The MMO Report: Thursday, September 9th

TeamJustice

Information from wiki on NCSoft

On April 27, 2007, Seoul Metropolitan Police said that seven former employees of NCsoft are suspected of selling the Lineage III source code to a major Japanese game company. According to NCsoft, the potential damaged cost may exceed $1billion USD.

On December 24, 2008, NCsoft was targeted in a patent infringement case over its entire series of MMO software titles. Worlds.com has filed suit in Texas claiming NCsoft has infringed on its patent for a "system and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space," and are pushing for an injunction to stop all games covered in the suit along with seeking unspecified damages. An NCsoft representative is quoted as saying,"We can't comment on potential litigation except to say that NCsoft takes all legal action seriously -- even if the company believes a lawsuit has no merit. We intend to defend ourselves vigorously."

April 23, 2010, Worlds.com case settled. The court on April 23, 2010, ordered dismissal with prejudice based on a binding settlement agreement between Worlds.com and NCSoft. Terms of the settlement are for now confidential. On July 22, 2010, Worlds.com requested the case be reopened.

Richard Garriott, lead developer of Tabula Rasa, sued NCsoft for US$47 million in damages concerning his termination from the company. Garriott asserts in his suit that he was forced out of the company and was made to sell his 400,000 shares in NCSoft's stock, losing him millions of dollars. On July 30, 2010, a jury in a Texas federal court awarded him $28 million. Garriott said that he was "extremely pleased with the decision", but NCSoft vowed to appeal it.

Customer satisfaction

NCsoft and RightNow Technologies were both recognized in 2006 with the "Beagle Research 'Whiz Kids' Award for Innovative Embedded Customer Service Solution." for NCsoft's integration of RightNow's customer support software.

According to the Better Business Bureau, in the 36 months leading up to August 15, 2010, 133 complaints have been filed against NCsoft. NCsoft currently has a BBB rating of "B-." By comparison Electronic Arts had 1005 complaints and has a rating of "A" and Sony Online Entertainment had 145 complaints and has a rating of "A" for the same time period.

My Take

I have played many MMO's for over the past 10 years and have never had more issues, bad customer service, and ultimately my account was terminated for what I believe was a GM grudge agaisnt me. Since they allow GM's to play the game on their own time and interact with the community, this leaves alot of room for corruption on their part during work hours. Example; You pk a GM playing on their own account during non work hours, they get made about it and take repercussions agaisnt you during their work hours. Or they become friends with people, who may dislike you and take sides on certain matters with prejudice.

There are many other MMO's out there so before dedicating your time to one, please make sure you fully investigate the companies reputation and history.