NCSoft Stockwatch

[Little David]

Ugh. Well, with the way EA's shrugged off the ruinous handling of Sim City, I guess it's going to take a lot more than bad press for publishers like NCSoft to be taken down a few pegs. There was an article about EA's handling of the Sim City debacle, how they managed to make people forget about the launch disaster simply by not talking to the press anymore. Gaming sites couldn't keep the flames fanned without something to report, and the story just died out.

I can't see CoH as having had the ability to make any significant dent in their home-grown MMOs even if it had gotten a full push in Korea.

This is somewhat off-topic, but it's something that's bothered me a few times. Why didn't Cryptic go for a Japanese instead of Korean release for CoH? I got in the game late in its life, but I've found evidence that CoH used to have a sizable Japanese player community. I also understand that for City of Hero, Cryptic made a lot of changes to downplay the American-ness of the setting. I guess that's because of the extreme anti-American sentiment among South Koreans back then ... I doubt they would have had to do the same things for a Japanese release.

[FatherXmas]

Because NCSOFT is a Korean company and they asked/paid for a Korean port?  It was still a joint venture at the time between Cryptic and NCSOFT.

As for hating Americans, well we have been "occupying" their country for 60 years with a sizable military force and like Okinawa in Japan, there's been incidents that show that we are somethings not the best guests.  A lot of it deals with pollution from our various bases.  There is enough public awareness that it was used as a basis for a popular Korean horror/monster movie a few years back, The Host (not the one based on another series by the sparkly vampire author, Korean title: Gwoemul).  The writer/director didn't pull his punches in his portrayal of the US Army and government.

[Little David]

Well, if NCSoft asked for a Korean port, I suppose it would make sense.

However on the political side of things, the U.S. military isn't there to occupy the country--a lot of the hatred stemmed from specific incidents. That, and South Korea's consensus on America fluctuates. There was an article I read about an opinion poll in 2008 finding that 80% of South Koreans viewed Americans favorably, compared to polls showing the exact opposite years earlier.

That's why I mentioned the anti-American sentiment as being back then--because around 2006 when Cryptic was doing the City of Hero thing, there was still a lot of hatred for the U.S. over the 2002 Yangju highway incident and controversy at the 2004 Olympics.

[FatherXmas]

Fine, I put occupying in quotes.  We have a substantial presence due to the DMZ.

The movie I mentioned came out in 2006 and was the boxoffice leader that year in Korea, at least among Korean films.

The movie used this incident as how the monster was accidentally created.  In the movie the "bad American Army coroner" who ordered it was played by the same actor who played Herschel on The Walking Dead.  He had all about a minute of screen time.

[TimtheEnchanter]

Well, if NCSoft asked for a Korean port, I suppose it would make sense.

However on the political side of things, the U.S. military isn't there to occupy the country--a lot of the hatred stemmed from specific incidents. That, and South Korea's consensus on America fluctuates. There was an article I read about an opinion poll in 2008 finding that 80% of South Koreans viewed Americans favorably, compared to polls showing the exact opposite years earlier.

That's why I mentioned the anti-American sentiment as being back then--because around 2006 when Cryptic was doing the City of Hero thing, there was still a lot of hatred for the U.S. over the 2002 Yangju highway incident and controversy at the 2004 Olympics.

To South Koreans, America has got to feel like an annoying insurance company. They hate the downsides, but 'need' the upsides. Every few years, NK shakes its saber, and then they're glad they have us around just in case the crap hits the fan.

As for hating Americans, well we have been "occupying" their country for 60 years with a sizable military force and like Okinawa in Japan, there's been incidents that show that we are somethings not the best guests.  A lot of it deals with pollution from our various bases.  There is enough public awareness

Wow... are they really so green that it's easy to notice the introduction of additional pollution by a few bases?

[Segev]

I doubt it; the US is, actually, one of the cleanest countries in the world, and that goes for our military bases, too. There are some that are cleaner than us, but not many. (And add in that our HYGIENE tends to be remarkably high compared even to Europe, due to having built our infrastructure and culture with more modern standards in mind, and we really come out smelling, not like a rose, but like soap.)

Not denigrating anybody else, mind, nor saying everybody is dirty. Just pointing out that, on a comparative scale, vilifying the US for being a filthy polluter is pretty unfair. (Especially compared to something far bigger that's pretty close to Korea: China.)

[malonkey1]

(And add in that our HYGIENE tends to be remarkably high compared even to Europe, due to having built our infrastructure and culture with more modern standards in mind, and we really come out smelling, not like a rose, but like soap.)

What if it's rose-scented soap?

[Segev]

What if it's rose-scented soap?

I think we'd confuse poor Mr. Montegue. Would a soap by any other scent still name as sweet?

[FatherXmas]

http://www.japanfocus.org/-Hayashi-Kiminori/3185

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/graphics/pentagon_pollution/flash.htm

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-10-14-cover-pollution_x.htm

http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcquality/5connsubx6.html

You obviously don't live near a base do you Segev, or if you do you don't watch the local news in the last decade or two.  And nearly all of those articles deal with pollution here in the US.  Now imagine overseas where we don't have to congressmen fighting for the people they represent who are affected by that pollution.

[TimtheEnchanter]

Yeah, but are they actually worse than any non-government-affiliated R&D facility/manufacturer?

...Area 51 aside.

[FatherXmas]

It's a matter of accountability, being a "good" neighbor.

Where in business, poor environmental record and institutionalized pollution centers around cost and profit.  For the military it's rationalized because what they represent is the "greater good".  Eggs and omelets.

Like I said earlier, bases in the US have to deal with the same political structure that they themselves fall under.  Overseas, what the local and national government can and can not do is negotiated by the state departments of the two countries.  It's too easy to turn what should be a simple enforcement matter into a red tape drenched political problem.  And because of that the locals feel as if their interests matter very little.

[Sleepy Wonder]

What does any of this have to do with the topic? The last time I even mentioned a peep involving "DMZ", "Korea" and "U.S. Military" I was basically told to keep politics out of threads.

[dwturducken]

This thread has not approached 100 pages by staying on topic. There's been a sort of loose understanding as far as tangents, here.

[Angelus Animi]

I hereby (under no real authority) rename this thread "The Zwillinger" as it is all tangents, all the time.



I miss community coffee talk.

[FatherXmas]

Sorry, the derail started as why did Cryptic first try a Japanese port rather than Korean and that post included comments about public opinion in Korea about the US.

Expecting hard numbers soon, like a week or sooner.  How that agrees or disagrees with the general investor sentiment will dictate how the stock price reacts in the short term.  The 4th quarter numbers turned into a nice short term profit opportunity if you bought a week after and sold now, nearly 30%.

You still would have tripled your money if you went 5-year long term.

[Kosmos]

[...] general investor sediment [...]

LOL. Nice typo. I need to start referring to certain stocks as "sediment".

[FatherXmas]

LOL. Nice typo. I need to start referring to certain stocks as "sediment".

Ah ... sun was in my eyes ...   

How about an inherent problem with Dragon, even the wrong words are spelt correctly. 

English is my first language but sometimes you can't tell.   

[Triplash]

I hereby (under no real authority) rename this thread "The Zwillinger" as it is all tangents, all the time.

In that spirit, I propose the act of starting a whole new tangent based on the previous tangent be known as "putting a hat on the thread".

As in, "Wow... we went from stocks, to language differences, to a 'Why did the chicken cross the road?' joke in Praetorian Clockwork. We have officially put a hat on this thread, guys."

[Twisted Toon]

Ah ... sun was in my eyes ...   

How about an inherent problem with Dragon, even the wrong words are spelt correctly. 

English is my first language but sometimes you can't tell.   

Who, in their right mind, would argue with a dragon? They think we are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Those of us in our left mind might argue with a dragon though...because we're weird that way.

[Segev]

http://www.japanfocus.org/-Hayashi-Kiminori/3185

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/graphics/pentagon_pollution/flash.htm

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-10-14-cover-pollution_x.htm

http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcquality/5connsubx6.html

You obviously don't live near a base do you Segev, or if you do you don't watch the local news in the last decade or two.  And nearly all of those articles deal with pollution here in the US.  Now imagine overseas where we don't have to congressmen fighting for the people they represent who are affected by that pollution.

I work on one. And it's one of the cleanest facilities I've seen, "green" college campuses included.