Huxley Beta Has Launched!

[gobbly2100]

WEBZEN has announced that they have begun the closed beta testing phase on Huxley so expect lots more information on the game to be available very soon!

SEOUL, South Korea - Sept. 13, 2007 - Global online entertainment company WEBZEN Inc. (NASDAQ: WZEN) announced today that closed beta testing has started in Korea for Huxley™, the highly-anticipated twitch-action massively multiplayer online first-person shooting (MMOFPS) game.
Beginning today and running for five days, Korean beta players will have access to Huxley for the first time daily from 2 p.m. until midnight. The 999 lucky beta testers were selected after a web-based sign up that took place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 6, 2007. For the first time ever, testers will get a chance to enter the city where the characters live and breathe. They will also be treated to a variety of thrilling player-versus-player (PvP) battle modes such as team death match and radar domination, as well as the core systems, including Huxley's unique quest mode, not seen before in standard online first-person shooter (FPS) games.
Unlike the standard closed beta testing where gamers get limited gameplay starting at level 1, Huxley closed beta test allows the 999 testers to experience the game's unmatched excitement by entering the game at level 19. Players can wield high-level weaponry and defense systems as well as obtain and use a variety of supplementary skills and licenses unique to an online first-person shooter.

P.S Sorry the news was a little late folks!

[Kusanagi]

:P a little late yeah :P

[pliskin_wolf]

i mean i know there are tons of asians that are going to play this game, but isnt the market bigger over here for video games? so when are we looking at a English Beta?

[m4st3rt1m]

umm is this a game

[DevgruSeal]

..Really? ..Are you serious?

[Guyver]

Chill out Dev. (that is if you were implying to m4's comment)

As a matter of fact, I believe the Asian countries have a wider game crowd than America. Alot of games are developed in Korea and Japan. It's no surprise. American games are usually football and Leisure Suit Larry.

[DevgruSeal]

True, there are a lot of football games in America, but remember that there is also ID Software, and VALVe that create FPS games as well. But saying that American games are limited to football and Leisure Suit Larry is a pretty closed statement.

[HaSh]

Originally Posted by m4st3rt1m

umm is this a game

I want to punch *Censored Word**Censored Word**Censored Word**Censored Word*tards like this...

[connnnn]

Asian gaming is basically MMO's and Starcraft.

North American gaming is a little less intensely focused but basically it's bad shooter games on consoles, bad shooter games on pc, and yea, sure, Madden on consoles. Any games falling into another category tend to have a much smaller piece of the gaming population pie chart around here (unless you look into things like Bejeweled but that's a whole other topic).

[Decent_xVICIOUSx]

well im just happy that its finally here

[Drowect]

Originally Posted by pliskin_wolf

i mean i know there are tons of asians that are going to play this game, but isnt the market bigger over here for video games? so when are we looking at a English Beta?

Actually gaming in Asia, and especially Korea is much more intense in the Asian countries. Like here we are just bringing in MLG, which pretty much just started like a year ago. Koreans have been playing games professionally for about 10 years now, probably longer. We have Roger Clemens and Mike Tyson, whereas their national superheroes are Lim Yo-Hwan (SlayerS_`BoxeR`) or Kim Dong-Soo (Garimto), who are EXTREMELY famous over there, they are rolling in like 20 million dollars a year.

[connnnn]

Well the thing is, in Korea it's Starcraft... and only Starcraft (as far as people following/spectating). And from what I've heard (from people living there and working in the business), gaming stars over there ARE treated like rock stars, but it's not seen as a real gritty competition such as we might view football for instance. There it is a lot more glitter and show and I've even heard someone suggest that it's almost like following a big reality TV show in a way, with people following their "characters" through everything. I think even one of the top guys of MLG himself stated that Starcraft in Korea is more like a "gameshow atmosphere" than something like athletic sports over here.

I only mention this because you could write a novel about the development of the PC in that country and how it has affected the culture, in particular the growth of Starcraft as a game and its players. But in general it's just important to consider that they're a very different culture with a VERY different history, and it's not as though something that works over there could (or should) be transplanted elsewhere. So while everyone who plays non-SC games always wishes their game would be "like SC is in Korea", there's really a lot more to it than that.

[Valkrine]

Originally Posted by Drowect

Actually gaming in Asia, and especially Korea is much more intense in the Asian countries. Like here we are just bringing in MLG, which pretty much just started like a year ago. Koreans have been playing games professionally for about 10 years now, probably longer. We have Roger Clemens and Mike Tyson, whereas their national superheroes are Lim Yo-Hwan (SlayerS_`BoxeR`) or Kim Dong-Soo (Garimto), who are EXTREMELY famous over there, they are rolling in like 20 million dollars a year.

if those are professional gamers, they're not making anything near 20 million a year, not even a mil and how can you even call them national superheroes? the highest paid professional gamer i'm pretty sure is still being paid under 500 grand which is still awesome. first of all starcraft is made by blizzard, it's not korean. secondly professional gaming hasn't been around much longer in korea. you bring up the MLG but you forget the CPL? and also the CGS. i mean the CPL was the largest professional gaming tournament in the world for like the longest time. not to say korea hasn't contributed to professional gaming because i'm not saying that at all. they've been at the forefront since the beginning, especially with the conception of the WCG and WEG.

oh, and to say these gamers are extremely famous in korea is kinda a joke. singers grab the most fame in korea, second by movie stars(which is fast growing) and don't forget soccer. sure there's gaming on tv, hell i use to watch starcraft and counter-strike matches all the time when i lived there but i didn't know a single name of their top starcraft players.

i won't argue the intensity of gaming in korea though. gaming is a part of the culture, you have pc bangs(gaming cafes) on every block and even now they opened up a professional gaming career path in their army. that being said, the only reason that the beta started in korea is well duh, this is a korean game and hopefully it won't be terrible like most other korean games. please try to use some facts next time, it was painful to read this thread.

[KestrelMacKnight]

It's appearant that it was painful to read seeing as how you didn't actually read the post. No one said that Starcraft was made in Korea, just that it was an insanely huge phenom there. Which is true.

Beyond that, speaking of facts, just because someone lives somewhere doesn't mean they are in tune with all aspects of their culture. It's true everywhere. I don't know most sports stars in the US because frankly, I don't care. But as with any good arguement involveing facts, outside sources supporting them should be used. like Gaming in Korea (Part 1) - Gaming Age or maybe GameSpy.com - Gaming's Homepage or perhaps Mmo: Korean Game Culture - Kotaku or even http://rossignol.cream.org/?p=284.

The pro gamers of Korea are treated like superstars. Do they deserve it? Who's to say? Professional gaming did start in the US the same time as Korea, but it still is struggling to catch on here as opposed to Korea. It's out there, but gaming in the US is still being blamed for idiots killing people, demonic possessions, polio, and vicious puppy kicking. So it's a PR war on that front.

Frankly, the whole thing is entirely off topic anyway. I'm happy to finally see some more forward motion from Huxley. I've been impressed with Webzen's work for quite some time, the fact that they developed server technology that every american company is dying for is impressive in it's own right. Their games are usually solid play experiences. The game looks great and news is way too far and inbetween if you ask me. I'll just be thrilled when it's finally released.

[Berserker]

Originally Posted by KestrelMacKnight

It's appearant that it was painful to read seeing as how you didn't actually read the post. No one said that Starcraft was made in Korea, just that it was an insanely huge phenom there. Which is true.

Beyond that, speaking of facts, just because someone lives somewhere doesn't mean they are in tune with all aspects of their culture. It's true everywhere. I don't know most sports stars in the US because frankly, I don't care. But as with any good arguement involveing facts, outside sources supporting them should be used. like Gaming in Korea (Part 1) - Gaming Age or maybe GameSpy.com - Gaming's Homepage or perhaps Mmo: Korean Game Culture - Kotaku or even http://rossignol.cream.org/?p=284.

The pro gamers of Korea are treated like superstars. Do they deserve it? Who's to say? Professional gaming did start in the US the same time as Korea, but it still is struggling to catch on here as opposed to Korea. It's out there, but gaming in the US is still being blamed for idiots killing people, demonic possessions, polio, and vicious puppy kicking. So it's a PR war on that front.

Frankly, the whole thing is entirely off topic anyway. I'm happy to finally see some more forward motion from Huxley. I've been impressed with Webzen's work for quite some time, the fact that they developed server technology that every american company is dying for is impressive in it's own right. Their games are usually solid play experiences. The game looks great and news is way too far and inbetween if you ask me. I'll just be thrilled when it's finally released.

Welcome to the forums!

Anyhow, I'm glad to finally see some progress announced on Huxley, this is the first news I've heard for a very, very long time.

[Valkrine]

Originally Posted by KestrelMacKnight

It's appearant that it was painful to read seeing as how you didn't actually read the post. No one said that Starcraft was made in Korea, just that it was an insanely huge phenom there. Which is true.

Beyond that, speaking of facts, just because someone lives somewhere doesn't mean they are in tune with all aspects of their culture. It's true everywhere. I don't know most sports stars in the US because frankly, I don't care. But as with any good arguement involveing facts, outside sources supporting them should be used. like Gaming in Korea (Part 1) - Gaming Age or maybe GameSpy.com - Gaming's Homepage or perhaps Mmo: Korean Game Culture - Kotaku or even http://rossignol.cream.org/?p=284.

The pro gamers of Korea are treated like superstars. Do they deserve it? Who's to say? Professional gaming did start in the US the same time as Korea, but it still is struggling to catch on here as opposed to Korea. It's out there, but gaming in the US is still being blamed for idiots killing people, demonic possessions, polio, and vicious puppy kicking. So it's a PR war on that front.

Frankly, the whole thing is entirely off topic anyway. I'm happy to finally see some more forward motion from Huxley. I've been impressed with Webzen's work for quite some time, the fact that they developed server technology that every american company is dying for is impressive in it's own right. Their games are usually solid play experiences. The game looks great and news is way too far and inbetween if you ask me. I'll just be thrilled when it's finally released.

i'm korean myself, lived in seoul over 14 years. they're treated well but superstars? that's funny. it's a part of the culture, i've already stated that, but compared to real stars like jun ji-hyun they're not even a blip on the map. but go ahead and link videos and stories of your "outside sources" and such but the truth is, they're not that big of a deal. you could almost compare them to US soap stars, famous to a degree but most people wouldn't recognize them on the street if they walked right by them. they certainly don't have groups of fans waiting outside their apartments/houses like korean singers that's for damn sure, and that's an everyday occurrence.

[RobotFace]

*To lazy to read big posts*
But yeah, gamers can make millions of dollars a year.
Depending on what tournements, what games and if they are sponsored.
But yeah, like Valkrine said, I don't think they would be treated like superstars.

[connnnn]

No gamers are making millions per year from playing. In fact the only gamers I know of who are millionaires quit after making pocket change with games and started their own businesses and got rich that way.

[Ryanator]

I think their are a few millionaire gamers out their but they are only the top gamers at the most popular games.

On topic I'm another member who can't wait for the Huxley. As I believe the closed beta is over is there any dates confirmed for the open beta?

[connnnn]

As far as I know Thresh, Boxer, or Fatal1ty (I forget how much the CPL WT was worth...) are the top $$ winners of all time, and none of them are over the 1 million mark (Thresh is one of the guys who quit gaming and became rich through his own business ventures). This is all not counting endorsements, since the dollar signs behind those tend to not be public.

Also keep in mind that all game winnings are taxed very heavily because they're considered giveaways basically, so you lose almost half by default. This is why people like CGS are stressing contracts with actual salaries. I think guaranteed 30k per year will be the equivalent of winning something like 50k worth of tournies.