U.S. game maker seeks Korean talent

THQ, the second largest game developer in the United States, is looking for top Korean talent to help develop games for next generation game consoles, said Shiraz Akmal, director of development at THQ. Mr. Akmal was here to attend the “Buy Contents Korea” conference held by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency yesterday. Also in attendance were 11 senior executives from U.S. entertainment companies such as Fox Television, DC Comics, Warner Brothers Animation and game maker Electronic Arts, who talked about the U.S. entertainment market establishing ties with Korean companies. The roughly 250 Koreans attending the conference were nothing if not enthusiastic. One went so far as to chide a panelist for not answering his e-mails, and asked for a direct contact number. “Next generation development costs are rising and demands for increased realism require more artwork and animators,” Mr. Akmal said. THQ expects to spend about $15 million to create next generation games for the XBox 360 or PlayStation 3, with up to twice as many staff as now involved in the development of each game, he added. Noting that THQ doesn’t have a partner in Asia, Mr. Akmal said that his company is interested in the Korean market because it is new but has abundant experience in two- and three-dimensional game design. Mr. Akmal said he has already met with Kim Jong-bo, the president of local game developer SemoLogic Korea Inc., to explore the possibility of closer ties between the two companies, but added that negotiations are at an early stage. With THQ now contracted to develop games based on Pixar movies, Mr. Akmal stressed that his company is seeking a company that can deliver games on time. After all, a tie-in game must be ready in time for a movie’s release in order to maximize the potential of both, he added. THQ has produced games based on “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story” and “The Incredibles.” However, Mr. Akmal pointed out three challenges to doing business in Korea: piracy, lack of graphic designers to appeal to both the Asian and global markets, and the language barrier. He said piracy killed the PC game market here. As game companies couldn’t make enough money, most of them are now very small, so it is hard to find a company that has enough skilled staff, he said. by Park Sung-ha