Blizzard Korea faces tough duel
.jpg?w=728)
Game fans watch professional gamers play an exhibition match of Heroes of the Storm at the Lotte Card Art Center in Seogyo-dong, western Seoul, Saturday. / Courtesy of Blizzard Korea
Game firm sidesteps cutthroat competition with League of Legends
By Yoon Sung-won
Blizzard Korea aims to expand the market for online strategy games in Korea with its new title, instead of engaging in cutthroat competition with existing games.
Expectations are that the company’s new online strategy game, Heroes of the Storm, will face a tough challenge to make inroad in the local market, which League of Legends has long dominated.
“We don’t plan to take market share from League of Legends,” a Blizzard Korea spokeswoman said during a media event at the Lotte Card Art Center in Seogyo-dong, western Seoul, on Saturday. “We will enlarge the pie in the online strategy game market here by providing local gamers with unprecedented entertainment and game experiences.”
In Heroes of the Storm, players can choose an avatar from diverse characters, which have appeared in previous games such as Starcraft, Diablo and World of Warcraft, and team with other players to engage in online skirmishes.
The game was unveiled in November 2013 and a closed beta-test has been under way in Korea since Jan. 15. It is expected to be rolled out within the year, the spokeswoman said.
League of Legends is an online strategy game developed and published by U.S. game company Riot Games. The game was released in Korea in 2011. It has been the most sought-after game among all online games here. Domestic and international e-Sport competitions are drawing plenty of players.
At the first media event for the title here, Blizzard game designer Matthew Cooper introduced new characters and maps scheduled to be updated. He pledged more updates to improve content and playing pleasure. Blizzard Korea said almost 2,000 Korean game fans visited the event on Saturday.
Comparing the game with League of Legends, Cooper said, “Heroes of the Storm has diverse options for playable maps and a relatively short playtime.” He also said the game was more team-based than many other games.