NCsoft Q3 performance up, Guild Wars sales rise 57%

NCsoft, the Korea-based MMORPG publisher, wired over its financial performance for the third quarter (Q3) of the company’s operating year 2007. With sales from Guild Wars, Lineage, Lineage II, and City of Heroes/Villains, NCsoft observed a net income of US$ 11.2 million (KRW 10.1 billion).

Despite a slight dip in income performance, NCsoft noted a Guild Wars sales rise of 57% overall, thanks to the release of Guild Wars: Eye of the North in Europe. Lineage II has also seen modest increase in sales, and the publisher expects a better financial outcome by Q4.

MMORPG giant NCsoft has just released its Q3 financial results for the company’s operating year, and it has posted a US$ 88.3 million (KRW 80 billion) sales high, while floating in a sea of operating income amounting to US$ 10.7 million (KRW 9.7 billion). The Korean-based publisher also notes a 57% rise in sales in the Guild Wars department.

According to the announcement via press wire, the release of Guild Wars: Eye of the North in Europe has inflated sales growth to 81% (compared to Q2) in Europe, leveling off at US$ 9 million in the region. The eastern front also enjoyed better sales: Taiwan reports a 15% rise in net sales from the previous quarter, which it attributes to Lineage II sales.

Despite these gains, NCsoft also noted that the company’s operating income sagged by 8%, while its net income dipped 5% lower than its Q2 net income. Sales of Lineage and City of Heroes/Villains also dropped by 7% and 10% respectively, while being offset by an increase of sales in both Lineage II (1% overall) and Guild Wars (57% overall).

It appears though that NCsoft hopes to pull up its numbers again for Q4 of 2007, as it gears for Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa from Destination Games and other Eastern front MMORPGs (Atrix, Aion) releases very soon. Casual games Point Blank, Punch Monster, and Dragonica are also slated to enter beta testing soon.