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    Netmarble Founder Discusses Prospects In U.S. Mobile Gaming Market

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments6620 Views
    This June 16, 2016 photo shows NetMarble chairman and founder Jun Hyuk Bang in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

    By Ryan Nakashima, Business Writer

    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    Jun Hyuk Bang founded Netmarble Games in 2000 and has grown it into a powerhouse mobile gaming company with nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. Its game, "Seven Knights," has broken into Japan's list of top 10 mobile games.

    Now, the South Korean company has designs on the U.S. Last year, it invested $130 million in the California company SGN Games, becoming its largest shareholder. Netmarble plans an initial public offering of stock in the upcoming year, possibly in the U.S.

    Bang spoke with The Associated Press recently through a translator on why the U.S. is important and what's next for mobile gaming. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length.

    Q: Why is it important to get into the U.S.?

    A: When we talk about mobile games, the U.S. market by itself is smaller than what it is in Japan and China. But it has a huge influence in all of the English-speaking countries and in Europe. When we think about the influence, this is actually the biggest market we could consider.

    Q: Which companies do you admire for what they're doing in the U.S.?

    A: Supercell (Finnish maker of "Clash of Clans"), King (Swedish maker of "Candy Crush") and Machine Zone (Palo Alto, California-based maker of "Game of War") have done really well. We have great respect for what they did.

    Netmarble has a totally different strength. We have a huge strength in role-playing games. We feel that the RPG genre is not really as strong in the U.S. market as they are in Asia. We want to utilize this opportunity.

    Q: What is the timing for an IPO or any further acquisitions of gaming companies in the U.S.?

    A: In terms of the IPO, we're expecting the end of this year to early next year. It hasn't been fully decided but that's the time frame we see. As for the investment and acquisition opportunities, we're actively looking.

    Q: Why pursue an acquisition to get into the market instead of trying to get into a business on your own?

    A: We have our strength clearly in RPG. We have a lot of experience there. But there are genres and games that we're not really strong at. For example, casual puzzle games. We partnered up with SGN and we invested in them because they're specialists in those games. One of the reasons for doing an acquisition is because when you partner up with someone with the specialty, it's always good for your competitiveness.

    Q: How would you characterize the U.S. gaming market?

    A: The U.S. mobile gaming market is still on the rise, and it's more casual than hardcore. We could offer them more of our games. We feel U.S. players are learning more about mobile games and getting better at it. They have a better understanding now, so Netmarble has a good opportunity.

    Category:Chat Room Interviews
    Tags:mobile gamingNetmarble Games



    A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

    U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.

    The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.

    Here's what it all means:

    What is the Justice Department's goal?
    Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.

    "The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."

    Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."

    It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More

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