[Yonhap / AP]
Pokémon Go, an augmented reality game and global hit, was officially released in South Korea, but doubts emerged quickly over whether it can see its second renaissance in a country with the world's most advanced mobile network.
The mobile game was one of last year's hottest topics in the world. When it was released in July 2016, it soon became a global syndrome. Everyone was playing Pokémon Go everywhere, but South Korea was among the very few countries where the game was not supported, forcing chippy fans to sit and wait for seven months.
"As a startup with only a small number of employees, we needed to take some time to rest after the explosive popularity we experienced. Also, it was hard to support Korean in the game," Dennis Hwang, master art director of Niantic, the game developer, told reporters in Seoul Tuesday.
The company was able to release its mobile game in South Korea by applying "publicly accessible" map data to Pokémon Go, he said, refusing to go into a row between US search giant Google and South Korean regulators.
Many fans cheered and are ready to jump into the world of Pokémon. There already are some enthusiastic fans who called in sick to play Pokémon Go.
According to data from smartphone app market analyst Apptopia, about a month after its global launching, Pokémon Go's monthly active users nosedived from 50.2 million in August down to 32.4 million in September. Some experts predict Pokémon Go may face the same fate to keep active users in South Korea.
"Pokémon Go is likely to experience a similar drop in its users here just like it did globally," an expert using his alias "Pliskin" told Aju News. Pliskin is a developer and game planner who had been in the business for almost 10 years.
"Due to the nature of the game, only the diligent users will survive. The rest will drop out eventually,"
Pokémon Go players are required to roam about and explore places to catch monsters and compete against other players.
Sokcho some 155 kilometers (96.3 miles) east of Seoul has created a rare sight in August last year when thousands of players flocked into the port city after realizing Pokémon Go was playable in the area due to a loophole in the game's map data.
The expert said Pokémon Go's downfall is unavoidable as it collides with South Korea's current mobile game trend that makes players lazy. Many players in South Korea are indulged in mobile games suited for those who are reluctant to move around.
"Most of the top-ranked mobile games in South Korean Google Play support auto-play. Users just leave the phone alone while the game is running, and the game plays by itself."
Nowadays, many mobile game players here are not really interested in the gameplay itself" but in how high up in levels they are than other contenders", he concluded.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
