Visitors to NCSOFT’s booth try out the company’s new game Project BSS during the G-STAR game showcase held at the BEXCO Convention Center in Busan, Thursday. Courtesy of NCSOFT
NCSOFT, Krafton, Netmarble, and other Korean game companies showed they are seeking to diversify game platforms and genres by releasing a large number of new games at G-STAR, the largest game showcase in Korea, which was held last week in Busan, according to industry officials, Monday.
The organizing committee of the game showcase said this year’s G-STAR attracted a total of 197,000 visitors over four days from Thursday to Sunday. This is a 7 percent increase from last year's 184,000. Along with the increase in the number of visitors, the number of game companies participating also increased to 1,037, up by 50 from last year’s 987, the event's largest-ever number of exhibitors.
“At this year's G-STAR, unlike previous events where new mobile games dominated, Korean game companies released a variety of games. Their new games also can be played on various platforms,” an official from the local game industry said on condition of anonymity. “This change shows that it is essential to target not only the domestic market but also the overseas market, as it is no longer possible to survive by focusing only on mobile games.”
NCSOFT was one of the most attention-grabbing companies at G-STAR, returning as an exhibitor after an eight-year absence. The company unveiled three new games under development: LLL, a massively multiplayer online (MMO) shooter, action game Battle Crush and collectible role-playing game (RPG) Project BSS. NCSOFT has been showing efforts to expand its portfolio while in search of new a pipeline other than its popular Lineage RPG franchise.
“NCSOFT is trying to find the right genres where it can play its part in the rapidly developing game industry,” NCSOFT CEO Kim Taek-jin told reporters on the opening day. “This year, we are looking at how we can show our role in other genres such as MMO shooters rather than MMORPGs, centering on the console market, such as LLL."
Visitors watch Krafton’s new game Dark and Darker Mobile at the G-STAR game expo held at BEXCO Convention Center in Busan, Friday. Courtesy of Krafton
Krafton, best known for popular multiplayer online battle game PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, also introduced games in new genres at G-STAR such as adventure game Dark and Darker Mobile and life simulation game inZOI, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles.
"We focused on showing intellectual properties that have the essential fun of a game and wanted to effectively deliver them to visitors. The new game inZOI is still in the early stages of development, but it has a lot of potential,” Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han said.
Showing that it is targeting not only the domestic market but also the global market, Netmarble also showcased three new games at the event: Demis Re:Born, RF Online Next and The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin.
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