Korean games (non-Japanese games in general, actually) tend to get a lot of flack — 'They're all the same!' 'They're so badly made!' 'Just look at them!' — but Brandon Sheffield cautions that we ought to be keeping a closer on eye on the Korean market. With different development strategies, different working environments, and different players, there is stuff to be learned from Korean companies taking steps to expand westward:

The fact is, Western developers have ignored, discounted, or simply not known about the South Korean market for far too long, and now we're face to face with reality. Aside from World of Warcraft, they've taken a genre we invented, and perfected it to the point where an online dance game like T3 Entertainment's Audition has tens of millions of subscribers worldwide.

That's rather a lot of people, and we're ignoring it. When I first noticed that company in 2002, they were making a game called Raphael that was so rudimentary as to almost be freeware.

Korea is starting to get more attention, but perhaps the most impressive thing is how well some Korean companies have done with their entrance into other markets — it'll be interesting to see how the gaming landscape changes over the next couple of years.

Why You Should Care About Korea [GameSetWatch]

Many companies in the game industry are prioritizing mainland Asian expansions as a way to grow their business and tap into the devoted game market there. According to the Nikkei, Nintendo has reportedly been supporting a South Korean developer who's doing a number of titles including a touch screen-based DS game.

The DS reportedly sold 1.4 million units in South Korea, and 2.6 million game titles. Nintendo is looking at Taiwan as well for DS sales, and will sell localized DS systems in cell phone stores there.

Thompson Financial also reported on what Sony's doing to catch some of that audience:

Meanwhile, the game unit of Sony Corp. (nyse: SNE - news - people ) plans to work with Taiwanese authorities to train game creators starting in September, the Nikkei said.

It will dispatch personnel to a local educational institution to offer instruction, with newly developed games to be distributed online for the PlayStation 3.

Sony Computer Entertainment also intends to expand operations in South Korea, where it distributes video online for the PlayStation 3.

The article didn't specify what sort of expansion of operations Sony is planning, but console penetration has faced challenges in regions like South Korea and China where the audience seems vastly to prefer PC MMOs.

Japan's Nintendo, Sony to explore Asian game market - report [Thompson Financial via Forbes]

Korean company NDOORS (Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu, Time N Tales has announced they are bringing Atlantica Online — a strategic, turn-based MMORPG — to North America, launching a closed beta next month. You can sign up for the beta over at the website; full press release after the jump.

Atlantica brings back classic turn-based gameplay and marries it to a deep strategic framework that encompasses combat, character/party development and city/country management. NDOORS, developer and publisher of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), will launch the Atlantica closed beta in July.

NDOORS designed Atlantica’s combat, mercenary and city/country management systems to set it apart from the rest of the MMO market.

The turn-based combat system offers players the chance to strategically plan every move of the nine characters in their group. Players can form teams of three to bring 27 controllable characters into combat. Or for simple fights, players can preset each character/mercenary’s skill set and let the auto-battle system resolve the fight.

The mercenary system gives players the chance to manage multiple characters’ development simultaneously. In addition to their main character, players can hire eight mercenaries each with a different class and skills. They can be obtained as an infant and raised, married to other mercenaries and even have their own children. Mercenaries’ stats will decline as they age, necessitating the need to constantly update and upkeep the mercenary roster.

The city/country management system adds a layer of strategic play beyond typical party level interaction. Guilds can establish control of cities and go to war with each other. They will need to plan everything from culture, commerce and industry, even down to the placement of buildings for the maximum output. Groups of guilds can even band together to take control of countries. Controlling cities and countries allows them to obtain rare items and mercenaries.

“We really strived to create a game that gave players something new,” said Peter Kang, CEO of NDOORS Interactive. “Atlantica was designed to bring the gameplay that RPG and strategy fans love the most to the MMO world. Atlantica takes smarts, requiring planning and strategy at every step.”

Players take on the quest to destroy the Oriharukon energy, a powerful sensor from Atlantis that is poisoning the world. This journey will take players around the globe, including the ancient civilizations of Hanyang (Korea), Indus Valley (India and Pakistan), Mesopotamia (Iraq, Syria and Turkey) and Egypt, as well as North America and legendary locales such as the Pyramids and Angkor Wat.

To sign up, visit www.playatlantica.com.

About NDOORS Interactive

NDOORS Interactive is the U.S. subsidiary of Korea-based NDOORS Corp., which develops and publishes online games. NDOORS’ other popular online games include the political and economic MMORPG ‘Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu’ and the time-traveling strategic RPG ‘Time N Tales.’ More information is available at http://www.ndoors.com/eng/default.asp.

In Korea, piracy of video games isn't limited to the hardcore crowd; it's everywhere, prevalent in every age group and economic class that exists. And beyond being a matter of money - of not wanting to spend money, that is - piracy for Koreans is, perhaps even foremost, a matter of convenience.

Interestingly, Rumas points out that many Korean R4 owners aren't even that tech savvy and simply purchase pre-loaded flash cards! Swing by Gamasutra and check out the article. There's some some good insights there and good questions asked about Nintendo's piracy fight in Korea.

Piracy In Korea [Gamasutra via Phantom Leap]

The events of 38-year-old Hideo Kojima's life prepared him to design the amazing video game Metal Gear Solid 2. As a child growing up in Kobe, Japan he played outdoor games like thief-and-detective, peeking around corners in much the same way as Solid Snake, the hero of MGS2, does today. In middle school he wrote five 600-page science-fiction novels. When one of his friends brought a camera to school, Kojima took up filmmaking, using his camera. Then he charged neighborhood kids 50 yen each to see his own movies. By the time he reached college, he had worked for Nintendo to develop video games using film techniques and became famous as a video game designer.

Wait, wait. So little Kojima stole some other kid's camera to make movies and then charged other children 50 yen to see his movies? That explains a lot!

Hit the jump for the Korean text.

MGS2 Test [Ruliweb Thanks, Torokun!]

He covers the widespread competitive game scene in Korea, looks into Quake's evolving role in the London game scene, and visits Iceland to see the birthplace of EVE Online, to develop what he says is a story of "how games change the lives of gamers."

I thought the idea of a "travelogue" of game culture was interesting, so I asked Jim a few questions about the book, and his experiences.

How did the book come to be, and why did you want to write it?

Jim Rossignol: It started because of some interest around a feature I wrote on the gaming culture in Korea. PC Gamer UK was commissioning some pretty interesting and aggressive material in 2006, and it came out of that.

I was keen to lay out some of the ideas I'd been collecting in longform - there's only so much you can do when writing disconnected reviews and features. To come up with a wider perspective, and a wider take, on any given subject still requires a book.

What are the ideas that the book deals with, primarily?

JR: It's a book about how games change the lives of gamers. It starts out with a couple of specific cases - my own life and that of some people I know - and moves on to more general instances. The themes the book deal with are pretty diverse - boredom, propaganda, human computation, the nature of games as a medium - but they all tie into the idea that people are changed by gaming, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Can you give a brief example of one of the instances in the story?

JR: Well, one of the more specific instances is the story of a friend of mine who now works in the games industry, but grew up escaping into games as a fairly unhappy child. He's a living instance of the kinds of traits and trends I want to talk about, because he's a person for whom some of the greatest moments in life have been to do with gaming.

Games were a way of escaping boredom and domestic discomfort, but ended up being an incredible life-defining force. He ended up playing Guitar Hero in front of thousands of rock fans at the Donnington Rock Festival in the UK, effectively opening the show for Guns & Roses. (Or so he likes to tell the tale.)

For whom is this book intended, and what kinds of readers do you hope will pick it up?

JR: Well everyone can read it, and will love it, obviously... but in all seriousness, it's an approachable book. Pop documentary, if that's a genre. I suspect there's a way to present any niche subject so that everyone finds it digestible and interesting, and I hope I've done that. It's more like chatty travel literature than dry academia, I feel.

What do you hope people will learn or take away from it?

I hope it helps people to figure out what they really think about video games. I don't want to lecture anyone, just offer some descriptions and examples that might be useful in making up your mind. One of the key tensions in the book is whether video games are fundamentally a waste of time, and what that even means. I'd like to think that both people who don't play games, and the gamers themselves, will find that they're able to discuss the pros and cons of being a habitual gamer a little more fluently once they've read it.

How The Wii Is Doing [GameShot.net Thanks, Torokun for the tip and translation!]

The Korean mobile developer and publisher is best known for their mobile role-playing game Heroes Lore.

“This acquisition is a major milestone in growing our mobile business in Asia,” said Barry Cottle, Senior Vice President and General Manager EA Mobile. “Hands-On Mobile Korea brings us a great leadership team, proven studio talent, and outstanding carrier and OEM handset manufacturer relationships.”

While mobile gaming and it's plethora of platforms continues to fail to substantially tap it's mammoth market, it must be heartening for that industry to see a company as large as EA show such interest.

Deal Will Strengthen the Presence of EA Mobile in Asia and Expand its Development and Publishing Teams as the Global Mobile Leader

Seoul, Korea/Redwood City, CA, – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that it had agreed to acquire the assets of Hands-On Mobile Korea, a leading Korean mobile developer and publisher, best known for its mobile role-playing game, Heroes Lore. Upon completion of the acquisition, the former Hands-On Mobile Korea team will become EA Mobile Korea and will play a strategic role in the EA Mobile™ Asia development and publishing growth plans. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal quarter. Hands-On Mobile Korea is a subsidiary of parent company Hands-On Mobile™, based in the United States.

“This acquisition is a major milestone in growing our mobile business in Asia,” said Barry Cottle, Senior Vice President and General Manager EA Mobile. “Hands-On Mobile Korea brings us a great leadership team, proven studio talent, and outstanding carrier and OEM handset manufacturer relationships.”

“We are excited about joining EA Mobile and its mission to bring to market some of the world’s most innovative, cutting-edge and commercially proven mobile games and applications,” said Gilbert Kim, CEO of Hands-On Mobile Korea, who will become head of EA Mobile, Korea Division. “Korea is one of the most ubiquitous entertainment markets in the world, and we look forward to continually pushing the edge with our partners here to enrich the mobile user experience across all aspects of daily life.”

Following completion of the acquisition, Hands-On Mobile Korea will continue to be managed by Gilbert Kim as head of the EA Mobile, Korea division. The studio will remain in Korea with growth planned for both the development and publishing teams, and will work within the management structure of the EA Mobile Asia Publishing organization.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. EA does not expect the acquisition to impact the company’s fiscal year 2009 financial guidance.

Bill Gates gifts Xbox inlaid with traditional Korean mother-of-pearl to Korean President [Fareastgizmos, via Gizmodo]

The9 Limited Announces Equity Investment in G10 Entertainment

SHANGHAI, China, April 23 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ — The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) ("The9"), a leading online game operator in China, today announced an equity investment in G10 Entertainment Corp. ("G10"), a leading game developer in Korea. Under the terms of the investment, The9 has acquired a minority stake in G10 in exchange for a cash investment of approximately US$38 million.

Mr. Jun Zhu, The9's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "G10 Entertainment is a leading game developer, especially in the advanced casual game arena. Its Audition game franchise enjoys high popularity and a strong user base in China. The9's equity investment in G10 will strengthen the existing partnership between the two companies and further motivate G10 to provide the best support to The9's operation of Audition 2 in mainland China."

Mr. Kee Young Kim, the Chief Executive Officer of G10, said, "We are very excited that The9 becomes one of our key investors as we see this equity infusion as a recognition of G10's achievements in developing games and creating entertainment content. The9's outstanding game operation expertise will be a huge advantage in bringing G10's products to the growing Chinese online game market. We also look forward to learning from The9's valuable experience gleaned from the day-to-day operation in the local market, and integrating the ideas and suggestions from The9 into our game development process. Our people and teams at G10 are empowered to continue delivering high-quality game products and providing our best support to Audition 2, our prize product to be operated by The9 in mainland China."

Is it me or is pro gaming is so 2007?
Moon, Sky Carry [GGL Thanks, Craig!]

"This milestone wouldn't have been possible for us to achieve without the incredible support of our publishing partner, Hanbitsoft, and our dedicated community in Korea."

Flagship Studios' HellgateTM: London Celebrates The Most Successful Online Korean Launch In Three Years

San Francisco, CA (April 11th, 2008) - Flagship Studios today announced that its action role-playing game Hellgate: London has become the most successful online video game launch in Korea of the past three years with over 1 million accounts registered within the first two weeks of its open beta test. Hellgate: London is the first online game in over three years to use a monthly subscription business model.

After launching the open beta on January 15th, Hellgate: London quickly rose to the ninth most played online game, fifth most popular RPG and most popular online beta game in PC Cafes*, with over 1 million accounts. Hellgate: London was released commercially on February 22nd, and achieved record sales in its first week of presales.

"To become the most successful launch in Korea for over three years is an incredible achievement," said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. "This milestone wouldn't have been possible for us to achieve without the incredible support of our publishing partner, Hanbitsoft, and our dedicated community in Korea. We look forward to expanding the Hellgate universe and building upon this success in the future."

"Flagship Studios are well aware of how the Asian market operates very differently to the Western territories" said Alex Kim, CEO of HanbitSoft, "By listening to players' feedback and through constant updates to the game, Hellgate: London will continue to be an incredible success throughout Asia."

Hellgate: London combines the depth of role-playing games and the action of first-person shooter titles, while offering infinite playability with dynamically generated levels, items, enemies, and events. Whether online or off, a player creates a heroic character, completes quests, and battles through innumerable hordes of demons to advance through experience levels and branching skill paths. A robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of randomly generated equipment allow players to create their own unique hero.

For more information please visit the official Hellgate: London site at www.hellgatelondon.com
*According to Gametrics and Game Report

We will make an official announcement once we are all ready.

Mar 12, 2008 (CORPORATE IT UPDATE via COMTEX) — CDC Games, a business unit of CDC Corp. and provider of a "free-to-play, pay for merchandise" model for online games in China, announced it has licensed "Digimon RPG" and "Digimon RPG2," the massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) based on a Japanese television animated series, for distribution in North America and The People's Republic of China from SK Telecom, a mobile telecommunications operator in South Korea.

Digimon RPG is based on a series of Japanese animated television shows called, "Digimon Adventure," "Digimon Adventure 02," "Digimon Tamers," and "Digimon Frontier." Digimon RPG2 (currently the tentative name with an official name to be decided prior to launch date) is a 3D MMORPG version based on the next series of the TV shows listed above for Digimon RPG, as well as a series of shows called "Digimon Savers."

The "Digimon Savers" and "Digimon Adventure" series, produced by Toei Animation, is a Japanese animated line of media and merchandise that includes a cartoon series, anime, manga-style comics, toys, trading card games and other media. The media network for the Digimon series currently includes a Digimon Savers cartoon television series running on Toon Disney, and 13 video game titles available in North America.

Digimon RPG and Digimon RPG2 are developed by Digitalic and are also jointly planned by Digitalic and Bandai Korea Co., Ltd. CDC Games intends to launch Digimon RPG in North America later this year. Digimon RPG2 is currently under development and is expected to be launched first to the Korea market later this year.

"We are very pleased to license Digimon RPG and Digimon RPG2 to CDC Games," said Yongbo Cho, Online Game Business team leader, SK Telecom. "Digimon RPG has been very well received in Korea which is one of the world's most competitive online games markets. With CDC Games' impressive global infrastructure, deep expertise in the global gaming market and its successful track record in the world's largest online games market, we believe Digimon RPG will be very successful in both the U.S. and China."

"This is the first massively multiplayer online game based on the Digimon world," said Jeffrey Longoria, president of CDC Games International. "With one of the most widely recognized names around the world, this family-friendly game is targeted at the millions of Digimon fans who have enjoyed the last 10 years watching the worldwide syndicated cartoons, have played more than a dozen different Digimon console and handheld video game titles, and enjoyed the world-wide phenomenon of the popular collectible card game. Now for the first time, Digimon fans along with their favorite friends from all over North America, can interact with this amazing world and each other in a whole new exciting way.

[www.youtube.com]

StarCraft II Zerg Fact Sheet

Zerg Reveal - March, 2008

Welcome to the Zerg press tour for StarCraft II; you are among the first in the world to see the Zerg faction in StarCraft II. This fact sheet will serve as a basic overview to the Zerg units you'll be playing with during today's hands-on multiplayer sessions. Please keep in mind that StarCraft II is still in development. This means that all of the units and abilities you see described below are subject to change over the course of development.

Drone

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: Classic

Description: The Drone is the Zerg's worker unit, used to gather resources such as minerals or Vespene gas. They are also used to morph into various Zerg structures.

Zergling

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: Classic

Description: The Zergling is the most basic combat unit for the Zerg faction. Zerglings are fast-moving ground units with a melee attack, and are typically used en-masse. They can be morphed individually into Banelings.

Overlord

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: Classic

Description: The Overlord is the Zerg's basic command and control unit. As in the original game, it is a slow flying unit with no attack, but as your army grows, you'll need to create more Overlords and keep them protected. What's new to this unit in StarCraft II are a couple of special abilities. The slime ability allows the Overlord to disable resource nodes and neutral observatories. Overlords can also create a small, temporary patch of creep for the Zerg to build on.

Overseer

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: New

Description: Individual Overlords can be upgraded by the player to Overseers, which serve as airborne detector units. Overseers lose the slime and creep abilities of the Overlord, but gain a larger sight radius and give the player the ability to see cloaked and burrowed enemies.

Queen

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: New

Description: The original StarCraft had a units called Queens, but the Queen in StarCraft II is so different, that its form and function do not at all resemble the Queens from the original game. The two units merely share a name.

In StarCraft II, Queens are birthed directly out of the Hatchery, and you can only control one at a time. The Queen is a powerful fighting unit, but more importantly, she orchestrates the defense of Zerg bases by using a number of unique abilities. Queens can create special structures that expand the base of creep, or act as stationary defense turrets.

Also, as Queens evolve, they can gain new abilities such as Deep Tunnel, which allows the Queen to instantly move to any of your buildings on the map. The Toxic Creep ability makes a small area of creep damaging to enemy ground units standing on it. Swarm Infestation lets the Queen temporarily turn any Zerg building into a defensive turret that shoots at enemies, while Regeneration lets the Queen quickly heal any damaged Zerg structures.

Hydralisk

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: Classic

Description: As in the original StarCraft, Hydralisks serve as basic foot soldiers for the Zerg, with the ability to shoot at ground or airborne targets. Hydralisks can also morph into Lurker units.

Roach

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: New

Description: The Roach is a specialized ground unit with the unique ability to very quickly regenerate damage. Used properly, Roaches can absorb tremendous amounts of damage and can only be killed with concentrated and heavy fire from enemies.

Mutalisk

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: Classic

Description: Mutalisks are the Zerg's primary flying unit. As in the original game, they use a special Glaive Wurm attack that bounces twice from its original target, doing damage to up to three units with each shot.

Baneling

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: New

Description: The Baneling acts as a rolling bomb that explodes on contact with an enemy unit or building. Groups of Banelings can quickly cut a swath through enemy infantry and even take down structures when fielded en masse. Banelings can be morphed from Zerglings.

Lurker

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: Classic from StarCraft: Brood War

Description: Lurkers make a return in StarCraft II. As in StarCraft: Brood War, Lurkers are morphed from Hydralisks and can only attack while burrowed. They can devastate packed groups of infantry as they attack in a line with their subterranean spines.

Nydus Worm

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: New

Description: The Nydus Worm puts a new twist on the Nydus Canal mechanic from StarCraft II. Nydus Worms can move to create an entry/exit point anywhere on the map, allowing the Zerg army a means to almost instantly funnel ground troops from one side of the map to the other.

Infestor

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: New

Description: The Infestor is the primary support unit for the Zerg in StarCraft II. It doesn't possess a direct attack but its unique abilities make it a fearsome sight on the battlefield. Dark Swarm creates a smokescreen for units to hide under, protecting them from ranged attacks. Disease targets a single enemy, giving it a damaging aura that hurts surrounding units. The Infestor also has the Infestation ability, which temporarily infests an enemy structure, causing it to produce Infested Marines. Finally, the Infestor has the ability to move while burrowed, making it useful for sneaking in under enemy base defenses.

Infested Marine

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: Classic

Description: The Infested Marine is produced by any enemy structure that's been afflicted with the Infestation ability. Infested Marines move slowly but act and shoot much like a regular Terran Marine.

Corruptor

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: New

Description: The Corruptor is the Zerg's dedicated air-to-air unit. Corruptors don't immediately destroy their targets. Instead, the targeted enemy becomes corrupted, becoming a stationary turret that fires at other nearby enemies. In this way, Corruptors can quickly overcome large groups of enemy fliers, turning them against one another.

Ultralisk

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: Classic

Description: Arguably the Zerg's most intimidating unit, the Ultralisk is back in StarCraft II. Ultralisks can engage and attack multiple ground units in front of it with its scythe-like Kaiser Blades. They also possess a large number of hit points, allowing it to absorb lots of damage as they lead Zerg charges.

Swarm Guardian

Classic StarCraft unit, or new to StarCraft II?: New

Description: As with the Guardian in the original StarCraft, the Swarm Guardian in StarCraft II is morphed from the Mutalisk, and serves as the Zerg's aerial siege weapon. The Swarm Guardian possesses a long-range, air-to-ground attack that hits for a good deal of damage and also spawns small broodlings that can attack for a short period of time.

CDC Games said Wednesday it has settled all legal disputes with South Korean online gaming company Mgame Corp. over their differences regarding the operation of the online game "Yulgang."

Under the agreement, CDC Games, a unit of Hong Kong-based software and online gaming company CDC Corp., will have exclusive distribution rights to "Yulgang" in China until March 2010, with an option for a one-year extension. The companies also agreed to work together to launch "Yulgang 2.0" as quickly as possible.

If I were a Korean company, I'd think really hard before entering into any sort of contractual agreement with a Mainland company, giant potential market be damned.

CDC Games, Mgame Settle Legal Disputes [AP]

As far as Europe's concerned, it's a simple approach. The first step is getting enough product on the market, which they're already doing: Kotick says that while North America was the focus in 2007 as far as shipping allocations and marketing went, in 2008 they'd be focusing on Europe. The second step was in securing more local content: Activision's "relationship" with Universal music has given the company access to a huge roster of European acts, not only for the primary markets of Britain, France and Germany, but also bands that will let them target other areas, such as Spain and Italy.

Sounds familiar, I know, and probably not enough to win out over Rock Band's charms. Then again, so long as Rock Band remains a ghost on European release schedules, that's a moot point: Europeans can play Guitar Hero III, right now. They can't play Rock Band, and don't know when (or even if) they'll be able to play Rock Band.

As for Asia (Kotick only specifically addresses China and Korea), well, things are a little more ambitious. Citing experience they've already picked up from Blizzard - one of the few Western devs to crack the Asian market - Kotick says that future success in the region will rest not on boxed products like it does in the West, but in getting the game into internet cafes.

There are, Kotick says, 300,000 of them just in China. They're trusted local institutions. They have credit and billing structures already in place, and are a place where people meet, hook up and hang out. Using the PC version of GHIII as an example, all they'd need to do would be to hook a USB guitar into a PC, flood the game with local content (again, thanks to their new relationship with Universal), set up organised competitions and ladders and watch the cash money come flooding in.

"It's an incredibly natural way to think about Guitar Hero in a market like China", said Kotick, who also stated that such a move would be entirely on a pre-paid basis, and that they could have "multiple instruments in the same room". Funny. He could have just said "guitars", but no, he said "instruments". Multiple instruments.

Shanghai, China - February 19, 2008 - Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: SNDA), or Shanda, a leading interactive entertainment media company in China, announced today that it has entered into an agreement for exclusive license with NCsoft Corporation (KSE: 036570.KS), or NCsoft, Korea's leading online game developer and publisher, to operate Atrix in mainland China. Atrix is expected to begin commercial operation in China in early 2009.

Atrix, created and published by NCsoft, is an online casual war game featuring exciting combat and breath-taking scenery. The game began official operation in Korea in June 2007 and has been well received by players.

Atrix is the second game to come out of Shanda's strategic alliance with NCsoft, which was announced in November 2007. At that time, Shanda announced the exclusive license for the highly anticipated MMORPG AION: The Tower of Eternity, which is expected to begin close beta testing in China in the second half of 2008.

"We are pleased to partner with NCsoft to introduce Atrix to China. We expect long-term success from both Atrix and AION, based on our strong integrated platform and expertise as the leading online game operator in China," said Tianqiao Chen, Chairman and CEO of Shanda. "We will continue to work closely with NCsoft to introduce additional high quality and exciting new titles to China."

"We are excited to cooperate with Shanda in Atrix, which marks our entry into casual games in China," said Kim Taek Jin, NCsoft's CEO. "Our strategic partnership with Shanda is an important part of our plan to become a truly international online game company, and we believe it will benefit both companies well into the future."

Because of this disappointing result, some downsizing in Austin is inevitable. We are going to revamp our Austin development organization... I should admit that the actual result of Tabula Rasa has been disappointing... If you talk about our development cost we spent in the past several years, probably we are not making any money from this Tabula Rasa project. That should be the reality.

NCSoft hasn't decided how many Austin Studio staffers it will let go, but plans to keep enough for Tabula Rasa maintence. Of course, rattailed Richard Garriott won't get the axe. However, NCSoft games will no longer be developed at the Austin Studio as individual projects.

According to website Massively, contacts at NCSoft say The Korea Times article blows things out of proportion and omitted key details about the conference call. For example, NCSoft CFO Jae-ho Lee stated that "some" downsizing was going to happen, but that he hoped Tabula Rasa would eventually improve its revenue. What's more, NCSoft is putting several more million dollars into the game, which is launching in Japan later this year. (Garriott's games typically have done well in Japan.) Only the Tabula Rasa team will be effected by the downsizing. It is not uncommon for MMO teams to ramp up during production and then reduce after launch. Glaring omissions, damage control and rattails. This post has it all!
NCSoft Downsizing Austin Studio [The Korea Times via Massively]
Tabula Rasa Not In Dumps [Massively] [Pic]

... We queried him on the exclusive deal that NCsoft recently signed with Sony for the PS3. We've yet to see an MMO game take off on consoles, so how will NCsoft approach this challenge? "I think there are a lot of causes that factor into good MMOs on a console," Chang ventured. "These are elements like 'does the person have a standard definition TV or an HDTV?' You don't have a good a resolution on regular TV, and a lot of games were hurting for that. Ultimately, we have to really optimize for consoles; we have to create an experience that's suited for the [PS3] and supports the MMO element. I think the shift is inevitable; real-time strategy is one of the last PC genres moving onto consoles, and I think we'll see a similar trend for online games as well."

Chung has some other, more general comments related to the casual and MMO markets and a little about the two new games NCsoft will be launching this coming year, Aion and Exteel.

NCsoft's Chris Chung On the Future, Worldwide Hits and PS3 MMOs [GameDaily]

I originally wanted the dress worn by the princess, but I just ended up racking up a bunch of game points.

President and CEO John H. Chi commented, "Playing Mabinogi is about more than just fighting and normal MMO fare. This is a chance for gamers to live a fantasy life in a place where communities build mutual beliefs of family, friendship and hard work."

And cute sheep prominently featured on the main page. I'm a sucker for fuzzy sheep - and if they're singing fuzzy sheep, so much the better. No details yet on when the doors of Mabinogi will be thrown open for the public at large, but it looks like they're still taking applications for closed beta testers over at the Mabinogi website

Nexon Announces Mabinogi [Worlds In Motion]

I was at a friend's home in the vast apartment wasteland that is North Seoul, when suddenly I heard the faint sound of someone playing a most familiar tune on piano: the SMB theme. It certainly isn't out of the ordinary to hear the reverberation of kids playing piano in Korean apartment buildings, but this was a first for me.

Upon asking, I was informed that learning the Mario theme in piano lessons has recently become a big thing among kids, a nice diversion from the boring numbers they generally have to trudge through. This may be minor anecdotal evidence, but it's still more proof that Nintendo and its DS are making a real impression upon Korean kids, a neat thing to witness firsthand in a place where the company virtually didn't exist a year ago.

Reader Peter sends in these scans of Counter Strike Source ads that ran recently in a Seoul, Korea free daily paper. Peter also explained the country's love affair with the game.

Here in Korea CS clones like 'Special Force' and 'Sudden Attack' are popular despite having sub-CS1 graphics. They are free and players can pay for ad ons. I guess CS Source here will operate in the same way. I found the layout of the ad to be amusing. The history of CS comming out of the clouds, the slightly oxymoronic '2nd premiere' and the sparse nature of the screenshot with only the pistol in screen. Be interesting to see if a free CS Source becomes huge here in Korea.

I wonder how The Orange Box would do there? Hit the jump to see the bottom half of this full page ad.

... We all played games, to a point where I needed acupuncture for my wrist! And we played games, from MMORPGs, to first-person shooters, to racing games ....

But, in a sense, we were really looking for games that everybody can play, even the thirty-five year old women, without a lot of complications. But there are certain specific criteria we also look for in the game developers: 1. They believe in the North American, Western market. 2. They have the capacity to work with us, because — as you guys know — these games, once they're launched, that's the beginning of your work, not the end, unlike the console games.

It's an interesting look at one company who is trying to bring over some fresh blood while still appealing to a wide audience (and has the funding to back up their effort) - well worth a read through if you have the time.

Q&A - Outspark Gets $11 M Funding, Talks 'Virtual Playground' [Worlds In Motion]

The interviewees ... were universally interested in vaulting into the console and handheld markets, and growing audiences both inside and outside Korea with these projects.

The groundwork is still being laid, however .... Lim sees the Xbox 360 market as presently laying the groundwork for consoles catching on in Korea — "The console games market is not really successful here. We want to establish the base first for the Xbox 360 by releasing games more fit for Korean gamers. The company itself will make an investment for that. We're trying to establish the fact that games can be played by anyone, not just by adults."

If you're not scared off by the length, it's well worth a read through - the interviews cover a lot of ground and it's interesting to see different approaches to the same problems.

Korea Rising: Five Crucial Interviews [Gamasutra]

The island only has like twenty or so permanent Japanese residents. There are more Korean residents. So maybe Microsoft is just hoping to side-step a very, very controversial issue of which country actually owns the islands by not letting anyone register the Japanese "Takeshima." Well, no. If you typed the Japanese kanji for "Dokdo," the Korean word for the islands, Xbox Live would accept it. That's right, Xbox Live Japan wouldn't accept the Japanese name for this area, but would accept the Korean name for it. And that inadvertently indicates which country Microsoft thinks owns the islands! The internet flipped out with comments over at popular site Nico Video hitting a thousand. Commenters called this "horrible" and "awful." Microsoft has since said it was a mistake in the new update and is correcting the error. The funny part? In the news clip after the jump, the caster continually refers to the Xbox 360 as the "popular" Xbox. "Popular" in America, that is!

"The Lord of the Rings Online will redefine the MMORPG genre in Korea, with amazing graphics and high-quality game content, along with a game system that Korean gamers are familiar with," said Kim Chang-Keun, Director of the publishing division of NHN.

TURBINE PARTNERS WITH NHN CORPORATION TO BRING THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE(TM) TO KOREA

2007 PC Game of the Year is Coming to World's Largest Market for Online Games

WESTWOOD, MA - December 10, 2007 - Turbine, Inc. and NHN Corporation today announced a distribution agreement for The Lord of the Rings Online(TM): Shadows of Angmar(TM), the 2007 PC Game of the Year*. Under the terms of the deal, Turbine will work closely with NHN, the largest Korean Internet company and the #1 gamer site in Asia, to localize The Lord of the Rings Online for the fast-growing Korean market.

"The Lord of the Rings is a powerful franchise with global appeal, and we are committed to bringing the game to fans around the world," said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. "NHN is a powerful force in the Korean gaming market and we are very excited to work with them to bring The Lord of the Rings Online to Korea next year."

"The Lord of the Rings Online will redefine the MMORPG genre in Korea, with amazing graphics and high-quality game content, along with a game system that Korean gamers are familiar with," said Kim Chang-Keun, Director of the publishing division of NHN. "We expect the title will be a strong contender in the world-class Korean online game market, giving it a global competitive edge."

The Lord of the Rings Online delivers an interactive experience brimming with life and filled with the familiar people, places, and monsters from the most beloved fantasy adventure of all time. From the quaint surroundings of the Shire to Angmar, the vile kingdom of the Witch-king, players will experience the world of Middle-earth as never before. The Lord of the Rings Online was recently awarded the 2007 PC Game of the Year at the 25th Annual Golden Joystick Awards and is currently operating in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. For more information about The Lord of the Rings Online, please visit www.lotro.com.

GRAVITY, Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq:GRVY) (the "Company"), an online game developer and publisher, today announced that the Company has formed L5 Games Inc. ("L5 Games"), a game development studio based in San Mateo, California, which will now be a wholly-owned subsidiary of GRAVITY Interactive, Inc., GRAVITY's operation in the U.S.

L5 Games has hired former Blizzard North employees who held leadership roles in successful franchises such as World of Warcraft, Diablo and the StarCraft and Warcraft series. Over half of the employees have more than 10 years of experience in game development and represent a variety of cultural backgrounds.

"We are happy to announce that former employees of Blizzard North have joined L5 Games as members of the GRAVITY family," commented Mr. Il-Young Ryu, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GRAVITY. Mr. Ryu added, "We intend to develop online games targeting the North American market, one of the fastest growing online gaming markets, with the outstanding developers of L5 Games who have a successful track record and thorough understanding of the culture of the North American market."

Chun-Li, Ken [4Gamer, Thanks Derrick!]

Said Epic vice president Jay Wilbur, "AcroGames is a promising team comprised of top talent and we look forward to working with them. We are committed to supporting the Asian game market with best of breed development tools, and our agreement with AcroGames marks a significant achievement in this effort."

AcroGames Licenses Unreal Engine 3 For Online PC Title [Gamasutra]