South Korean games market expected to exceed $2.0 billion in
2007
San Francisco, CA, July 11, 2006 - Pearl Research forecasts
the games market in South Korea will exceed $2.0 billion in
2007, driven by the fast growing online and mobile games
market. These findings are contained in the 80-page "Games
Market in Korea" report published by San Francisco-based Pearl
Research, a leading business intelligence and consulting firm.
Pearl Research's key findings: South Korea has a sophisticated
information technology (IT) infrastructure with 79% personal
computer (PC) penetration and 12 million out 15 million
households connected to broadband. More than 20,000 Internet
cafes, charging less than $2 an hour, also provide convenient
Internet and games access. The PC-based online games market is
forecasted to be valued at more than $1.2 billion in 2006 and
constitutes the largest games platform in South Korea. 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. Pearl Research believes that
casual games account for more than 30% of the online games
market and appeals to a wide audience including females and
gamers 30 years and older. Pearl Research believes the $160
million South Korean console and handheld market will be driven
by these factors: online console gameplay capability,
culturally relevant and localized software, increasing
investment in the market and the release of next-generation
consoles by Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Mobile games
represent one of the fastest growing games segments and are
forecasted to exceed $275 million in 2006 in South Korea. A
slate of new technologies capable of delivering rich mobile
content; ubiquitous marketing by South Korea's three mobile
carriers, SK Telecom, KTF and LG Telecom; and innovative 3D
mobile games are expected to drive the market. While South
Korea has a thriving games market, critical challenges include
intense domestic competition; prevalence of "me-too" or
derivative titles; software piracy for console, handheld, and
packaged PC games; and rising development costs. The "Games
Market in Korea" report provides an in-depth analysis of the
Korean games market and contains an executive summary; 2006 to
2010 forecasts for the online games, console, mobile and
packaged PC platforms; inhibitors and drivers to growth; deep
marketplace analysis; discussion of key market players, and
strategic conclusions. To inquire about this report, please
call (+1) 415-566-8509 or email research@pearlresearch.com.
About Pearl Research Pearl Research, a business intelligence
and consulting firm, specializes in the interactive
entertainment and games market with a special focus on emerging
markets and platforms. Based in San Francisco, Pearl Research
publishes in-depth research reports and provides customized
research and consulting services. For more information, please
visit www.pearlresearch.com or contact us at
research@pearlresearch.com or call (+1) 415-566-8509. Contact
Allison Luong Managing Director aluong@pearlresearch.com (+1)
415-566-8509
