The Korean MMO specialist NCSoft has a new president at the helm, and she seems to be setting her sights on the West. This could have implications for NCSoft’s Western games such as Guild Wars 2 or WildStar – and affect the chances of potential Asia imports like Blade and Soul.
As reported by koreatimes and the Asia-MMO site mmoculture, there is a leadership change at the Korean publisher NCSoft (Guild Wars 2, WildStar, Blade and Soul, Lineage).
The new president is Yoon Song-yee (40), who was previously vice president of NCSoft and is said to have been responsible for the successful launch of strategically important titles in Europe and the USA, including Guild Wars. Now she is also expected to focus on the West and advance NCSoft’s “globalization strategy.”
Her promotion is seen as a sign that NCSoft will place greater emphasis on the West.
Wonder Child, Wife of the Founder, Inspiration for a TV Series
According to reports, she was a kind of wonder child, graduated from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and also met her husband there, NCSoft founder and current CEO, Kim Taek-jin. Later, she earned her PhD from MIT in the USA with a degree in artificial intelligence.
Her story is so extraordinary that she serves as an inspiration for the South Korean television series “Kaist” (which is the abbreviation of the university she also attended).
With WildStar and Guild Wars 2, NCSoft has several irons in the fire in the West. In 2015, fans are certainly most eagerly awaiting the port of Blade and Soul. Chances for this may have been further enhanced by this news.
While Guild Wars 2 seems to be doing fairly well, NCSoft’s other Western games faced budget cuts in October 2014. WildStar in particular was hit hard. The Carbine studio reportedly had to lay off some employees.
