIT THAT LONG!!!!! *cries like a ******