Korean game industry should be more like Nintendo, says president

by Majed Athab on Feb 9th 2009 11:00PM

"A lot of our elementary school children have Nintendo [DS]. Why can't our companies develop products like that?" These were the words of South Korean president Lee Myung-bak during his visit to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Lee wants to bolster the Korean game industry to rival the success of Nintendo, but local game companies agree that stagnant software support in Korea won't see that happening anytime soon.

It's for that very same reason that GamePark Holdings' GP2X (a Korean-made handheld system which relies on homebrew) isn't exactly flying off the shelves. Without any sort of big-name software like Mario or Zelda included, Mr. Lee's dream won't come true. This is a sentiment shared by Korean developers in every sector – from mobile gaming to internet-based and PC software. If the Korean government could find a way of supporting the software industry better, helping out developers like Pentavision and NCsoft, then maybe Korea might get the ball rolling.

[Via Game Daily]

Source

Tags: business, DS, hardware, industry, korea, nintendo

Reader Comments (62)

Someone should tell Mr.President it's not that simple.

All it takes is an idea and 20 years. Who knows? Korea isn't some backwoods country. They'll run the planet if given half a chance. One of those kids with a Nintendo DS might just give them that chance when he or she grows up, too. You never know.

Yeah seriously, They just need to create a revolutionary gaming console (not so easy now) and have.. ya know... 20+ years of hardware/software experience and fan support.

Is this guy for real? Thats like saying something like, we should develop operating systems and computer software so we can make money like Microsoft

@ aj

but this is south korea's president speaking. i can't see s. korea ruling the world any time soon. north korea and its allies are a lot more probable. with that said, good luck korean game industry. sony and microsoft have been trying to get that kind of success for years. and they're established WITH great 1st and 3rd party support. let's see how this turns out.

LOL

Good stuff Averna. The OS analogy was dead on. They have a better chance creating good software than an entire platform.

"Game industry should be more like Nintendo, says president"

There ya go Joystiq. Fixed your heading.

If you missed out on creating a solid franchise and several of some of the most memorable characters that have ever seen light, you're not going to get a second chance.

I hate to say it though, but the hardcore Nintendo I knew and loved from the NES to the GameCube will die the moment the Wii's sales reach 62 million.

Nothing can really stand up against the juggernaut that is Nintendo's main cast.

Get a Nintendo DS! Best purchase you can make! I have about 30 DS games and I've had a DS since launch.

I've bought both the original DS and DS Lite and both of them I've given away because a quarter inch of dust has accumulated on them.

Fact of the matter is, Nintendo isn't really providing a strong case for hardcore gamers anymore. The last good game for the Nintendo loyals from the NES and SNES days was SSBB, I'm still waiting...

I'm playing Chrono Trigger in my Ds honestly I'm more a PSP guy than a DS guy.

Chrono for its time had a lot of detail and the DS version is pretty awesome it beats Phantasy star IV and many current JRPGS as well.

Its hard to beat quality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcP91tQ4ZSM&feature=related

I'm not seeing it. 2009 is going to be an awesome year

If they made a half-decent gaming console with a set of half decent games they could be a hit in South Korea from just the nationalism if nothing else

lol just put starcraft in ever home and childs hand. First day of school you get a copy of starcraft!

Here is an idea... All of those cult MMOs Korea make... how about offering them OUTSIDE of Korea?

The amount of MMOs I see and go "wow that would be cool, Id try it" only to find out they are Korean only.

Like Digimon world etc.

If I was 12 again I would have played Digimon World.

koreans have a pretty particular taste, so while these MMORPGS are popular in korea they're not so much in the rest of the world. plus any mmo that goes against WoW is pretty much not going to happen.

Flanker 22 Guild Wars says hi. Any way those MMOs over there they have are great. I think they could if the government help the industry grow which is not very hard to do. Then they could end up making companies like NCsoft stronger. then they could at least start making it on to Nintendo's Radar

guild wars isnt a true mmo. has more in common with diablo 2.

I'm pretty sure why the GP2X isn't flying off shelves is because they don't make it anymore.

pandora ftw!!!

that little system actually looks pretty nice, but ya gotta have games man. and not ones made by people that feature stick figures. ya gotta be a household name, and you gotta have money...to lose, which i'm sure they have. however, first and foremost, they gotta get some third party support, get their name on the game release lists with the big three, otherwise nobody will know they exist.

btw, i'm sure EA will gladly release madden or something on their system. third party support first, homebrew later.

Companies don't just make successful hand held systems. Just ask the PSP, and the Lyxn, or any other half decent non Nintendo hand held that couldn't get any decent foot hold in the market.

The GP2X - or any other non Nintendo hand held - is a poor example.

"Just ask the PSP... or any other half decent non Nintendo hand held that couldn't get any decent foot hold in the market."

uh?

The PSP has close to a 30% marketshare, having sold over 41 million units, if that isn't a decent foot hold on a market that has been dominated in ages by Nintendo, then I don't know what is.

Comparing the PSP to the Lynx Aw C'mon?

Well, it could have been worse...He could have compared it to the N-Gage.

PSP - Superior game system... For a price
Lynx - Superior game system... For a price

Give Atari the money and desire Sony has and I'm sure they would have done just as well if not better.

Thanks to our great friends at the PSP homebrew community, it effectively has about 10% of the (legal) software market. Good going Dark Alex.

What's wrong? Can Korea not make a cheap netbook that meets the minimum requirements for all the popular MMOs?
Samsung will provide the memory, the screen, heck... they'll make the whole thing.
Maple Story, Audition, Kart Rider, Gunz, they'll provide the audience.
I would like at least a honourable mention if this idea takes off, if not monetary rewards.

korean society functions much differently, there's much more social gaming compared to america. like a group of friends will often go together to a pc room to play online games. at about 50 cents per hour its much more accessible aswell as being relatively safe at night, and pretty advanced public transportation system.

Perfect. Have netbooks with built in 3G or whatever they just said they wanted to build. MASS MS PARTY ANYWHERE!

Here's a novel idea Mrs President, give up the PC gaming and embrace the 360. Nintendo isn't the salvation of gaming, the 360 is.

I thought it was great developers.

PC gaming is, IN EVERY WAY (except split screen) better than that waste of space you call the 360. It is nothing more than a locked down and gimped PC, and I can prove it with 3 letters: DLC.

~Esposch

What's with fanboys lately? Console wars aren't in until 2011 when the new consoles are revelead or planned.

WWII was a complete waste of resources!

Dammit I replied to the wrong thread.

If they would just stop making crappy MMOs full of furries and well endowed faeries, and instead made some real games then they might start getting somewhere.

What world do you live in again?

just how fucking small is your view of the world?

@Ignatius: The real world where the vast majority of the S.Korean games industry is made up of free to play MMO developers looking to cash in on the success of the decent S.Korean MMOs?

Why does South Korea want shovels?

So they can get North Korea back.

If Mr. Lee wants a Korean game industry then he needs to take steps to stop piracy. I know I'm Australian and we're supposed to be opposed to this, but a Cleanfeed-like system could really work, as long as he doesn't block political stuff and abortions...

Seriously - Koreans have bought 2 times as many DSs than (legal) games. It is out of control.

No kidding. Peripheral sales can only net you so much profit; the 'HD' consoles have shown you how much money you can lose by relying solely on software profits and royalties, but no success is going to come out of a market where everyone assumes they can get the games for free. Mr President should think for a minute why the successful games in his country are for-pay (or pay-for-item) MMOs.

And they can register their games/consoles to their special ID thingy!

If anyone here is Korean (or anyone, for that matter) and they happen to own a flashcart: Shibal Nom Geseki! White boy thinks you're a tool!

LOL!!! where did you learn that? Cracks me up!! Oh.. yeah I own one and I happen to be Korean.

I had a Korean friend, but he went to America and won't come back for a long time. :( And he still has my microphone which he used to record Starcraft.

We called him Geseki, but he didn't mind. Then we started greeting him "Shibal nom Geseki," but not in front of his Dad, because otherwise he would come wound to our house and hit us with a golf club. Although he sounds like his brother on the phone and i almost said it to him...
Actually, now that you mention you're Korean, do you know him? His last name is Park, by the way. :) And yes, I am aware how common that last name is.

Oh, and: Shibal Nom Geseki! White boy thinks you're a tool!

But seriously, thanks for making it impossible to develop a game for Korean audiences. And you wonder why all the companies treat you like shit (the world is round)...
I mean, according to Wikipedia you can afford DS games (unlike some Asian countries *cough* North *cough*) , so why not facilitate a Korean game industry?

By the way, if i may ask: do as many people chip their home console as much as they buy flashcarts? And what about "legal backup loader" for their PSP?
And do he majority of people get pirate copies of StarCraft?

Ok, I'm done now,
~Esposch

Korea is one of the few countries that could actually follow trought with this, i think. Though not without much struggling.

Talk about putting the cart before the horse...

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Korean game industry should be more like Nintendo, says president

Reader Comments (62)

Posted: Feb 9th 2009 11:14PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Feb 9th 2009 11:41PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Feb 9th 2009 11:44PM Averna said

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