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Aion collector's edition announced, spec'd

by Randy Nelson { Jun 18th 2009 at 4:00AM }

In the ramp-up for the US release of its latest MMO, Aion, on September 1, NCsoft has taken the shrinkwrap off the game's $70 limited collector's edition and -- what's this? -- there's a pretty cool looking figure inside. Okay, it's a "hand-painted Asmodian Daeva." Still looks cool.

Pre-ordering the set will also get you some exclusive in-game items, which range from the ominous sounding Black Cloud Wings to the yawn-inspiring, single use "colored dye." To counter the latter's lameness, you'll be able to blast the included soundtrack CD whilst performing one of the two pre-order exclusive emotes: the "Aion Boogie." In the game, of course.

If the LCE's too pricey, the regular ol' edition comes in a steel case. And ... that's all. Still: steel.

NCsoft has solid Q1 sales, profits thanks to Aion

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 11th 2009 at 2:00PM }

NCsoft is apparently off to a good start in 2009 -- notwithstanding Richard Garriott's lawsuit -- thanks to "solid maintenance" of Lineage and Lineage II, along with sales of its new MMO, Aion. The publisher's sales were up 51 percent year-over-year to $107.7 million in the first quarter, with net income enhanced to $27 milllion, a 315 percent increase. It appears the Korean-based company's numerous international workforce cuts paid off.

NCsoft's CFO, Jaeho Lee, was happy that Aion's launch did not affect the performance of the Lineage series in Korea. Now we wait to see how the rest of the globe embraces Aion. The MMO is prepped to launch in China during Q2, with other major markets set for the second half of the year.

NCsoft Austin to expand at a 'dramatic pace'

by Jason Dobson { Sep 19th 2008 at 5:00AM }

This according to David Reid, the president of publishing at NCsoft's recently christened Seattle office, who despite rumors to the contrary recently assured Edge that the company's Austin office, which includes customer service, QA and the Tabula Rasa team, isn't going away anytime soon. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Reid describes Austin as "critically important" to NCsoft.

"We really do believe that Austin is going to grow at a fairly dramatic pace over the next few years," noted the exec. Growth is expected to be fueled by the company's upcoming MMO Aion, as well as other unannounced projects based on NCsoft's existing franchises. Truly, we're excited to hear of NCsoft's future plans, though we imagine not half as much as those in Austin who can now rest easy knowing, for the time being at least, any slips they may find at their desk when they arrive in the morning will be anything but pink.

PAX 2008: Appealing to an MMO Newbie

by Xav de Matos { Sep 4th 2008 at 11:00PM }

Worth it or not, to me personally, pay-to-play MMOs always felt like a ridiculous proposition. Paying to play a game I already paid for is like paying $5 to bite into a delicious burger I just got at the drive-through. Still, the genre continues to spawn new titles as proven at the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo.

While many MMO titles were on display, two were the most talked-about massively multiplayer role-playing games of the show: Warhammer Online and Aion: The Tower of Eternity. Realizing my limited experience with MMOs in the past, the team at Joystiq tasked me with learning as much as I could about each title and see if they could appeal to a genre newbie willing to jump into the online fray.

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The Best of Big Download: August 18-24

by Joystiq Staff { Aug 24th 2008 at 5:00PM }

Games Convention generated a ton of new HD trailers for upcoming PC games and we have them ready to download, along with a ton of original content and news stories. Indeed, there were a lot of new PC games announcements this week (more than at E3). Take a look at all of them on our site:

Exclusive Features

Reviews: Check out our reviews of the PC version of Bionic Commando Rearmed and the latest chapter of American McGee's Grimm.
Hands-on previews: Check out our hands-on impressions of Aion, Battleforge and Battlefield Heroes
BigVersus: Our latest game comparison column takes a look at the PC and Xbox 360 versions of Bionic Commando Rearmed.
Big Iron: Our latest PC hardware column takes a look at power . . . power supplies for your rig that is.
Big Ideas: Our latest column on themes in gaming takes a look at the so called "new games journalism."
Alt-Tab: Our newest column takes a look at RTS gameplay conventions and how Relic could change them with Dawn of War II.
Freeware Friday: Our latest look at free PC games is the classic Nethack.
BigCast: It's our regular podcast with team members chatting about all things PC gaming.

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PC impressions: Aion

by Jennie Lees { May 12th 2006 at 3:30AM }

We spent some time with Aion, an upcoming MMO from NCsoft. The gameplay is immediately familiar -- we've been here before. Floating exclamation points, a variety of quests and skills and a fantasy setting all combine to make a surprisingly uninspiring cookie-cutter game.

Aion has some beautiful environments -- we saw a range of lush, green settings. Combined with fairly realistic faces, the game certainly looks good, but the pretty mask hides a reinterpretation of standard MMO features with little to differentiate it from the crowd. Combo-style skills -- execute a main hand attack, then an off-hand attack, then a followup -- make combat a little more varied than in other games. A quest system with a detailed breakdown of goals helps navigation.

Ultimately we saw nothing about Aion that seems to appeal to anyone other than those currently engrossed in fantasy MMOs. If that's your genre of choice, you'll likely love Aion for its graphics and good-vs-evil setting, but anyone else will have to look hard to find anything special about the game.