Inside Perfect World Entertainment

North American gamers probably aren’t too familiar with Perfect World Entertainment, beyond their association with Runic Game’s Torchlight and the handful of Asian MMOs the company is trying to bring to North America. But this seemingly small MMO company is really quite big in China and analysts that pay attention to the sector (and like to invest money) have got their eyes all over Perfect World, despite its challenges - in China, of course.

Perfect World Co. Ltd. went public roughly 4 years ago and has beaten earnings estimates for most of its existence, carving out its own little niche in the lucrative online gaming space in China. Perfect World is no small player either, with a $2 billion market capitalization and a long-term plan to have a global presence - hence its North American and European operations. In the latest quarter the company raked in $86.4 million in revenue, compared to $55.9 million the same quarter last year. That’s pretty amazing for a company most North American gamers know nothing about.

But the company, like many others that have a business model that relies heavily on the lucrative Chinese MMO market, faces some serious challenges. Those challenges include government oversight and possible censorship of content, a rather crowded field of competitors (CDC Games, Shanda Games, The9, NetEase, etc.) and an unknown level of growth in China. Here and in places like Europe it faces the challenge of getting Western gamers interested in MMOs that are decidedly Asian in style. One secret weapon the company has is the upcoming Torchlight MMO, which will also serve the Chinese market if it can get by the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

In North America the company has 3 free-to-play MMOs in operation (Ether Saga Online, Perfect World International, and Jade Dynasty) as well as Runic Games single player action RPG, Torchlight. You can learn more about the company and all these games by visiting perfectworld.com.

Torchlight Editor now available

If you are enjoying Torchlight - I know that many of our readers and writers are - then you will be interested to hear that, as promised, Runic Games has released the official editing tools for its popular action RPG. Available at FileFront, the Torchlight Editor (or TorchED, for short), requires the latest edition of Microsoft .Net installed if you want to use the editor and requires a bit more load time the first time you run it. The editor uses Raw assets and has to compile some data, so expect it to take a bit of time of the first run.

Those looking for tips should check out Runic Games’ Top Ten Helpful Hints for running TorchED at forums.runicgames.com. Finally, Runic Games emphasized that it will not be hosting modifications made by users. For a great place to find them as they become available, check out the Runic Games Fansite at runicgamesfansite.com and the Torchlight Insider at torchlightinsider.com.

Torchlight now available

After a number of false starts and technical problems yesterday it looks like both publisher Perfect World entertainment and developer Runic Games have sorted out all the problems with the digital release of their game, Torchlight. Now users can visit both web sites and purchase the game for right around $20. In addition the game is also available via Steam.

Torchlight was developed by Runic Games, whose collective experience includes Diablo, Diablo II, Mythos, Hellgate London, and the wonderful RPG FATE. Taking a page for that latter title, Torchlight refines and improves on core elements like pets, fishing, retirement, and oodles of side quests and equipment to sort through. New to the formula are three brand new charcter classes, a much improved pet system, better fishing, even more loot, plenty of side quests, new types of weapons. and a light but compelling main storyline that revolves around the most powerful magical substance in the world: Ember.

You can get your copy of torchlight by visiting Steam, the Torchlight web site or the Perfect World site. Also worth noting is this brand new launch trailer.

Runic Games, Dungeon Masters: The Torchlight Interview, Part II

In part II of our interview with Runic Games (you can check out the first part right here) we talk about what went wrong at Flagship Studios and what the future holds after the single-player part of Torchlight is released on Oct. 28.

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Runic Games, Dungeon Masters: The Torchlight Interview, Part I

Runic Games first title, an action RPG called Torchlight, got a lot of buzz at the Penny Arcade Expo in Sept. and a lot of positive feedback from fans that were seeing it for the very first time. A month later the game is in its final stage of development as the team races towards its Oct. 27 release date. To understand the appeal of Torchlight, you need look no further than the gentlemen working on the game and their influences and past accomplishments. Collectively the small development team working on this game has worked on such titles as Diablo and Diablo II, the indie hit RPG FATE, and the now cancelled MMO Mythos. While that list of accomplishments might seem short, it’s also very impressive.

What I learned from talking to Runic Games co-founder and CEO Max Shaefer, Art Director Jason Beck and Runic Games co-founder Travis Baldree was that these influences are helping them to build a better game and later to build a perfect extension of that game with an MMO project. In part I of my interview with this trio I learn about the first fruits of their labors: Torchlight. Read on.

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Torchlight to be available via Steam at launch

When details emerged about Torchlight at the Penny Arcade Expo earlier this year, developer Runic Games and publisher Perfect World Entertainment said that the game would only be available via their respective web sites at launch. Apparently that has changed because today they announced that the RPG from the makers of FATE and Mythos will also be available on launch day via Steam. Torchlight will be Available on Steam Beginning October 27, alongside the Runic Games and Perfect World Entertainment web sites. Obviously all involved are excited about the deal.

“It’s important for us to make Torchlight as widely available as possible. Steam is an enormous outlet that many players use exclusively – we’re big fans ourselves – so we are really happy that it will be on Steam starting day one,” said Runic Games CEO Max Schaefer.

Good deal for Steam users. Find out more about the game by visiting www.torchlightgame.com.

Making the Game: Torchlight developer diaries

Perfect World Entertainment and Runic Games are offering a treat for fans of its upcoming action RPG, Torchlight - developer diaries. In case you didn’t know Runic Games is comprised of former Flagship Studios employees that were working on Mythos. The company’s collective resume includes such games as the now cancelled Mythos MMO, Diablo, Diablo II and Fate. Links to the first three developer diaries can be found below:

Developer Diary 1
Developer Diary 2
Developer Diary 3