Hellgate: London (PC) shares decline following subscription announcement

Shares of Namco Bandai Holdings Inc.'s Hellgate: London (PC), +2.42 (+3.06%), an upcoming first-person shooter role-playing game, declined this week following the announcement that the game may require a monthly subscription to play at its full potential. The game is developed by Flagship Studios, a new studio featuring many developers of Blizzard’s best selling Diablo series.

Developers say they are considering additional revenue models in addition to a monthly subscription, including selling downloadable content. They are also considering offering some online mode for free--but what this entails is unknown. Bearish sentiment arose because few games using monthly subscription models have been widely successful in the past. On Saturday, January 13, Hellgate: London (PC) closed down 2.41 DKP to 79.20 DKP (forecasts 792,000 copies sold worldwide over liftetime).