Filed under: Lineage

You know what I love about the end of each year? The lists. Man, but I'm a sucker for lists, especially when they come in "best of" varieties. In the lull between Christmas and New Year's, there typically isn't a lot happening in the world of entertainment, so it's a good time to look back before we head forward.

And so it is for The Game Archaeologist. 2011 marks the second year I've been doing this column, and it's been one of my personal favorite series to write. Every week I'm learning more and more about the history of the MMO genre, and I'm encouraged to see just how much passion and interest there are for the titles that started it all and got us to where we are today.

So before we head into 2012, let's take one last glimpse back at the road we've traveled. If you've missed out on any of these columns or want to revisit your favorite classic MMO, I've compiled a huge list of everything I talked about this year, from histories to interviews to player stories. There's also a special request for you (yes, you) at the end of this column, so do me a favor and hit that jump!

NCsoft's prodigal son has returned, and with him the hopes and dreams of the future of gaming. Well that might be a smidge melodramatic, but fans of the company's games certainly have a good reason to celebrate today as former Lineage II artist Juno Jeong has come back to the fold.

Jeong signed back on with NCsoft as of yesterday to be the art director of an unknown MMO project. This is a marked step up from his previous role in the company as a member of the character production team, and those who know Jeong's art style are already expressing excitement with his current role. Following his stint on Lineage II, Jeong worked for several other game companies including Gravity, NHN, and Npluto.

While speculation is swirling over the exact nature of the project to which he's been assigned, the most common assumptions are either that he's working on another Lineage or Aion title.

What's a dictator to do when his third-world economy is wheezing along on its last legs? Hack some video games, of course! According to a report in the New York Times, North Korea's Kim Jong-il unleashed an army of young computer crackers on popular South Korean online gaming portals to find ways to make quick cash.

South Korean authorities claim that a squad of approximately 30 hackers operated from a base in China and were given the mission of breaching online gaming servers (including those of the immensely popular Lineage) to set up bot factories and automated farming collectives. The digital booty was then sold to gamers for a reported $6 million over two years.

Chung Kil-hwan, a senior officer at South Korea's International Crime Investigation Unit, says that the hacker group "reports to a shadowy Communist Party agency called Office 39, which gathers foreign hard currency for Mr. Kim through drug trafficking, counterfeiting, arms sales, and other illicit activities."

If we judged MMOs by their numbers alone -- and I'm not suggesting we do so -- then Lineage would be the crowing rooster strutting about the hen house. It's also been one of those games that I've always intellectually acknowledged was a huge hit for some reason, but I never gave it much attention. I think it's because, contrary to many of the "big name" games we cover here, Lineage was and always will be an Asian phenomenon. That doesn't mean it should be shunned, of course, but just that it may be difficult to understand when you're on the outside of it.

So let's back up the memory truck to September 1998, when a then-fledgling NCsoft rolled out a Diablo-esque isometric MMO and struck virtual gold in South Korea. At the time, gaming rooms were becoming a huge thing in the country; a recession had hit (giving people a lot of time with nothing to do), and the government was rapidly expanding the broadband network. In the face of this perfect storm, titles like StarCraft and Lineage became overnight household fixtures -- and the country hasn't looked back.

Even if you haven't played Lineage and you don't know anyone who does, trust me: There are a lot of people playing this 13-year-old title, to the tune of millions and millions. As former Senior Producer Chris Mahnken said, "Lineage keeps going because it's just plain fun."

This month we'll be looking back at the incredible legacy that Lineage has given the industry, starting with an overview of the highlights of these past 13 years. Hit the jump and mind the gap!

It's a banner year over at the NCsoft household, as the company is showing a strong rise in net profits for the first quarter this year. Even though NCsoft's revenues have held relatively steady during Q1 2011, profits are up by 30% for a total of $37.5 million due to recent promotions in Lineage and Aion.

The vast majority of NCsoft's money comes from Korea, with Chinese and Western markets trailing behind. According to Gamesindustry.biz, Aion is making the most bank for the company (accounting for 44% of revenues), followed by Lineage (28%) and Lineage 2 (22%).

NCsoft's Sara Rogers sees nothing but good news in these numbers: "NCsoft consistently delivers strong figures in a way that most other games publishers can only dream of. These results prove that we have the MMO brands that people want to play and that we're able to grow and maintain customer loyalty, which is crucial in successful MMO publishing. This year, Gamescom will be very significant for us. We'll have a major presence and maybe even steal a headline or two."

Before Aion, before Guild Wars, before anything else for NCsoft, there was Lineage. Not the sequel (which actually takes place significantly before the first title) but the original game, released not too long after Ultima Online came on to the scene. While the game is old, it's long maintained a viable community within North America... but apparently not quite viable enough. Today, NCsoft announced that as of June 29th, the game's servers will be shutting down for good in North America.

Players who had registered previously have had their accounts reactivated in good standing, and all recurring billing has been cancelled from this date onward. The community team for the game is also promising some live events to help memorialize the game and let it go out with a bang rather than a whimper. We can also expect to see a few new live server rule pushes. Still, it's a sad day for Lineage fans, who are well advised to look at the official announcement and the refund policy to see how the plans for the remaining time will affect them.

It's been an up and down year for NCsoft, literally. GamesIndustry.biz writes that the Korean MMO titan has reported increases in both its sales and operating profits but a drop in net income in the recently concluded fiscal 2010 period. Surprisingly, the company's total revenue was up two percent due to unprecedented sales of the 12-year-old Lineage MMORPG.

Much to the chagrin of fail-trolls across the internet, NCsoft has also publicized the fact that Aion continues to be a financial success after "recording consecutive growth for the last three years." Taken together, NCsoft's big three (Lineage, Lineage 2, and Aion) have now accounted for $2.7 billion in lifetime sales.

NCsoft's largest success came courtesy of the booming Korean market (which represented a $370 million cut of its $576 million total revenue). Next up was the Japanese market at $70 million, followed by North America at $43.4 million and Europe at $30.1 million.

It may be an oldie, but Lineage shows no sign of slowing down in its middle age. In fact, NCsoft is on the verge of releasing a mega-update and is throwing open the doors to all previous Lineage players from the past decade-plus to give it a whirl.

On Wednesday, November 10th, the new update will be released in conjunction with a two-week period of reactivated accounts. From the 10th through the 24th, all previous Lineage players will find their accounts dusted off and unlocked for their gaming pleasure. Getting back into the swing of things is fairly simple, too: All one needs to do is just log in.

The succinctly named Tikal + Antharas update features a new dungeon (Tikal) as well as the first-ever raid dungeon for the game (Antharas). The patch notes show that there is plenty of content for everyone of all walks of play, as the update offers new pets, a revamped dungeon, plenty of additional items, and resting XP for higher levels.

You can read the full announcement as well as an account reactivation FAQ over at the Lineage website.

Massively is traveling back in time this week with regard to NCsoft titles, first with news about updates to Lineage II and now with word on an exciting bit of new content for the original Lineage. Yes, you heard right -- the first-gen MMORPG (originally released in 1998) is still alive, kicking, and updating.

July 29th will bring players the opportunity to experience Episode 1 of Season 3 on NCsoft's Play Test Servers. Subtitled Crack of Time and featuring new classes, a dungeon, and an expanded storyline, the update has yet to receive an official live release window.

New classes include the dragon knight (a damage-dealer featuring the ability to shape-shift into beast forms) and the illusionist (a PvP-centric class with substantial debuff magic and area-of-effect attacks). The update also brings revamped starting areas, Thebes Dungeon (which features a random entrance-spawn and a challenging completion timer), and tweaks specifically designed to cater to North American audiences. These changes include double XP, higher item drop-rates, and higher boss-spawn rates.

NCsoft has released information on the latest fiscal quarter, and the numbers presumably made some happy faces at NCsoft according to a report at Gamasutra.

Just a few short months after the September launch of Aion for North America and Europe, NCsoft reports record profits in its fiscal fourth quarter. Sales were up 99% year-on-year, thanks in large part to the hugely hyped Aion, which sold over 300,000 copies through pre-order alone.

While Aion is responsible for 48% of the sales numbers, the Lineage IP held its own easily, with Lineage accounting for 27% of sales and Lineage 2 holding 20%. Lineage has been around and performing steadily since 1998, but the recently revitalized franchise was a big factor in NCsoft's success over the past year.

The full report can be viewed here.

It's that time of year again -- whatever holiday you are celebrating, the denizens of your favorite MMO are sure to be celebrating it too. Whether it's Festivult in Dungeons and Dragons Online, Wintersday in Guild Wars, or the Starlight Celebration in Final Fantasy XI, the theme is the same. There are presents, some sort of sugary treats, and tons of fun. Follow along with us as we check out who's partying in your favorite MMO and what you need to do to get in on the fun.

Halloween is probably second only to Christmas in terms of holiday popularity. Ask just about anybody what their favorite holiday is, and they'll probably list one of those two (if it fits the culture). Naturally, as MMO players, we have fun celebrating it in our virtual worlds just like we do in the real world. And boy, this year, do we ever celebrate. Just about every active MMO out there had (or has) something going on. The 2009 lineup included:

• Final Fantasy XI - Harvest Festival
• City of Heroes - The Deadly Apocalypse
• EverQuest II - Nights of the Dead
• Fallen Earth - Days of the Dead
• Warhammer Online - Daemon Moon Rising
• Aion - Harvest Revel
• Guild Wars - The Mad King's Revelry
• Runes of Magic - Pumpkin Festival
• Lineage - Cavern of Chaos
• Lineage II - Spooks and Scarecrows
• Age of Conan - Nights of Lost Souls
• EverQuest - The Haunting of Norrath
• Legends of Norrath - Brraaaaaainss!
• Star Wars Galaxies - Galactic Moon Festival
• Exteel - Hey, sweet! Paint!
• Free Realms - Super Spooktacular
• Champions Online - Blood Moon

Most of these events last a few days into November, so if there's any one in particular you're dying to experience, you might still have a chance if you have a subscription laying around. If you're not able to visit any of these in person, we have screenshots from many of these events in the gallery below. Enjoy!

We are well into that time of year - Halloween is almost here and a quick look into nearly any MMO out there will show it. We've been talking about quite a few games out there and how they're celebrating, but they're certainly not the only ones putting jack-o-lanterns in their windows. Follow after the jump for a look at how some of our other favorite MMOs are celebrating.