Nexon and NCSoft launched a new offensive to increase its share of the mobile games market with blockbuster games using their core online game brands. With the alliance of Tencent and Netmarble dominating the market, the industry is paying attention to whether or not the two latecomers in mobile gaming can be successful.
According to industry sources on March 31, Nexon rolled out FIFA Online 3 M on the Naver App store on March 27, planning to release the game on Google Play in early April. NCSoft, on the other hand, officially introduced Lineage Mobile Haste last month, and it is intensifying efforts to develop a new mobile card game, Blade & Soul TCG, based on its core game Blade & Soul.
Nexon’s FIFA Online 3 M is a mobile version of FIFA Online 3. The company has decided not to use KakaoTalk’s gaming platform for the release of the new game, as in the case of the previous launch of Legion of Heroes.
NCSoft’s Lineage Mobile Haste was created to make sure that account owners of the online game Lineage can nurture Lineage characters on mobile. Meanwhile, its next game, Blade & Soul TCG, is a big project in which nearly 100 people are involved.
Those in charge of developing Blade & Soul TCG are working under the slogan “We will make the best card battle game, even better than Million Arthur.” The upcoming game is widely acknowledged to be NCSoft’s work that best reflects the company’s style and spares no expense to develop a project in which the firm has confidence.
Although the two companies initially failed in their entry into the mobile games market, they are trying to chase market leaders with new games.
An industry source said, “It will be difficult for Nexon and NCSoft to increase their influence in the Korean and Chinese markets because local mobile game developers compete to create as many casual games as possible, and Tencent is leading the Chinese market. But I think that both firms may find ways to penetrate the North American market using their business development capabilities, resources, and overseas contacts.” The source added, “Nexon and NCSoft’s new blockbuster mobile games will become a litmus test of their ability to secure a competitive advantage in the local market, prior to their overseas expansion.”