[Bu-aeri's Game Dictionary] 'Doelnomdoel' Taekjin Hyung, Promotional Effect with NC Dinos

Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] NCSoft is gaining fame in the United States thanks to its baseball team NC Dinos. NC Dinos is a baseball team operated by NCSoft. As NCSoft prepares to enter the North American market, CEO Kim Taek-jin's long-standing love for baseball has unexpectedly brought a 'promotional effect.'

With major sports leagues like Major League Baseball suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic professional baseball in Korea started without spectators and has become popular as broadcast content in the U.S.

The Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team based in Durham, North Carolina, recently announced on Twitter, "From now on, this account is an NC Dinos fan account." Residents of North Carolina have recently shown great interest in NC Dinos. This followed the live broadcast of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league opening game between NC and Samsung Lions on May 5 (local time) through the U.S. sports media ESPN.

Coincidentally, NC shares the same English abbreviation as North Carolina. Also, dinosaur fossils are often found in this area, and since NC Dinos' team name is derived from the English word 'dinosaur' and the team mascot is a dinosaur, locals felt a sense of familiarity. The Durham Bulls posted a photo showing their mascot, a bull, alongside NC's mascots, calling it "the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Additionally, after NC's Mo Chang-min hit a home run in the opening game, he performed a 'bbaden' (bat flip), and this video has gained popularity across various sports communities in the U.S. Bat flips are rarely seen in American baseball as they are considered unsportsmanlike acts mocking the pitcher. Online communities in the U.S. have also learned that NCSoft is a company that develops online games.

Industry insiders say that just raising brand awareness is a positive sign for NCSoft as it prepares to enter the North American market in the second half of the year. This fall, NCSoft will target the North American and European markets with the console and PC platform game 'Fuser.' This is their first challenge in the console market in North America and Europe.

Fuser is a music game published by NCSoft's North American subsidiary NCWest and developed by the American music rhythm game specialist 'Harmonix.' NCWest plans to release Fuser this fall in North America and Europe on four platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Windows). Fuser was first showcased in a demo version at the game show 'PAX East 2020' held in Boston, USA, on April 27.

CEO Kim also expressed his ambitions for the North American market. At the shareholders' meeting held on March 25 at the R&D center in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, he said, "This year, we plan to focus the company's capabilities on 'global market entry,'" adding, "NCSoft is preparing multiple console games and developing new genres. We will expand platforms from PC to mobile and further to consoles, crossing boundaries to grow into a global comprehensive game company."