Simple, retro: Korean game sector’s new target for growth

Once-popular games for feature phones in the 2000s are seeing a revival in South Korea on the growing demand for simple and easy titles for smartphones. Local game publishers are trying to increase the value of their intellectual properties by relaunching their old games.

Com2us Corp., the creator of the global hit game Summoners War, plans to launch a mobile version of Mini Game Heaven – a casual game targeted at regular smartphone users, not hobbyist gamers – in the first half. A casual game generally involves simpler rules and shorter sessions, requiring less complex skills. The game is often operated with a mobile phone tap-and-swipe interface or a one-button mouse interface.

Mini Game Heaven had gained sensational popularity with a cumulative 19 million downloads for all series since Com2us first launched in 2005. The company stopped the service of the game in 2010.

The reintroduced version, which has a wide range of new games, is set to maintain the intuitive and simple interface of the original one as Com2us aims to attract new users seeking a retro vibe.

NCSOFT Corp., South Korea’s gaming giant, February unveiled a concept trailer of Puzzup: Amitoi, its new casual match-three mobile game set for global launch this year. A match-three game is a puzzle game where the objective is to match three or more of the same objects such as gems, candies or tiles.

The game features a unique puzzle mechanic and funding elements added to the popular match-three puzzle solving. Added to matching three or more blocks in a row, Puzzup engages players with the use of arrow keys that enables them to change the direction of incoming blocks.

GROWING INTEREST IN CASUAL GAMES

Demand for casual games is growing in South Korea as it has increased in North America, the world’s largest game market.

The number of monthly active users in the country of Candy Crush Saga -- developed by global mobile game behemoth King and Royal Match published by Dream Games -- rose last month, according to a big data analysis platform Mobile Index.

Survivor.io, a casual shooting game published last year by Singaporean game developer Habby Pte. Ltd., ranked No. 1 in sales on the App Store and No. 5 on Google Play.

South Korean game publishers are looking to the relaunch of those casual games, which often generate less revenue than other genres such as massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs), to expand the influence of their brands.

The industry aims to increase the reputation of their game IPs with casual games to eventually ramp up sales of more profitable titles.

“It is becoming increasingly important how many game IPs a game publisher has given intensifying competition in the global market,” said a Com2us official. “We plan to boost our brand awareness by utilizing casual game IPs, which have been proven in the market.”

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com
 

Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.