"In particular, it offers an interactive physical environment by making it possible to use monsters or neighboring objects, providing different action plays that gamers could not experience in existing online games," he said. Nexon plans to introduce two versions of Mabinogi Heroes - one for gamers aged 18 or older and another for gamers aged 15-17 within this year. Mabinogi offers a multitude of skills and a high level of variety among players and environments. The game engine features hand-painted textures stylized with edge detection outlining, which enhance the anime-like appearance of the characters. The game world is constantly growing through the release of important works that introduce new areas to explore, additional features such as pets and new skills, and the advancement of storylines. The user interface is familiarly simple and designed to be similar to Microsoft Windows' task bar, allowing the player to easily access most game panels. Meanwhile, Dragon Nest is an action MORPG that features graphics at a level and speed similar to those seen in console games.
Spreading across the world
Nexon, a global company with some 300 million customers, is offering about 20 games to 60 countries, including China, Japan, North America, Latin America and Europe, the spokesman said. Income from its overseas operation accounts for about 50 percent of the company's total sales, which stand at 300 billion won. Its RPG, "Maple Story" is particularly widely played, with some 89 million members in 58 countries. In a strategic business tie-up with Valve of the United States, it acquired the copyright of "Counter-Strike Online" in four Asian countries, including Taiwan. The online game gained popularity with some 50,000 simultaneous connectors to the game in Korea and 25,000 connectors in Taiwan. "Combat Arms" of Nexon, a FPS game recently introduced into the North American market, also attracted 1 million members and 20,000 simultaneous connectors just three months after launching. It ranked second on the famous download site, "Fileplanet," securing a firm position in the North American market.
Paid service model setting the trend
Along with developing new games, the way that Nexon does business is also evolving. In particular, the "paid service model of parts within a game" is attracting attention from global game providers as an advanced business model. In line with this, the AFP recently reported that the kind of free computer game play that is all the rage in South Korea is taking hold in a U.S. market dominated by video games sold on packaged disks or by online subscriptions. The Seoul-based "free-to-play" computer game titan Nexon blasted into the U.S. videogame arena with "Combat Arms", an online first-person shooter title that makes its cash from optional "micro-transactions" by players. "Combat Arms had a great beta run, with players of all levels loving the fast-action FPS game play and ingame community features for ranking and challenging other players," said Nexon America spokesman Min Kim. The game makes its money from players that buy animated helmets, outfits, and other virtual items to customize in-game characters. To keep the playing field even, players earn experience or advanced weaponry by skill, instead of being able to simply pay for power. "People can't buy bigger guns to get a tremendous advantage," Kim said while demonstrating the game for AFP in San Francisco earlier this year. U.S. videogame powerhouse Electronic Arts (EA) has started investing in free play and is putting the finishing touches on a "Battlefield Heroes" war game supported by ingame transactions instead of up-front purchase prices, AFP reported.
