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Strategic Partnership with Rock Band Creator

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Background

NCSOFT Corporation develops and distributes massively multiplayer online games for PC and mobile. Founded in 1997 in South Korea, the company offers its games in approximately 60 countries.

NCSOFT Corporation develops and distributes massively multiplayer online games for PC and mobile

Some of its most popular games are the Lineage series, Blade & Soul, Aion, and the Guild Wars series.

Business Description

NCSOFT develops and distributes virtual games, monetizing from sales and in-game purchases. NCSOFT focuses on massively multiplayer online games (MMO), more specifically MMORPG: adaptations of traditional RPG. The company’s flagship product is Lineage. Its latest release at the end of 2017 attracted over 5m players in two months. NCSOFT also offers casual games and character games.

Its current PC portfolio includes nine PC games: Lineage I and II, Blade & Soul, Aion, Guild Wars 1 and 2, WildStar, Love Beat, and Jan Ryu Mon.

NCSOFT develops and distributes virtual games, monetizing from sales and in-game purchases

On the back of the mobile trend the company introduced six games and adaptations as mobile games in 2016 and the mobile games accounted for 56% of sales in 2017 with Final Blade, Lineage M and Red Knight, Pangya Mobile, Trickster, and Pro Baseball H2.

NCSOFT is developing a new game in a strategic partnership with Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., creator of massive game hits such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero. This could allow expansion into US and European markets and leave the doors open to increase its casual games portfolio.

Leadership

Taek Jin Kim established NCSOFT in 1997 and has held the position of CEO since 1998. Moreover, he is the founder of NC Dinos, which is Korea Baseball Organization’s 9th professional baseball team.

Taek Jin Kim established NCSOFT in 1997 and is also the founder of NC Dinos, which is Korea Baseball Organization’s 9th professional baseball team

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Seoul National University, Korea.

World Class Benchmarking

Profitable Growth has ranked in the top 30% over the years, and in the past 12 months, NCSOFT ranked in the top 69 out of 690 large Information Technology companies worldwide.

Profitability has been great since 2014 until the present time and was top-ranked in the most recent period. Growth has ranked in the top 30% for the whole time period except for in 2015 when it was below average. Same as for Profitability, Growth ranked at #1 in the past 12 months.

Profitable Growth has ranked in the top 30% over the years, and in the past 12 months, NCSOFT ranked in the top 69 out of 690 large Information Technology companies worldwide

Asset utilization has ranked poorly over the years but seen slight improvements in 2017 and the past 12 months. Profit margin, on the other hand, has been top-ranked since 2014.

Sales growth has surged to #1 in 2017 and stayed there in the most recent period. Margin change has fluctuated heavily, in the past 12 months, the rank had returned to #1.

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DISCLAIMER: This content is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Readers should not consider statements made by the author(s) as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. While the information provided is believed to be accurate, it may include errors or inaccuracies. The author(s) cannot be held liable for any actions taken as a result of reading this article.

Posted in Korea, World Class Benchmarking