Korean Online Games to Exceed $1.7 Billion by 2011

DUBLIN, Ireland--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/0e1b1c/online_games_marke)
has announced the addition of the "Online Games Market in Korea"
report to their offering.

Approximately 67% of Korean users in their 20s purchase paid
digital content San Francisco, CA, September 2, 2008, - We forecast
the online games market in South Korea will exceed $1.7 billion by
2011, driven by new releases and an ingrained gaming culture. These
findings are contained in a new "Games Market in Korea" study. One of
the fastest growing segments is casual games, that are free-to-play,
easy-to-learn and can be played in "micro-slices" of time of ten
minutes or less.

Key findings:

-- South Korea has a sophisticated information technology (IT)
infrastructure with 80% of households connected to the
Internet.

-- Korea has one of the highest adoption rates of purchasing
virtual items and micro-transactions. Approximately 67% of
those in the 20-30 age cohort purchased online paid content.
Of those who have purchased digital content, 91% purchased
music while 39% purchased community and avatar items.

-- A common strategy in Korea is the operation of large game
portals that provide a wide selection of games, including
massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs),
casual, and web board games all within one convenient site.
Top game portals such as CJ Internet's Netmarble, NHN's
Hangame, and Neowiz's Pmang can attract 500,000 to 1 million
unique visitors a day. More than 11 million Korean adults
visit game portals every month, according to this reports
estimates.

-- While South Korea has a robust games market, critical
challenges include intense domestic competition; prevalence of
"me-too" or derivative titles; challenges in expanding
overseas to the US and China; and rising development costs.
The "Games Market in Korea" report provides an in-depth
analysis of the Korean online games market and contains an
executive summary; 2007 to 2011 forecasts for the online games
platforms; inhibitors and drivers to growth; deep marketplace
analysis; discussion of key market players, and strategic
conclusions.

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Key Topics Covered:
METHODOLOGY
INTERNET USAGE
- Usage by Occupation
- Usage Patterns
- Reasons for using Internet
- Internet Shopping
- Instant Messenger
- Blogging
HARDWARE PENETRATION
- Households with Information Devices
- Mobile Phone Usage Rate
INTERNET ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
- Paid Content Usage
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
MARKET FORECASTS
DRIVERS TO GROWTH
INHIBITORS TO GROWTH
UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF ONLINE GAMES
TOP ONLINE GAMES
GAME PORTALS
KOREAN GAME OPERATORS
SOUTH KOREA: INTERNET PIRACY
COPYRIGHT ACT OF KOREA
ONLINE PIRACY
ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE
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Companies Mentioned:

-- CJ Internet

-- Hanbitsoft

-- Neowiz

-- Nexon

-- Nexon America

-- NCsoft

-- NHN

-- Webzen

-- Gravity

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/0e1b1c/online_games_marke

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
press@researchandmarkets.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008