By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
Lower your expectations if you are planning to visit to G-Star, Korea's largest video and computer game expo, next week. You will not find PlayStation 3 games, Nintendo Wii games, or ``StarCraft 2'' there.
The G-Star show, which is sponsored by the government, is seemingly losing its vigor in its third year with all the large-sized firms such as Sony, Nintendo and Blizzard Entertainment missing the event. Even a number of major Korean game firms such as Hanbit Soft and CJ Internet have pulled out of the exhibition hall this year, as they opt for their own showcases or go overseas to more established expos in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Los Angeles.
Game makers have complained about the venue's location, the relatively high costs and lack of international attention.
``We had discussed with the event host in July, but we decided not to do it,'' said a Nintendo official. ``It takes too much time and effort to set up the booth in G-Star, because we have to localize all the materials and contents for the local audience.''
``They are not trying hard enough to lure companies from China and anywhere else. Instead, they are coercing firms in Korea to take part,'' said an official of another big foreign game company on condition of anonymity.
This year, a total of 156 companies from all over the world has registered for the G-Star show. But many of them will be there for business purpose only, while only five foreign-based companies have signed up to open exhibition booths as of Friday.
The event organizers shrug off worries that the show is losing its charm.
``It is irrelevant to separately count companies coming here for business and companies coming here for the exhibition. As a whole, the size of G-Star has grown from last year,'' said a G-Star spokesperson.
Firms still question whether joining the show is worth the price. The organizer estimated that some 500 business meetings were held last year, of which the total value amounted to $267 million. However, only $2 million worth of contracts were actually signed during the expo period.
Money is the main reason game makers are becoming increasingly lukewarm to the government-oriented expo. Setting up and running a sizable booth costs more than 1 billion won including the commission to the event organizer, and that is beyond the annual marketing budget of most firms in Korea, officials at Sony Computer Entertainment Korea and Hanbit Soft say in unison.
The location of the show is another big distraction. It takes at least one hour from downtown Seoul to KINTEX in Ilsan where the show is held. The journey elongates to two hours from Teheran Street in southern Seoul where many game and other IT firms are clustered.
``Most of the game fans are teenagers and those in their 20s. For them, traveling all the way from Seoul to KINTEX is not an easy task,'' said the Hanbit Soft official. ``Also, the G-Star specializes in online games which are easily downloaded at home. So many opt to download the new games at home rather than taking an exhaustive trip to Ilsan.''
For such reasons, major foreign game firms give G-Star a low priority in their annual marketing budget.
Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of ``StarCraft'' and ``World of WarCraft'' games ― two of the most popular and successful PC games ever sold here ― says that there is little need to go to G-Star since it already held its own promotional event two times in Korea this year for the upcoming franchise ``StarCraft 2'' and other games.
Microsoft, with its Xbox 360 console, is highly likely to be the lonely global game company to be seen at G-Star. But neither has the firm plans of unveiling new games there. An official of the company said that its U.S. headquarters initially cut the budget for the G-Star show because it was deemed inessential, and only recently it accepted a strong request from the event organizers.
The short history of G-Star is dotted with controversies enough.
It was launched in 2005 with the government promising to make it one of the three largest game expos in the world. In the inaugural year, the organizers were blamed for displaying addictive electronic gambling machines such as ``Sea Story.'' Those machines were later ruled illegal and thousands were confiscated by police from all over the country.
Then last year, a controversy arose regarding the costumes of ``game girls.'' Many viewed the clothes of models at exhibition booths as inappropriate for the young audience. The case ended with the show earning a scornful nickname of ``Girl-Star show'' after a female dancer accidentally exposed her breast in front of the all-age audience.
This year's show will open on Nov. 8 and continue through Sunday. Korean online game firms Nexon, NCsoft, JC Entertainment and NHN are the main exhibitors.
KINTEX is located near Daehwa station on Seoul Subway line 3. A free shuttle bus will be provided from the station to the exhibition hall.