Running behind on your intel, soldier? Well, you should know that NCsoft has released the Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa Weekend Wrapup for April 7. In this update, you can find more information on the latest contests and competitions in the various sectors of the known world. To find out more, activate your HUD and head on over to the full article.

Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down. NCsoft, publisher of such MMORPGs as Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa, seems to have suffered a slump in sales and profits during the last quarter of 2007.

Despite the setback, company executives aren't looking down. More statistically significant news follows after the jump.

Straight from the press wire, NCsoft has announced that Tabula Rasa has gone gold and will be launched in the US and in Europe on October 19. Pre-orders will be getting their copies three days earlier on October 16. Richard Garriott comments on the Tabula Rasa reaching gold status:

It has been a heck of a journey. The fact that we are getting ready for the final stretch towards launch feels great, but it is also just the beginning. I think we’ve managed to do something truly unique and I hope that the gaming community likes it as much as we do. Now, I am looking forward to a really fun ‘end of beta event’ for our incredible testers, and focusing development on new planets and innovations for future expansions of Tabula Rasa.

The Tabula Rasa standard edition will be priced at GB£ 29.99 or € 44.99 (US$ 61). The Limited Collector's edition will be priced at GB£ 49.99 or € 69.99 (US$ 96). Both editions will include the first month of gameplay, after which a monthly subscription fee of GB£ 8.99 or € 12.99 (US$ 18) will be in effect.

NCSoft Europe has announced that pre-order bonus packs for NCSoft's Tabula Rasa will be available from online retailers on Friday, August 10, all across Europe. Boxed versions will be released in stores on August 31.

The Tabula Rasa pre-order pack includes quite a few perks for the early gamer. Those who choose to get one will get a three-day head start over everybody else when the game launches this fall. Perfect for those who want to get a feel for the game and power themselves up before the mass of gamers arrive on the scene.

Some exclusive in-game items as well as character emotes will also come with the pre-order pack along with bonus wallpaper and art. The UK packshot's on the right. Check it out so you know what to look for.

Today we have another "Screenshot of the Week" from the upcoming NCSoft MMORPG, Tabula Rasa. This particular screenshot features a squad of AFS soldiers getting themselves sufficiently psyched to infiltrate a Bane Prison Complex. Check it out below:

Strategy and cooperation are just a couple of the key skills that players need in Tabula Rasa. With each mission squad capable of having up to six players who can share mission objectives between them, communication will play an important factor in turning back the Bane tide.

Tabula Rasa is expected to ship Fall 2007 in Europe and North America.

 

NCSoft has announced that closed beta testing is starting for the Richard Garriott-developed MMORPG Tabula Rasa. The said MMO reaching the closed beta phase is one of the final steps it has to go through before it's officially released in Europe and the US.

Tabula Rasa executive producer Richard Garriott spoke about the game, the developers, and the closed beta implementation:

This is an exciting time for the Tabula Rasa team. With closed beta testing now in progress, we’re excited to hear more what our players think. With fast-action and tactical combat in an RPG setting, a deep and interesting fictional universe, and many feature innovations, we think we’ve created a game that represents the next generation of MMO games and will revolutionize the way people play online games.

With Garriot's experience in games, such as his brainchild Ultima: Online, we can safely say that it really is in good hands. We can expect the game to be out very soon, so fans of the game should watch out for it. You can read more info on the TR Beta testing by clicking on our read link.

This Tabula Rasa update doesn't involve the lovable CuppaJo or the master rhyming/rapping skills of Richard Garriott - but it involves NCSoft's financial status. The online game developer suffered an almost 6% drop in shares after reporting recently about their fourth-quarter earnings that missed some analyst forecasts.

The company's consolidated net profit fell 6% to 18.7 billion won compared to the previous year. Operating profits also slumped by 24% to 15.4 billion won. Analysts estimates were 19.4 billion won for the consolidated operating profit. ST Hwang, a Hyundai Securities analyst said that the reason why this so is because of the lower-than expected revenue from Guild Wars in Europe and Lineage 2 in Japan.

The online gaming company also said that their expected 2007 consolidated operating profit is between 42 to 49 billion won - an amount still below analysts' estimates.

With that said, NCsoft's earning this year will depend on the success of the launch of their two new games, Tabula Rasa and Aion: Tower of Eternity.