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Korean online games industry to top $2bn

Pearl survey reveals revenue boosts of 50% for Korea's major game operators

South Korea has seen exponential growth from its online games market, according to a new report by Pearl Research.

Findings suggest the industry will be worth more than $2 billion in 2011, following three of the country's top five game operators enjoying revenue growth of over 50 per cent last year.

The report also claimed that foreign markets have an increasing part to play in Korean gaming's fortunes. International contributions were the major component of Nexon's global revenue of $585 million last year, while Neowiz saw overeas sales jump 526 per cent to 452 million.

Furthermore, Western games are gaining an increasing foothold, with Blizzard's World of Warcraft and EA's FIFA Online 2 both being major players in the market, alongside domestic titles Aion, Lineage, Sudden Attack, Dungeon and Fighter.

Also observed is that Korea retains an astonishingly large install base for the PC as a gaming platform, with usage rates put at 80 per cent.

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Alec Meer

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A 10-year veteran of scribbling about video games, Alec primarily writes for Rock, Paper, Shotgun, but given any opportunity he will escape his keyboard and mouse ghetto to write about any and all formats.