Opportunity Report on Korean gaming Kansendossier Korea

Transcription

1 Opportunity Report on Korean gaming Kansendossier Korea

2 Game is not a new field in Korea. It is a major industry in Korea, accounting for 55% of the cultural contents export in E-sports, where gaming competition is at center, are a culture enjoyed by a big public. However, Korea is still not satisfied with the previous achievements, so business and government together step up efforts to go further. This report will introduce those efforts under two keywords, mobile game and serious game, and suggest what the Netherlands would take part in. 1. New powerful platform comes, Mobile games 1) Background Last year, Korea experienced the power of mobile game more than ever. Unprecedented records prove it; 20 million downloads, 10 million daily users, 0.3 million simultaneous users for just one casual mobile game. 77.4% was the growth rate of mobile game market over a year, while the on-line game market showed a 19.8% increase. Kakao Talk is Korea s favorite mobile messenger application. Mobile games provided through Kakao Talk attracted in 2012 even females and the middle-aged who were considered as nongamers before. The growth of mobile games however is not just a Korean phenomenon, but also a global trend as the use of portable IT products increases. 2) Government and Companies position on gaming In 2013, about fourteen million euro is budgeted for the game industry and one-fifth of it is for promoting mobile games. The Korean game industry expects that this amount will further increase over the next few years, because gaming fits the agenda of the new administration under President Park Geun-hye, the so-called creative economy. Creative economy places emphasis on creativity, imagination, science and technology, which would lead to integration of various fields and ultimately creates new jobs and markets. The game industry, as a combination of many fields including design, story and programming, is a good example of creative economy. The new administration understands the importance of ideas and tries to give small game companies an opportunity to realize their ideas and introduce them to the public. Korea Creative Contents Agency (KOCCA) is always open to business proposals and provides subsidies to the companies that have been selected by an evaluation team consisting of both experts and users. Companies involved in mobile games where much depends on innovative and creative ideas due to the constant flow of new products into the market are benefiting from this policy a lot. In addition, a second mobile game center will open in 2013, after the first one was established two years ago. Small enterprises can take occupancy at low cost and receive support as needed, such as technology exchange, infrastructure, publishing and marketing. The private sector also notes the potential of mobile games. Earlier this year, the CEO of Ncsoft, a leading Korean game company, announced to his executives that the company needs to evolve into next generation with mobile-dna. The fact that a company like Pagina 2 van 9

3 Ncsoft which originally enjoyed a dominant position in online game starts to place more weight on mobile game is a clear indication how big the expectations are toward mobile game. 3) Future outlook and Opportunity As the number and diversity of mobile game users increase, more diversity in games is sought. Providing a high quality for mobile games as is done with on line games is a major strategy considered by many Korean companies. High quality game is born of cooperative works ranging from graphics to story. Since majority of employees have been programmers, Korean mobile game companies need to have more experts for areas other than programming and develop the way of working which can make the best use of diversity. The Netherlands is traditionally renowned for its design and for its pioneering education cultivating game specialists. Dutch game companies with those professionals coming from many different fields would be welcomed for developing advanced mobile games. Expanding into the global market is stressed as much as the need to develop new items, especially for mobile games. Mobile games have an advantage in foreign market entry since they are relatively simple compared to other games, and can easily be adapted to local requirements. Also, its installation does not require anything other than the existing application download services. Korean mobile game companies established their foothold in overseas market by joining hands with mobile messengers. So far, the main targets have been Japan and South Asian countries which use Korean mobile messengers a lot. In the near future, they will certainly expand to other regions. With its good ICT-infrastructure, language skills and knowledge of European payment methods, the Netherlands is considered as a gateway to the European market by Korean companies. Korean game companies are actively looking for publishers who can introduce Korean games to European market. Moreover, the Netherlands has a significant number of players active in a wide range of services related to the game industry. The services from market research to user management are what Korean companies need most. Korean companies are looking for Dutch companies to cooperate with. The Korean government encourages this kind of cooperation by providing subsidies to the Korean company. Developing a business model to increase profit is a big issue for mobile game companies. While the global mobile game market is evaluated to have grown steadily, the Korean market is said to be unstable by deviating from the worldwide growth pattern. In general, the mobile game market has been going through the same stages as online game did. It starts with establishing a big user base by providing the game for free and gradually adding paid services (e.g. selling game items) and diversifying sales. However, as the Korean government strengthens regulations on paid services for being possibly turning into a black market for exchanging game item or into gambling, game companies are forced to expand business without cash cow. (More information on the regulations: Pagina 3 van 9

4 In addition, the mobile game market is fiercely competitive. With new games introduced on a daily basis, maintaining popularity becomes a lot harder. Various ways will be eagerly explored, developing marketing strategy and management skill alike. If one had proven to be effective on other fields like on line, it would be first priority. Dutch companies would be good partners to share business strategies with Korean companies. The Dutch game industry consists of relatively small game development companies, so the necessity of business model for small companies was recognized early on. The majority of Korean mobile game companies are not big either. Unlike traditional games, business can be established in mobile game market only with brilliant idea and little capital. This common ground would help ease cooperation. G-star, the biggest game exhibition in Asia, is held every November in Korea. In 2012, four Dutch organizations participated. This event is a good opportunity to experience the Korean and Asian game environment, catch the latest trends and find a local business partner in a short time. More companies from more diverse areas are recommended to participate. (More information about G-star: 2. More than having fun: Serious games 1) Background Serious game began to receive attention in early 2000 from Korean game sector, but at that time demand was not enough to satisfy pioneering companies. A decade later, the situation is completely different. As the use of digital devices increases, demand for good quality contents grows. At the same time, awareness about the effectiveness of serious game improves. Now, serious game appeals to Korean game companies as profitable business. In addition, companies consider serious game as a good chance to overcome the negative image of game. As harmful effects of games (e.g. addiction) have been reported in recent years, game industry is eager to prove that there exists a good game. 2) Government and Companies position on serious gaming 2013 can be an important turning point for the serious game industry in Korea. The government considers serious game to show promise for the future and tries to develop it to become a future growth engine. Since the beginning of this year, many projects have been launched. In February 2013, Korea Creative Contents Agency(KOCCA) ran the first Serious Game Idea Contest. It received great attention with more than 300 entries and the awarded entries will get help for further development and promotion. There was another event called Serious Game Biz Sharing day. This event was held to further raise awareness about serious games and build a network between game developers and other industry officials who might need serious games. In this way, the government will continue to support serious games. Korean game companies also note the potential of serious games. New businesses are focusing on education of students, as a Pagina 4 van 9

5 supplement to the Korean schools and extra curriculum private institutes. They will continue to rise, combined with the already thriving educational industry. Health care is another area welcoming serious games. It is well received particularly in rehabilitation treatment for alleviating boredom of simple repetitive actions. 3) Future outlook and Opportunity The Netherlands has closely interacted with Korea on serious games in the last couple of years and it holds a dominant position as a role model. Over the past few years, Dutch companies and researchers have introduced their advanced technologies and successful cases. Until now, much has been done on theoretical sides like holding seminars and participating in exhibitions in Korea. In this situation, it is telling that Korea probably will be one of the countries joining the Dutch project, Living Lab Creative Industry. This experience to have students from both countries who are going to work together on assignments from Korean companies would lead the cooperation between two countries to a more practical stage. Although Korean game companies recognize the wide scope of applications, actual developments weigh towards education. As a beginner in serious game, Korean companies prefer to invest in a stable market with a solid demand, like education. However, Korean interest is expected to spread into other fields soon and relatively small companies already started to find new areas not dominated by major companies yet. Health is one of those promising areas. Health information of the whole nation has been accumulated through a well-established medical checkup system. Apart from this, there are many devices to provide health related indexes (e.g. blood pressure). This information is now waiting to be used more effectively. If it were connected to serious game, individuals could manage their own information and it would contribute to customized health care. In the Netherlands, serious games are not only diffused throughout the society but also used for training professionals (e.g. safety training for oil drillers). It is quite a contrast to what the majority of Korean companies try to do, targeting general people. These distinctions would be to the Dutch advantage in Korea. Serious games stimulate research projects to establish a basic theory on key elements of game. Key elements include obtainable goals and instant rewards which contribute to enticing or intriguing people. Serious games which have to be both entertaining and practically useful, require more organized and scientific knowledge on what makes a game interesting to optimize those two contradicting goals. The Game Media laboratory at Seoul National University is a representative research organization. It aims to formulate a theory about the user experience on games and develop serious games based on it. A few companies also set out their own research. Nexon Co, Ltd., for example, has a department devoted to analyzing users behavior on different conditions, quantifying them and building a database. A great opportunity for the Netherlands lies specifically in this area. Since Korea has just started game research project, it is seeking ways to further advance and improve. In Korea, there are only a few Pagina 5 van 9

6 research organizations specializing in game-related theory. For improvements in both the quality and quantity, Korean researchers want to interact with more-experienced counterpart. Companies wake up to the importance of basic research as well. The Netherlands, with a longer standing record of education and research on games, will certainly be a suitable partner for Korea in this respect. The Good Game Show is an annual exhibition specialized in serious game. In 2013 it is going to be held from May 24th to 26th. It is worth noting that it is being prepared more enthusiastically than ever before, coupled with increased support from the government. The organizers are active in attracting foreign participants and plan solid business to business matchmaking sessions. (More Information about GGS: One booth will be assigned to the Netherlands Embassy in Seoul. Companies that want to display their brochure and games are welcome to send hard-copy materials to the Embassy. The address is 10 Fl. Jeongdong Bldg Jeong-dong Jung-gu. Seoul Republic of Korea. 3. Reference 1) Organization and Event Korea Creative Contents Agency (only Korean) Korea Association of Game Industry Seoul National University Game Laboratory Good Game Show Korea G-Star Company name: Neowizgames Co., Ltd. Nexon Korea Co., Ltd. Smilegate Co., Ltd. Ncsoft Co., Ltd. Wemade Co., Ltd. NHN Co., Ltd. Gamevil Co., Ltd. GreeKorea Co., Ltd. Dragonfly Co., Ltd. Denaseoul Co., Ltd. Blizzard Entertainment ActozSoft Co., Ltd. Com2us Co., Ltd. Website: Pagina 6 van 9

7 Meer weten? Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands 10 Fl. Jeongdong Bldg Jeong-dong Jung-gu Seoul Republic of Korea Byulyi Han Science and Technology Researcher T) (Rep.) T) (Dir.) F) Agentschap NL - NL EVD Internationaal Unit Informatie & Advies Prinses Beatrixlaan AL Den Haag Simon J. de Muinck Adviseur Internationaal Ondernemen Azië Tel: Internationaal@info.agentschapnl.nl Pagina 7 van 9

8 Colofon Dit is een publicatie van: Agentschap NL / NL EVD Internationaal / Unit Internationale Organisaties Prinses Beatrixlaan 2 / 2595 AL den Haag Postbus / 2509 AC Den Haag T +31 (0) E internationaal@info.agentschapnl.nl Agentschap NL Mei 2013 Agentschap NL is een agentschap van het ministerie van Economische Zaken. Agentschap NL voert beleid uit voor diverse ministeries als het gaat om duurzaamheid, innovatie en internationaal. Agentschap NL is hét aanspreekpunt voor bedrijven, kennisinstellingen en overheden. Voor informatie en advies, financiering, netwerken en wet- en regelgeving. Agentschap NL streeft naar correcte en actuele informatie in dit dossier, maar kan niet garanderen dat de informatie juist is op het moment waarop zij wordt ontvangen, of dat de informatie na verloop van tijd nog steeds juist is. Daarom kunt u aan de informatie op deze pagina's geen rechten ontlenen. Agentschap NL aanvaardt geen aansprakelijkheid voor schade als gevolg van onjuistheden en/of gedateerde informatie. Binnen onze website zijn ook zoveel mogelijk relevante externe links opgenomen. Agentschap NL is niet verantwoordelijk voor de inhoud van de sites waar naar wordt verwezen. Pagina 8 van 9

9 Dit is een publicatie van: Agentschap NL NL EVD Internationaal Postbus CL Den Haag