Kim Dae-jin, managing director of the Entertainment and Device Division of Microsoft Korea, recently said in a press conference:
"Microsoft is preparing to make a heavy bet on the Korean game industry. Due to a non-disclosure agreement, we cannot disclose the deals, but some have already been made and progress has been made on them."
He has also mentioned the company's interest in Mabinogi of Nexon, Huxley of Webzen, and Magna Carta of Softmax, as other titles which show Microsoft's strong willingness to participate in the online game industry of Korea.
Meanwhile, when Shane Kim, vice president of Microsoft, visited Korea last May, he said: "In order to spread X-Box Live all over the world,
we will continue to strengthen our cooperation with Korean game companies that have core competence particularly in the casual genre."
On the first anniversary of the X-Box 360 launch in the Korean market, Microsoft Korea is working to be a leader in the next generation gaming market through close cooperation with Korean game companies.
Managing director Kim went on to say: "We believe that Korean-type MMORPGs [Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games] will become the next generation platform in the console area. Fourteen million units of the X-Box 360 platform are expected to be sold all over the world by the end of this June, which means Korean online games will rapidly emerge into the global market."
Meanwhile, Microsoft Korea plans to launch Crackdown, Forza Motorsports 2, Mass Effect, Blue Dragon and Halo 3 within the end of this year in a bid to dominate the domestic market before Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii enter it. Managing director Kim added: "Basically, we expect that Sony and Nintendo's entry into the next generation game market will have a positive effect on enlarging the overall market size, but the X-Box 360 will continue to take the lead in this market."
