With Korean industry's paradigm axis changing from ITcentered to content-oriented, much interest is being shown in Korea's game industry, with its huge success at E3 held at the beginning of May, in Los Angeles as further impetus. In particular, as the government aims to become one of the three game powers globally by 2010 through home-made games oversea inroad enlargement, next-generation game content nurturing, and an educational-industrial connection strengthening, game business circles' interest is being focused on the Ministry of Culture & Tourism (MCT) and the future direction of its support policy for the game industry in the coming years.
Director Jo Hyun-Rae, Game Industry Division, MCT who started his role from Jan. this year, says that the government plans to advance its policy direction for the game industry in concert with the private, dividing into four segments - namely globalization through game Hallyu (Korean Wave) dissemination globally, systematization in the interests of the game industry's continuous growth foothold, raising the level of game's sociocultural value, and game development.
Game Hallyu's global spread
About the present inroads being made by domestic game business circles into global markets, the director disclosed that first of all, Korean game firms are making inroads into roughly 50 countries all around the world including Asia 20 countries like China, Japan, Taiwan, Western & Eastern Europe, 20 countries like England and France, and in the Americas in 10 countries like the U.S. and Central and South America.
As of 2005, game exports were showing growth of over $100 million in comparison with the preceding year with $480 million (around 500 billion won). Director Jo who explained that such a figure is a roughly $250 million performance compared with game amount of import $230 million (around 250 billion won), predicting that this growth tendency and circumstance would be continued.
Concerning support for overseas market expansion, he said that MCT is unfolding the Ministry's projects with an indirect support-oriented direction such as strengthening domestic companies' foreign markets inroad capacity and competitiveness, rather than direct support for exports for the purpose of domestically-developed game marketing overseas.
Based on this policy direction, Jo explained that MCT is enforcing detailed projects such as overseas market information support system strengthening utilizing overseas network, export foothold enlargement regarding fragile platform game content, investment export consultation meeting host for new market pioneering, and overseas exhibition participation support.
Conspicuous game graphic's level
In conjunction with Korean game companies' admirable showing at E3, Jo noted that next-generation console game machine (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii) competition and the Ubiquitous game era stood out in bold relief and particularly Korean firms' competing well, equipping with excellent competitiveness in online game field looked better.
In the case of NCSoft and Webzen, online game firms that represent Korea, excellent next-term online game products like Guild War chapter 2, Sun, and so on were presented to the world market. At the Korean pavilion and game export roadshow business consultation venue as well, a raft of export consultations of $12 million got attained as a number of visitors and publishers visit Korean games one after another.
The director said he sees that Webzens have contributed to enhancing the entire Korean game firms' phase much through active E3 publicity and Yedang Online was a great success example by gaining a performance to agree on audition sales contract with an independent booth.
Regarding this year's Korean games which emerge among the world, Jo said that with E3 as an impetus, he expects that domestic casual games' Hallyu (Korean Wave) gale would catch a momentum to spread beyond Asia to the American continents and Europe.
Particularly, he analyzed in connection with E3 that Korean game industry's level became higher as this year, game graphics' level and game technology are improved conspicuously in comparison with the past and also genre diversity as well as casual games accent were conspicuous.
Speeding up global market inroads
In respect to Korean game's phase outlook grafted with Hallyu (Korean Wave), Jo pointed out that online game's Hallyu began early than drama or movie, and Korean game's fame power or export volume are larger than culture content. Moreover, he notes that Korean-made game's overseas users exceeded 120 million people and this is an item which was most sold abroad since the foundation of the nation. Jo predicted that Korean game's phase as a power of online game would be enhanced.
In regard to GStar 2006 which will be held Nov. 9~12, 2006 in KINTEX, the director said he firmly believes that GStar 2006 would develop into an international exhibition which holds differentiated competitiveness in comparison with E3 or TGS since GStar will become an exhibition to show online game's everything in line with worldwide trends if established international exhibitions attach importance to video game or arcade game.
About last year's GStar, he elaborated, "It gained huge response in terms of not only external success, but also the exhibition's substance as 2,000 buyers from 80 companies of 33 countries took part in it plus 150,000 visitors mobilization and export consultation performance of $200 million".
As a suggestion for the sake of Korean game industry's development, Jo stressed, "To nurture game industry, nextgeneration future strategy industry, 'The 2010 Game Industry Strategy Committee' is presenting globalization, industry infrastructure strengthening, leading technology's security, law system foothold preparation, and game culture fostering etc.
These projects are all important, but MCT will prepare a foothold in which the game industry will be able to grow stably, focusing on speeding up overseas inroads, excellent special manpower's nurturing, and fostering sound game culture, he concluded.
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