any   all   phrase

The Asian Video Game Market: Not Profitable Enough?

When examining Japanese video games in the global context, it is interesting to look at the position of video games in the rest of Asia. Though Asia is a very large continent and it is hard to generalize the circumstances there, throughout most of Asia exists a fledgling market of video game consumers that cannot afford to pay prices competitive with what is charged in Japan, the U.S., and Europe. Video game consoles have generally not been made available in these areas until the more recent releases of "Asian" versions of Japanese consoles like the Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo's Gameboy Advance. These "Asian" consoles are always compatible with Japanese game software. Since there is very little software made available in most areas of Asia, the importing of games directly from Japan and bootlegging have long been integral parts of the Asian game market. Because most of Asia does not have the same international copyright laws that exist in the U.S. and Japan, it is not illegal to copy game software and sell it at a lower price. These factors have traditionally led to a general disinterest in selling video games in Asia among Japanese and American game companies. Recently, there has been an increased interest by Nintendo and Sony to develop their Asian markets, but it is yet to be seen what their long-term plans for Asia are.

PC games tend to be more profitable than console games when consumers aren't willing to buy a machine exclusively for gaming. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, where many people already own PC's, a small market for PC games is emerging. American PC games have some presence and there are even a few small Chinese developers as well, but the HK and Taiwanese fans also show a surprising interest in Japanese PC titles. TGL is one Japanese company that is making Chinese translations of their Japanese games available.

Taiwanese ad banner for the Japanese PC game "Farland Symphony"

The most fascinating new game market in Asia is most definitely that of Korea. While up until very recently Japanese games and consoles have not been allowed into Korea due to limits the government had placed on the importation of Japanese products, Korea has attained some of the highest rates of computer and internet usage in the world. Unlike other Asian countries, Korea has a relatively large number of game developers that make their own PC games. Due to the large number of Korean households that have internet access, Korea has become a world leader in internet-based PC games like online RPG's. Some of these games like "Ragnarok Online" have even been translated and made available in both the U.S. and Japan. Korean games tend to borrow a lot from Japanese games, and usually have more in common with Japanese games than they do with American games. Japanese games have been available in Korean on the black market since long before the trade restrictions with Japan had been lifted, and seem to have had a large influence on Korean game developers much in the same way that Korean comic artists have been influenced by Japanese manga artists.¹

GP32 - A Korean handheld game system

The console market in Korea is still very new and has achieved little success thus far. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have all released their systems in Korea now, but the widespread popularity of PC gaming seems to minimize interest in consoles. Culturally, Korean parents generally do not approve of their children hooking up electronics in their living rooms.² Maybe that is why the only Korean console in existence is a handheld unit. A Korean company called Gamepark released their portable console "GP32" in Korea in 2002. The system is quite unlike Japanese counterparts like Gameboy Advance because it is made to perform a variety of applications other than games and also uses smart media cards instead of cartridges to store software. The system has a small number of handsome Korean games available for it, but they are very easy to duplicate. It is also very easy to program, and it can be used to emulate software for other consoles, so it does have somewhat of a reputation as a "pirate's system." It is a very interesting piece of Korean hardware nonetheless, and it will be very interesting to see what becomes of Korea's game market in the future.

Click one of the following links to continue to the other sections of this editorial:

1. Introduction: A Brief History of the U.S. Video Game Market

2. Japanese vs. American Video Games - Do Cultural Differences Exist in Game Production?

3. Assimilation of Japanese 'Otherness' into the U.S. Market

4. Orientalism: When Exotic or Japanese-looking Imagery is Used to Sell Games in the U.S.

5. American Games in Japan: The Other Side

7. Conclusion

Home | News | Anime | Jpop | Manga | Video Games | Drama | Cinema | Forums | Chat | Friends | Mail