The9 Korea announced its inroad into Korean market and its stance on publishing <MUX> in Korea yesterday.
SoonWoo Park the president of The9 Korea said “We believe <MUX> is not a copycat since nothing but its name and a few posters is revealed so far. We probably launch its alpha test early next year. As its completion is quite satisfactory we could publish it in Korea if Korean gamers want.”
<MUX> has been introduced at China Joy 2009 and has provoked controversy over plagiarism of <MU> developed by Webzen and published in China by The9 itself. The9 explained the game that it officially succeeded <MU>’s spirit at the China Joy 2009. Moreover, it featured very similar music, character, item, and effects to what of <MU>.
Webzen therefore had filed a lawsuit for return of the trademark right against The9 in Korea and successfully won the case in 2010. But Webzen has not sued The9 in China so far.
Since The9 is their official partner publishing <MU> and <SUN> in China no matter what and they won the case in Korea anyways they don’t seem to want any more trouble between them.
The9 told Webzen last year that it will change the title <MUX> to <Miracle: Ultimate X> but nothing has changed so far in its homepage. It is still using the controversial logo title and the promised title cannot be found in anywhere. Even more, The9 keeps updating its development feedback to the site every month.
The9 officially announced its first test early next year. So let’s see if the title and how much of it would have been changed from its year 2009 version since they are so sure about it not being copied from <MU>.
