| Daum's shooter game "Planet Side 2" |
By Yoon Sung-won
Daum Communications' game titled "Planet Side 2" is set to shake the long-standing hierarchy of shooter games in the local market with favorable initial response from game players.
Expectations are high that the game could threaten other dominating shooter titles such as Nexon's "Sudden Attack" and Dragonfly's "Special Force" series.
According to a local online game researcher Gametrics, the game was tops among the shooter games serviced in Korea in terms of time of stay per log in, an indicator of users' loyalty to a game, at 99 minutes between June 19 and 22.
Such data carries a lot of significance because some existing shooter games have already established a fan base among Korean game users, the company said.
"With Planet Side 2, we aim to rank within the top three among shooter games here, along with Sudden Attack and the Special Force series," a public relations manager at Daum Communications told The Korea Times. "We would like to recommend the game to anyone who has ever played shooter games before, and we believe game players in their 20s or 30s, who seek a large-scale game, will find it more entertaining."
Planet Side 2 is a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter, or MMOFPS, developed by Japan's Sony Online Entertainment. It has earned significant popularity among global game players in North America, Europe and China after it started to be published through a U.S.-based online game platform "Steam" in November.
Daum Game, a game business subsidiary of Daum Communications, has run the new game title's open-beta service since June 18. The company localized the game by translating English texts and voices into Korean.
Unlike other shooter games, in which only around 10 users are allowed to play in a game, some 2,000 players can join in one field of game in Planet Side 2, where they can engage in large scale battles and skirmishes with each other.
Meanwhile, some have pointed out that Planet Side 2 is still in its beta-test period and has room to be improved to compete with existing shooter games.
"The game focuses more on cooperation between users, not on individual run-and-gun skills. Many game users here who prefer easy and casual play may find it difficult to enjoy," an industry insider said. "System optimization for its graphic description was not satisfactory and needs improvement after beta testing."