Global game exposition sees battle of big debuts

LOS ANGELES― The Electronic Entertainment Expo kicked off yesterday with 19 Korean companies showing their wares at the largest global trade event for games, electronic entertainment and education-related products. Four hundred companies from 90 countries are participating in this 12th year of the expo, which is both a showcase and a market for 1,000 different games. NCsoft Corp.’s booth features a playable version of Aion, its new massively multiplayer online role playing game, as well as major titles such as Guild Wars: Chapter 3. “During the five years since we entered the North American market, we have launched six major titles,” said Kim Taek-jin, the chief executive of NCsoft. “This year, we’re displaying multiplayer games that have no generation constraints in order to aim for a wider game player target.” Webzen has the largest booth among the Korean companies, with three games on display ― Huxley,”Project Wiki, and Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN). “Microsoft is releasing online games through its console Xbox360, so this year we expect a huge shift in the global game market,” said Kim Nam-ju, president of Webzen. Yedang Online is making its debut at the expo this year with its flagship game Priston Tale 2: Enigma as well as Audition, a dancing game that is hugely popular in Korea. Korean companies participating in the expo also include the online game developers Hanbitsoft Inc. and Neowiz Corp., and the mobile game firms Zio Interactive and GameVil. Meanwhile, in the nearby console game area, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are facing off with next-generation video game equipment. In grand style, Microsoft held a press conference at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood yesterday, proclaiming that its new Xbox360 is a “comprehensive information appliance.” The console, which was released late last year and began global sales this year, works not only as a console, but is compatible with PCs and personal mobile devices. Japan’s Sony Computer Entertainment displayed the PlayStation 3 (PS3) for the public for the first time. On Monday, the company held a press briefing at its Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City, showing off the gadget’s brilliant three-dimensional graphics. Sony’s President Ken Kutaragi said that the PS3 ― scheduled to hit store shelves around the world in early November― will face a direct rivalry with Microsoft’s Xbox360. Nintendo also held a press event yesterday at Hollywood’s Kodak Theater, taking the opportunity to introduce its next-generation console the Wii. by Lee Weon-ho, Wohn Dong-hee