Dragon's Nest is a game developed by Eyedentity Games, a Korean developer compromised of former members of NCsoft, Webzen, Gravity, and Phantagram, the developers behind some of the biggest MMO titles in the world. It's a dynamic action MMO, combining RPG elements with fast-paced combat in an adorably big-headed way, and Nexon will be showing it off next month at PAX, where they've scored the best booth positioning ever.

Directly between Activision and Blizzard.

So yeah, it bears mentioning that Nexon will be there, for with Modern Warfare 2 on one side and whatever Blizzard announces at BlizzCon next week on the other, they might be a little hard to spot.

At a development conference their answers might have been different, but this is Comic-Con, and this distinguished panel of guests from BioWare, Gazillion, Sony Online Entertainment, Turbine, and Nexon America know full well that the majority of the audience are simply folks who showed to save seats for the Star Wars panel coming up afterwards. The key here, in most cases, seemed to be mentioning their games as often as possible in the hopes that the folks in the audience who weren't members of the press would remember them.

Let's start with Gazillion's Dave Brevik, who is currently working on the Marvel Comic MMO he cannot really talk about. Dave could only speak in generalities throughout most of the panel, and he seemed to struggle with the question of change in the MMO industry more than most, as he isn't allowed to tell us what he's changing. Only that "something different" is coming, and that something different will reflect a positive change in the industry.

Next up was BioWare's Leo Olebe. As BioWare is working on Star Wars: The Old Republic, his example of positive genre change is, of course, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Specifically the fully-voiced NPCs and player characters in the game, which he claimed would spoil players for all other massively-multiplayer titles. I'm not sure that actually counts as a positive change though. Look guys, now you're going to have to spend several million dollars on voice work every time you create a new online game!

The saddest thing? He's probably right about that. It'll be the same feeling you get when starting a console RPG and realizing that all the dialog is simply text-based.

SOE head honcho John Smedley took the opportunity to answer the question by hyping up the upcoming DC Universe Online, stating that delivering action-packed combat "We want you to be able to throw a bus on your PC and have your friend catch it on his PS3. That's the level of gameplay and interactivity we're looking at."

Cross-platform bus throwing is the way of the future.

Nexon's Min Kim gave what was perhaps the most genuine answer to the question, though he had already mentioned Combat Arms five or six times during the panel and was probably feeling a little spent.

"Access is gonna change...the price point is going to drop to free for a lot of these games...but access is going to change. Traditionally when you get a new PC game you have to worry about whether your hardware can run it. Developers are going to realize that it isn't about building the flashiest experience, but making sure the game is accessible to the widest audience."

And then he mentioned Combat Arms again.

That covers four of the five panelists, with Turbine's Henrik Strandberg speaking far too quietly for anyone to really hear him, which is problem Turbine's been dealing with for quite some time.

It's a pretty detailed look at what goes into deciding to implement a FTP model in a game, how specific models are devised, and some of the overall benefits and problems FTPs face in the Western market. On why the FTP may be a really viable option for (good) indie games, Cheng had this to say:

Luckily Nexon has the standpoint that we're not going to release the game until it's a quality game. And in fact, if you get into this business you realize that you can't make money if you don't have a quality game. It's not like retail business where you have to ship at a certain date or you're going to lose money. It's not like that at all. You want this game to keep going and going and going. And also you're not investing huge amounts of money, you don't a 100 person team working on this project. We have eleven people working on this project. And so it's tiny and we're going to keep at it until we have a really good product. And in terms of the fun value, the fun versus the business, I think the key thing to remember is that in this business you have to make the game fun first before you can make any money. And if you take it the other direction you're just going to fail. That's the only conclusion.

It's a meaty interview, especially if you're interested in the FTP model and how it's getting implemented in a wider variety of games than just the stereotypical 'crappy Asian MMO.' We'll have to wait a while to see if it turns out to be a good bet for Sugar Rush, but Cheng seems pretty enthusiastic.

Interview: Klei's Jamie Cheng On Indie Free-To-Play With Sugar Rush [Worlds in Motion]

The company will yank ZerA, a role-playing game that took three years and 10 billion won (about $7.5 million) to develop, at the end of January and is preparing to repay users who own paid items.

ZerA got off to a bright start after its debut in February 2006, with the number of concurrent users peaking at 40,000, but has been losing popularity since with critics questioning the quality of play. The lukewarm reception here was enough to kill the company's plan to publish the game in Japan.

The demise of ZerA touches off a sentimental response from Nexon and other Korean game publishers, as it had been anointed one of the ``big three'' from the class of 2006 ― along with Webzen's ``SUN'' and HanbitSoft's ``Granado Espada.''

At the time of their releases, the trio shouldered hopes to expand an industry that looked to be just entering its peak. Nearly three nondescript years later, the games have been reduced to examples of what can go wrong.

How much will people be getting? Time will tell, but it's an interesting good will gesture on the part of Nexon. The Korea Times piece is interesting, especially in context with some recent news happenings. NCSoft announced a dismal 50% drop in profits for the 3rd quarter, the same week Richard Garriott returned from space and announced his departure from the company. There's a lot of movement going on among companies, and a lot of it is due to expensive 'mistakes' — even ones that are reasonably popular abroad.

Aion Shoulders New Hope As Old Games Fade [Korea Times via PlayNoEvil]

Still, giant-headed pirates with magical powers are much better than giant-headed pirates with missing limbs any day. Hit the jump for the press release that explains the pirates' dragon-like powers and sea creature summoning. Words fail me, in a good way.

Pirates set sail into Nexon America’s MapleStory

An innovative class of characters delivers a new series of adventures and mythology to MapleStory

Los Angeles, CA – November 12, 2008 – Nexon America Inc. invites gamers to step aboard the Nautilus ship in MapleStory and become a member of the game’s newest class, Pirates. This game-changing addition assures MapleStory, one of North America’s most popular online games, remains a great gaming experience for its six million registered users.

The Pirate expansion provides Maplers with new gameplay features, which can be used throughout the entire Maple World. It also opens a variety of new maps, many of which are aboard the Pirate ship, Nautilus, the ultimate Pirate haven. Once a pirate, players can develop their characters and choose one of two paths through four tiers of job progression. Pirates can advance to become Brawlers, the masters of hand-to-hand combat, or Gunslingers, dynamic quick-draws that drown foes in a hail of iron lead, for a 2nd Job, Marauders and Outlaws as a 3rd Job and finally, Buccaneers or Corsairs as a 4th Job.

As players move through the ranks of the Pirate class, new skills can be obtained, including the ability to sneak past monsters in an oak barrel, sustain longer jumps and summon multiple sea creatures, including an octopus or seagulls, to boost attacks. Pirates can also earn a transformative power which gives a boost in strength, speed and jumping as well as summon dragon-like powers to attack multiple enemies at once.

To celebrate this expansion, Nexon America will host several Pirate-themed events throughout the month. Players can compete for prizes by dressing like a pirate, earning the top rating in the Pirate class, creating Pirate-only guilds or developing user-generated content for a Pirates commercial. The event coincides with the launch of a brand new server, Demethos, which provides a fresh start for new and veteran players.

Honestly I have no earthly clue what is going on here, but it is nice to see a title coming from Nexon that didn't originate somewhere on the other side of the planet.

Closed Beta Registration NOW OPEN!! [Nexon Forums]

The woman, a piano teacher, is in jail in Sapporo waiting to learn if she faces charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

She was arrested on Wednesday and taken 620 miles (1,000 km) from her home in southern Miyazaki to Sapporo - where her "husband", a 33-year-old office worker lives.

If charged with the offences, and convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 ....

A Sapporo police official, according to the Associated Press news agency, said the woman had used the man's ID and password to log in to the game last May to carry out the virtual murder.

I love the fact the BBC is describing this as murder (though I imagine it would be quite upsetting to log in and discover your character had gone 'poof'); for those of you considering virtual revenge, tread carefully.

Woman in jail over virtual murder [BBC, thanks rumi!]

I estimate this year that you'll see EA enter this space for some of their games, and a few other big names are absolutely interested. In fact we're in final negotiations with a couple of recognizable names.

We tend to estimate the size of the total pre-paid gaming card business when we do our numbers, and this year we're looking to something between $75-100 million dollars in sales across North America. We see that going to $250-300million in 2009 and being in the region of a half-billion by 2010.

We see this market growing dramatically in the next two to five years.

The whole interview is an interesting look at how the industry deals with retailers via middlemen like GMG; it also points to the popularity of these models that many 'serious' gamers tend to ignore.

Robert: F2P has a huge influence. But we have been based on subscriptions for years, with some games being around for 10+ years. Subscripitions hit a hardcore audience that is really embedded in those games. But as you expand your audience, they aren’t as hardcore anymore and F2P becomes more enticing as subs only wouldn’t appeal.

Nicolay: Both models work. Hardcore gamers are comfortable with sub model and most of the games with microtransactions have been casual games. But it is possible to have more than one biz model in a game.

Min: There is room in the market for both biz models. F2P in North America will make a large push as teenagers can’t commit to $15/month, so F2P will work well with them. Nexon saw lots of success when the market went beyond core to mass market.

Hilmar: Consumers are changing the business model of games - consumers making decisions. You can play Eve online through our trial program as a F2P program - users are able to “game” our trial system to play it as a F2P game. It’s a challenge for companies to adopt the needs of the market rather than keeping their head in sand. People will play the game how they want.

Min: We’re seeing in S Korea a lot of players have a subscription-based game that is their favourite, but have a secondary game that they play f2p with microtransactions.

I can't imagine the FTP model will ever overtake subscription models in the West, but there's no doubt that there are a lot of people playing FTPs — and spending way, way more than they would on a subscription — with an ever-increasing audience. I'm curious to see if we'll get any of the crazier FTP MMOs coming out of Asia in the coming years.

Evolving Business Models in MMOs - Panel [Free To Play]

So, as LALAa the 17-year-old human female entered the world of Mabinogi, I braced myself for whatever the game had in store for me.

Three hours later, I logged off feeling slightly like Gilligan and the Skipper - completely and irrevocably lost. I'd picked up the game's point-and-click interface fairly quickly (so I thought), but my confusion ran deeper than that. It wasn't even what I was being asked to do - the standard "go kill 10 (enemies)" or "bring me five (items)" are old hat to any MMOG player - as much as how I was being asked to do it.

While running aimlessly around the starting area, an owl suddenly flew by and dropped off a quest to bring five berries to a local NPC. I was baffled; what had I done to earn this quest? As far as I could tell, nothing, but a quest is a quest. The best way to gather berries in the world of Mabinogi, it turns out, is to attack bushes and trees over and over until they drop them - of course, they can also drop branches instead, I mercilessly clicked the local foliage in search of berries, unsure if I was doing this properly. What made me get a branch instead of a berry - was it random? Should I be focusing on bushes instead of trees? Upon gathering the berries and locating the NPC, I was informed that I'd taken too long to complete the quest, and it had expired. Naturally, I hadn't realized that the task was time-sensitive.

It felt like I was still in the tutorial phase, only they weren't explaining anything to me

After speaking to some avid Mabinogi players, Funk comes to the conclusion that he had approached the game in the wrong manner: it wasn't so much a Mabinogi problem as a problem of expectations. It's a funny look at getting outside your gaming comfort zone.

My Korean Fantasy Life [The Escapist]

You can head over to the official website to download the game for free and check out the tons of new content Nexon has added in honor of today's official launch, including new weapons, a new map, and the addition of a new game mode, Capture the Flag. Wait, they've only just added Capture the Flag? This should be entertaining.

UPDATE: Nexon contacted us to clarify that while items will be eventually be available for purchase for Nexon cash, upgraded weapons never will. Hit the jump for the full "Free to Play Pledge".

The Free to Play Pledge

Combat Arms is Nexon’s free-to-play person shooter. Some games and companies do Free-to-Play games differently, so we’ll explain exactly what our mind-set is for this game.

First, Combat Arms will never cost a penny to play. Period.

Second, we believe that in any first-person shooter, being able to use real money to buy an uber gun sucks. It makes the game dependant on money and not skill (thus defeating the purpose of Free-to-Play), and skill is what a first-person shooter is all about. No point in competing if some new guy has a mystical weapon with magic bullets that always seem to find your head.

So, no weapons will be bought with Nexon Cash. Ever.

If you’re looking for the Golden Gun that will help you pwn everything with one shot, look elsewhere, because it’s not here. Skills are not bought, they are earned.

You want that new, awesome weapon? Keep playing, and you’ll eventually get it. All players will be on an equal footing weapon-wise (grenades included). We make money by selling the cosmetic items—stuff like shades, different uniforms, helmets, etc. Nothing game balance related is sold in the Cash Shop, and it’s going to stay that way.

You won’t have to pay a subscription fee either. Every single one of Nexon’s games are Free-to-Play, and subscription free. You need a free Nexon Passport to play, and that’s it. If you have one already, just download the client and start shooting people in the face. In addition, don’t expect to be bombarded with endless ads—we don’t expect you to pay not to see them. We want gun clicks, not mouse clicks.

That’s our promise to the player base, and we’re going to keep it.

See you on the battlefield!

Thanks to Nexon for clearing that up!

Combat Arms [Official Website]

Nexon has revealed its very first North American-developed game (for the North American market), Sugar Rush Arena, which is now in closed beta. The game is a casual MMOG like other Nexon titles, but was developed in Vancouver as opposed to South Korea. Like Nexon's other titles, the game is free to play, but will offer virtual items and upgrades for purchase:

The title will allow players to fight against each other while trying to collect virtual coins ....

The development team working on Sugar Rush Arena is based in Vancouver, Canada and includes former Electronic Arts Worldwide Studios Group vice president and creative director Steve Rechtschaffner, as well as studio Klei Entertainment.

Headed by Jamie Cheng, Klei Entertainment previously developed and published Eets, a 2D puzzle game for PCs which was later revamped for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade.

I presume if this is a successful move, we can expect to see more games targeted at the Western market being developed in the West; perhaps this is heralding a new trend?

Nexon Reveals First Western-Developed Title [Worlds In Motion]

The company touted the game's "highly customizable" aspect, from the look of characters to the guns and equipment. Match wins are rewarded with in-game currency in addition to XP, both of which allow players more customization options. Nexon also said the game weighs the community aspect heavily, with a clan focus and some social network-style features.

Though there's no specific release date confirmed, the closed beta begins May 30th, so if you're interested you can try your luck; full release follows the jump.

Nexon America Ignites Thrilling First Person Shooter, Combat Arms

Closed Beta frags away on May 30

May 23, 2008 – Los Angeles, CA – Nexon America Inc., the U.S. division of Asia’s leading online game company Nexon Group, announced today the launch of Combat Arms, its free-to-play, online first person shooter. The highly-customizable game is slated for commercial release later this summer, but a select group of players will get a chance to fire away in the closed beta test starting May 30th.

Combat Arms deploys players into a dangerous war zone teeming with soldiers of fortune looking to make a mark. The online shooter will advance the FPS genre by offering a rich free-to-play experience and introducing customization features unavailable in the current generation of online FPS games. Players have the ability to tailor their gaming experience by customizing how their characters look as well as which guns and equipment to carry into battle. A large arsenal of deadly weapons can be modified with attachments such as silencers, scopes and extended magazines.

The game is beginner-friendly while providing great depth for veteran gamers. By rewarding players who win matches and make kills with in-game currency and experience points, Combat Arms extends the game beyond an individual match. Accumulating both will help soldiers rank up to unlock and acquire new weapons and equipment. Further, the game extends beyond the battlefield through an extensive set of community features with a focus on clans. Players can recruit, manage, and communicate with their clan members, all within the game. Additionally, players can maintain a persistent profile to track their experience and performance to see how they rank within the Combat Arms community.

“Competition in video games among friends is always fun, but Combat Arms takes it to another level by letting gamers frag for free,” said Min Kim, vice president of marketing for Nexon America. “Combat Arms delivers all the great socialization elements found in other popular Nexon Games and presents them in one of the most popular gaming genres in North America.”

Combat Arms focuses on improving accessibility and community while maintaining a high fidelity combat experience. The free-to-play offering combined with low system requirements will encourage new players enter the traditionally hardcore space.

The upcoming closed beta test will run exclusively at FilePlanet.com for one week beginning May 30th. The beta test gives players a first chance to experience the heat of battle in realistic 3-D environments. Combat Arms will offer players the opportunity to face off in multiple theaters, including a junkyard, industrial plant and weapons factory, through multiple game modes. Players will experience regular content updates, such as new weapons, gear, maps, and more free game modes.

The closed beta will last for a short time and interested players can learn more at http://combatarms.nexon.net.

I don't want to discount people, but I don't think they're doing all the right research, because I see all the misconceptions that people have about what our business is. If they're going to ask the right questions, we could probably tell them.

Or if they would just go in and experience our games. A lot of people talk about it like, "Hey, this can't work," or "It doesn't have the right balance," and then when I ask them questions like, "Have you played it or seen it?" they're like, "No, but it's like this!" and I'm like... (laughs)

Understanding Free-To-Play: Nexon's Min Kim Speaks Out [Gamasutra]

Nexon America Inc., the U.S. division of Asia's leading online entertainment company Nexon Group, delivers the open beta for Mabinogi, its free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), on March 5. Slated for release later this spring, users can create their own personal "Fantasy Life," by signing up for the open beta during an exclusive 24-hour play period at FilePlanet.com or afterward at http://mabinogi.nexon.net.

Open beta users will tap into a world that has already birthed a civilization of more than seven million fans in Asia, and will retain these characters through the commercialization of the game. With over 30,000 users signing up for the recent closed beta, the open beta should prove a similar success providing players an opportunity to discover a beautiful 3-D, cell-shaded art style, featuring anime-type characters and gruesome monsters.

The open beta delivers users numerous new areas to visit, including more dungeons to explore. It also offers North American players a first chance to burrow into new game skills such as cooking, enchanting, meditation and composing music.

These are just the first phases of Mabinogi's deep, online universe, where players experience all facets of fantasy life. Dazzling 3-D graphics boast an art style based in Celtic and Welsh mythology, which also gives Mabinogi its name and foundation. Mabinogi provides a new experience with its gameplay variety, unique combat system and orderly time element and age component, to provide additional depth to Nexon's latest free-to-play offering. In addition to traditional MMO features - challenging adventures, exciting group quests and a plethora of fearsome monsters - Mabinogi offers a much fuller "life" for its players. Players can increase experience by taking jobs, such as cooking, shearing sheep or other farming duties. The game's unique music program allows users to write and share music in MIDI formatted files.

Mabinogi's traditional mouse and keyboard functions unite with its distinctive combat, and anthology of game-play styles, that should excite the most hardcore gamers. Players will also quickly discover Mabinogi requires more finesse and strategy during combat than just pushing a few buttons and haphazardly attacking everything in sight. The unique fighting system, which emulates paper, rock, scissors, adds another degree of complexity. Characters develop skills in three categories— Combat, Life, and Magic—so users can not only gain experience by fighting a giant spider but also by cooking dinner and learning a new spell. Players acquire Ability Points as they gain experience in the game to help show progression. This gives players more freedom to play Mabinogi however they choose.

Additionally, Mabinogi's time is standardized, allowing for users who play longer to earn different "daily" bonuses as incentives. Plus, avatars age on a weekly basis and get taller as they get older (up to 17). Avatars gain ability points up to the age of 25 as well. Plus, players will see their avatars' diet affect appearance. Mabinogi also features a long-term storyline that is revealed over a series of generations and weaves its way throughout the game. Using these unique features, as well as the heavy socialization aspect present in all of Nexon's games, gives Mabinogi a unique placement in the world of MMOs. And like Nexon's previous offerings, the game is free to play.

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]

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]

An animated version of a 7-Eleven store and an employee will appear in the popular MapleStory MMOG. This type of integration is cutting-edge, according to Nexon. It brings relevant content to consumers and provides 7-Eleven with a new way to use virtual worlds to expand its marketing.

7-Eleven® Brings Nexon America Game Cards To Teen, 'Tween Customers

Real Card Buys Kids Virtual Shopping Experience

DALLAS — November 29, 2007 - While most big news in the videogame industry revolves around the midnight launch of a hot, new game or the latest, greatest console to hit store shelves, 7-Eleven, Inc. is promoting a new videogame initiative that is less about hardware and software than it is about going on a virtual shopping spree.

One of the biggest global gaming phenomenons is the "Massively Multiplayer Online Game" (MMOG), a computer game that is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. The games are played on the Internet and feature at least one virtual world. MMOGs can enable players to cooperate and compete with each other, as well as interact meaningfully with people around the world. While many of these games are free to play, gamers can spend money to create the coolest avatar, a graphic or visual online identity.

7-Eleven® stores and their 24-hour operation make it more convenient for the millions of MMOG fans to personalize their play with certain online games by offering the Nexon Game Card at its U.S. stores.

7-Eleven has an agreement with Nexon America Inc., the U.S. division of Asia's leading online games company, Nexon Group, to be the first convenience retailer in the United States to sell these cards. Gamers can use the prepaid cards to redeem virtual in-game items and accessories within the MapleStory, Audition and upcoming KartRider games produced by Nexon. The prepaid game cards available in 7-Eleven stores are sold in $10 and $25 denominations.

"We have a great assortment of prepaid cards and now we have one especially for 'tweens and teens who are the biggest fans of these online games," said Brad Haga, 7-Eleven senior product director for business development and services. "They're perfect for young people on a budget and should appeal to the Slurpee®-beverage crowd."

7-Eleven and Nexon worked with InComm, a technology firm that develops, markets and distributes stored-value gift and prepaid products, to add the Nexon gift cards to 7-Eleven's extensive services category. An animated version of a 7-Eleven store and an employee will appear in the popular MapleStory MMOG. This type of integration is cutting-edge, according to Nexon. It brings relevant content to consumers and provides 7-Eleven with a new way to use virtual worlds to expand its marketing.

"Offering these exclusive game cards is an important first for a convenience chain and massively multiplayer online (MMO) publisher," said John H. Chi, president and CEO of Nexon America Inc. "By partnering with 7-Eleven, we're able to reach a much broader audience than ever before. Many of Nexon's customers are teenagers without access to credit cards. Now they will have a more convenient option to getting the cards."

The Nexon Game Card can be used within any of Nexon's games, which are free to download at http://www.nexon.net. Players use an innovative cash shop system (called microtransactions), that provides the option to individualize Audition and MapleStory characters and create unique identities. These features are purely optional, and players can try out items in virtual dressing rooms before making a purchase. Items range from hip haircuts and stylish clothes in Audition to vibrant, colorful outfits and fire-breathing pets in MapleStory.

"7-Eleven is eager to offer more products and services for tweens and teens who have fun personalizing elements of these online games and interacting with other players around the world," said Haga. "The Nexoncards are a perfect fit for our prepaid product selection."

As the pioneer of the microtransaction, or Item-Selling business model, Nexon has sold millions of virtual items worldwide through MapleStory and other hit titles like KartRider and BnB: Crazy Arcade. In February 2007, Nexon America reported that North American players spent $1.6 million on 600,000 virtual products within MapleStory alone.

... For Kim, the business model is step two. "In terms of our products doing well, it's that our games are very fun, and I think that's the core to all games that are going to be successful in terms of the business model we're in," he says. "It's one of the most competitive markets out there, because we're selling free. So unless your game is good, nobody's going to play it. There are a lot of free games, so your game really has to be very good. And once the game concept is good, then you build the business model around it. So those business models never took off because the games weren't fun. We all understand we're working with a hit-driven market and we're fortunate. I think in Korea, there are only four products that have broken the 200,000 concurrent user level. Three of those games are ours."

Nexon is not without criticism - KartRider bears a rather striking resemblance to Mario Kart, and MapleStory has left plenty of people saying 'No thanks' - but there's no question that they're a company to keep an eye on, even outside of their home turf of Korea. We'll see if they can manage their stated goal of creating the next Mario-like characters in terms of popularity and visibility.

Q & A: Nexon's Min Kim on KartRider, MapleStory and Things to Come [Worlds In Motion]