Ross Borden of NCSoft West. (Dan Schlatter/Puget Sound Business Journal)

Ross Borden is executive vice president for publishing at NCSoft West, part of Seoul, Korea-based video-game company NCSoft. The company specializes in PC-based massively multiplayer online games, better known as MMOs, such as “Aion” and “Lineage.”

NCSoft West has been headquartered in Seattle for the past year, and employs about 300 people in the region, including its Bellevue-based studio ArenaNet, maker of the popular “Guild Wars” franchise. Borden answered our questions on a range of topics, including the economy, the importance of a strong community in video games, and the chances of seeing NCSoft games on video-game consoles.

Q: What makes a great MMO?

Borden: You know, one size does not fit all when it comes to what makes a successful MMO, but obviously you need compelling content. Often that’s in the form of a universe, providing a compelling universe that allows players to absorb themselves within it, figure out what their role is within it, and really we’re providing second worlds to these people. For our players, our games are very, very important parts of their lives. So of course we want the game content itself to be compelling, we want interesting quests and missions and systems, but at the same time, our community, our level of service, these are all really critical factors.

Q: When it comes to building community, have you learned things as a company that others in different sectors of the online world might learn from?

Borden: We want to provide a fun platform. We want to make it easy for our players to socialize with one another and to also have access to us as the representatives of the games. In general, whenever possible we just need to be really direct and transparent and honest. It’s this ongoing relationship. There will always be ups and downs within communities, it’s impossible that every player is going to be happy 100 percent of the time, because they’re so invested in our products and our services, that they take every detail very seriously, and so we also need to take it very seriously.

Q: Are you a gamer yourself?

Borden: Oh, yeah. It’s funny, I have a 5-year-old son. He’s a huge superhero fan, and I worked on our game, City of Heroes, for many years. He and I play every other night. Certainly we play some Aion, but he’s a huge superhero fan, he loves that game, and so that’s my activity with him.

Q: How do you approach MMOs as a gamer?

Borden: I guess you could say I’m a little more casual in that sense. I am not the guy that must reach max level. I enjoy running around, going through missions, talking with players. I love interacting with players in the game. I’ve seen this a lot in Aion lately. The players that I team up with, they’re just incredibly helpful and generous, and they love helping other players out. It’s one of these fundamental needs that some players fill within MMOs.

Q: In a lot of ways the Seattle area is a video-game hub. To what extent did that play into the decision to create the headquarters here for NCSoft West?

Borden: Seattle was very appealing, it seems to be growing when it comes to a presence of video game publishers and developers. It’s frankly one of very few natural fits, I think, within North America to try to set up shop. Definitely the ability to hire top-tier talent was a big factor. Also, it’s an international hub. We travel a lot to the U.K., and of course Seoul, and it maybe goes unnoticed, but the ability to fly directly and easily is a factor, as well.

Q: NCSoft has talked a bit about the concept of MMOs that can be played simultaneously by people either on a PC or a game console. What are your thoughts on that?

Borden: We have not made any official announcements here in the West, but as a major player in the MMO space, obviously we’re looking at the console side, as well. There are issues, like should (PC gamers and console gamers) be interacting in the same world. Issues of keyboard vs. controller -- these are core issues. Also, there really hasn’t been a breakout success yet for MMOs on consoles. Right now, we are a PC-only publisher, and we would never neglect our PC customers. One thing I can assure you is that our current customers are our highest priority, and those current customers are PC players, and so we would never make any sacrifices to alienate our PC players.

Q: How has the economic reset played out in the MMO business, from your perspective?

Borden: Every country is different. It’s amazing, you go back to our international headquarters, in Seoul, and that is the online gaming hub of the world. Our original game, Lineage, launched in 1998, is alive and kicking and has seen huge growth even last year. In Korea, our live products are going strong, and doing well. Here, we launched Aion this year, it was a really successful launch for us. The combined efforts that went into that were pretty amazing. I think with MMOs, if you have a compelling game and a compelling service, that seems to trump everything else. Of course, the economy ultimately ties into our revenues, but when we deliver compelling games, that seems to be the most important thing.

Q: NCSoft was an early pioneer, but in the U.S., at least, when someone says MMO, they often think of (Blizzard Entertainment’s) World of Warcraft, just because that game has become so popular here. To what extent has World of Warcraft raised awareness of MMOs in general?

Borden: Well, in general, I think it’s a good thing for our industry. There are more MMO players because of it. Ultimately when we can take advantage of that fact and launch successful games like Aion, it’s a win for us. I like hungering and striving to dethrone these guys. It’s important, because none of these companies, including ourselves, can rest on our laurels. In order to be really successful with our games, they need to be incredible. They need to be awesome. There has been a high bar that has been set, and that is good for us.