Nexon to showcase largest exhibition at G-Star 2015

Nexon Vice President Lee Jung-hun speaks during a press conference at the JW Marriott Hotel in Dongdaemun, Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Nexon

By Yoon Sung-won

Nexon, the nation’s top online game company, has pledged to present the largest online and mobile game exhibition in the history of the G-Star game show that starts next week.

The company said it has focused on providing opportunities to play games that have not yet been released to as many visitors as possible.

“Unlike last year, when we mainly offered video exhibitions, visitors to our booths this year will be able to play most of our newest games firsthand,” Nexon Vice President Lee Jung-hun said during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday. “We will showcase both existing live games and ones scheduled to be released soon. As we have prepared diverse titles, we have also worked to free visitors from waiting in long queues to test-play our games.”

G-Star, hosted by the Korea Internet Digital Entertainment Association, has been the nation’s largest global game fair since 2005.

At G-Star 2015, in the BEXCO exhibition center in Busan from Nov. 12 to 15, Nexon said it will have 300 booths, the most in the event’s history.

It will showcase 15 computer online and mobile games this year. Among the online titles are role-playing games “Tree of Savior” and “Arpiel: Bestia Institute,” strategy game “Hyper Universe,” soccer game “FIFA Online 3,” racing game “Need for Speed Edge,” and the gunfight game “Sudden Attack 2.”

In the mobile game exhibition zone, it will present role-playing games “Heroes of Incredible Tales,” “Legacy Quest,” “Maple Story M,” “Fantasy War Tactics,” “Master of Eternity” as well as the much-hyped title “Durango.” It also will exhibit mobile strategy title “Sangokushi Sousouden Online,” which it has developed based on the intellectual property of Japanese game firm KOEI-Techmo Games.

Lee said the company has arranged for a special corner called “Fan Park.” Here, Nexon’s user-artists will exhibit their works based on the company’s game characters and backgrounds and sell related merchandise.

The company has also cooperated with Electronic Arts Korea to run the “ENjoy Festival 2015” during the event. The two companies have cooperated for “FIFA Online 3” and will jointly provide “Need for Speed Edge” in the Korean market.

Besides the exhibitions, the company said it will produce animation videos depicting its game characters and related stories. It said ones based on its games ― “Closers,” “Elsword,” and the “Arpiel” ― will be rolled out first next year.

Lee said the company does not aim to generate serious profit from the videos but may use them for TV commercials.

On Tuesday, the company said it will publish computer online role-playing game “Magic Blade Online,” produced by Chinese IT giant Tencent’s subsidiary Aurora Studio,” in the Korean market. This game will also be exhibited at G-Star this year, Nexon said.