Nexon: Q1 revenues up 59 percent

May 5th, 2011

Free-to-play/Microtransaction based games maker Nexon is reporting that it’s North American business unit, Nexon America, grew a healthy 59 percent in year-over-year first quarter revenues. Traditionally a slow season for the gaming industry, Nexon has beat the odds, making this growth particularly notable. The secret sauce behind Nexon’s impressive showing? A steady release of new content, resulting in increased user engagement and sales of microtransaction based items.

“Our success is the result of our ability to deliver engaging content that our players find valuable, whether they are playing for free or purchasing items in our games,” said Daniel Kim, CEO of Nexon America. “The substantial growth we are experiencing in North America is a reflection of how well Nexon is doing globally. We are growing our traditional MMOG business as well as expanding into other platforms such as the mobile and social games, which will help to expand our global reach and the number of people playing our games.”

In addition to their currently available Atlantica Online, Combat Arms, MapleStory, Vindictus, Dungeon Fighter Online, Mabinogi, and PopTag!, Nexon plans on a second appearance at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, and will showcase Dragon Nest, Nexon’s yet-to-be-released offering, as well as Vindictus. Dragon Nest is slated for a summer release for free-to-play PC gamers in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to Nexon, the title will combine fast-paced action alongside an engaging storyline and a the distinctive Nexon art style. Naturally, the title will be free-to-play, and microtransaction supported.

Likewise, as we recently reported, Nexon is teeing up a Facebook version, MapleStory Adventures, of the long running MapleStory franchise. And while Q1’s numbers are certainly impressive, with a Facebook launch of a perennial favorite, as well as a new “full” game, Nexon’s Q4 numbers should be poised to be off the charts.

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Nexon: How to make Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list two years running

April 21st, 2011

After accomplishing a global spread of their innovative idea, free-to-play, Nexon is looking to the next generation of success, and has recently been named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Gaming for the second consecutive year.

We’ve covered Nexon’s various achievements this year, but a quick rundown sees the company diving head first into Mobile, Social, and Console gaming congruently.

On the mobile front, Nexon produced a special “Thief Edition,” of their bread-and-butter, side scroller, Maple Story for iOS devices in 2010, while March of this year saw the arrival of their “other” top seller, Kart Rider which counts a massive 200 million registered users worldwide. Within it’s first week of availability, Kart Rider clocked over 1 million downloads.

Socially, Nexon has been a bit late to the party, however they’re making up for it with a significant partnership with A Bit Lucky which focuses on cross-platform social gaming. Not putting all their eggs in one basket, Nexon has also founded the iNiative program which selected both Antic Entertainment and onetribe to receive $1 million in capital to put towards developing games for social networks. It’s still unclear as to who exactly is driving development, but Nexon has announced a Facebook bound version of MapleStory, aptly titled MapleStory Adventures.

And finally, on the console front, just last month, Nexon announced plans to bring their popular fighter, Dungeon Fighter Online to Xbox 360 users, available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese.

Obviously, with so many plates spinning, Fast Company has, yet again, taken notice. Dungeon Fighter Online with it’s 200 million global registrants, and MapleStory (90 million worldwide registered users) are leading the charge, and the gleam of Fast Company’s eye. But it’s not just Nexon’s actual gaming titles that have garnered a nod from Fast Company. The organizations’ innovative business model surrounding their Game Cards which carry pre-determined amounts of NX, Nexon’s virtual currency, are available at more than 70,000 retailers across the US in 7-Eleven, Toys ‘R Us, and Gamestop outlets.

“While Nexon has had great success in Asia and North America, our efforts to expand our platform reach is a push to make Nexon a global gaming power,” said Nexon America CEO Daniel Kim in a statement. “To be named on the Fast Company list of Most Innovative Companies in Gaming two years in a row is truly such an honor for the entire organization. We look forward to many more years of offering the best gaming experience to our fans, whether that be PC, mobile or social network platforms.”

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Nexon Dungeon Fighter headed to Xbox LIVE arcade

March 25th, 2011

Free-to-play innovator Nexon has recently announced a publishing deal with Microsoft Game Studios to bring the popular MORPG Dungeon Fighter Online to Xbox LIVE Arcade users everywhere.

With over 200 million registered users worldwide, Dungeon Fighter is a heavy weight in it’s own class.  While most of Dungeon Fighter’s audience coming from Asia, the game recently set a new record for concurrent players; registering 2.2 million concurrent players across China, Japan, and Korea.

The Xbox LIVE Arcade version of Dungeon Fighter Online won’t be a simple port, but rather will be co-developed between Nexon and Softmax.  Softmax has an appropriate pedigree, having worked on The War of Genesis and Magna Carta.  Nexon’s dev studio, Neople will take lead on the project, and Microsoft will do the publishing via the Microsoft Game Studios.  Likewise, Microsoft will handle the localizations into Japanese, German, Spanish, Italian, and French, while Nexon will handle Chinese and English language support.

“This agreement is a significant step forward for Nexon,” said Min Suh, Nexon’s chief executive officer. “For some time we have been seeking opportunities to expand beyond online PC gaming and move into new platforms like Xbox LIVE Arcade. With the help of Microsoft Game Studios’ deep development and localization experience, we anticipate that Dungeon Fighter Online will bring enjoyment to entirely new audiences on Xbox LIVE Arcade.”

This announcement arrives only days after Nexon’s <a href=”http://www.fatfoogoo.com/2011/03/a-bit-lucky-lands-5m-in-additional-funding-led-by-nexon/”>investment</a> in A Bit Lucky.  Likewise, SOE just <a href=”http://www.fatfoogoo.com/2011/03/sony%e2%80%99s-free-realms-headed-to-playstation-network/”>recently announced</a> that they own Free-to-Play hit Free Realms will be arriving on the PlayStation network later this year.  Call it coincidence, but it looks like we’re in the middle of a reverse flow of games.  Meaning, free-to-play was born from a number of problems, but it’s always been a bit out there on it’s own, at least in the way of “found on my console.”  Free-to-play and the microtransaction business model have fought a long and hard fight, and it looks like they might now be ready for prime time.  If this in fact the case, and if Nexon has broken into the console market, how long will it be before Zynga strikes a deal, and Wii, PS3, and Xbox owners can farm direct from their console?

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Nexon North America reports a 42 percent jump in Q4 revenues

January 28th, 2011

Nexon America, the North American publishing arm of Nexon global, is reporting a healthy revenue jump of 42 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. Nexon is pointing to a strong showing in December, when Nexon reports a 60 percent increase in revenues YoY when compared to 2009’s revenues.

Nexon North America’s microtransaction based revenue generators include their highly successful FPS Combat Arms, classic MapleStory, Vindictus, Dungeon Fighter Online, Mabinogi, and PopTag! While now available for consideration on the “classics” list, Nexon’s one-that-started-it-all, MapleStory continues to drive revenues and expansion at Nexon North America, as the “Big Bang” expansion was a large driver of late 2010 revenues, bringing in not only a host of new players, but perhaps more importantly, pulling back lapsed players. As a point of reference, in mid-December, Nexon reports a massive 136,000 concurrent MapleStory players, a number that shattered the title’s previous record, in fact, nearly doubling the former record.

“It was a tremendous fourth quarter and year for Nexon and MapleStory’s Big Bang had a lot to do with it,” said Daniel Kim, Nexon America’s CEO in a statement. “Nexon has perfected a formula for gameplay with a business model that attracts players and keeps them loyal. Players don’t have to pay a cent to enjoy Nexon’s games, but our players who do pay to enhance their gameplay experience tend to spend more than the typical social gamer or subscription-based game player. Evidence of the success of this formula was seen with the release of the Big Bang expansion and the resulting increase in concurrent players and revenues.”

And although Nexon has been at it for some 10 years now, first introducing the world to the free-to-play, pay small bits of money in the game, aka microtransaction, model, the company doesn’t show any signs of resting on it’s collective laurels. 2011 hold a new title in store for Nexon America, the anticipated Dragon Nest – a fantasy based action MMOG. Initially unveiled at the 2010 E3 expo, Dragon Nest has been received with fervor in Korea and elsewhere.

“Dragon Nest will continue to raise the bar for microtransaction-based games and should energize the North American market with stylized graphics, fast action and immersive gameplay,” Kim said.

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Nexon America dishes up Black Friday deals

November 26th, 2010

For American consumers, the day after Thanksgiving, aka, Black Friday, can mean only one thing; shopping! And why should your favorite freemium game not offer the same type of “crazy” or “insane” markdown prices brick-and-mortar stores prepare months in advance for? Well according to Nexon America, they shouldn’t.

While Nexon’s Black Friday deals have technically been running all week, today is officially Black Friday, and Nexon hopes to cash in on a bit of post-turkey pixel playing. So much so, that Nexon America isn’t just offering a deal or two, here or there, as they’ve discounted a number of virtual goods items across their entire collection of properties. And just to get everyone in the holiday spirit, Nexon is also hosting holiday activities that include increased experience points events, as well as holiday and winter based events. Combat Arms snowball fight?

“We work hard on a game-by-game basis to deliver unique holiday items,” said Daniel Kim, Nexon America’s CEO. “With the enormous number of microtransactions we conduct, we have proven that we know how to bring exciting and desired virtual items to our customers. Much like brick-and-mortar retailers, the holiday season represents a great opportunity for us to expand our customer base through fun sales and exciting in-game events.”

When it comes to what’s on tap for each individual Nexon title, they’ve really pulled out the stops, again, putting their best face forward, at a time when consumers are abnormally willing to spend a bit more than usual. Let’s see what your favorite Nexon title has to offer:

  • Maple Story: Using a milestone measurement, Maple Story players will unlock special discounts based on their logins and purchases. Pets, Meso Sacks, Skill point resents, and other items will be available for 30 percent off, starting today, November 26th.
  • Mabinogi: All cash items are on sale on Black Friday to Mabinogi players. Beginning November 25th, players can expect to spot a Double Rainbow Event, offering double drop rates, skill training, and ability points.
  • Dungeon Fighter Online: Perhaps the biggest discounted title of them all, DFO players will be able to buy items in bulk, with a discounted rate of 20-50 percent off. DFO’s also offering a “Capture Seria’s Turkeys” challenge, as well as a Thanksgiving Parade that rewards Thanksgiving “leftovers,” as well as costumes. DFO’s offers run through to the end of the month.
  • Vindictus: Vindictus players should swing by their nearest Supply Depot, as special giveaways and promotions have been launched since this past Wednesday. These promotions include 20 percent discounts on individual items, as well as packages. Vindictus players can also keep their eye out for a daily giveaway of the Goddess Grace, a unique in-game weapon.
  • Combat Arms: Combat Arms players have been building up points in a month long promotion that culminates today. Similar to Maple Story, Combat Arms players have had their progress tracked by a Black Friday Sale Meter, ultimately resulting in more deals for those that have played more. Soldiers can expect big discounts on weapons, gear, holiday packages, and the occasional (read: rare) free permanent items. And if cool new gear wasn’t enough, Nexon is really pulling out the stops in Combat Arms, offering double drops rates and quadruple experience points.

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Nexon North American up in revenue and players

August 3rd, 2010

Nexon North America has recently posted their Q2 2010 results with a 26 percent increase in growth as the company now reports 7 million players in Maple Story alone, up 1 million YoY. The company reports that June in particular showed strong growth (school summer holidays?), with revenues increasing a solid 36 percent when compared to June ’09.

Naturally, the increase in revenues is tied to the aforementioned increase in users. Maple Story North America has now officially surpassed the 7 million registered user mark. Likewise, Nexon’s first-person-shooter offering, Combat Arms has passed the 4 million registered user mark, and Mabinogi went over the 1 million mark earlier this year. From these three titles alone, that puts Nexon North America at over 13 million registered users, and that’s not even including Dungeon Fighter Online, PopTag, and Vindictus.

“Our player base and revenues continue to expand, which tells us that gamers find that our free-to-play business model fits their play needs,” said Daniel Kim, Nexon Americas CEO. “MapleStory is celebrating its fifth year of service in North America and shows no sign of slowing down, while Combat Arms is growing into one of the markets most popular online FPS games. With the recent successful launch of Dungeon Fighter Online and the release of Vindictus on the horizon, 2010 looks to be a big year for Nexon in North America.”

And if the numbers alone aren’t enough to back up Kim’s supposition, Nexon’s strong (and first) showing at this year’s past E3 convention in Los Angeles has firmly planted Nexon on the North American gamers’ radar. In addition to excited attendees that got their hands on Vindictus for the first time, Nexon also through what’s been reported as, “definitely a contender for ‘Best E3 Party’.” There may or may not have been reports of gaming industry figure Thresh dancing on tables with sparklers atwhirl. But again, this may or may not just be speculation.

“We made a strong statement about Nexons leadership position at E3 and we will work hard to maintain that momentum, deliver great games and continue to satisfy the gaming pubic,” Kim added.

Nexon North America has been five years in the making now, and as Kim states, it looks like the hard work and persistence are starting to pay off, and in droves. Again, the numbers above reflect only Nexon NA’s three largest titles, with a fourth, Vindictus, poised for closed beta launch on August 10th. It should be quite interesting to see how/what Nexon’s numbers will look like this time next year.

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Nexon poised to make big E3 debut

June 9th, 2010

In their first ever E3 appearance, Korean free-to-play firm Nexon plans on making a big splash. Not only is it the company’s first time at E3, but they also plan on bringing along not 1, not 2, but 3 (what they’re dubbing as) next-generation free-to-play games. On tap will be Vindictus, Dragon Nest, and Dungeon Fighter Online.

NEXON_logoNexon will be located at booth 635 in the South Hall, and if new titles weren’t enough to draw in the crowds, Nexon is taking a play from some famous industry trade show playbooks, and have included former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Michelle Lombardo as eye candy. Of course, Nexon’s official position is that she’s there to show off the Red Wolf Hood, which represents the Gnoll Chieftain from Vindictus. Random visitors to Nexon’s booth will receive a complimentary Red Wolf Hood.

Titled “The Future of Free,” Nexon hopes to present audiences with the new style of free-to-play, including more action and higher level of quality not yet seen in the genre.

Up first: Vindictus. Slated as the first physics based MMORPG that fuses gorgeous visuals with high-speed combat. Powering the action is a modified Source Engine that enables actions such as throwing, shattering, binding with chains, piercing with spears, etc.

Second on the Nexon tap: Dragon Nest. An action role-playing game, Nexon serves up another high-speed action thriller that’s reported to have mind boggling graphics, particularly in regards to attack combos. A hybrid of sorts, Dragon Nest seeks to combine the best of both traditional RPGs and MMORPGs.

And launching today, June 9th, Nexon’s Dungeon Fighter Online already has more than 200 million players around the globe. Centered around arcade style action, this role-playing game builds upon Nexon’s fast-paced side scrolling (think Maple Story) games, while at the same time throwing in elements of classic video game fighting.

“Nexon’s first visit to E3 will definitely be a memorable one,” said Min Kim, Nexon America’s vice president of marketing. “Vindictus, Dragon Nest and Dungeon Fighter Online will set the new standard for free-to-play games and should be a revelation to E3 attendees. We are excited to take our message of great free-to-play gaming to the E3 crowds as well as provide great loot, special guests and a few surprises that will make coming to our booth a great experience.”

One item of note: It looks as though Nexon’s BlockParty.com is not yet ready for public consumption, as I would have thought that an inaugural attendance at E3 would have been the perfect time. Similar in function to ngmoco’s plusplus platform, Nexon’s BlockParty.com will help Nexon game players find and play with other Nexon gamers. Christmas 2010?

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Nexon brings GameHi Inc. into the fold

May 28th, 2010

And the acquisitions keep on rollin’ along. Arguably the company that started the free-to-play/microtransactions revolution, Korea based Nexon Inc. has recently announced their successful acquisition of GameHi Inc.

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While a number of acquisitions tend to be talent and/or technology advantage based, the Nexon acquisition is of the gobbling up of competition nature. Nexon purchased 29.3 percent of outstanding Game Hi Inc. shares, which include management rights, for $59.8 million. These rights were purchased from Gun-Il Kim, previously Game Hi Inc.’s largest shareholder. The ultimate goal for Nexon in this acquisition is to merge its online game publishing knowledge and experience with the game development capabilities of Game Hi Inc.. Ultimately, this acquisition serves to enhance Nexon’s growing influence in the freemium gaming space.

Chief executive of Nexon, Min Seo says that the two companies have a number of things in common. He believes that GameHi has proved it’s ability to create top quality titles, including Sudden Attack and Dekaron, and compares them to Nexon’s success with MapleStory, Wiznet, Dungeon Fighter Online, and Neople.

With this acquisition, it’s obvious that Nexon is committed to investing in their future. They recently reported 2009 revenues that grew from $359.7 million in 2008, to $561.5 million, a 56 percent increase. From GameHi’s side, 2009 revenues were $33.9 million, with an operating profit of $9.7 million.

As more and more gamers start and begin to invest in free-to-play titles, the ‘players’ in this field are quickly becoming ‘major players’ through acquisitions such as this one. Don’t forget, Nexon just recently acquired Korean MMO developer NDoors, and something tells me they aren’t done on their spending spree quite yet. Over the coming year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a number of similar announcements made from those that have been around since free-to-play’s inception.

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Nexon’s Min Kim on tap to deliver Keynote at GDC China

September 29th, 2009

One of the best known, and most experienced individuals in the free-to-play video games industry, Nexon’s Min Kim is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the 2009 Game Developers Conference China. The GDC China, presented by Think Services will take place at the Shanghai International Convention Center, this October 11th-13th.

min-kimKim’s address, titled “A Fantastic Westward Journey,” is slated to be filled with colorful anecdotes and words of advice to Chinese developers in regards to Nexon’s experiences in bringing popular Korean titles, as well as the free-to-play business model that has long been associated with the genre. Kim will also focus on how microtransactions were born in Asia, and for a long time, were thriving only in this market. Not so much today. He’ll talk about how this successful business model initially received a cold shoulder in the North American and European markets, but has today become a revolutionary catalyst in these markets, citing specific examples from Nexon’s breakthrough hit, the MapleStory franchise. Keep in mind that Nexon’s MapleStory is a very strong candidate in the free-to-play benchmark category, with over 92 million users worldwide, 6 million of which reside in North America.

“Min Kim will be an exceptional and inspirational keynote speaker for China,” said Meggan Scavio, GDC China event director. “Nexon’s success is proof that there is a market beyond Asia for these types of non-hardcore MMOs. Moreover, the game industry has been taken by storm with Nexon’s microtransaction business model. The Chinese audience stands to gain a tremendous account of firsthand knowledge, anecdotes and advice from Kim to take back to their companies and studios.”

And while most of us primarily know Nexon and Kim from the MapleStory franchise, Nexon was hard at work years before MapleStory’s success. The company is responsible for developing the world first internet quiz game, QPlay, and in 2004 they set a world record with 700,000 concurrent users playing Crazy Arcade BnB. In addition to MapleStory, Nexon is also the firm that developed KartRider, a title that approximately 30 percent of all South Koreans have played at one time or another.

Moving forward, Nexon is in the midst of a portal and marketing revamp that will presented under BlockParty.com. This new portal will feature a total of eight titles on US shores by the end of 2010 which will include Dungeon Fighter Online and Dragon Nest.

Assuming that Min will discuss Nexon’s entire timeline, there’s bound to be many a valuable lesson, and hopefully some highlights and reasoning behind the new revamp of Nexon’s portal offerings. Stay tuned, as the GDC China is just around the corner, and if Austin was any indication of the plethora of gaming industry news covered at the GDC conferences, the China conference might just yield a number of free-to-play/microtransactions supported games highlights.

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Riot Games secures an additional $8 million in funding

September 10th, 2009

Los Angeles based Riot Games has recently secured an additional $8 million in funding. The funding comes from Chinese online services company Tencent, most known for their QQ instant messenger client, Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital. Tencent will also be publishing Riot’s upcoming League of Legends game in China.

Riot Games, a fatfoogoo client, is now in the closed beta stage with their League of Legends fighter. Currently, 50,000 players are engaged in the testing phase, and Riot plans on an October official launch date. The free-to-play title is loosely based on a popular Warcraft III mod, Defense of the Ancients, and builds upon the popular peer-vs.-peer form of play. Up to six players can battle on one side, where they play as “summoners” that conjure up a wide variety of champions that fight in a myriad of varied battlegrounds. Riot states that the title is not an MMORPG, but contains a number of persistent game elements that are in the spirit of an MMORPG. “That is to say, while a large aspect of the game will be session-based battles, there will also be persistent elements, such as the Summoner, abilities, and levels that exist continuously throughout the game.”

Again, League of Legends is a free-to-play title, however if players want to customize their characters, or purchase time-saving features, a full featured in-game, microtransaction based in-game item shop is available. Riot has provided two types of available currency: one that can me earned through experience, or, one that can be purchased through real money transactions. Through this monetization option, Riot is preventing the pay-to-pwn stigma, and in the eyes of most gamers, provides a better balanced/fair play form of in-game spending.

In an interview with Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat, Benchmark partner Mitch Lasky said, “that the investment was attractive because the company had created an addictive game that players could revisit again and again with endless variety. The risk is that players might get bored with this kind of repetitive game play.” He also added, “They [Riot Games] nailed a model where you combined the game play of a hardcore game with the monetization of casual online games. When you go after serious gamers who pay $60 for a game, you have to realize that they have a certain expectation for game quality. The deal with Tencent validates the progress the company has made toward this goal.”

With Riot’s staff of core members hailing from a number of former hits including, Ulitma Online, Dungeon Siege, Jak & Dakter, Heroes of Might & Magic, Neverwinter Nights 2, Sly Cooper and Total Annihilation, it’s a fair bet to say that Riot can and will deliver on a console quality experience at a free-to-play price. Naturally, we’re a little biased, but from what we’ve seen thus far, let’s just put it this way: prepare for all your preconceptions about what a free-to-play is and what the quality standards are, to be shattered.

League of Legends has a projected October release date. More information and beta signups are available at leagueoflegends.com.

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