Meanwhile, Neowiz is planning to expand to Japan, China and eventually the West. "The benchmark of game development is Korea," Choi says. "We believe it will grow in other countries." But Neowiz hasn't built a franchise abroad; its Japanese portal, launched last year, loses money. Despite the "borderless" world of the Internet, different Asian nations like different games, and language is a barrier. Indeed, EA chose a Chinese company, the Nine, to market FIFA Online in China.

In July Sony announced a partnership with Korea's NCsoft to develop its online games into console games for PlayStation. But Choi is convinced that the future of videogames is online. "In five to ten years all games will become online games," Choi says. "It will happen very fast."

I guess it depends on how broad your definition of 'online' is. There's no doubt that plenty of Western companies are watching the various companies in Asia and going 'Hmmm.' The question is - will the free to play model fly on a big scale in the West?

Money From Nothing [Forbes via cNet]

As part of their attempt to get a piece of the growing Asian market, Electronic Arts (along with their South Korean partner Neowiz games) is planning on bringing the Battlefield franchise to South Korea. The two companies launched EA's FIFA Online in 2006, and in March 2007 announced a deal to co-develop four online games for the Asian market - Battlefield is going to be the first part of that deal.

The franchise creators at EA DICE in Stockholm, Sweden and the development teams at Neowiz Games in Seoul will team up to create the Asian offering. Gamers can expect to see enhancements that build on the rich community element of existing titles in the Battlefield franchise such as social networking and clan support, as well as all new features to deliver an always-fresh, online in-game experience.

No word on when Korean gamers can expect to have the game ready and localized. Maggie Greene

EA Brings Battlefield to Online Gaming in Asia [via Game Infowire]