Question

What are the two different paths for gaming and mobiles in Japan and Korea? Explain. 400 words

Answer 1

Asia is marked by diverse rates of penetration when it comes to mobiles, gaming and broadband technologies. Japan, Korea, and China are the three major players in digital gaming technology.

Asian digital game markets are the largest in the world. In 2013 when the global digital market was $117 billion, Asia contributed 45% of the total revenue.

The two paths followed in Asia are Mobile gaming and online gaming. The number of smartphone users in 2016 has grown to 2 billion and the top users in 2014 are Japan ranking 4 and Korea ranking 7. The mobile gaming will continue growing in these countries.

Second Asia is known for console game manufacturing, Japan is a major console manufacturer with its Sony and Nintendo. Both Japan and Korea are well established in mobile communication and mobile gaming. There are many popular local phone manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, Lenovo, Xiaomi etc.

Asian youths nurture friends by online chatting, mobile gaming and mobile instant messaging eg Kakao, Line and We chat. Asian game industry drives the youth culture and the marketers have to explore the socio-culture to develop games.

In Japan, most popular are MMORPG’s (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) which are a combination role-playing games and massively multiplayer online games in which a large number of players interact with each other in the virtual world. Japanese enjoy community gaming and there are attracted by the interaction in online gaming.

Digital games are not a hobby anymore, there are online tournaments e-sports and golden farmers-Professional players who upgrade other players for a fee. Gamers both professional and amateurs follow the tournaments and enjoy e-sports as participants or viewers. The Starcraft was introduced in 1998 by a US-based company was the first interactive online game, a multiplayer strategy game where players compete with each other through the internet.

E-sports and use of internet cafes are a popular way with the youth in Korea and Japan. E-sport is a $621 billion business of which 61% comes from the Asian markets predominantly Korea and China. These Asian youth are creating a new culture in digital media.

The local governments have introduced many regulations to control harmful content, propaganda, and addictions. Korea has developed many rules to curb excessive gaming activities. These rules do not go well with the gamers creating conflict.

To sum it up gaming digital and mobile has become a big pastime and hobby with the youth. It has become a part of 21st-century youth culture.