The Korea Times reports that NCsoft may shift its business focus and investments into more conventional internet venues, like social networking service, Openmaru, which will include several Web 2.0 services.

These recent reports are viewed as a bad sign by the gaming community, especially with NCSoft's stock being cut in half in the past 2 months, and their revenues are down 16% in the last quarter due to the lukewarm reception of Tabula Rasa:

...In one example, MSNBC's Scott Taves reviewed the game that it ``tries, but comes up short'' and ``it's just not compelling.'' It is ranked eighth among recently released PC games in the United States according to gamerankings.com, an online site that evaluates new games ― a fair performance for ordinary games but not for a six-year money-devouring project...

NCsoft said that it will take some time to check the U.S. sales, but added that there have been ``ups and downs'' in sales in local retail shops... NCsoft's public relations office said that the firm is still devoted to the game sector.

"NCsoft's main business has been games, and will be games," said Kim Joo-young, chief of the PR team. "Our sales are 100 percent from game business."

NCSoft is hoping for a major turnaround for Tabula Rasa, once all the major launch bugs are ironed out, triggering a steady growth in its population.