Online Games Market in Korea

Online Games Market in Korea Forecasted to Exceed $2 Billion in 2011, according to Pearl Research

Leading market research and consulting firm Pearl Research is pleased to announce the release of its new “Online Games Market in Korea” study.
Highlights from Pearl Research’s new “Online Games Market in Korea” study:

- Three of the top five game operators in Korea grew their revenues more than 50% in 2009, a notable achievement.

- Korean game companies have prioritized establishing international operations with the United States, Europe, Japan and China as the leading target markets. Game operator Nexon announced for the first time, non-Korean contributions accounted for the majority of its global revenue of 703.6 billion won ($585 million) in 2009. NHN expanded its business in the United States in 2007 and its US revenues rose more than 50% in 2009. Neowiz’s overseas revenues, which consists of licensing and revenues from international, was the biggest growth segment for the company, with sales for that segment rising 526% to 62.1 billion KRW ($52 million).

- Companies are experimenting with new business models including micro-transactions in MMORPGs that already also charge a subscription fee. It remains to be seen if this hybrid model will be accepted by consumers and spread to other countries.

- The excitement and publicity from the World Cup series held in South Africa in July 2010, helped EA’s FIFA Online 2 temporarily capture the top online game ranking at Internet cafes. Other top online games include NCsoft’s Aion and Lineage series, CJ Internet’s Sudden Attack, Nexon’s Dungeon and Fighter and Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.

- South Korea has one of the highest Internet and personal computer (PC) usage rates worldwide at 80%, making it a robust market for PC-based games. In 2010 and beyond, Pearl Research believes the release of several high-profile titles including Starcraft II will contribute to an expansion of the games market in Korea. Both MMORPG and casual game forecasts are provided in the study.

While South Korea has a robust online games market, critical challenges include a glut of content on the market, increasing government scrutiny; and rising development costs.

The “Online Games Market in Korea” report provides an in-depth analysis of the Korean online games market and contains an executive summary; seven years of forecasts for the online games platforms; inhibitors and drivers to growth; deep marketplace analysis; discussion of key market players, and strategic conclusions.

Internet Business Industry in South Korea

TABLE OF CONTENTS

METHODOLOGY VI
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8
INTERNET USAGE 10
Internet Usage 10
Usage Patterns 11
Reasons for using Internet 12
Internet Shopping 13
SNS Usage 13
PC and Console Penetration 18
KEY HIGHLIGHTS 20
MARKET FORECASTS 23
DRIVERS TO GROWTH 25
INHIBITORS TO GROWTH 27
UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF ONLINE GAMES 29
TOP ONLINE GAMES 30
GAME PORTALS 31
KOREAN GAME OPERATORS 33
CJ INTERNET 35
NEOWIZ 38
NEXON 42
NCSOFT 46
NHN 52
GRAVITY 57
SOFTWARE PIRACY 58
BILLING AND PAYMENT METHODS 60