Inside One of the World’s Biggest Game Companies

So I’ve never been to Nexon’s Korean office. I’ve never even been to Korea. Or Asia. Or anywhere in the Eastern hemisphere. Nexon Korea moved into new offices late last year and the place looks stunning. The awesome Brian Ashcraft from Kotaku put together an inside look at the new space.

[NXKR] [DT2] Nexon Taking Dota 2 To Korea, Invests 1.8 Million USD

Nexon unexpectedly announced at E3 that the game will be heading to South Korea through the company’s publishing. Nexon also has said it will be investing $1.8 million in early level leagues for the game which it hopes will break the overwhelming dominance of League of Legends in the Korean market. Further details are very few.

It had previously been revealed that Nexon would be the publisher of Dota 2 in Japan.

[NX] [VLV] [CSO2] Counter-Strike Online 2 Announced

Nexon Korea Corp. and Valve Corp. have partnered for the development of the sequel to the successful free-to-play Counter-Strike Online, a first-person shooter aimed towards the Asian market.

Press Release:

TOKYO, Apr 04, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Nexon Co., LTD. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO), a worldwide leader in free-to-play online games, today announced that Nexon Korea Corporation (ceo:Min Seo) has partnered with Valve Corporation (ceo:Gabe Newell) to develop Counter-Strike Online 2, the sequel to the highly popular first-person shooter game, Counter-Strike Online.

Nexon Korea and Valve Corporation partnered in 2007 to co-develop Counter-Strike Online, an online version of the first-person multiplayer game Counter-Strike. Tailored for gaming audiences in Asia, Counter-Strike Online is an online phenomenon, reaching 500,000, 70,000 and 50,000 concurrent users in China, Taiwan and Korea, respectively.

Counter-Strike Online 2 will offer enhanced graphics, more realistic gameplay and powerful impact sensations powered by an enhanced version of the Source engine. The game will also feature various game modes enhancing its original game experience with new and improved environments, weapons, equipment customization and more.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nexon Korea will develop and be the exclusive publisher of Counter-Strike Online 2 in Japan, Korea, China and other areas in Southeast Asia. Nexon Korea intends to continue to leverage its proven development expertise and deep understanding of local markets to make Counter-Strike Online 2 one of the leading first-person shooter titles in the region.

About Nexon Co., Ltd. http://ir.nexon.co.jp/en/

Nexon Co., Ltd. (3659.TO) is a worldwide leader in free-to-play online games. Founded in Korea in 1994, Nexon developed one of the world’s first graphics-based massively multiplayer online games. Nexon also pioneered the concept of microtransactions in the free-to-play business model, setting a new standard in which play is free, and users have the option to purchase in-game items to enhance their experience. Nexon currently services more than 50 online games in more than 100 countries and since its founding, Nexon has generated more than 1.3 billion player registrations. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and its shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

[NX] [MS3DS] MapleStory 3DS Under Development

Nexon Korea has revealed that MapleStory 3DS is currently under development for the Nintendo 3DS portable video game console which is scheduled for South Korean retain release in late April. This after the massive success of MapleStory DS in South Korea and Japan.

It is not currently known if or when MapleStory DS or MapleStory 3DS will make their way to North America and Europe.

[MB2] Mabinogi 2 Character Video Released!

Nexon and DevCAT have finally released a video for Mabinogi 2, the upcoming MMORPG and sequel to fantasy life MMO Mabinogi and action MMO Vindictus. It showcases five characters in Mabinogi 2, representing five classes. It’s not much, but it shows us that the game is certainly on its way and that the graphics aren’t bad at all, even if we can’t get a good look at the game’s graphics from the video. I was very impressed with the details of the graphics and movements of the characters’ hands. Remarkable. The physics seems to be applied very well, as in Vindictus.

This video was showcased at the first ever annual game art exibition, ‘BORDERLESS’, hosted by Nexon. Can’t wait to see Mabinogi 2 launch over there in Korea and hopefully in America soon enough.

DevCAT is an internal development studio of Nexon Korea Corporation and has developed several games including the highly successful games fantasy life MMORPG Mabinogi and the fast paced action MMORPG Vindictus. Husky Express, which was closed last year, was also developed by DevCAT.

[KMS] 13,000,000 Account’s Information Leaked Following MapleStory Hacking

I know I’m late but it didn’t strike me to post on this until now for some reason.

On November 24, the Korean servers of MapleStory were hacked allowing the personal information, including names, Nexon IDs, Nexon passwords and Korean Social Security Numbers, of 13.22 million (13,220,000) MapleStory accounts to be leaked. Nexon reported this to the South Korean police on November 25.

The password and social security numbers from the accounts were encrypted but if hackers find a way to decrypt the information, the situation could become far worse.

Nexon will 1) encourage people to change their password 2) build a protecting system for dormant accounts 3) integrate all memberships into one account until June, 2012 4) build Global Security Center.

It is the second biggest hacking event in Korea. The biggest was SKComs hacking event in July, which lost about 35 million users personal information. That is 70% of the whole population in Korea.

Nexon has insisted that accounts in Japan, North America and Europe have not be compromised as it is just the Korean servers which were hacked.

It is likely that this hacking incident will be a sizable blow to Nexon’s expected $1.28 billion initial public offering.