Mabinogi (video game)

Mabinogi (Korean: 마비노기) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game released by Nexon, and developed by devCAT studio. The name of the game is taken from the Welsh word Mabinogi, a Welsh anthology of legend, and the settings for the game are loosely based on Welsh mythology.

Mabinogi
Developer(s)devCAT
Publisher(s)Nexon Korea
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • KOR: June 22, 2004
  • JP: April 26, 2005
  • CHN: November 22, 2005
  • HKG: July 21, 2005
  • TWN: July 21, 2005
  • NA: March 27, 2008
  • OC: June 20, 2008
  • EU: May 26, 2010
  • ISR: May 26, 2010
  • TUR: November 17, 2010
Genre(s)Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Mode(s)Multiplayer

The game engine features hand-painted textures stylized with edge detection outlining. The game world is developed continuously, through the release of important updates (referred to as "Generations" and "Seasons") that introduce new areas, additional features such as pets and new skills, and advancement of the storyline. The user interface is simple and designed in the likeness of Microsoft Windows' task bar.

Mabinogi was built on a hybrid Value Added Services model (which varies slightly for each game localization) that allows free play and the subscription of paid packages, purchased through the game shop.[1] In South Korea, beginning with the Chapter 3 patch, Mabinogi changed to micro-transactions. It now allows 24-hour free play and the Item Shop only offers items and subscriptions for added options.

The game service is available in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, North America, Oceania, Israel.[2]

The North American closed beta test began on January 30, 2008.[3] The pre-open beta only available to Fileplanet users was released on March 5, 2008.[4] The full open beta was released on March 6, 2008. The North American localization of Mabinogi was released on March 27, 2008.[5]

During the 2007 Gstar game show in Seoul, South Korea, Nexon announced an Xbox 360 version of Mabinogi.[6][7][8] However, in September 2009, they had announced that, even though the development was finished, the release of the console version has been indefinitely suspended after evaluations of the game through their business decisions.[9]

Gameplay

European release

On January 27, 2010, Nexon launched the Open Beta of Mabinogi Europe with two game servers: Morrighan and Macha. Along with the Open Beta release came the generation 2 expansion. It was expected that generation 3 would be released when the game enters the official phase, which will be accompanied by the opening of the cash shop.

Nexon Europe eventually launched Mabinogi on May 26, 2010.[10] A few months later, Nexon Europe released Generation 12 at the same time as North America in October 2010, a large update featuring new mainstream quests and skills. Shortly after this, Nexon Europe removed 2 of the 5 available game channels in Macha, due to a lack of players in that server.

In April 2012, Nexon Europe announced its plans to shut down the European service on the 25th, (due to insufficient player-base growth and profit) and allowed its former users to play on North American servers with a new account and no character transfers if they wished to do so.[11] Nexon America has since lifted the European IP blocks for Mabinogi.[12]

On July 13, 2012, Nexon Europe announced that it is going close the game service and customer support of Mabinogi on July 18, 2012.[13]

Reception

As of 2020, the game has over 20 million registered users worldwide.[14] As of 2021, the game has grossed over $600 million in lifetime revenue.[15]

Franchise

A prequel game for Mabinogi called Vindictus (also known as Mabinogi Heroes in Asia) was released on January 21, 2010 by devCAT, an internal studio of Korean free-to-play game publisher Nexon. It is a free-to-play action MMORPG that takes place in the same setting used in Mabinogi, but is placed chronologically several hundred years prior to the first game during a period of war and strife. Vindictus is currently released in Korea, North America, and Europe through Nexon.[16]

Mabinogi II:Arena, the sequel to Mabinogi Heroes, was in development but subsequently cancelled. It was noted to feature more realistic 3D models, animation and settings, according to development diaries and press releases made by the game developer devCat.[17] The game was previewed at G-Star 2012. The preview content depicted characters, enemies, and dungeon crawling that are similar to the original Mabinogi, but focused more on instant action-based combat similar to the style of Vindictus with an emphasis of the more down-to-earth skill animations similar to that of Mabinogi.[18] It was announced in January 2014 that Mabinogi II:Arena development was stopped.[19]

References
  1. "Nexon - Do! Nexon". Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  2. Mabinogi Europe Staff (2009-11-29). "Turkish and Russian users can play Mabinogi fro..." Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
  3. Leigh Alexander (2008-01-16). "Nexon Announces Mabinogi". Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  4. Earnest Cavalli (2008-02-29). "Mabinogi Open Beta Lands March 5". Wired. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  5. Keith Cross (2008-02-24). "Commercial Launch Announced". Retrieved 2008-03-25.
  6. Brandon Sheffield, Seoul (2007-08-11). "G*: Nexon Reveals Xbox 360 MMO Mabinogi, Talks Maple Story DS". Archived from the original on 2008-04-25. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  7. "First Screenshots of xbox360 Mabinogi Revealed". 2007-11-06. Archived from the original on 2009-08-14. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  8. "KR: 14 August 2008 - Thisisgame Interview". 2008-08-14. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  9. "Xbox360용 마비노기 프로젝트 중단 - 취재 - 디스이즈게임". Thisisgame.com. 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  10. "News: Mabinogi Europe Launches". Gamershell.com. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  11. "Mabinogi Europe". mabinogi.nexoneu.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2012-04-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "[Notice] Mabinogi Customer Support Closure". Forum.nexoneu.com. 2012-07-13. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  14. "Investor Presentation Q2 2020" (PDF). Nexon. August 6, 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  15. Mahoney, Owen; Uemura, Shiro (February 8, 2022). "Investor Presentation Q4 2021" (PDF). Nexon. p. 43. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  16. "Mabinogi: Heroes Comes to NA in 2010 - MMORPG News - MMOsite.com". News.mmosite.com. 2016-08-13. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  17. "(영상) 마비노기2를 위한 애니메이션 시스템 - 포토/동영상 - 디스이즈게임". Thisisgame.com. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  18. "New combat trailer demonstrates Mabinogi 2 Arena battles". I.massively.joystiq.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  19. "Mabinogi II: Arena stops development". Massively.joystiq.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
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