泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] Where have all cherry blossoms in Kyoto gone?

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

 

Where have all cherry blossoms in Kyoto gone?

 

I‘m staying in Kyoto at this moment writing this column. There are many famous cultural heritages in the historical city and some of them are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I went to visit some tourist attractions such as Tō-ji: it protected the country at the time Kyoto became the capital of Japan and there is the five-storied Pagoda (gojūnotō) which is the national treasure of Japan, Tenryū-ji: it was founded to pray for the repose of the Emperor of Japan, and Chikurin-no-michi (Arashiyama Bamboo Grove): it is a representative sightseeing spot in the city, and Ginkaku-ji: a shogun built the golden temple to keep the Śarīra—Buddhist relics, etc. I found a delicious ramen restaurant, waffle store serving good coffee, and cozy pub by chance while wandering in the streets by a small rental car. I came across a Japanese home with a beautiful garden and I leisurely walked along the trail in an apartment complex. And I visited a shopping mall full of game titles that haven't been localized in Korean yet.

 

I don't intend to talk about my one-week trip to one of the top 10 cities in Japan. I'm trying to calm myself down. I came here for cherry blossom viewing which is very popular around mid-march. I took expensive airfare, accommodation, and rental car hoping to see the Japanese cherry blossoms in full bloom in the peak season. However, they are still in budding. Unseasonably cold weather has delayed flower blooms in the old city. It is a natural disaster for me. I don't think I'll be able to see full-bloomed flowers before I come back to Korea.

 

Similarly, timing is essential for all types of work. Many games are released each year. A few of them only achieve great results, while most of the rest games are rarely noticed by consumers. Of course, not a few games have problems of themselves, however, a considerable number of good ones died out without much response because they mistimed the release. The commercially flopped games must have been developed by numerous employees who put in a great deal of effort working late in common with other successful games. I'm sorry about their misfortune. As I said earlier, it is like a natural disaster since success or failure depending on the time is quite unpredictable.

 

I hear that so often "Luck determines many things in the business; your success isn't down to free will." This also applies to game makers. A few months-prepared trip isn't going well as I would wish contrary to my expectation that the flowers would have reached the peak bloom period during this week in Kyoto. Likewise, so many variables probably decide the fate of the game which usually takes several years to release. Looking at myself left in the old city without cherry blossoms, I hope that many good games won't get their timing wrong and disappear in the market.

 

 

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

(http://www.khgames.co.kr)

 

Translation by Kim Ki-hui

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] Let's take a look at Korea's gaming industry (Part 3)

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

 

Let's take a look at Korea's gaming industry (Part 3)

 

In the previous columns, I expected that Korea's gaming industry will be difficult in the years ahead. Aside from many other causes and solutions to the bad situation in the field, I want to deal with government policy-related topics.

 

The gaming industry has characteristics of content and software at the same time. Also, various game-related government agencies have announced promotion policies and regulation policies on game addiction which many people kept continually expressing concerns about. When it comes to game promotion policy, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) are in charge of cultural content and content convergence respectively. On the other hand, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) and Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) are involved in regulation policy to prevent excessive absorption on games and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) is directly related to student education. Also, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) takes an important part in promoting the cultural industry and National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) supports the gaming industry as a branch of the information and communications industry. Besides, Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC) rates video games. And there is the Digital Industry Promotion Agency by region.

 

This might look like it is going better for the domestic gaming sector expecting a variety of support providers. However, in contrast, it means that no government agency fully supports the industry. Furthermore, maintaining a consistent and balanced regulatory approach is not easy due to too many game-related government organizations which have conflict-of-interest rules. MOGEF introduced the controversial "Shutdown law (also known as the Cinderella law)" and MEST proposed the "Cooling Off System" bill to prevent online game addictions. Even MOHW has conducted a video game addiction prevention campaign. Korea Venture Investment Corp (KVIC), which is a fund of funds holding a portfolio of other investment funds, hasn't contributed to a pool of money for the gaming sector in recent years.

 

The workers in Korea's gaming industry are the largest number in areas of cultural content and it has established the actual export record of $2-3 trillion a year. I can't understand why the government tries to impose strict controls on the world-class gaming industry not to protect and promote it. A Korean underage player was embarrassed at the international E-sports tournament because he had to give up during the game due to the Shutdown law. And, unlike the unfriendly Korean government, many countries attract local video game businesses pledging full support.

 

In spite of ridiculous situations, the domestic gaming industry has consistently continued to grow. The rate of growth has slowed, however, the gaming sector already exceeded W10 trillion in terms of revenue and sales are likely to rise further. So, in that respect, the lack of an exclusive organization designed to promote the field of game is absolute nonsense. Korea's gaming industry shouldn't have lots of difficulty between the related organizations with their inconsistent policies. It's necessary to build a systematic support system through the institution exclusively for game-connected matters. I expect that the new government will set up a Korean game council, which takes full charge of the gaming sector, like the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

 

 

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

(http://www.khgames.co.kr)

 

Translation by Kim Ki-hui

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] Let's take a look at Korea's gaming industry (Part 2)

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

 

Let's take a look at Korea's gaming industry (Part 2)

 

I'd like to talk about South Korea's gaming industry more specifically.

 

The composite leading indicator (CLI) is a business barometer showing short-term economic movements. The best example of the CLIs is a stock index. It means that the stock market index reflects business forecasting. If buyers expect high earnings, stocks will rise, and the opposite can also happen. The representative CLI for venture capital (VC), which deals with unlisted stocks of startup companies or small businesses, is the scale and the number of cases of investment in the industry.

 

According to data from the Korean Venture Capital Association, investment in the gaming industry has been declined year by year for the past three years from ￦176.2 billion in 2014 to ￦168.3 billion in 2015 and ￦142.7 billion last year. I'm not sure but I reckon it will be worse this year. Of course, the number of investment in Korea's cultural content including video content has also reduced from ￦279 billion in 2014 to 267.8 billion in 2016, however, decreased investment in gaming industry is unusual because investment in most sectors—electricity/machinery/equipment, chemistry/materials, and biotechnology/medical, etc.—has increased steadily during the past few years. Besides, given significantly reduced investment in the video due to the government blacklist stretched beyond culture, the gaming industry is certain to be hit hardest of the whole venture capital investment.

 

We can't tell right away the results of an investment. Investors usually expect great achievements a few years later. Seriously reduced investment, which is regarded as one of the composite leading indicators, means that investment experts have predicted the slump of the local gaming industry in the coming years. It's more than a problem beyond various regulation policies. The domestic gaming industry is losing its vitality. The number of developers will keep decreasing under the influence of diminished investment, so does the number of employees in the industry. Video game-related departments will receive less attention, as new workers are hired fewer.

I mentioned several times before the necessity of an academic-centered approach to the gaming industry and I still maintain my previous opinion. Korea's gaming industry struggling with decreased investment continues to pull down academic progress and it will lose its vitality.

 

To be continued

 

 

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

(http://www.khgames.co.kr)

 

Translation by Kim Ki-hui