Lots of zeroes for Korea’s pro computer gamers

Rivalry is one of the best drivers of progress, and when it comes to the so-called electronic sports market, it is competition between SK Telecom and KTF, the larger two of the three mobile carriers in Korea, that seems likely to bring a breakthrough. E-sports refer to a computer-based match among professional game players, most of whom are in their late teens or early 20s. The game leagues started in 1998, and at present, are mostly organized and aired by three computer and video game cable channels. About 200 gamers are registered as “professional gamers,” plus another few hundred semi-professionals and amateurs. There are 11 professional game teams in Korea, each of which has five to 12 professional members and trainees. The most popular game for professional gaming in Korea has been Starcraft, a strategy simulation computer game released in 1997 by a U.S. game maker, Blizzard. At the Ritz-Carton Hotel in southern Seoul yesterday, a launching ceremony for the “SKY Pro League 2004” was held. The competition is the largest in Korea in its scale and the length of time the league will compete. “We are budgeting 1.8 billion won ($1.6 million) for the league, including 270 million won in prize money,” said Yoon Min-seung, vice president of marketing division at SK Teletech, a handset maker and a subsidiary of SK Telecom. “Our major target customers are teens and persons in their 20s,” he said. “That is identical to the audiences at the professional game matches.” Mr. Yoon said his company expects that the final match of the league would reach an audience of 5 million people. KTF MagicNs is one of the few game teams sponsored by large corporations. KTF recently recruited Kang Min, 22 and one of Korea’s top computer gamers of these times, and gave him a three-year, 400-million-won contract. Jeong Su-yeong, the coach of the team, does not deny that the jaw-dropping contract for a 22-year-old with good reflexes was prompted by SK Telecom’s presence in the market. SK Telecom, the largest mobile service provider in Korea, is in the final stage of talks to take over a professional gaming team, 4 Union, whose members includes Lim Yo-hwan, 24, the gamer’s gamer in Korea. About 500 million won has been mentioned as the cost of salaries and operations for the six-man team. Ju Hoon, the coach of the team, said he expected an agreement was imminent. by Kim Hyo-jin