Firstly, she explains that some of the names were secured by her as they are mascots for particular classes and would be used in promoting the game on its website and in trailers, or participating in in-game events.
However, Blade & Soul brand manager Julianne Harty has since responded to the controversy in the Blade & Soul Dojo forums. A boundary had been crossed, or so it was thought. The assumption from players is that NCSoft staff had used their privileges to secure what were thought to be popular names – such as Naruto, due to the anime – before anyone else. Players saw that certain names in the game’s servers had already been claimed by NCSoft staff and weren’t too happy about it. Controversy sparked almost immediately after name reservation opened up for the western versions of Blade & Soul on January 11th.
