Hellgate: London - Ping0 Q&A Feature

Not content with finishing one of the most anticipated PC titles in recent memory, Bill Roper's Flagship Studios have recently confirmed the establishment of a new digital delivery platform to bring Hellgate: London to PC gamers across the world.

A collaboration between Flagship and the Korean online specialist HanbitSoft, Ping0 was initially conceived to bring both parties expertise in online gaming and ensure that Hellgate: London surpasses the wave of expectation that is mounting amongst PC gamers.

Set to become an all-in-one platform for the delivery of Hellgate: London, future content and updates, Ping0 will also branch out to offer further products from other developers and publishers in a similar manner to Valve's Steam network.

TVG recently had an opportunity to chat about the service with Flagship's Bill Roper; discussing the aspirations, future ties with Namco-Bandai and the sometimes controversial nature of DRM services.

TVG: Could you first of all explain exactly what Ping0 is, and which companies have collaborated to develop it?

Ping0 was founded by Flagship Studios and Hanbitsoft, Inc. for the initial purpose of creating the online infrastructure for Hellgate: London. After shaping the proprietary technology that Ping0 is developing, as well as securing several strategic partnerships, we are branching Ping0 out to become a full-fledged digital publisher. Ping0 will not only host Hellgate: London, but also host and publish other games, including future titles from HanbitSoft and Flagship.

TVG: Why was the decision made to create the Ping0 system, and what advantages does it offer to both Flagship Studios and gamers?

While working on the plans and technologies required to bring Hellgate: London into the MMO space, we felt the best chance to meet the demands of our game and our players would be to create our own online destination. This meant more than creating the technology, but also building up the infrastructure and coordinating customer service. Ping0 offers a unique combination of talents and experience in the realms of online gaming and publishing to offer a seamless, simple to use, stable and secure environment for gamers.

TVG: Part of Ping0's remit is to digitally distribute Flagship's titles; does this mean that full games are planned for release over the system, or merely patches and upgrades?

Our infrastructure and software will allow us to distribute everything from patches and upgrades to existing titles that Ping0 services all the way to complete games. Our vision is to act as a way for companies to bring their games to the massive online market, through digital distribution and providing both software and hardware solutions. This includes hosting for other publishers, such as what we are doing for Namco Bandai Games with Hellgate: London, to acting as a publisher, in which Ping0 will acquire rights to games from developers and provide all of the services a current digital publisher does, including distribution, promotions and marketing.

TVG: Do you see the Ping0 system developing to incorporate other digital downloads like Valve's Steam? If not, what are the plans for the future?

We are building Ping0 towards becoming a full service digital distribution and publishing company. Hellgate: London is a fantastic opportunity because it shows we can service a highly-anticipated AAA title. This then opens the door for Ping0 to reach out to other developers and publishers to help bring their games online and get them into the hands of fans. We fully intend for Ping0 to release other titles, however, we are primarily focusing on Hellgate: London at this time.

TVG: Obviously Flagship Studios are developing Hellgate: London for Namco Bandai; has the publisher expressed further interest in the Ping0 system for future titles?

It is definitely part of our agreement with Namco Bandai that the Ping0 technology is available to them for any games they are looking to bring to the online space.

TVG: Digital-Rights-Management (DRM) systems such as Steam, the now-defunct Triton and several others have been heavily criticised in the past; what makes you confident that Ping0 can avoid similar accusations?

We have a great deal of experience in creating a simple interface that allows players to easily play games online. We have a high degree of concern for the end-user experience, and this includes creating an accessible and friendly DRM solution. Also, avoiding any implied conflict of interest with Flagship in regards to the online technology and relationships being forged by Ping0 was the impetus to found the company. By combining Flagship's technical capabilities with the online publishing expertise of HanbitSoft, we have the best chance to create an advanced, responsive dedicated digital distribution company that can not only benefit Flagship and Hellgate: London, but other companies as well.

TVG: Can you go into further detail into the technology behind the system; how confident are you that it will support such a high-profile title like Hellgate: London?

We are very confident that our technology will support Hellgate: London. Because we believe that the game will have a large and rabid fan base that will head online on day one, having a solid and secure infrastructure was vital. We have a great amount of experience within Flagship Studios, HanbitSoft and Ping0 with high concurrency games and providing customer support. By taking on the tasks of creating this infrastructure ourselves, we have the confidence that we will provide great service to our players and bring them the best online experience possible.

We can't get into a great amount of detail regarding our technology at this time as it's part of the "Ping0 magic." However, the technology is being developed to handle the client-server infrastructure required for AAA online games. While we are focusing the technology to handle massive concurrency rates, it's also easily scalable for smaller games.

TVG: Finally, with plans for all future Flagship Studio titles to be launched and managed on Ping0, how you see the future of retail distribution for the industry?

Retail distribution remains an important part of getting games to players. That being said, more and more "brick and mortar" retailers are building digital storefronts to compliment and, in some cases, supersede their traditional presence. Asia has been a true leader in getting games into the hands of their customers, and digital distribution is the default means of doing so. The rest of the world is following pace at different rates and the attitudes of retailers and publishers shows they see the trend, as well. Ping0 is poised to become a fantastic partner for companies that want to reach players directly and bring their games straight to their customers.

Thank you for the chance to talk about Ping0 and our vision for bringing games to players around the world.

TotalVideoGames would like to thank Bill Roper for taking the time to answer our questions; look out for more on Hellgate: London soon...