Chinese mobile games that are based on South Korean online games are going to compete against other mobile games in South Korean markets during second half of this year.
Longtu Korea is going to release ‘Yeol Hyeol Gang Ho Mobile’ during the fourth quarter of this year. Gravity is planning to release ‘Ragnarok M’ at the end of this year at the earliest. Both of these games are mobile games that are made by Chinese companies and based on IPs (Intellectual Property) of South Korean online games.
Yeol Hyeol Gang Ho Mobile was selected by 360, which is China’s biggest Android app market, as the top ten games in 2017. Ragnarok M was released in Taiwan early this month and recorded number one sales from Google Play Store on the 17th.
Both of these games are MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games).
They are same as ‘Lineage M’, ‘Lineage 2 Revolution’, and ‘AxE’ that are top three in sales in South Korean markets. It is heard that both Gravity and Longtu are looking to have their games placed at least top ten in sales in South Korean markets.
Gravity was sold to Gungho Online in 2008 and is classified as a Japanese company. Longtu Korea, which is based on Chinese capital, appeared in South Korea’s stock markets by acquiring INET-SCHOOL, which is a company listed on KOSDAQ, in 2015. A Chinese game developer and a Japanese game developer are competing against other game developers in South Korean markets with South Korean IPs.
“Boundaries between South Korean, Chinese, and Japanese RPG markets are falling apart.” said Professor Wi Jung-hyeon of Chung-Ang University’s Business Administration Department. “Especially Chinese game developers’ abilities to develop IPs need to be paid attention.” China is leading in developing and finding IPs for games.
Chinese game developers actively developed South Korea’s and Japan’s influential contents such as ‘Eum Yang Sa’, ‘Naruto’, ‘Yeol Hyeol Gang Ho’, and ‘Ragnarok’ as web games or mobile games. They have even made new IPs such as ‘Girls’ Frontline’.
South Korea’s game industries are seeming to remake games as a mobile game that is based on ‘Lineage’ was recently released.
Mobile games that are based on online games such as ‘Aion’, ‘Blade & Soul’, and ‘Archeage’ are going to be released starting from end of this year. Not only online games help mobile games that are based on these online games to easily enter other markets as they are already well recognized in those markets but they are also advantageous since game developers can reuse their experiences in developing RPGs.
‘Lineage 2 Revolution’, which is a mobile game that was released in Japanese markets in this past August, placed top five in sales from Apple and Google Store and became South Korean mobile game to record best performance in Japanese markets.
“Although it is necessary to use past IPs in order to make sales right away, it is dangerous to just rely on those IPs.” said Professor Wi. “It is also important to develop new contents for next 20 years.”
After 2010, mid-tier South Korean game developers such as COM2US (Summoners War), Pearl Abyss (Dark Desert), and Bluehole (Battleground) were in charge of developing new global IPs.
Staff Reporter Kim, Siso | siso@etnews.com