World Domination for South Korea's Game Makers?

Posted Jun 16, 2006 at 1:25PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: News Tags: gaming community, JC Entertainment, Korea, South Korea

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We have reported earlier that South Korean PC gaming firms are on a mission to penetrate the U.S. market. South Korean gaming firms such as NCSoft and Webzen have expressed their interest to introduce an MMO in the North American market. But in this new development, not only are they aiming to be a big hit in the U.S., they are also aiming to penetrate the Japanese and European markets.

According to Cindy Armstrong, Webzen America CEO said that "MMOGs are still a relatively niche segment of the North American video games market, but I believe they have the potential to be as big here as in Asia." These two firms are hoping to duplicate the success of the MMO, World of Warcraft - the only title that has become a big hit in the international gaming community. The success of WoW has been an inspiration for a lot of gaming firms to cross borders.

Blizzard Entertainment, creators of WoW, has operated for several years in South Korea through their StarCraft online strategy game - it was a big hit! It spawned a television show and lots of tournaments that was blessed by a massive following. Sierra Online will try for a Korea-U.S. crossover early next year with the debut of "FreeStyle Street Basketball" - a multiplayer pick-up basketball game developed by South Korea's JC Entertainment. This MMO allows online players to customize their character's physical appearance and garb.

Apparently, Sierra Online was also approached by other South Korean gaming firms to make MMOs for the US market. When asked about South Korean-made MMOs, Sierra President Ed Zobrist said that "they experiment more... They take more shots at the goal". Aside from that, making games in South Korea also costs less. If in the U.S., making an MMO will need a budget of around $15 million- $40 million, whereas in South Korea, you'll have a good MMO for the price of just $10 million.

With all this, it won't be surprising if we see a lot of crossover hits in the coming months. More games just means more fun for the gaming community. All we have to say to South Korean gaming firms is keep the games coming, we'll be here to check 'em out!

Via ZDNet

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