South Korean game developers expand business with IPs

South Korean game developers are expanding their business portfolios through their intellectual property to boost profits with a goal to create global-hit characters similar to Super Mario and Pocket Monsters.

Gaming giant Nexon Co. plans to release a TV animation series of its role-playing game Blue Archive next year in Japan, according to the company and industry sources in Seoul on Wednesday. The South Korean-Japanese game publisher listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange will reportedly produce an animated movie based on the mobile gacha game developed by its subsidiary Nexon Games Co. once the TV series is successful.

Yostar Inc., Blue Archive’s distributor in Japan, has participated in the production of some of the country’s most famous animated series, including Attack on Titan and Case Closed.

“We considered producing an animated film from the game development stage,” said a Nexon official. “We need to expand content in areas other than games to strengthen the vitality of game IPs.”

Nexon last November released the original soundtrack album and comic anthology for Blue Archive.

The company has been working on the expansion of its IP. It has introduced comics and bread products based on its popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game MapleStory, while holding orchestra concerts of its game OSTs every year.

The developer of Dungeon & Fighter also encourages game users to create new content with its IPs, introducing guidelines on its websites for derivative works. About 100,000 works related to Blue Archive are registered on Pixiv, a Japanese online community for artists.

DOGURI COOKIES, DRINKS

NCSOFT Corp., South Korea’s major game developer and publisher, is considering launching a confectionary brand based on Doguri, a new character based on its popular MMORPG Lineage2M’s character Looting Raccoon.

The company is testing its marketability by selling Doguri drinks at its headquarters in Pangyo, South Korea’s so-called Silicon Valley.

“We have been selling 200 glasses of two types of creampuff shakes every day since April,” said a company official. “Those drinks were so popular that they are sold off very quickly, so we are considering sales beyond the company.”

NCSOFT also opened a pop-up store in Gangnam, Seoul’s upscale and modern center, to sell other Doguri goods such as T-shirts and dolls.

Smilegate, the co-developer of the MMO action role-playing game Lost Ark, has started a web novel business. The company introduced a work of fiction created based on IPs of its mobile game Epic Seven on KakaoPage, a content platform of South Korea’s mobile service giant.

“The success of a pop-up store featuring Mokoko, a Lost Ark character, in Busan boosted confidence in expanding IPs,” said a Smilegate official, referring to South Korea’s second-largest metropolis.

Write to Ju-Hyun Lee at deep@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.