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Latest Maple Story News Updates and Reviews Updated daily
Maple Story : AGDC08: Why 'free to play' doesn't mean free or easy moneyBy: Michael Zenke
Sep 22, 2008 01:30:00 PM News Item: 5392
Filed under: MapleStory, Business models, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage  Min Kim, the presenter of the talk, subtitled this event "A collection of thoughts on building and launching a Free-to-Play MMO." Kim has been around the world and back talking about his company, Nexon, and the business practice they're leading the charge on. Free to play games are bigger than ever in the MMO space, be they local titles like Runescape or imports like Nexon's own MapleStory.
As Nexon America's VP of Marketing, Kim generally makes for a compelling speaker. Still, it was hard not to be impressed at the specifics and knowledge he brings to a conversation on this topic. Essentially a guide to putting together a free-to-play business model from scratch, Kim's talk centered around hard-won lessons from the front lines.
Read on for details on everything from the benefits of selling to kids at Target, to the dangers and pitfalls of self-publishing a game.Continue reading AGDC08: Why 'free to play' doesn't mean free or easy money  Comments
Maple Story : Free to play pt. 2By: Michael Zenke
Sep 22, 2008 01:30:00 PM News Item: 5391
Filed under: MapleStory, Business models, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage
Live Teams
Launching is something like 10% of the overall effort. Keep your team small to start, grow when you prove your success. Don't keep on working on a second product until your first is growing and successful with its own team. Constantly check the vitals of the project, datamining and understanding what your players like and don't like.
This is a Social Experience
Develop great gameplay focused on social interaction. Encourage establishing identities and tying players to each other.
Free to play gaming isn't complicated math:
Subscription MMOs
Total Revenue = Subscribers * Subscription Cost
Paying Users = Subscribers (100% of Users)
Free to Play
Total Revenue = # of Active users * Paying Rate * average revenue per user (ARPU)
Paying Users = # of Active users * Paying Rate
Financial Upside to FTP MMOs
A minority of players pay, but you're likely reaching something like 10x more players generally. Average revenue per user (ARPU) is variable, with players paying above and below. That's inclusive, meaning players can pay what the game is actually worth to them. Players who don't pay can be monetized in other ways, without item sales. ARPU and paying rate can be greatly varied. Don't go for a crazy ARPU, go for something that's sustainable.Continue reading Free to play pt. 2 Comments
Maple Story : First Impressions: Maple StoryBy: Akela Talamasca
Aug 15, 2008 07:30:00 PM News Item: 4543
Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, MapleStory, Game mechanics, Reviews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on
Welcome to our First Impressions of the king of all 2D MMOs, Maple Story! If you haven't played it, consider this a dip of the toe into its cuter-than-thou madness. We're not divulging secrets here, this is not a guide of any sort; this is just a record of the way we found the game during our first hour or so of play. Caveat emptor!
First of all, please notice the banner ad at the top of this post. That should tell you everything you need to know about MS in a nutshell: Cute superdeformed anime-esque graphics, goofy-themed gameplay, and an engaging sense of humor about itself. Cyborg turkeys, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Don't forget, clicking on the following pictures leads to their hi-res versions. Read on, O brave audience!
%Gallery-29725%Continue reading First Impressions: Maple Story Comments
Maple Story : Nexon unveils MapleStory's Crimsonwood Keep expansionBy: Samuel Axon
Aug 14, 2008 06:30:00 PM News Item: 4542
Filed under: MapleStory, Expansions, News items, Free-to-play 
Big news for MapleStory players: Nexon America yesterday made public Crimsonwood Keep, a big expansion for the game. The expansion 31 adds new maps -- mostly to the continent of Masteria's Phantom Forest. Also added: "11 unique enemies, 12 extensive, story-focused quests and a collection of new weapons and objects."
The platformer/MMORPG hybrid (which is particularly popular with pre-teens) is updated pretty frequently, but this expansion is a bit bigger than usual. Its launch coincides also with the opening of a new server (called Yellondale) and more Summer Break Events.
MapleStory -- which originated in South Korea -- is a huge success story. The expansion-related press release boasts of 5.9 million North American players and 87 million users across the globe. Keep in mind, though, that such numbers are a bit fuzzier and less conclusive with regards to a free-to-play game than they would be for a subscription-based MMO which has a financial barrier to entry for new users, and guaranteed income per user for the developer and/or publisher.
Comments
Maple Story : MMOGology: Mobile MMOGsBy: Marc Nottke
Jun 30, 2008 05:00:00 PM News Item: 4541
Filed under: World of Warcraft, EVE Online, MapleStory, Game mechanics, Ragnarok Online, Opinion, Second Life, Free-to-play, MMOGology, Mobile 
Several weeks ago at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) Steve Jobs announced the 3G iPhone. The announcement wasn't much of a shock to industry experts since other cell phones have been using 3G networks for several years. In order to remain competitive, it was only natural for Apple to hop on the 3G bandwagon.
What was, perhaps, more unexpected was the consumer friendly price point of $199.00. Of course there are a few not-so-hidden caveats involved with that sweet price point. First you have to qualify for the subsidized price, then there's the mandatory two year contract with AT&T and an increase in the price of the iPhone's data plan. Regardless, what it means to gamers is a budding mobile gaming platform. The iPhone now has its own software developer's kit (SDK), 3G network capabilities, and is priced to sell. Increased accessibility, higher data transfer speeds, and the ability for developers to conjure up new applications can only mean good things for the future of mobile MMOGs - especially on the iPhone.
Of course, maybe the future of mobile MMOGs seems so bright because its current state is so dim. As someone who has never even attempted to play an MMOG on a mobile device, I'm curious as to what exactly is out there and if anything is worth my time. If you're curious too, join me for some more info on mobile MMOGs after the break. I'll discuss the current state and limitations of the platform, some existing offerings, and take a look at what the future might hold.Continue reading MMOGology: Mobile MMOGs Comments
Maple Story : MapleStory patch 0.56 adds desert region, rad surfboard dropsBy: Samuel Axon
Jun 25, 2008 01:00:00 PM News Item: 4540
Filed under: MapleStory, Events, in-game, Patches, Casual  MapleStory's 0.56 patch has gone live! The patch's additions are impressively robust; they include a new region and town, guild alliance support, windowed mode support, auto-inventory sorting, macros, and extra party search features.
The new area is called Ariant. You'll find it on the continent of Ossyria. Apparently it's some kind of Arabian Nights-esque desert setting (summer, desert; they're both hot -- get it?). A whole slew of new quests, NPCs, monsters, and items have been introduced as well. Of course, the shop has been updated, too. A special event begins with this patch -- summer-themed items like surfboards will drop throughout the season.
Dude, that's like totally rad! Um, sorry. You're right; that was uncalled for. Comments
Maple Story : MapleStory product coordinator talks cake monsters, weddings and doom floundersBy: Adrian Bott
Jun 20, 2008 02:30:00 PM News Item: 4539
Filed under: Fantasy, MapleStory, Interviews, Free-to-play  Over at WarCry, Sheloman Byrd - the product coordinator for free 2d MMORPG MapleStory - has been giving the lowdown on the game and its lighthearted approach. Popular among gamers around the 17-18 year old range and extraordinarily successful economically, MapleStory offers side-scrolling anime-inspired action with a heavy emphasis on quirky fun.
Weddings have been a surprisingly popular element of the game (a phenomenon we also saw with Angels Online) with the choice of either a Vegas style wedding or a Cathedral one. The latter even involves quests, with the groom having to hunt for items and the bride seeking the blessing of her parents. Married couples in the game also have exclusive content, including a Party Quest of their own.
There's clearly demand out there for wedding content in MMOs - at least the bright and bouncy teen-market kind. CoX released a Wedding Pack containing exclusive costumes and emotes not so long ago, although weddings there are still purely roleplaying affairs, as they are in WoW. We can't help but wonder what the result would be if more games supported in-game marriage. Is that what the teen demographic really wants? Comments
Maple Story : The Social Gaming Summit: Casual MMOs and Immersive WorldsBy: Akela Talamasca
Jun 18, 2008 03:00:00 PM News Item: 4538
Filed under: MapleStory, Business models, MMO industry, Club Penguin, Casual, Academic, Virtual worlds, Massively Event Coverage, Kids
Friday the 13th: An inauspicious day for the superstitious crowd, but a great day for attendees of the Social Gaming Summit, held in San Francisco. The day saw a schedule full of great panels, populated by some of the industry's finest movers and shakers, among them representatives from Gaia Online, Nexon, Three Rings, and Gamasutra, among others too numerous to list here.
A particular highlight of the conference for this blogger was the panel entitled "Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds", which provided a lively discussion on what it means to create a virtual social space, how to monetize free-to-play content, and what exactly is a casual MMO? Trying to divide attention between listening raptly and taking notes is difficult; here is the result, along with the panelists, after the jump.Continue reading The Social Gaming Summit: Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds Comments
Maple Story : MapleStory reaps over $29 million in U.S. virtual item salesBy: James Egan
May 31, 2008 03:00:00 PM News Item: 4537
Filed under: MapleStory, Business models, Economy, MMO industry, News items  2007 proved to be a good year for Nexon in the United States, particularly with its free-to-play MapleStory. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that the although the game has 85 million users worldwide, only 5.9 million of them are U.S. players. Given the relatively small percentage of its player base located in the United States, it's surprising that MapleStory made an absolute killing on in-world transactions in 2007; the WSJ reports that 'Nexon's U.S. revenue last year more than tripled to $29.3 million from $8.5 million the prior year.'
Jeremy Liew provides some additional commentary on the Nexon windfall over at Lightspeed: "With $30m in US sales and 6m US registered users, assuming a 20% "active player" rate and 10% "buyer rate", that implies an ARPU of $20/mth which sounds about right and is consistent with number we've seen from games in Asia. It sounds like the US will be following very similar models of virtual goods monetization that we've seen in Asia." It's interesting that the predominantly Asian business model of legitimized RMT is already gaining some degree of acceptance in the United States, albeit a slow acceptance.
Via PlayNoEvil Comments
More Maple Story News
(Click to read)
May 28, 2008 08:30:00 AMMaple Story : An ION 08 interview with Nexon America's Min Kim [Updated]
May 08, 2008 04:30:00 PMMaple Story : Celebrate Maple Story's 3rd anniversary with Big Puff Daddy
Apr 17, 2008 05:45:00 PMMaple Story : Nexon coils up the Long Tail at VIDFEST 2008
Apr 11, 2008 08:00:00 PMMaple Story : Nexon's Min Kim on the importance of Target to free to play gaming
Apr 08, 2008 08:00:00 PMMaple Story : MapleStory, Nexon's hidden juggernaut
Mar 25, 2008 11:30:00 AMMaple Story : First Impressions: Mabinogi
Mar 24, 2008 08:00:00 AMMaple Story : The Daily Grind: monthly fee or microtransactions?
Mar 02, 2008 12:56:00 PMMaple Story : GDC08 Highlights: The future of Virtual Worlds and the end of GDC08
Feb 29, 2008 07:00:00 PMMaple Story : Mabinogi in open beta in March; Euros and Ozzies left out
Feb 28, 2008 11:00:00 AMMaple Story : The future of Disney Online: An interview with SVP Steve Parkis
Feb 21, 2008 08:30:00 PMMaple Story : The top 5 free MMOs
Feb 21, 2008 03:00:00 PMMaple Story : GDC08: Massively is Live at the Future of MMOs panel
Feb 19, 2008 03:30:00 PMMaple Story : GDC08: MapleStory's road to the US marketplace
Jan 24, 2008 05:00:00 PMMaple Story : MapleStory introduces 4th Job tier, mounts, new village
Jan 04, 2008 02:30:00 PMMaple Story : Korea Rising: the East goes West
Dec 26, 2007 03:00:00 PMMaple Story : A snapshot of today's gold-selling/power-leveling market
Dec 26, 2007 10:00:00 AMMaple Story : Nexon counting down to Mabinogi English beta
Nov 28, 2007 08:30:00 PMMaple Story : Megapublisher Shandra sees 66% profit increase
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