Rumor Mill: News Corp. and NCSoft?

Beijing-based gaming exec Bill Bishop posts on his blog that he's hearing "strong rumors" that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is in talks to buy NCSoft, publisher of the huge Korean virtual world Lineage, as well as City of Heroes and most recently Guild Wars. Bishop notes:
The price would be high, but strategically it might fit with Murdoch's plans to get big fast in interactive media . Clearly News Corp likes gaming, as evidenced by the hefty price they paid for IGN.
How reliable is the report? Bishop is currently CEO of Red Mushroom, an MMORPG publishing house, but was a co-founder and general manager of of CBS MarketWatch until it was bought by Dow Jones last year. It's a "grain of salt," but a tasty one from a media veteran.