Anime Fighting
“Sub-culture games” made by Korean game publishers are faring well in Asian markets. Subculture games are games that highlight Japanese anime-style girl characters and are targeted at specific groups of enthusiasts. Korean subculture games are gaining in popularity in China after Japan, so it remains to be seen whether they will make a breakthrough in the global game market.
“Epic Seven,” a mobile role-playing game (RPG) developed by Smilegate’s affiliate Supercreative, claimed ninth place in the sales standings in China’s Apple App Store after its launch in China on June 20, according to sources in the Korean game industry on June 29. It has also stayed in the group of the top five games in the Google Play Market. This marked the first time a Korean mobile game has reached the top 10 in Apple’s App Store.
The company said the game’s success was thanks to its anime-like graphic quality and its appeal to Chinese users. In particular, the participation of popular Chinese voice actors made the game more interesting among Chinese gamers.
Analysts expect “Blue Archive” to become the next Korean game to make a foray into the Chinese market. Developed by Nexon’s subsidiary Nexon Games, Blue Archive has been in a closed beta test in China since June 22. Blue Archive was released in Japan in February 2021 and in Korea and North America in November of the same year, proving its rising popularity outside of China.
In Japan in particular, Blue Archive is the top grossing game on the App Store and Google Play, respectively, and is in production as a TV animation. Korean game industry insiders believe that Blue Archive’s success in Japan, the home of subculture games, will help it fly high in China, where games of this genre are in high demand. Blue Archive began to rake pre-orders in China on March 3 and booked more than 3 million pre-orders.
Shift Up’s “Goddess of Victory: Nikke,” released in November 2022, is also enjoying growing popularity in Japan. After a recent update to mark its half-year anniversary, the game has been enjoying long running success, reaching No. 2 in sales on the Japanese App Store.
The success of these games has raised expectations for other Korean subculture games that will be launched in China, such as Netmarble’s “Second Country.” China is considered a subculture game market on par with Japan.
Especially since the release of the global hit “Genshin Impact,” the popularity of subculture games has been on the uptick. It is expected that subculture games will provide opportunities for the Korean game industry faced with tougher competition amid the declining popularity of mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs.