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Enjoy the full version online at http://www.gamegirladvance.com/archives/2003/04/05/e3_panel_on_asian_games.html
April 05, 2003
E3 Panel on Asian Games
Following the crash and burn of American video game pioneer Atari, Japan took over the worldwide video game market. Today, Sony and Nintendo command the console and handheld markets, with Microsoft posing the first real Western hardware challenge in two decades. All the while, South Koreans have been playing PC games, online. They have the most massively multiplayer of all the online games, Lineage, and scores more online games in genres Western gameplayers seldom touch. South Korea likely has something to show the world, and Japan has always been fascinating, though some have recently been arguing over a decline in Japanese game making. And what is happening with games in China? Taiwan and Hong Kong have their game cultures, but I know very little about gaming on the Chinese mainland. Differences in video games between East and West are fascinating, as are similarities. Increasingly, the differences between these cultures seem less like a gap and more like a wide gray area. I'm looking forward to learning and discussing more about games in Asia, in part for a panel I'm moderating on this topic at E3 in May in Los Angeles, America's largest video game exposition. Details posted below. Games Go Global: The New Reality: 2.4 - Game Gems from Asia: The Lessons of A3, Fortress 2 Blue, and Project N.U.D.E. Most of us live and breathe the game industry as we know it in North America and Europe. But what about the Asian marketplace? Whether you view the region as one to sell in to, or one to comb for new ideas, it pays to know the current state of gaming in the Far East. Our Game Gems panel has assembled decision-makers from three of the most creative, most influential, and most daring games in release today. Listen in as members of our panel discuss their game's unique content and their team's special vision. Hear from Project N.U.D.E, a game out of Japan that lets you spawn, nurture, and communicate via voice with a virtual alien-woman; Fortress 2 Blue, a deceptively simple title that ranks as one of the most popular MMOL games in Korea; and A3, one of the first adult-only MMOL titles in distribution in Korea, China, and Japan today (from the developers of Legend of Mir2, a hugely successful MMOL RPG). Our panel will vividly expose ways the Asian marketplace is different from ours. Hear what the local markets crave and what sort of influence can we expect the region's most popular and unusual games to have here and around the globe. Comments
Of all the E3 conferences, I'd have to say I've been eyeing this one for some time. I'll definitely be there. As interesting as A3, Project N.U.D.E and Fortress 2 Blue sound, I'm wondering if you'll also give some time to any other games? I also have a question for you (or anyone else who comes across this post). I've been noticing that more and more, games that would once be dismissed as a niche titles are making their way over the American shores, like: Seaman, Mr. Mosquito, Gitaroo Man, Rez, Ikaruga, or Animal Crossing. Do you think that this is just a sign of the videogames industry becoming big enough to be able to support the release of these niche games but without too much expectation for success? Or do you see it more that the American gaming public has becoming accepting enough to try these new games? Ironically, at E3 I am supposed to debate "Online Game Design: East Meets West"--with Richard Garriott. I have to assume that they meant "east side of Austin meets west side of Austin." A debate where we'll both be on the outside looking in. I am unsure right now that the precise confluence of circumstances that led to the huge prevalence of online games in Korea can be precisely replicated anywhere else. There's a lot of unique factors that led to the creation of that marketplace. The factors are similar in certain other places, but some of the factors are timebound (such as the economic situation in Korea at the time that Lineage hit). It's definitely something that I want to learn more about, though! Posted by: Raph Koster on April 7, 2003 04:08 PMRaph, I assume you're aware that Garriot is heavily involved with (the Korean company) NC Soft's American arm? Check this interview for details. Posted by: Walter on April 8, 2003 10:48 PMMan I wish I could be there too. So many interesting points raised on this page alone! David, you're right about niche products - and there's a very good reason for that (if not several). In South Korea, Japanese goods are embargoed. That's why we in N. America are seeing more titles here that wouldn't have been released here otherwise. The S. Korean market is closed to them - put another way, the world leader in broadband penetration is beyond their grasp. That must truly suck for Japanese companies. That's also why the S. Korean gaming 'scene' is so vibrant and so well tuned to S. Korean sensibilities. Japanese companies are hoping to replace this lost opportunity by expanding their reach and brands to N. America. Walter, of course I am. :) He's a friend of mine, I started out in the industry working for him on Ultima Online, and I've visted his current offices a couple of times. Still, though, I still think that even though he's working with NCSoft, there's a gulf there. Granted, Jake Song is working with him here in Austin (though I heard that may be ending?) on Tabula Rasa, so there's some joint East-West design happening there. As I understand it, originally, I was supposed to debate Jake, but Jake couldn't make it. Posted by: Raph on April 9, 2003 03:23 PMAhh, okay. Um. Nevermind, then. :) Posted by: Walter on April 9, 2003 05:36 PMRaph, Were you at the press conference a couple of years ago when they announced the Lineage partnership? Seeing Jake Song and company in ten-gallon hats was one of the more surreal experiences of that year's show. I wish I could attend the panel discussion. I think I will only get show only ticket. :( Just a few comments on this thread. 1. Japanese games are not embargoed any more in Korea. Playstation 2 was officially released early last year and doing slightly better than X-Box, which has been truly disastrous. Console market has been emerging since then but Korea is not quite there yet in terms of size. Well, I think MS has made a text book case model on what not to do when you launch a product in a foreign market. 2. It is true that there are a few factors that has contributed to the creation of Korean online game market - broadband, financial crisis, Starcraft & Lineage and so on. However, now I see other Asian markets, where they do not have those conditions, are growing even faster than Korea in terms of MMOG. I believe MMOG boom is more of a Asian cultural thing rather than other contributing factors a lot of people are referring to. The only thing I can not rule out completely yet is the possibility of multi-year fad. 3. The gap of mindset between Eastern online game developers and Western developers is probably be wider than you might have suspected. MMORPG is considered niche in US and mass market product in Asia; there are huge gap between two concepts and that is one of big WHY western MMOG has never been succesful in Asia and vice versa. 4. Jake Song already left NC Soft. 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