Unlike online games in the West, most games in Asia do not come with a monthly subscription fee. The business model of micro-transactions and ad-supported gaming has proven successful, but Flagship Studios, which was formed in 2003 by former executives and developers from Blizzard North (who had worked on Diablo), decided to buck the trend – and apparently its paying off.
Flagship announced that its action role-playing game Hellgate: London has become the most successful online video game launch in Korea of the past three years. The game, which is the first online title in over three years to use a monthly subscription business model, garnered over a million registered accounts within the first two weeks of its open beta test.
Flagship said that after launching the open beta on January 15, Hellgate: London soon became the ninth most played online game, fifth most popular RPG and most popular online beta game in PC Cafes (according to Gametrics and Game Report). The game was then released commercially on February 22 and "achieved record sales" in its first week."To become the most successful launch in Korea for over three years is an incredible achievement," said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. "This milestone wouldn't have been possible for us to achieve without the incredible support of our publishing partner, Hanbitsoft, and our dedicated community in Korea. We look forward to expanding the Hellgate universe and building upon this success in the future."
"Flagship Studios are well aware of how the Asian market operates very differently to the Western territories" said Alex Kim, CEO of HanbitSoft, "By listening to players' feedback and through constant updates to the game, Hellgate: London will continue to be an incredible success throughout Asia."
EA and Namco Bandai Games America launched Hellgate: London in North America last Halloween.
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