COLOGNE, GERMANY — Gamescom 2012, one of the gaming industry’s biggest events, has proved the potential of South Korea’s online games in the European market. Held in Cologne, Germany from August 15 to 19, this year’s convention is co-hosted by Germany and South Korea, showcasing 600 exhibitors from 40 countries. The booths of Korean game developers and exhibitors Nexon and NCsoft bustled with gamers from all over the world.
Starting with Nexon’s The Kingdom of the Winds in 1996, Korea saw a huge boost in online games and has come to hold over 25 percent of the global online game market. The nation’s biggest game developer Nexon, known for developing casual games rather than blockbuster releases, has hot titles that may just ensure its position in the future.
Nexon’s Maple Story, which was released domestically in April 2003, is an example that showed “the possibility of Korean games on the global stage.” After expanding globally by launching in Japan in December 2003, the game is currently played by over 100 million people in 60 countries. Maple Story is a “casual” online role-playing game which is still continually updated by Nexon.
NCsoft’s is buoyant thanks to its recently launched Blade & Soul, a martial arts-themed RPG set in a fantasy world. NCsoft’s Lineage, launched in 1998, was mentioned as “one of the most popular online games worldwide.” The first among the company’s big budget RPGs that the firm is famous for, it has accumulated USD 1.3 billion in sales in 14 years of service.
Korean gaming companies have been aggressively expanding into Europe and China, where they are earning more royalties. Maximilan Shenk, head of the German Computer and Video Games Association, expressed his strong anticipation at the conference for interaction between the German and Korean gaming industries.
“The current trend is browsers and mobile phones and Korea is very strong in these,” he said. “There is a lot to learn from Korea, which is the home of companies such as NCsoft, Nexon, Samsung, and LG Electronics.
“I am happy to sponsor Gamescom this year together and I hope business transactions between the two countries expand further in the future.”
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea’s gaming exports marked over USD 2.3 billion last year, which the government agency plans to boost further by helping small- to mid-sized firms expand globally.
Source: Korea.net
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