South Korean media: Chinese mobile games dominate the North American market, while South Korean games struggle!

On September 12, the South Korean media outlet "Chosun Ilbo" published an article stating that in the North American mobile game market, popular Chinese games are gradually emerging and occupying the top positions on the revenue charts. The popularity of casual games in the North American mobile game market naturally aligns with the easy gameplay of Chinese mobile games. Meanwhile, the weakening competitiveness of South Korean mobile games in the North American market has intensified the concerns of South Korean game companies.

Data from the application analysis company Mobile Index shows that as of last month, the casual game "Last War: Survival" by Chinese game company Firstfun ranked third in sales in both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in the United States. The game also ranked highly in Canada. During the same period, it ranked fifth and seventh respectively in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Canada. Since its release in North America in August 2023, "Last War: Survival" has consistently topped the charts and remains one of the top five games in North America.

The strategy game "Endless Winter" by DianDian Interaction is also selling well in the North American market. The game ranks 7th and 9th respectively in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in the United States, and 4th and 9th in Canada. The strategy game "Kingshot" released globally by DianDian Interaction in March this year is also widely popular, ranking between 8th and 10th in the two major app markets of the United States and Canada.

At the same time, South Korean game companies are also entering the North American market and expanding their global presence, but the results have not been ideal. Only two South Korean games have entered the top 50 in North American mobile game sales: "Nike Goddess: Victory" a shooting RPG by Shift Up, and "PUBG Mobile" by Krafton. "Nike Goddess: Victory" ranks 19th in sales in the Google Play Store in the United States, and 15th in the Google Play Store in Canada. "PUBG Mobile" ranks 45th in sales in the App Store in the United States, and 18th in the App Store in Canada.

The North American market centered around the United States is the largest market in the entire mobile game industry, making it a key market that both South Korean and Chinese game companies are actively targeting. According to the "2024 Overseas Content Market Analysis" report released by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), the U.S. gaming market size reached 64.845 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, ranking second after China (67.457 billion U.S. dollars). In the United States, mobile games are particularly strong, with the number of mobile gamers exceeding 45% of all users, about twice the number of PC and console gamers.

Industry analysts believe that Chinese game companies have successfully entered the North American mobile game market, which is dominated by casual games, by deeply understanding the unique characteristics of the North American mobile game market. The North American game market is roughly divided into mobile and console platforms, and in the mobile game market, casual games with easy gameplay are increasingly favored.

The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) evaluated the U.S. mobile game market and pointed out that "games such as puzzle games and arcade games are popular due to their easy gameplay and simple design." In fact, the best-selling mobile game in North America is the representative casual game - the social board game "Monopoly Go."

A domestic game industry insider in South Korea said, "South Korean game companies focus on 3A game genres such as MMORPGs, while the development of casual games is secondary. Therefore, we often lag behind China in the field of casual games that are popular in the North American mobile game market. To effectively enter the North American mobile game market in the future, we need to analyze local user preferences and more actively discover and cultivate casual games that fit the characteristics of the local market."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843060346009676/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.