Attack on 2 fronts
Is the Korean gaming industry about to be blindsided?
While we already know that the once dominant Korean mobile gaming industry is struggling with the assault from the steadily rising Chinese industry that is looking to buy up anything they can get their hands on, they could very soon see that assault coming at them on a second front, namely Japan via the IP of gaming giants Sony and Nintendo.
Nintendo has already come to play in the gaming market with Pokemon Go smashing records and bumping the company’s stock profiles through the roof — even though it hasn’t even released in Korea yet, there have been subtle signs of panic from Korean Devs about its impact. And if that wasn't scary enough, Nintendo has flexed its muscles again with a second massive IP release in the form of Mario Run set to drop this week.
Not to be outdone, Sony has already made some headway into the mobile market, finding massive success with Fate Grand Order which has been dueling for the top earners spot in Japan and China for the past year now.
Sony and Nintendo have traditionally focused on the console market and the portable market (through the Vita and 3DS respectively), but both appear to have their days numbered.
While the Vita and DS are still throwing up big numbers in Japan thanks to the almost endless supply of popular Japanese IP’s that come from the Manga and Anime industry, they’ve had their issues. Although popular in Japan, the Vita failed to make headway in the West. The DS has been incredibly popular, but with the announcement of the Nintendo Switch, it looks like it’s on the way out as well.
What we’re seeing now is Nintendo and Sony turning their attention heavily towards mobile apps, unleashing IP that has, up until now been the domain of consoles. Pokemon Go was the tip of the iceberg and that was just for Nintendo. Sony has their own “ForwardWorks” program that will be bringing PlayStation content to mobile app stores.
So, with Sony and Nintendo barely flexing their muscles into the mobile industry, they have both already caused massive waves. As these 2 behemoths begin to throw more weight behind the mobile scene and come up with more games like Fate Grand Order, Pokémon Go, and Mario Run, the Korean industry could well be left in the wayside thinking what the hell just happened.
