Nexon has announced that its MMO, MapleStory, has 67 million registered users across Asia and North America. What's more, Nexon aims to increase the number as Maple Story gains official support in Europe.

Though it was released in South Korea in 2003, MapleStory didn't come to North America until 2006-- where, according to Nexon, the fantasy MMO gained three million subscribers in four months. Now Europeans can join in, and the company's promised weekly content updates and localized events with tie-ins to real-world happenings on the continent.

MapleStory has always been free to play, but characters can purchase bonuses and virtual goods for their avatars; revenue from such micropayments is the primary component of Nexon's reported $250 million earnings from games.

"Now gamers all over Europe can enjoy MapleStory's delightful visuals, vibrant community and simple, yet truly compelling gameplay," said Calvin Yoo, director of international business development at NEXON Europe. "We look forward to making many more exciting MapleStory announcements over the coming months."

[via Gamespot.com]

Korean online game publishers Webzen (Mu Online, SUN), Nexon (Kart Riders, Maple Story) and NCSoft (Lineage, Dungeon Runners), along with internet content service provider NHN (the Hangame portal), have teamed up with the Korea Culture & Content Agency (KOCCA) to promote their latest online games with the opening of an interactive Online Gaming Hall and Digital Mobile Content Center at the Korea Center in Los Angeles.

KOCCA is the creative content division of South Korea’s Ministry of Culture & Tourism, while the Korea Center on Los Angeles' Wilshire Boulevard opened in 2006, with the mission of introducing and promoting Korean creative content within its exhibition space of over 3,000 square feet.

One of the first online games featured at the Korea Center is Nexon's Audition, which claims to have registered over 100,000 North American users in two months. Other games on exhibition include Webzen’s Huxley, NHN’s GunBound, and NCSoft’s Lineage.

“The featured Korean online games and mobile content have already gained widespread popularity and success in Asia,” says KOCCA Managing Director Daniel Kim. “This event is significant in that the leading Korean online gaming and mobile companies are jointly displaying their creative content in the Korea Center exhibition space. People of all nationalities can now visit the Korea Center and experience Korean games and mobile content firsthand, thereby increasing awareness of Korean creative content to an even higher level in the United States.”

Nexon's free-to-play MapleStory franchise kicks off its "Summer Break" event with what it calls a "colossal upgrade" to the in-game world, introducing a new territory called New Leaf City. In a press release received by Worlds in Motion, the company says the brand-new area, a "teeming metropolis," will give players a new locale for quests, battles and chat, and introduce new monsters, NPCs and secrets.

As part of the Summer Break event, the company promises a host of promotions and activities like experience boosts and opportunities to earn MaplePoints and win prizes, among other special events.

Nexon says three of the events focus on encouraging community interaction, including a Guild screenshot competition and prizes awarded for blog and forum comments. There will also be a sale on select items in conjunction with Summer Break, where users can buy "dozens of items" for a bargain using the in-world Nexon Cash they purchase.

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

Let's kick off this week with a look at MapleStory, the hugely popular MMO from Nexon. Reported to have more than 60 million worldwide users (about three million in the US), we'll explore the world and find out what's driving such broad adoption.

Tabletop RPG and card game gurus Wizards of the Coast, Inc. has announced a partnership with Nexon America Inc. to launch the MapleStory iTrading Card Game (iTCG) in the US and Canada in November. The iTCG is comprised of real-world cards with codes redeemable for exclusive in-game content in the MapleStory world.

Wizards of the Coast did the a similar thing with the Neopets trading card game in 2003, with some differences. "Unlike codes in other TCGs that redeem online for limited-value vanity items, codes in the Maplestory iTCG will unlock exclusive online rewards and game experiences such as highly sought-after artifacts, rare virtual pets, and all-new quests," Says Laura Tommervik, Wizards of the Coast brand manager.

In a press release received by Worlds in Motion, the company says they also hope that fans of trading card games will find a point of entry into the MapleStory world through a format already familiar to them.

The MapleStory card game will play much like its online counterpart, the company says -- with the exception that the card game adds the character-versus-character element not possible in MapleStory.

The game is available in starter sets and booster packs. Starter sets contain 34 cards, including one code, one booster pack, game rules and a CD-ROM with the MapleStory online game client. Booster packs include 9 cards and one code.

"Wizards of the Coast created some of the world's most popular brands as a leader in role-playing, trading card game and tabletop strategy games," said Min Kim, director of game operations for Nexon America. "MapleStory's extraordinary world and rich characters give Wizards of the Coast a distinctive establishment to build the next great trading card game."

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

This week, we spent time in Nexon's MapleStory, fighting cute mushroom and snail creatures as we pursued a new job class. So what's the overall impression?

The ever-expanding world of Nexon's MapleStory, which Worlds in Motion recently explored, has added two new towns: the mountain village of Mu Lung and the seaside Herb Town. The New Leaf City area, itself announced not too long ago, now has its own Free Market for players to buy and sell goods.

The Mu Lung area will also have a salon where players can customize their avatars' coifs with new haircuts, and brand-new monsters swarm the Herb Town area, ready to be slain. Finally, a new White Scroll item offers single-slot protection for a weapon or item.

A giant in multiplayer gaming in the East, Nexon’s accessible-to-all MMOs have garnered considerable success here in the US. Worlds in Motion recently visited the singular, stylish sidescrolling MapleStory world, and we have the upcoming American launch of the multiplayer racing game KartRider to look forward too, too. Already one of the top-selling online games in the world on the heels of its success in the Asian market with millions of users, rumor has it that we could see an open beta in America as soon as early October.

We asked Nexon America’s Min Kim about KartRider’s appeal. “I think it’s really a global type of product,” he explains. “It’s a racing game; a lot of people say the art style is ‘very Asian,’ but it’s really very universal. It also spans across various age groups. The thing about it is, a lot of people have grown up playing these console-style games. It’s definitely not hardcore; it’s more of a casual experience where people can socialize and race, and I don’t think they’ve been given that opportunity before.”

That traditional console-style gameplay combined with multiplayer elements is one of the things we noticed about MapleStory, whose 2D world is lush with the fervor of its community. We asked Kim what role that community element might play in KartRider. “The community factor drives all of our products,” Kim says. “That same element that drives MapleStory drives Kartrider. There’s no real single-player experience; you could play by yourself in MapleStory, but a lot of is creating social experiences.”

Building a Community
He continues, “I’m finding that these days, for a lot of the teenagers and people playing, it’s now a different experience when you are in the game, and visually in the same place with others. On top of that, what adds community to it is the competition and the customization -- the ability to be unique and create your virtual identity. So you can represent who you are and communicate that.”

MapleStory takes socialization seriously – one of the things we found on our trip inside was that there is even a system by which characters in the MapleStory world can get married. “We thought our players really needed that,” says Kim. “One player has met her real-life husband on MapleStory; there are a lot of people finding people they have things in common with, they’re getting closer relationships. Of course, not everyone that gets a MapleStory marriage is in love, but it’s a fun type of way to be close within the game.”

A Unique Look
When we think of virtual worlds these days, everybody thinks 3D – but MapleStory distinguishes itself through brightly-colored and uniquely designed 2D graphics for that console-style feel Kim refers to. “One reason MapleStory was successful is, when it first came out, it was at a time when lots of South Korean games were going 3D,” he recalls. “It’s not about pushing the graphics to the edge. They found that out a few years ago; we didn’t want it to look like everything else. When MapleStory came out, we wanted to make it different and turned it into a 2D game, and that was refreshing when everything else was 3D.

But what about KartRider? Kim explained how an accessible look helps make some of Nexon’s biggest games more appealing to a broader market. “KartRider is more like cel-rendered 3D racing, but the art style is very crisp and clean and inviting for both genders, and a lot of girls play it in Korea, too,” he says. MapleStory and KartRider both lend to that; they’re more skewed female than online games in the past. The demographics are something like 30-70, 20-80 female-male. There’re also a lot of girls playing MapleStory; I’m amazed to see that. Because the gaming market in the states is different than the Korean market, and there’s a new generation of gamers, things are balancing; gaming is second nature to the new generation.”

Bringing in the Girls
How to continue this trend toward balancing the audience and attracting more female players? “One of the things is, we try to make as many points of socialization as possible and we’re constantly figuring out how to make it easier to communicate with each other,” Kim explains. “I think when we make games it depends on the genre, but with games like MapleStory and KartRider, we’re trying to net as many people as possible, so we concentrate on fun and community and that social factor -- and we definitely want to get both sexes involved. Part of that is, also, if you have girls in the game, the boys are gonna wanna play too.”

Are there specifics involved in getting girls in the game? “I don’t think we ever try to make a game boy or girl-centric, but I think there are fun features that lend themselves to both genders,” Kim says. “Everyone can appreciate the type of games we make. It’s the genre as well; whether or not we think it is female-centric to begin with, certain games are more male centric – for example, if we open a soccer game, we know it will be more guys than girls, but for MapleStory and KartRider, I think we knew there would be a lot of females playing. In Korea we heavily marketed to the female audience.”

Elaborating on the universal appeal, Kim pegs one of the biggest trends in online multiplayer gaming and online social worlds. “Also, it is a casual game – but these are gamers that don’t know they’re gamers,” he says, “so there are girls in there who wouldn’t classify themselves as gamers but are on there for hours. When MapleStory came out, we ran a poll asking how many MMOs the users had played in the past. I can’t remember the specifics, but it was like only one third had played one, a third had played two or more, but a third had never played an MMO before, or even knew what an MMO was. So it was that a lot of people were bringing their friends in.”

Getting Local
With so many localized versions of MapleStory, a lot of specifics need to be customized. How will KartRider’s appeal be tailored to the US market? “Every game is different, but what we are learning in MapleStory is that people here really like customization, so we will try to create content that works for the US market,” Kim explains. “The wedding system in MapleStory was designed in our LA office, because we wanted to make a wedding system that would make sense in the Western audience. They had an Asian version that we tweaked. So as we release KartRider in the states, it is more of a universal product – it’s just racing with cartoons. But as we roll things out and add more cars, we might try to look at the market and see what fits better.”

One way that MapleStory gets audience-specific is with holidays and events. “If you look in MapleStory during Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas, there are events they wouldn’t be running in Korea and vice versa, that are culturally centered. We will try to run events in the game that speak to the local audience.”

Making it Big in the Market
Nexon’s also had big success with the multiplayer dance-off Audition; it’s one of the most successful online games in the world, holding the number two slot in China, and it’s playable in the States right now. We asked Kim to explain Nexon’s magic touch, and how working in the Eastern market first might provide beneficial experiences for the North American market. One thing Kim says has been helpful is getting experiences with microtransactions – a new revenue model for many current online games in the West, but something Nexon’s games have been working with since the late nineties. “It’s not something you can just create a formula for,” he says. “We had the benefit of running a lot of products early on, and taking those learnings and translating them into better gaming experiences.”

“We’ve definitely had the benefit of time, as well as a great player base, that we’ve learned a lot from,” he adds. “Not just from game to game, but through the life of the game by listening to what the customer is looking for, so a lot has changed from the days that we opened them. The other difference, I think, between us and others is that I think a lot of people want to do this whole microtransactions-and-free-to-play thing, and these business models – we’ve had the benefit of time to figure out how to do this, but many people develop games they think will be fun, but they don’t keep the business model in mind, or they don’t understand the business model. That’s gotten a few companies in trouble in Korea. And a lot of companies do that, and they will continue to do that – have a game concept that at the end of the day, they’re like, ‘how do I make money off this?’”

Securing distribution deals for pre-paid cards also works very well in terms of monetizing the game content and increasing accessibility. “We’ll be getting very wide distribution for the prepaid cards,” Kim says. “When we first launched the product, everyone needed a credit card to fully enjoy the content. What that did is it basically curbed potential players who wanted customizability, because more than half were 13 to early 20s, so without that payment vehicle they couldn’t fully participate.”

Fun at the Core
But for Kim, the business model is step two. “In terms of our products doing well, it’s that our games are very fun, and I think that’s the core to all games that are going to be successful in terms of the business model we’re in,” he says. “It’s one of the most competitive markets out there, because we’re selling free. So unless your game is good, nobody’s going to play it. There are a lot of free games, so your game really has to be very good. And once the game concept is good, then you build the business model around it. So those business models never took off because the games weren’t fun. We all understand we're working with a hit-driven market and we're fortunate. I think in Korea, there are only four products that have broken the 200,000 concurrent user level. Three of those games are ours.”

Nexon also stays successful by balancing the expertise of experience with the input of the users – teams check the user forums regularly to take a pulse on player experience. How do they keep them engaged? “A lot of thought is put into how we can make this better for the players,” Kim says. “A lot of the items in-game are very creative, so even in our commercialization we have an in game store where a player can sell items to other players in the game. Most games have trade between users, but we found players wanted to open a store -- which is fun for them -- and price items in the store, and facilitate the process. Little things like that -- I think we inspect our game and say, ‘how do we make this easier to do?’”

Looking Ahead
Nexon’s games also keep things fresh with new content introduced constantly, and KartRider will follow the same pattern. “I think within the open beta there will be different releases,” he says. “We’ll start, for example, with a fixed number of maps and then as time progresses, we’ll add new maps. All our games patch monthly, and KartRider will patch even more frequently than that, maybe every two weeks or potentially even weekly. So there will be new content for players; that’s a critical thing for a business model. We say that our business is more like a soap opera, versus a movie release. Where a console product makes all its money in the first few weeks and a huge launch, our games last 3-7 years -- so who will play that long unless you’re updating content?”

There are more announcements just on the horizon for Nexon – keep your eyes peeled for KartRider, and stay tuned to the upcoming DigitalLife event in New York on September 27th for some more news. Until then, the residents of Nexon’s long-lived game suite are looking forward to the events of the holiday season, new every year -- and keeping them coming back.

Nexon has introduced a brand-new ranking feature for MapleStory Europe. An online rankings database will now let users directly compare their progress against that of their rivals and friends, adding a competitive element to the game.

MapleStory has always ranked players according to their current level and experience total, but players will be able to see where they stand in reference to others when they search the online database of active players in the MapleStory database, by logging onto the Maple Story Europe homepage.

The rankings, which are updated on an hourly basis, are divided into Overall, World and Job categories, allowing players to compare their progress against all other players, those that play on the same channel, or those with the same in-game profession. In addition, the top three fastest movers in each category are singled out for special recognition on the website, giving high-flying players something extra special to strive for.

A fourth category compares players on the basis of Fame, MapleStory’s in-game popularity rating. From Level 15 players can, on a once a day basis, give (or take away) a fame point to any other player in the game. As players who rank highly on the Fame leaderboard are assured legendary status among other MapleStory fans, Nexon expects it to become an interesting and fiercely-fought category.

In addition to the new online ranking system, all posts and comments made on the www.mapleeurope.com forum are now tagged with the player’s in-game avatar, to encourage community involvement and reinforce character customization.

To celebrate the system launch, and to prepare for the upcoming in-game Oktoberfest, MapleStory Europe will run a special "Monster Invasion" event on September 10th, during which players will get to gain extra experience defending Victoria island from swarms of monsters.

In Friday's keynote at the Austin Game Developers Conference, Nexon America’s Min Kim discussed his firm's incredible Korean success with games such as Maple Story and Kart Rider, and explained how the company's microtransaction model adapted to the West.

Nexon, as Kim explained, was established in 1994 in Korea -- first a developer, then a publisher, they serviced their own games, as well as those of third parties. In 2005, Nexon’s revenues were $230 million, with a net profit of $75 million, and the company had some 1,600 people in its employ. And in 2005, 80% of their revenue came from in-game item sales.

“The great thing about microtransactions is that they’re scalable,” said Kim. “You can spend as little as zero dollars -- but as much as you want. You’re not linked to a certain scale.”

Hit the jump for the rest of Kim's keynote and Nexon's story, which originally appeared at Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.

Worlds in Motion recently spoke in-depth with Nexon America's Min Kim, who among many topics discussed KartRider, the multiplayer online racing game in closed beta ahead of its move to US shores. Now comes the official announcement -- Nexon America has given the green light for KartRider open beta testing scheduled for October 2nd.

KartRider features oldschool kart racing with a variety of personal customization options for character personalities and cars. It prioritizes accessibility and convenience, aiming to make the controls easy and the gameplay oriented for bite-sized sessions, a mechanic increasingly called for in appealing to casual audiences. There is already a very serious overseas userbase for KartRider, though -- Nexon says over 30% of the South Korean population has played the game before.

KartRider's open beta will offer a choice of several characters and multiple race courses; beta testers can have two different carts, paint jobs and license plate modifications, and a "My Garage" feature that lets users socialize with friends, show off their kart modifications and check out new pit stop items.

Open beta testers can also try different single and team race modes including "item mode", which featuries the use of creative items used to gain an edge, and "speed mode", a test of driving skill focusing solely on speed and drift.

Nexon adds it's planned promotions, contests and in-game events geared to coordinate with the launch schedule as things unfold.

When we talked to Nexon America's Min Kim, he told us what a big part holiday events play in user engagement for the MapleStory world. The company has just announced its slate of special events for Halloween, including a variety of new contents and expansions.

The MapleStory continent of Masteria will expand to add a new area, the Phantom Forest, and a new haunted house, The Prendergast Mansion. Several new content debuts are in, too -- a new pet, the game’s first user-inspired weapon, the Flame Tongue, new Halloween items, several themed events and a new boss.

Advanced players will get a chance to hunt down and fight the Headless Horseman, hidden somewhere in the Phantom Forest. At the Prendergast Mansion, users can take part in a linear story while fighting previously unseen monsters, and finding a variety of new items. Players looking for a new pet will be pleasantly surprised to meet the Jr. Reaper, a creepy Halloween-themed buddy, and also in line with the Halloween theme, players can collect candles in the game world to be traded for a Pumpkin Basket. There will also be other special events whereby players will have the opportunity to earn Nexon Cash, and holiday-themed items will be on sale in the Cash Shop -- notably, a name change item will let players actually change the name of their character, something they can't ordinarily do.

Fashion's a big deal in the virtual worlds space, especially around youth-oriented worlds. It's become clear that the broader the array of fashion options for avatar personalization and self-expression just might correlate to a broader userbase. Now MapleStory Europe has an entire event staged around letting its population show off their fashions, called the Maple Star Style Contest.

The event, which runs for three weeks, will let players flaunt their style, vote on their favorite looks with compliments and put-downs, and participate in a Europe-wide contest to single out the best-dressed players in the MapleStory world. The competition launches October 18th, and will run in conjunction with the region's in-game Halloween events, challenging players to create the most attention-grabbing costumes and the most unique looks. All players level 10 or higher can participate -- not a very tall order, since on our visit to the Maple Story world, we learned that level 10 is the basic point of entry to the broader game experience, the stage at which you choose your character's job and can leave the introductory areas.

All players are eligible to vote, however, and can leave comments and votes on the Maple Europe homepage. The winner with the most "Love It" votes will get 70,000 Maple Points to spend in the Cash Shop, and, of course, the first Maple Star award, which is perhaps equally valuable in a world where reputation plays a strong role.

MapleStory Europe's international business development director Calvin Yoo said, “MapleStory Europe’s Maple Star event is yet another example of how Nexon continues to innovate and deliver great new content in the field of free-to-play MMORPGs. MapleStory Europe is committed to bringing unique and fun massively multiplayer gaming to as wide an audience as possible, and we’re confident that’s exactly what players will get from this event. We hope as many players take part and vote as possible - although players won’t be able to vote for themselves, obviously!”

MapleStory's known for its holiday-themed events, which are localized for regional celebrations. Nexon America is apparently continuing this tradition with their latest MMO to reach our shores, KartRider, the free-to-play racing MMO currently in open beta. KartRider is set to offer a variety of Halloween-themed events and content releases.

First, a spooky new area, Creepy Hollow, will feature new tracks, 'Fright Fight' and 'Hidden Monastery', adding eerie forests, precarious cliff roads, long dark corridors and a cemetary. Riders will be able to check out the new area in a Halloween-themed "Pumpkin Racer E2" cart, the first of a new series of racers and the highest-level kart currently available.

KartRider also adds "The Pumpkin Chase," a scavenger hunt event in which users collect Jack o'Lanterns around various race courses. Players that can collect enough pumpkins within the time frame get a special reward.

Offering holiday events in multiplayer worlds is a strong strategy in general; with it being quite clear what social interaction adds to gameplay, letting users share their holiday experience in a game definitely adds value to the experience.

During this year’s Gstar game show in Seoul, South Korea, Nexon has revealed new details about Maple Story DS, as well as an Xbox 360 port of the company's Korea-only PC MMO Mabinogi, which was announced today.

The recent Mabinogi announcement, which came on the first day of the major Gstar show attended by Gamasutra in South Korea, was relatively unexpected. The game is a more traditional, cel-shaded MMORPG with an interesting class system, allowing players to level up in branching paths with individual attributes.

The game has already been out in Korea, but will be coming to the Xbox 360 soon – Nexon hoped to launch it this year in Korea, but is not certain it will meet the target.

“It’s been under development for about a year,” said Kang, who added that it’s a rather straight conversion of the original game. “It’s being developed internally – but there’s not much more we can say at this time,” he concluded.

Other details, such as possibility of Western release, are scarce, but common sense and anecdotal evidence suggests that the game will be released as a packaged product such as Final Fantasy XI or Phantasy Star Universe, with aims for release outside of Korea, given the complete unfeasibility of releasing an Xbox 360 game solely for the Korean market.

Secondly - Maple Story DS, we now learn, is planned for a release by the middle of next year in Korea, with a subsequent eye to western markets.

“We’re aggressively developing it,” said Jamie Kang, general manager of Nexon Korea’s international business division. “It’s under development currently, and it’s in very good shape.”

The game will be a departure from the original series, which focused on a casual MMO-lite experience. “It’s not an MMORPG type game,” says Kang, “it’s actually typical action RPG. It’ll have different gameplay from the original version, more adapted to the platform itself.”

The DS version won’t focus as heavily on the community aspect – “We have some features that support wifi, but the main focus will be on single player,” he said.

Nexon also revealed that they are working jointly with developers in Nintendo’s Kyoto headquarters to make sure the game has the highest level of quality, stating that Nintendo has been “extremely helpful.”

[The preceding article originally ran at Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

As part of its continuing series of special events based on major European cultural festivals, MapleStory has announced a fireworks festival for the game in that region based on England's Guy Fawkes celebrations. The in-game events are set to run from November 15th to 29th.

To take part in the free-to-participate event, players must first join together with friends to form a party, before hunting down seven secret letters hidden across the special Guy Fawkes map. Once these have been collected, players must work together to defeat a special MapleStory Europe version of the infamous Guy Fawkes himself, earning special in-game items and prizes.

MapleStory Europe’s cash shop is also offering a Guy Fawkes-inspired mask, special accessories that set off fireworks around the character avatars, and England flag face paint as character decor.

International business development director for Nexon Europe Calvin Yoo said, "Fireworks night is a fantastic time of year and now people can enjoy all the fun of Guy Fawkes for a few weeks more courtesy of MapleStory Europe. As with every special event in MapleStory Europe, we’ve worked hard to ensure that the unique spirit of Guy Fawkes night is truly captured for everybody to enjoy. Maplers will love it; just don’t forget to bring your sparklers!”

We recently announced that MapleStory in the U.S. held an in-game event based on the cultural phenomenon of the Black Friday shopping day, and now MapleStory Europe has announced its own in-game events for the winter. MapleStory Europe has added new items to its Cash Shop, and additionally, will now offer a new Japanese-themed area, the Mushroom Shrine.

Notable are the "My Boyfriend" and "My Girlfriend" effect items now for sale in the cash shop. When equipped, a pointer will float over a character's head to indicate that the avatar alongside them is their in-game relationship partner. MapleStory provides a means for characters to marry, with the ceremonies and requirements differing culturally depending on the game's region, and relationships between characters are a big part of the MapleStory social environment.

The Cash Shop also adds a "Mushroom House Elf," a character who will mind a player's Free Market store when they're offline, and an item called the Water of Life, which will resurrect pets who have passed on for another 90 days.

Calvin Yoo, director of International Business Development at Nexon Europe, commented, “Innovative new items to the Cash Shop such as the My Boyfriend and My Girlfriend accessories help to capture players’ imagination and build in-game communities while new areas like The Mushroom Shrine add exciting new challenges that really keep people’s interest. Rest assured, we’ve got lots more great updates like these on the way."

Nexon and 7-Eleven have partnered to promote Nexon Game Cards in 7-11 stores. Sold in denominations of $10 and $25, the prepaid cards can be redeemed for in-game virtual items and accessories within Nexon's MapleStory, Audition and KartRider worlds.

7-Eleven and Nexon worked with InComm, a technology firm that develops, markets and distributes stored-value gift and prepaid products, to add the Nexon gift cards to 7-Eleven’s retail offering. Additionally, a 7-Eleven store and employee will appear in the MapleStory world, marking an entry for the convenience store into the virtual worlds space.

7-Eleven senior product director for business development and services Brad Haga said, "We have a great assortment of prepaid cards and now we have one especially for ‘tweens and teens who are the biggest fans of these online games. They’re perfect for young people on a budget and should appeal to the Slurpee-beverage crowd.”

We recently reported on the partnership between Nexon America and retailer 7-11, through which the store would carry Nexon Game Cards and in turn have a virtual outpost inside MapleStory. Apparently Nexon will do the same with Best Buy, CVS and Duane Reade, along with Target, which has been carrying Nexon cards for some time.

Nexon says it will feature themed quests to co-promote both the availability of the Game Cards in those real-world stores along with the retailer itself. The special quests will prompt users to visit the in-game chains to earn a virtual Nexon Game Card, which will provide Maple Points.

John H. Chi, Nexon America president and CEO, said, "We're now able to provide a new and unique avenue for major businesses to reach consumers. Nexon creates the exclusive, branded content, retailers receive a powerful, direct line of communication and our players get a new, rewarding gameplay experience. High visibility through new content and interactive rewards makes it a win for everyone!"

Nexon has announced Christmas events for MapleStory Europe, beginning December 15th, 2007 and running until January 3rd, 2008. It introduces a special Christmas town, and a quest that sends players searching for special holiday items in order to prompt the snow to fall.

Said Nexon Europe director of international business development Calvin Yoo, "Forget the turkey and the mistletoe: with a whole new Christmas town to explore and an exciting new festive quest to take part in we’re certain that Maplers across Europe will be full of the Christmas spirit come the big day.”

Nexon America has announced the launch of its new free-to-play MMO Mabinogi, with a closed beta service beginning January 30th. The game features 3D, cel-shaded, anime-style graphics and a fantasy world based in Celtic and Welsh mythology. In addition to traditional MMO features -- quests, battles and monsters -- Nexon says Mabinogi is differentiated by offering players a "life" experience, featuring jobs like cooking and farming. Players can also marry and share the daily duties.

There's also a UGC element here -- Mabinogi's music program allows users to write and share music in MIDI formatted files. The 3D visuals are a departure from Nexon's 2D MapleStory, and also unlike MapleStory, the fighting system's more traditional, based on a stats and abilities system, rather than MapleStory's sidescrolling action play.

Mabinogi’s time is standardized, and users get time-based bonus incentives the longer they play. Avatars also age on a weekly basis, growing taller as they grow to the age of 21, and gain in abilities up to the age of 25. Avatars' diets also affect their appearance.

President and CEO John H. Chi commented, "Playing Mabinogi is about more than just fighting and normal MMO fare. This is a chance for gamers to live a fantasy life in a place where communities build mutual beliefs of family, friendship and hard work.”

Nexon America has announced some new updates for MapleStory, most notably upping the ante with an "elite tier" fourth-level job class, proving that while easy-access free-to-play business models and customizable avatars might draw more casual, social players, the company's still interested in keeping MapleStory attractive to its hardcore players.

MapleStory's job system currently allows players to pick a career after level 10, and then through the course of gameplay achieve three additional career tiers depending on the direction in which they develop their characters. The fourth job class adds a new classification for players who have completed the third tier of their career, and even Nexon notes it's a challenge for MapleStory's most dedicated denizens.

In an additional nod to its hardcore audience, MapleStory has also added a new town, Leafre (shown), for players level 100 and up, where those advanced users can get some of the game's more powerful equipment, fight some of the toughest monsters available, and accessories and socialize with other high-level players.

Nexon's adding mounts, too, for players over level 70. Earning a mount to ride on at higher levels is a benchmark achievement in many of the traditional, hardcore-oriented MMOs, so it's interesting to see trusty steeds like wild hogs and red dragons entering the MapleStory world -- and another sign that Nexon wants to make sure it's not just maintaining a social world for casual users.

The new update brings some enhancements to the user interface as well. A new meter shows how many hit points an enemy has remaining, an automatic item organizer sorts players' property, and a new world map is aimed to help players find their way around. MapleStory is a massive online world, even though it presents as a 2D sidescroller, and without the traditional 3D top-down or three-quarters view, it can be a bit challenging to get a sense of how all the areas interconnect, so an improved map is a necessary enhancement given this layout.

Nexon America has announced that its newest free-to-play MMO Mabinogi will enter open beta on March 5th. A 24-hour play period exclusive to FilePlanet.com users will kick the beta off, following which users can sign up at the main site.

Nexon says more than 7 million users already play Mabinogi in Asia, and notes that 30,000 players participated in the recent closed beta for North America. The game promises its users a "fantasy life" rooted in Celtic and Welsh mythology -- in addition to more traditional MMO activities like quests and moster battles, players can also take jobs, perform farming duties and write and share music, with strong social components.

Mabinogi also offers a distinct "standardized" time feature, that allows users who play longer to gain daily bonuses. Avatars also age on a weekly basis, growing taller as they get older until they reach age 17, and can gain ability points up to the age of 25.

Nexon America commercially launched Mabinogi just recently, following an open beta. The company says it will roll out the story in a series of chapter-themed upgrades, and this commercial launch presents the first chapter.

The commercial launch of Mabinogi, which claims over 7 million players in Asia, also adds the ability to purchase items through Nexon's cash shop, as players of MapleStory can, and KartRider players are expected to. The publisher earns the majority of its revenue through the free-to-play, pay-for-items business model.

Talking to Gamasutra as part of an in-depth new interview, Nexon U.S. director Min Kim has been discussing Relic founder Alex Garden's work at Nexon - and the company's U.S. success through its prepaid MapleStory game cards at Target and 7-Eleven.

MapleStory, a PC free-to-play online RPG, has become a global success, with 72+ million users worldwide and $16 million in monthly revenues, according to Nexon's comments at Austin GDC last year.

The title is so successful, in fact, that many Western publishers have decided to emulate the game's business model. But, as Kim explains: "We've been running the microtransactions business since probably the late '90s up to now. So we've got a lot of institutional knowledge."

In addition, Kim talks briefly about Nexon's North American development team, based in Vancouver, which includes noted Relic (Homeworld) co-founder Alex Garden, latterly in 'stealth mode' on his new projects. Kim explains:

"At the same time, we're bringing our best products out here, but we also have a development studio in Vancouver. That's run by Alex Garden, Steve Rechtschaffner, and Chuck Osieja.

We firmly believe that the big moneymakers in this market are probably going to be made by developers in this market, because of cultural things and et cetera. We're trying to position ourselves by bringing products from Korea, while at the same time making products here."

Following this, Kim was asked exactly when the first North American-developed project would debut for Nexon, and he explained: "I can't say, but pretty soon."

Further on in the interview, the subject of prepaid game cards came up, and Kim explained how crucial to the success of MapleStory they were:

"That's the biggest thing, even for us in North America. We didn't really take off until we got the cards into Target and Best Buy and 7-Eleven.

When you do a subscription, you do 13 or 15 dollars a month. For us, certain customers pay nothing, and certain customers pay like 25 bucks a week. It really has to do with appetite and consumption."

You can now read the full interview with Kim on Gamasutra, including lots more detail on MapleStory, the possibility of the Xbox 360 version of Mabinogi reaching the West, and lots more.

[The preceding article originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Korean developer Nexon is inviting users to create original songs with MusicShake’s online program and contribute them to Audition, its MMO dancing game.

Based in South Korea, MusicShake offers user-generated music tools to the general public. Users can sign onto MusicShake and combine their choice of instrument modules from a list of thousands. They can also add their own vocals to their tracks. Audition’s community will vote on their favorite tracks, and the top songs will be featured in the game.

Nexon is giving away Nexon cash, its virtual currency for Nexon network titles (e.g. MapleStory), as prizes to promote the competition. Entries must be submitted by May 14, 2008.

Nexon America Inc., the North American division of Korea-based developer and publisher Nexon Group, is celebrating MapleStory's third anniversary (in the U.S.) by unveiling new areas, contests, and events for the free-to-play MMO game.

To date, MapleStory has amassed over 5.9 million users in North America. Some of the celebration's highlights include Showa, a new Yakuza-themed region, a cake-themed monster named Big Puff Daddy who terrorizes several towns. Special GM events, such as a sale on Nexon Cash, MapleStory's purchasable currency, will also be held.

MapleStory will also host a contest during the month-long anniversary celebration in which players can upload videos celebrating the anniversary for a chance to win one of five prizes, including a new computer worth $1,500.

North American MapleStory publisher Nexon America has announced a closed beta for Combat Arms, its free-to-play online first-person shooter featuring persistent, customizable characters, for May 30th, with a full release planned for later this summer.

Players will not only be able to personalize their soldiers, they'll be able to modify their guns and equipment, accumulate in-game currency and experience points, and track their performance against others in the Combat Arms community. In addition to its free-to-play model, the game will have low system requirements, furthering its accessibility in a traditionally hardcore space.

The closed beta test will run exclusively at FilePlanet.com for one week beginning May 30th. Once the game is released to the public, Combat Arms will receive regular content updates, including new weapons, gear, maps, and more free game modes.

Said Nexon America's vice president of marketing Min Kim: “Competition in video games among friends is always fun, but Combat Arms takes it to another level by letting gamers frag for free. Combat Arms delivers all the great socialization elements found in other popular Nexon Games and presents them in one of the most popular gaming genres in North America.”

Nexon America has begun a closed beta for Sugar Rush, its first MMOG developed by a western studio and targeted specifically for North American audiences. The title will allow players to fight against each other while trying to collect virtual coins.

Nexon's previous MMO titles - MapleStory, Mabinogi, and Combat Arms - have all so far been developed by studios based in South Korea. The company's titles are free to play without subscriptions, but typically offer customizations and virtual goods purchasable with real money. According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, Nexon's U.S. 2007 revenue more than tripled to $29.3 million from $8.5 million the prior year.

The development team working on Sugar Rush is based in Vancouver, Canada and includes former Electronic Arts Worldwide Studios Group vice president and creative director Steve Rechtschaffner, as well as studio Klei Entertainment.

Headed by Jamie Cheng, Klei Entertainment previously developed and published Eets, a 2D puzzle game for PCs which was later revamped for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade.

Nexon America, the North American division of Korea-based developer and publisher Nexon Group, announced the release of Crimsonwood Keep, an expansion to its 2D MMORPG MapleStory.

Crimsonwood Keep adds 31 new maps, 11 unique enemies, 12 quests, and a collection of new weapons and objects to the game. The expansion also gives pets an additional skill, updates the language filter, and includes new platforming features.

Nexon America Inc., the North American division of Korea-based developer and publisher Nexon Group, is celebrating MapleStory's third anniversary (in the U.S.) by unveiling new areas, contests, and events for the free-to-play MMO game.

Nexon recently celebrated its third anniversary (in the U.S.) by unveiling new areas, contests, and events. To date, MapleStory has amassed over 5.9 million users in North America and 87 million users worldwide.

The free-to-play MMORPG's popularity led to the recent opening of Yellonde, a new server. To celebrate the new server, Nexon is awarding the top 75 ranked players across the first month with prizes.

Nexon America has announced its free-to-play, online, multiplayer first-person shooter Combat Arms is to launch its paid-for content on October 1st.

From that point, the game will feature an in-game cash item shop called the "Black Market", and there players will have the ability to purchase male and female mercenaries as additional characters, customized items and "fresh start" options to help complete missions.

Nexon have also announced that the game is to introduces a "revamped" melee system including new melee weapons available for players to purchase. New aesthetic gear (such as masks, hats and backpacks) are also to be available for purchase.

Players and clans will also be able to use Nexon Cash to purchase name changes and statistic resets through the Black Market. Clans can also distinguish their squad by creating their own "Clan Emblem", which will be permanently displayed to all other players both in-game and on the official web site.

Combat Arms' free content includes over 40 weapons, eight maps, four game modes, and character and weapon customization features, and Nexon has promised to continue to enhance and upgrade both its free and paid offerings with bi-monthly content updates.

“Combat Arms had a great beta run, with players of all levels loving the fast-action FPS game play and in-game community features for ranking and challenging other players,” said Min Kim, vice president of marketing for Nexon America. “With this launch, gamers now have access to additional play options that help the player stand out without compromising the fairness of play.”

Thirsty? Well then you should get yourself down to your local 7-Eleven, because Nexon has launched a "Where You Play for Free” Slurpee drink promotion in the U.S., with Slurpee cups to feature imagery from Nexon's MapleStory, Mabinogi, Combat Arms and the yet to be released Sugar Rush.

7-Eleven customers also receive a collectible Nexon game DVD with the purchase of a 22-oz. or larger-size Slurpee beverage (while supplies last.) The DVD includes the four Nexon games on the branded cups.

In addition, each Nexon-themed Slurpee cup has an exclusive game code that is redeemable for customized 7-Eleven and Slurpee-branded in-game virtual items in the four games. Particularly notable: the game code also provides 7-Eleven customers access to participate in the closed beta of the Sugar Rush, scheduled to launch in early 2009.

“We’ve seen great success with the Nexon pre-paid cash cards and this partnership further solidifies 7-Eleven as a premier gaming destination,” said Brad Haga, 7-Eleven’s senior product director of services. “Free-to-play games are more popular than ever in North America, and with Nexon, we can deliver a dynamic experience for our customers looking for great entertainment.”

Free-to-play publisher Nexon has announced Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria, a new expansion for its one of its most popular MMORPGs (which we covered once in an Online World Atlas.) The expansion is to include new races, such as Elves and Giants, new locations, quests, skills and items.

Players will be able to download the expansion for free beginning Feburary 26th, and it includes several improvements for players who play the title for free, such as the ability to play the game's main storyline quest, more "rebirths"—a method by which characters reset their level while retaining skills—the ability to become paladins and dark knights, and the use of spirit weapons.

In addition, the new location—the continent of Iria—is three times the size of Ulad, the original continent of Mabinogi. The title is to also to debut a new user interface including an "exploration chronicle" and enhanced character creation.

"Mabinogi sets the tone for a new generation of free-to-play RPG games in North America with its art style and high social gameplay," said Min Kim, vice president of marketing for Nexon America. "Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria features a comprehensive suite of free content which will open the doors for both existing and potential users to truly immerse themselves in the world of Mabinogi and Nexon's roster of high quality free-to-play games."

Nexon America, the MapleStory developer's U.S. arm, says Pando will be providing content delivery services for its game downloads.

Pando uses a cloud platform, and Nexon says the partnership will accelerate download speeds for its users and lower its own operations costs.

Pando says its Content Delivery Cloud optimizes data delivery from both CDN servers and peer nodes, and claims it's more scaleable than a stand-alone CDN delivery service, since capacity expands with demand to increase speed.

"This is especially important for online game distribution as new releases of popular games frequently result in a sudden surge in download demand that can degrade CDN performance and the end user experience," says Pando.

"With quicker completed downloads, it is now even easier for Nexon players to experience our free-to-play games and allows Nexon to expand our reach even further in the North American market," says Nexon vice president of game operations Soo Min Park.

[The preceding article by Leigh Alexander also appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]