Independent Moves
With competition in the mobile gaming market intensifying, the industry is paying attention to whether or not the dynamics of existing mobile gaming distribution channels led by Kakao Games and Google Play may be affected by some gaming companies' moves.
According to industry sources on March 15, much attention is being paid to whether or not independent app markets and gaming platforms will emerge to challenge Google Play or KakaoTalk's gaming platform.
In particular, the industry is paying a lot of attention to whether or not Kakao will launch a separate app store. The anticipation is due to the possibility of deteriorating profits stemming from a decrease in the number of companies that launch their games in its gaming platform. The industry is also paying attention to whether or not Netmarble will create its own separate app store or gaming platform.
Many people enjoy mobile games using KakaoTalk's gaming platform. Although they choose games on Kakao Games, games are actually downloaded through Google Play. Google takes away 30 percent of sales from games on Kakao Games, and Kakao takes another 21 percent. With the participation of mobile gaming distribution channels, developers can only collect merely 24.5 percent of what their games earn.
However, this market environment has been changing with the slowly-growing mobile gaming market. The market itself is led by RPG games that require a lot of time and money to develop. Moreover, the penetration of heavyweight contenders from other countries into the local market has intensified competition.
It has become the norm that major game companies directly launch RPGs through Google Play. Netmarble, which created the largest number of hits on KakaoTalk's gaming platform, released its new game called Raven only through both Naver's Appstore and Google Play, ignoring Kakao. Now, 4:33 Creative Lab is the only major game company that introduces any games using KakaoTalk's gaming platform.
Kakao reportedly considered acquiring and linking T store, an app market operated by SK planet, to its gaming service. In that case, Kakao's 21 percent fee could be lowered, which might prevent gaming companies from breaking away from its gaming platform. Even though the firm did not put its plan into action, industry analysts are saying that Kakao may try its own app store, owing to a change in the market environment.
Previously, Nexon, NCsoft, Netmarble, and NHN Entertainment considered launching their own gaming platform, but they gave up their plan due to Google and Kakao. However, observers are saying that they are revisiting the idea. Messaging app Naver Band, which saw its gaming platform show mediocre performance, appears to be reconsidering its plan, as shown by its partnership with Netmarble and its success in attracting Raven to Naver's Appstore. It is possible for the Naver Appstore to lure more games into its gaming platform if it is linked to Line's gaming platform, which is very popular in Japan and Southeast Asia.