Strong Guild Wars 2 sales help NCsoft to record quarter

South Korean MMORPG studio NCsoft saw record revenues and profits during the fourth quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, thanks to strong sales of Lineage 1 and the more recently released Guild Wars 2. Guild Wars 2 was the big seller for the publisher, making up 45 percent of all game sales for a total of 119 billion South Korean won ($109.4 million), while the original Lineage, first launched in 1998, made up 24 percent of overall game sales thanks to strong in-game item sales. In fact, Lineage 1 saw record breaking revenues for the title for the full fiscal year, while in comparison earnings for both Lineage 2 and AION shrank. NCsoft also noted that its fourth quarter saw solid growth for MMORPG Blade & Sword, released last summer in Korea and China. Sales of this title made up 10 percent of all NCsoft game sales during the quarter. NCsoft's fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012, brought sales of 283.4 billion South Korean won ($260.4 million), up 104 percent year-over-year, while profits were up a sizable 498 percent to 101.9 billion South Korean won ($93.6 million). Results for the full fiscal year looked healthy too, with revenues of 753.5 billion South Korean won ($692.1 million), up 24 percent year-over-year, and profits of 153.7 billion South Korean won ($141.1 million), up 31 percent year-over-year.