RPG Vault (a fantastic site) recently had the chance to speak with Korean MMO developer Seonho Kim
all about the state of Korean gaming alongside our favorite genre. Seonho is the Game Publishing Department Manager for CJ Internet, one of the country's 'big five' publishers. He paints a vivid picture of gaming in South Korea, with the unique blend of online gaming and popular culture something completely foreign to our experience here in the west. As Seonho tells it, online FPS titles have been at the forefront of Korean gaming for the last few years. This is all in comparison, of course, as MMO gaming in Korea is still a massively popular genre.
In the last year, though, MMO gaming has made a big comeback. This has primarily been driven by new titles like
Aion and
Atlantica Online, with the five big Korean publishers all working on their own MMO 'take' to draw in new players.
The second part of his analysis deals primarily with this element, the balancing act that the Korean games industry maintains. Both pieces of his discussion are very interesting reads, and well worth checking out. If you're curious about the games he mentions, make sure to check out Massively's
coverage of Altantica and
Aion before you head elsewhere!
