Catch a Tiger by the Tale: How Korean Online Games Are Successful in Asian Markets

Speakers: D. Youn Shin, Jong Hyun Wi

Track: Business and Management

Format: Lecture

Experience Level: All

Description: Online games are successful in Korea if they fit the interests of the players. For example, players’ attitudes toward PK (player killing) are opposite between U.S. who tend to dislike it, and Asian players who tend to prefer it. For this reason, free PK is an essential game feature for them. Generally, this kind of disconnect between the games and the preferences of regional players is a key factor behind why western online games, except World of Warcraft, have failed to attract Asian users' interests. Consequently, Korean online games, whose game qualities are not technically more advanced than those of Westerns online games, have been dominating Chinese and Southeast markets. For example, the game Audition, a Korean online dancing game, has gained 700,000 concurrent users in China in 2006 and has settled successfully in more than 10 countries.

This session addresses how Western and Eastern players are different, how Koreans develop successful online games, and a case study of the development and deployment of successful Korean online games.

Idea Takeaway: x

Intended Audience: x