DOCSLIB.ORG

Ncsoft (036570)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ncsoft (036570) Company Note April 3, 2017 NCsoft (036570) 12M rating BUY (Maintain) NDR takeaways – Mobile MMORPG shortage compared to demand 12M TP W370,000 from W370,000 Up/downside +21% Successful mobile game market entry Stock Data We conducted an NDR in the US with NCsoft, and met with 15 institutional investors over three days starting from March 28. While falling Lineage 1 sales KOSPI (Mar 31, pt) 2,160 fueled some concerns, the focus was mostly on the mobile game strategy, Stock price (Mar 31, KRW) 305,000 Market cap (USD mn) 5,980 including Lineage M. Going forward, management plans to focus on growing its Shares outstanding (mn) 22 exposure to mobile MMORPG, which has higher average revenue per paying user 52-Week high/low (KRW) 316,000/218,000 (ARPPU) than PC-based games. Meanwhile, expectations for NCsoft’s mobile 6M avg. daily turnover (USD mn) 41.1 capabilities have grown following the sustained success of Lineage Revolution, Free float / Foreign ownership (%) 84.3/42.2 Lineage RK and Final Blade (publishing game). Given a low weighting of China Major shareholders (%) NPS 12.5 sales and low expectations for Lineage RK, we believe the ongoing THAAD Taek-Jin Kim and 7 others 12.0 controversy will have only a limited impact. Performance Mobile MMORPG supply falling short of demand 1M 6M 12M Absolute (%) 11.3 3.2 20.3 By reflecting mobile MMORPG market trends, e.g., auto gameplay, in addition to Relative to KOSPI (%p) 8.0 (2.5) 12.1 sophisticated graphics utilizing the Unreal 4 engine, Lineage Revolution has become the leading domestic mobile MMORPG. And, demand for the mobile 12MF PE trend MMORPG market has grown sharply, but supply is still limited. As such, we believe (X) 12MF PER (LHS) (W' 000) 400 price (RHS) there is still significant demand for Lineage M, the second game to be developed 25 350 domestically. Of the Lineage Revolution users, less than 30% are Lineage 1 300 20 players. And, Lineage M should secure a robust user base among existing online 250 game users. Of note, the core target market is older players familiar with Lineage 1, 15 200 150 rather than younger players in their 20s-30s. As such, relatively poor graphics on 10 100 Lineage Revolution should have only a marginal impact. Furthermore, the item 5 50 trading function, which was unveiled through the third teaser image, is not 0 0 available in any other mobile game yet, and should set Lineage Revolution apart. Apr-14 Apr-15 Apr-16 Source: WISEfn consensus Mobile position firms with successful launches Despite concerns, NCsoft is reinforcing its position in the mobile game market. Lineage RK ranked first in both domestic app markets despite a negative initial response. Furthermore, Final Blade and H2 (sports genre) are also beating expectations. As such, expectations are rising for Lineage M. If the game is a success, this should lift hopes for Aion Mobile, which is scheduled to launch in 2H17. Overall, momentum concerns should fade sharply after the launch of Lineage M. Backed by the successful games, we believe NCsoft will secure: 1) high-quality IP, 2) solid publishing games, and 3) a robust developer workforce. Yr to Sales OP NP EPS % chg EBITDA PE EV/EBITDA PB ROE DY Dec (W bn) (W bn) (W bn) (KRW) (YoY) (W bn) (x) (x) (x) (%) (%) 2015A 838 237 165 7,633 (33.7) 272 27.9 13.7 2.6 10.6 1.3 2016A 984 329 272 12,783 67.5 361 19.4 12.3 2.7 14.9 1.5 2017F 1,297 482 391 18,416 44.1 511 16.6 10.6 2.8 19.1 1.8 Andy Kim 2018F 1,479 573 465 21,907 19.0 604 13.9 8.4 2.4 19.3 2.2 822-3276-6158 2019F 1,736 716 580 27,305 24.6 748 11.2 6.3 2.1 20.5 2.7 [email protected] Note: Net profit and EPS are based on figures attributed to controlling interest Analysts who prepared this report are registered as research analysts in Korea but not in any other jurisdiction, including the U.S. PLEASE SEE ANALYST CERTIFICATIONS AND IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES & DISCLAIMERS AT THE END OF THIS REPORT. NCsoft (036570) PC game division to remain stable Lineage 1 sales should normalize from 2Q17. Dragon treasure box sales should not be reflected in 1Q17, and this should weigh on results. However, traffic appears to have recovered in March after falling since the start of the year. Furthermore, a fall in item prices does not indicate a share drop in traffic. Overall, 2017 sales of existing PC games, including Lineage 1, should be flat YoY. Guild Wars 2 sales should rebound on the launch of expansion packs in 2H17, and MxM should begin contributing to PC sales. And, there are still hopes for Lineage Eternals, which will be released after additional closed beta testing (CBT) in 2H17. While the response to the first CBT was negative, we believe Lineage Eternals may beat expectations backed by heavy MMORPG users as no major MMORPG title has been released due to the success of League of Legends (MOBA genre) and Overwatch (shooter genre) recently. Maintain BUY, hopes continue to grow for Lineage M We maintain BUY with a TP of W370,000 (19.7x 12MF PE) as concerns over a delayed Lineage M launch have faded. Furthermore, NCsoft should benefit given: 1) a robust user base given 3.8mn dormant users, 2) Lineage M will be the only domestic mobile MMORPG, excluding Lineage Revolution, and 3) Lineage M sales may beat market expectations due to the item trading function, which was a core element to Lineage 1. Furthermore, the success of H2 has further confirmed NCsoft’s mobile competitiveness, as sales exceed that of other baseball games. Table 1.Quarterly earnings (W bn) 1Q16 2Q16 3Q16 4Q16 1Q17F 2Q17F 3Q17F 4Q17F 2015 2016 2017F Sales 240.8 240.5 217.6 284.6 268.0 324.1 348.0 357.2 838.3 983.6 1,297.4 Lineage 78.9 94.4 83.8 118.4 62.9 87.9 80.0 92.2 312.9 375.5 323.0 Lineage II 17.1 19.1 20.6 20.4 18.9 19.7 21.4 20.8 63.0 77.1 80.8 AION 20.1 17.6 16.1 17.9 17.4 18.2 16.6 17.6 73.7 71.7 69.7 B&S 54.0 48.9 40.1 39.4 39.2 41.1 39.3 40.8 113.9 182.3 160.4 Guild War 2 30.6 15.9 15.3 14.9 14.7 14.4 14.1 13.7 100.5 76.6 56.9 Others 10.8 17.7 17.6 32.1 45.8 79.0 114.9 115.6 66.6 73.6 355.4 Royalty 29.4 27.0 24.2 41.5 69.1 63.8 61.8 56.4 98.7 122.1 251.1 Operating expense 165.1 154.4 152.4 182.9 185.5 204.6 210.5 214.8 600.8 654.8 815.4 Labor cost 99.3 91.4 93.5 99.2 108.9 102.4 104.0 104.8 324.9 383.3 420.1 Commissions 10.1 9.9 9.6 9.5 9.1 9.8 9.6 10.1 36.1 39.2 38.6 Marketing 8.8 5.1 6.8 14.3 8.3 19.4 13.9 13.9 34.2 35.0 55.6 Others 46.8 47.9 42.6 60.0 59.2 73.0 83.0 85.9 205.7 197.3 301.1 OP 75.8 86.1 65.1 101.7 82.6 119.5 137.6 142.4 237.5 328.8 482.0 OPM 31.5% 35.8% 29.9% 35.7% 30.8% 36.9% 39.5% 39.9% 28.3% 33.4% 37.2% EBT 81.0 97.5 63.4 104.2 91.3 128.9 147.3 152.3 239.5 346.1 519.9 NP 66.2 90.4 47.9 66.8 68.5 96.7 110.5 114.2 166.3 271.4 389.9 NPM 27.5% 37.6% 22.0% 23.5% 25.5% 29.8% 31.8% 32.0% 19.8% 27.6% 30.1% Source: Company data, Korea Investment & Securities Table 2. Release dates Game Release date Lineage M Released in 1H17 Pangya Mobile Released in 1H17 Girl’s rumble Released in 1H17 B&S mobile Released in 2017 Soft launching in 2Q17 Aion regions 3Q17 Lineage eternal 2nd test and release plan within the year Released in Korea 1Q17 MxM Released in U.S. 2Q17 Released in China 2H17 Lineage eternal mobile US studio under development, time frame similar to PC version Source: Company data, Korea Investment & Securities 2 NCsoft (036570) Figure 1. Lineage RK Korea sales ranking Figure 2. Final Blade sales ranking (Rank) Google Play iOS (Rank) Google Play iOS 0 0 10 2 20 4 30 6 40 8 50 10 12 60 14 70 Mar.13 Mar.16 Mar.19 Mar.22 Mar.25 Mar.28 Mar.31 Dec.10 Dec.30 Jan.19 Feb.08 Feb.28 Mar.20 Source: Appannie, Korea Investment & Securities Source: Appannie, Korea Investment & Securities Figure 3. March PC cafe M/S rises compared to February Figure 4. Lineage 1 Aden price trends by server (Market Share %) (KRW) Rodemai Phoenix 3.0% 10,000 Defrost Heine Oak Valakas 2.5% 8,000 2.0% 6,000 1.5% 4,000 1.0% 2,000 0.5% 0.0% 0 Jan.17 Jan.17 Jan.17 Feb.17 Feb.17 Mar.17 Mar.17 Feb.17 Mar.17 Mar.17 Mar.17 Mar.17 Mar.17 Source: Gametrics, Korea Investment & Securities Source: Itembay, Korea Investment & Securities Figure 5.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • In the United States District Court for The
    IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE ) PARALLEL NETWORKS, LLC, ) ) Plaintiff, ) C.A. No.__________ ) v. ) JURY TRIAL DEMANDED ) NCSOFT WEST CORPORATION, ) ) Defendant. ) ) COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Plaintiff Parallel Networks, LLC (“Parallel”) files this Complaint for patent infringement against Defendant NCSoft West Corporation (“NCSoft” or “Defendant”) and alleges as follows: PARTIES 1. Plaintiff Parallel Networks, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company having its principal place of business at 1105 N. Market St., Suite 300, Wilmington, Delaware 19801. 2. On information and belief, NCSoft West Corporation is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Washington, and has a principal place of business at 1501 4th Ave. Ste. 2050, Seattle, Washington 98101, and/or is conducting business through an affiliate located at this address. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 3. This civil action for patent infringement arises under the Patent Laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq. This Court has jurisdiction over the claims presented herein pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a). 01:13887534.1 4. On information and belief, NCSoft makes, imports, sells, and/or offers for sale the Accused Instrumentalities (as defined below) within the United States, including this District, that infringe one or more claims of United States Patent No. 7,188,145 entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DYNAMIC DISTRIBUTED DATA CACHING” (the “'145 Patent”). The '145 Patent was duly and legally issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on March 6, 2007. A true and correct copy of the '145 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Acquisition of Innova Q4 Investor Presentation – February 2021 Eg7 in Short
    ACQUISITION OF INNOVA Q4 INVESTOR PRESENTATION – FEBRUARY 2021 EG7 IN SHORT 2,061 EG7 is a unique eco-system within the video games industry consisting of: SEKm REVENUE 1. An IP-portfolio consisting of world-class brands with both own IP’s such as P R O F O R M A 2 0 2 0 Everquest, PlanetSide, H1Z1 and My Singing Monsters, as well as licensed IP’s such as Lord of the Rings, DC Universe, Dungeons and Dragons and MechWarrior. o This Games-as-a-Service (“GaaS”) portfolio accounts for the majority of the revenues and profits with predictable monthly revenues. 2. Petrol, the number one gaming marketing agency. o That is why Activision, Embracer, Ubisoft among other repeat clients use 652 Petrol. SEKm ADJ. EBITDA 3. Sold Out, our publisher that has never had an unprofitable release. P R O F O R M A o That is why Frontier, Team17 and Rebellion among other repeat clients use 2 0 2 0 Sold Out. FY2020 PRO FORMA FINANCIALS (SEKm) CURRENT EG7 GROUP INNOVA TOTAL NEW GROUP 32% Revenue 1,721 340 2,061 ADJ. EBITDA MARGIN Adjusted EBITDA 512 140 652 Adjusted EBITDA margin 30% 41% 32% Number of employees 635 200 835 Net cash position 568 30 598 835 EMPLOYEES Total number of outstanding shares (million) 77 +10 87 EG7 PLATFORM VALUE CHAIN – WE CONTROL THE VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPING MARKETING PUBLISHING DISTRIBUTING WE TAKE THE COMPANIES WE ACQUIRE TO A NEW LEVEL PORTFOLIO OF WORLD-CLASS IP RELEASED 1999 RELEASED 2012 RELEASED 2015 RELEASED 2012 5 RELEASED 2007 RELEASED 2011 RELEASED 2006 RELEASED 2013 SELECTION OF GAME PIPELINE 10+ 40+ 5+ 10+ UNDISCLOSED MARKETING CAMPAIGNS REMASTERED / PROJECTS PROJECTS AND RELEASES NEW VERSIONS OF PORTFOLIO HISTORY & FINANCIALS +302% Revenue per Year SEK 2,061.0 (Pro-forma Revenue) Revenue Growth per Year +573% SEK 512.4m Contract worth Consulting in SEK 40m with (Pro-forma Revenue) Development Leyou +52% -3% +586% SEK 7.5m SEK 11.4m SEK 11.1m SEK 76.1m 2015-08 2016-08 2017-08 2018-121 2019-12 2020-12 1) Changed to calendar year.
    [Show full text]
  • Nitro Games Signs Agreement with Netmarble EMEA
    COMPANY RELEASE 29 July 2019 12:05 (EEST) Nitro Games signs Agreement with Netmarble EMEA Nitro Games & Netmarble EMEA have signed an Agreement to introduce Heroes of Warland to Arabic and Turkish speaking audiences. Nitro Games has signed a Game Distribution and Servicing Agreement with Netmarble EMEA, the regional office of Netmarble Games, a giant Korean games publisher and one of the fastest growing mobile gaming companies in the world today. The Agreement covers licensing of Nitro Games’ game ”Heroes of Warland” to Netmarble EMEA for publishing in Arabic and Turkish speaking countries. Terms overview: Period: 3 years from Commercial Launch Service Fees: 500.000,00 EUR, paid in installments to Nitro Games, tied to launch progression Royalties: Net 35% to Nitro Games Territories: Turkey, Middle-East, and Africa Target launch: H2 2019, starting with soft-launch Platforms: iOS and Android “Heroes of Warland has gone through a major overhaul during the first half of this year. We’re now proceeding to release this new version also with Netmarble EMEA, by introducing the game to Turkish and Arabic speaking audiences. The first step in the MEA region is a soft-launch that is starting soon.”, says Jussi Tähtinen, CEO & Co-Founder Nitro Games Plc. For more information: Jussi Tähtinen, CEO & Co-Founder Phone: +358 44 388 1071 Email: [email protected] Sverker Littorin, Board member, IR Advisor Phone: +46 70 875 53 09 Email: [email protected] This company announcement contains information that Nitro Games Plc is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication by aforementioned contact person on 29 July 2019 at 12:05 (EEST).
    [Show full text]
  • Dynamics in China's Online Game Industry
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by ScholarBank@NUS DYNAMICS OF ONLINE GAME INDUSTRY IN CHINA -- AN APPLICATION OF PORTER’S MODEL YUAN JIANGPING (PEGGY) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIA PROGRAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is the end of my two-year journey for Master’s degree in communica- tions and new media. It is a pleasure to thank the many people who have helped me to make this thesis possible. Great gratitude should be extended to my supervisor, Dr. Chung Peichi. Her inspiration and efforts have made the data collection and thesis writing a fun experience. As a junior researcher, I am very grateful for her continuous encourage- ment, stimulating ideas, constructive feedback and generous sharing of her research experience in the research period. The numerous discussions with Dr. Chung were like an open brainstorming workshop to get half-baked initiatives either encouraged or challenged. I would have been lost without her close guidance. I am also indebted to my friends in Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore, Charles Wang, Desmond Lu, Eric He, Fang Jie, Guo Zhilei, Grace Zhao, Hu Taotao, Jami Proctor, Jane Cai, Jing Yang, Karen Zhang, Kevin Yao, Liu Li, May Kwok and Yu Gang. They are always ready to help. Their friendship, suggestions and kind support to me in the recruitment of interviewees have made the fieldwork in China smooth and successful. I would also like to thank the many people who have taught me methodology of doing communications research and kindly offered suggestions to start this research: Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Holdings-Report.Pdf
    The Fund is a closed-end exchange traded management Investment company. This material is presented only to provide information and is not intended for trading purposes. Closed-end funds, unlike open-end funds are not continuously offered. After the initial public offering, shares are sold on the open market through a stock exchange. Changes to investment policies, current management fees, and other matters of interest to investors may be found in each closed-end fund's most recent report to shareholders. Holdings are subject to change daily. PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS FOR THE KOREA FUND as of July 31, 2021 *Note: Cash (including for these purposes cash equivalents) is not included. Security Description Shares/Par Value Base Market Value (USD) Percent of Base Market Value SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO 793,950 54,183,938.27 20.99 SK HYNIX INC COMMON 197,500 19,316,452.95 7.48 NAVER CORP COMMON STOCK 37,800 14,245,859.60 5.52 LG CHEM LTD COMMON STOCK 15,450 11,309,628.34 4.38 HANA FINANCIAL GROUP INC 225,900 8,533,236.25 3.31 SK INNOVATION CO LTD 38,200 8,402,173.44 3.26 KIA CORP COMMON STOCK 107,000 7,776,744.19 3.01 HYUNDAI MOBIS CO LTD 26,450 6,128,167.79 2.37 HYUNDAI MOTOR CO 66,700 6,030,688.98 2.34 NCSOFT CORP COMMON STOCK 8,100 5,802,564.66 2.25 SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS CO LTD 7,230 5,594,175.18 2.17 KB FINANCIAL GROUP INC 123,000 5,485,677.03 2.13 KAKAO CORP COMMON STOCK 42,700 5,456,987.61 2.11 HUGEL INC COMMON STOCK 24,900 5,169,415.34 2.00 SAMSUNG 29,900 4,990,915.02 1.93 SK TELECOM CO LTD COMMON 17,500 4,579,439.25 1.77 KOREA INVESTMENT 53,100 4,427,115.84
    [Show full text]
  • Online Media Business Models: Lessons from the Video Game Sector
    Komorowski, M and Delaere, S. (2016). Online Media Business Models: Lessons from the Video Game Sector. Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 11(1), 103–123, DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.16997/wpcc.220 RESEARCH ARTICLE Online Media Business Models: Lessons from the Video Game Sector Marlen Komorowski and Simon Delaere imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit, Brussels, BE Corresponding author: Marlen Komorowski ([email protected]) Today’s media industry is characterized by disruptive changes and business models have been acknowledged as a driving force for success. Current business model research manages only to grasp static descriptions while in reality media managers are struggling with the dynamics of the industry. This article aims to close this gap by investigating a new paradigm of online media business models. Based on three video game case studies of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game genre, this article explores a novel theoretical approach to explain the changes that can be made within business models. The article highlights the importance of changing processes within online media business models and emphasises that the video game sector is at the forefront of business innovation. Finally, it demonstrates that online media business model change is in a trade-off paradigm between capturing or offering potentially higher value per player vs. accessing a potentially larger player-base. Key words: Media industry; business model; process; disruption; video game sector Introduction Today’s media industry is characterized by disruptive transformations shaped by digitization. Digitization is not only generating new business opportunities but threatens traditional commercialization strategies and is proving highly unpredictable with regards to future market development.
    [Show full text]
  • Famitsu PC Game Sales Ranking: April 2007
    Famitsu PC Game Sales Ranking: April 2007 Data Collected: from April 1 to April 30, 2007 Game Titles Month Copies Cumulative This Last Price Average Before Title Platform Publisher Sales Date Genre Sold/Month Copies Sold Month Month (incl. tax) Price Last (Estimated) (Estimated) Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan 12 4 Win2000/XP SQUARE ENIX 04-20-06 Open ¥7,900 RPG 3,409 44,215 All-in-One Pack 2006 Medieval 2: Total War Japanese Version - 2 NEW Windows XP SEGA 04-05-07 ¥8,190 ¥7,250 Sim 3,151 3,151 Limited First Release 3 3 Lineage II: Interlude - Beginner's Kit Win2000/XP/Vista NC Japan 03-09-07 ¥3,150 ¥2,865 RPG 2,979 6,011 4 15 7 Nobunaga no Yabo Online: Haten no Sho Win2000/XP KOEI 12-13-06 ¥7,140 ¥6,205 RPG 2,502 8,831 5 7 3 Nobunaga no Yabo: Tenka Sosei Win2000/XP SOURCENEXT 10-06-06 ¥3,970 ¥3,562 Sim 1,936 13,602 6 8 The Sims 2: Seasons! Expansion Pack Win98/Me/2000/XP/Vista Electronic Arts 03-22-07 Open ¥2,864 DAT 1,618 3,636 7 4 5 SimCity 4: Deluxe Win98/Me/2000/XP Electronic Arts 09-25-03 ¥5,980 ¥4,738 Sim 1,518 62,996 8 1 Lineage II: Interlude - Master's Kit Win2000/XP/Vista NC Japan 03-09-07 ¥6,300 ¥5,675 RPG 1,317 11,737 9 10 1 Flight Simulator X WinXP/Vista Microsoft 01-26-07 ¥9,870 ¥9,187 Sim 1,296 10,802 Hoshi no Oujo: Uchu Ishiki ni Mezameta 10 5 Win98/Me/2000/XP Mirai 03-23-07 ¥4,801 ¥4,330 Adv 1,255 3,440 Yoshitsune - For All Ages 11 11 2 Sukatto Golf Pangya: Marugoto Kit Win2000/XP Gamepot 01-19-07 ¥2,940 ¥2,826 Act 1,107 14,910 QuinRos 12 6 16 Heart no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World Win98/Me/2000/XP e
    [Show full text]
  • Arenanet & Keywords Qa
    ARENANET & KEYWORDS QA: GROWING TOGETHER ArenaNet and Keywords Studios partner to facilitate QA vendor acquisition and service continuity. OVERVIEW For more than 20 years, international MMORPG developer and publisher ArenaNet has made acclaimed games infused with innovation, hand- crafted detail and creative passion. With the vision of giving their players starring roles in story-rich settings and making them the heroes of cinematic action scenes, ArenaNet partners with Keywords Functionality QA to help ensure optimal and immersive end-user experience. CASE STUDY ArenaNet faced the sudden and unexpected business closure of its main Seattle Game QA provider, Mobius. The vendor’s employees had extensive and irreplaceable experience of ArenaNet’s flagship titles, the hugely successful Guild Wars series. Despite the business dependency, ArenaNet was advised that services would stop and that the related project staff would be let go in 30 days. In parallel, ArenaNet was creating and releasing continuous live updates/seasons to its games and losing the vendor employees’ experience and knowledge would have caused extensive damage to the quality and efficiency its work, negatively impacting the development, engineering and release teams. As a result, ArenaNet’s release plan, forecasted revenues and reputation were at risk of being adversely affected. ArenaNet required seamless QA service continuity and approached Keywords Studios to provide a solution. CHALLENGES 01 02 03 2 ArenaNet faced the sudden closure of its Game cycle break Employee rotation Company risk main Game QA provider, Mobius. The vendor’s employees had irreplaceable Development teams The QA team had The loss meant needed the QA team to irreplaceable talent, built jeopardising releases, experience of the ArenaNet’s flagship titles.
    [Show full text]
  • NCSOFT (036570 KS /Buy )
    NCSOFT (036570 KS /Buy ) Lineage M: Ready for launch Game NCsoft revealed official release date (June 21 st ) and key features of new mobile game Lineage M The game will seek to balance mobile-specific features with the advantages of the PC Issue Comment game Lineage May 17, 2017 Maintain Buy and TP of W500,000; expectations are running high for Lineage M st Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., Ltd. NCsoft’s much-anticipated mobile title Lineage M to come out June 21 [Internet/Game/Advertising ] NCsoft confirmed June 21 st as the official release date for its new mobile game, Lineage th M. The company launched a pre-character creation event at midnight on May 16 for Jee -hyun Moon four million of the game’s pre-registered users; a total of 100 servers of 10 different +822 -3774 -1640 types have been set up. We think yesterday’s Lineage M showcase revealed huge market [email protected] interest, as well as the company’s confidence in the game. NCsoft emphasized the game’s extensive content and incorporation of many of the successful features of the PC version, while also highlighting mobile-specific features, like convenience. Overall, we believe the showcase shed light on the game’s longevity and steady revenue potential. Figure 1. NCsoft’s shares have gained sharply recently on expectations for Lineage M (Max=100) (W'000) 100 "Lineage M" search index (L) 400 "Lineage Red Knights" search index (L) 80 "Lineage 2: Revolution" search index (L) 360 NCsoft stock price (R) 60 320 40 280 20 240 0 200 5/16 7/16 9/16 11/16 1/17 3/17 5/17 Source: NAVER Data Lab, Thomson Reuters, Mirae Asset Daewoo Research Table 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Lineage 2M Pre-Registration Faring Well
    NCSOFT (036570.KS) Lineage 2M pre-registration faring well Company Comment │ Sep 9, 2019 Pre-registration for NCSOFT’s Lineage 2M chalked up over 2mn subscribers within the first 18 hours. Large-scale marketing events for the title are scheduled for Oct 15, with an official launch expected in November. In light of strong expectations for Lineage 2M, we anticipate considerable earnings Buy (maintain) growth in 2020. TP W750,000 (maintain) CP (’19/09/09) W552,000 Sector Game Lineage 2M set to make domestic mobile game history Kospi/Kosdaq 2,009.13 / 631.15 Market cap (common) US$10,150.43mn We maintain a Buy rating on NCSOFT, our top pick in the game sector, with a Outstanding shares (common) 22.0mn TP of W750,000. Following a showcase for Lineage 2M and the initiation of 52W high (’19/09/06) W552,000 low (’18/09/06) W399,500 pre-registration for the title on Sep 5, preparations for the game’s official launch Average trading value (60D) US$27.89mn are now in the final stages. Large-scale marketing events are slated for Oct 15, Dividend yield (2019E) 1.10% with an official launch expected in November. With the success of Lineage 2M Foreign ownership 50.8% becoming more and more certain, expectations towards NCSOFT’s earnings Major shareholders should rise, in turn pumping the company’s share price. NPS 12.6% TJ Kim & 8 others 12.0% Pre-registration for Lineage 2M drew over 2mn subscribers in just the first 18 Share perf 3M 6M 12M hours, an incredible figure.
    [Show full text]
  • NCSOFT / Arenanet Género: MMORG Formato: PC Idioma: Manual Y Textos En Castellano Fecha De Lanzamiento: 2012 Pegi: 12 + Web
    Título: Guild Wars 2 Distribuidora: Koch Media Editor/Desarrollador: NCSOFT / Arenanet Género: MMORG Formato: PC Idioma: Manual y textos en castellano Fecha de Lanzamiento: 2012 Pegi: 12 + Web: www.guildwars2.com Descripción del juego Guild Wars 2 es un MMO visualmente impresionante, que ofrece a los jugadores la grandeza épica que rodea un juego de rol masivo combinado con un sistema de combate innovador, una experiencia dinámica de juego interactivo con historias personalizadas. En Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet incorpora un modo de juego innovador que permite a los usuarios jugar a su manera, pero manteniendo el desarrollo tradicional que Guild Wars mostró desde sus orígenes, y se mantiene, como en su anterior entrega, sin cuota de suscripción mensual. La saga original de Guild Wars ha vendido más de 6 millones de unidades en todo el mundo, y sigue disfrutando de una serie de jugadores activos y leales que esperan con impaciencia esta secuela. Características Las decisiones personales afectan al desarrollo del juego: Una experiencia dinámica de juego interactiva. Sus opciones y acciones generan un efecto real en el mundo que te rodea. ¿Los habitantes lucharán contra la arrasadora legión centauro o sucumbirán al ataque? ¡Tú decides! Sistema de eventos dinámicos: hace referencia a cualquier evento que ocurre en una zona persistente como resultado de la interacción de los personajes explorando el mundo. Son llamados dinámicos porque cambian constantemente en nuevos eventos, creando un efecto cascada. Una vez que el evento comience se desarrollará independientemente de si hay jugadores en la zona o no. Debido a esto, no existe un concepto real de fracaso o éxito, el resultado de cualquier evento simplemente causará un cambio en la zona.
    [Show full text]
  • Netmarble Games Corporation(251270 KS) Watch for Overseas Publishing and New Domestic Releases
    Netmarble Games Corporation(251270 KS) Watch for overseas publishing and new domestic releases Game 2Q17: First official earnings report; Expectations should be lowered For 2Q17, Netmarble Games reported that its revenue, operating profit, and net Results Comment profit grew 53%, 99%, and 140% YoY, respectively. The latest results showed a August 14, 2017 deceleration in revenue from Lineage II: Revolution, which was released in late 2016. Positives: Overseas revenue was up YoY and QoQ, boosted by the consolidation of (Downgrade) Trading Buy Kabam (acquired in February). Kabam is a well-recognized game developer, with its game Transformers: Forged to Fight winning the Best Game Award at the 2017 Target Price (12M, W) 150,000 Google Play Awards in May. Negatives: Domestic revenue slumped 45% QoQ, affected by softening traffic for Share Price (08/11/17, W) 127,500 key titles like Lineage II: Revolution and Seven Knights. Meanwhile, labor and advertising expenses increased 44% and 9% YoY, pushing up operating expenses. Expected Return 18% 2H17: Lineage II: Revolution overseas publishing and domestic MMORPG releases OP (17F, Wbn) 518 In 2H17, we believe Netmarble Games could potentially make up for its recent Consensus OP (17F, Wbn) 792 earnings weakness through new title releases. EPS Growth (17F, %) 59.4 Lineage II: Revolution: We believe domestic user metrics have been stabilizing Market EPS Growth (17F, %) 42.1 since June. As for overseas markets, the mobile title was launched in Southeast Asia P/E (17F, x) 31.2 on June 14th and is set for release in Japan on August 23rd and in North America, Market P/E (17F, x) 9.7 Europe, and China in 4Q17.
    [Show full text]