Korea’s game industry reaches for the Gstar

As part of a push to become the world’s top game-making country, Korea will host an international game exhibition for the first time. Taking place at the Kintex Center in Ilsan, Gyeonggi province, from Nov. 10 to 13, Gstar 2005 will play host to 150 game developers from home and abroad, providing them with an opportunity to showcase new games and forge ties with other companies. Games for all formats, including online, mobile and arcade, will be on display. Korean game giants such as Nexon, NCsoft and Webzen will be represented at the exhibition, alongside such world-famous names as Sony, Sega, Intel and Konami. “The renowned Tokyo Game Show, which was held in September, attracted 131 foreign and domestic game companies, so we are seeing signs that the fair in Korea will turn out to be quite successful,” said a spokesman from the organizing committee, which is co-headed by the ministers of information and culture. NCsoft is to present its new online role-playing game “City of Hero” at Gstar, while Webzen will take the wraps off its online game “Soul of the Ultimate Nation,” which has cost the company over 10 billion won ($9.6 million) over the past three years to produce. by Jung Ha-won