Kwon Young-sik, CEO of Netmarble, is speaking at the 'Ni no Kuni' media showcase held on the 14th at the Netmarble headquarters in Guro-gu, Seoul. Photo by Netmarble
[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Netmarble will launch the mobile role-playing game (RPG) "The Second Country: Cross World" in five regions?Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau?in June. Global service across worldwide regions is planned for the first half of next year. "The Second Country" is Netmarble's ambitious title this year, with CEO Kwon Young-sik personally involved to ensure its success.
Netmarble's Ambitious Title "The Second Country" Boarding
On the morning of the 14th, Netmarble held a media showcase at its new headquarters located in Guro-gu, Seoul, unveiling the new title "The Second Country." In line with the game's concept, unique presentations were featured. Netmarble also held an event where reporters received boarding passes with their names engraved. Reporters had to go through boarding procedures to enter "The Second Country."
CEO Kwon introduced, "'The Second Country' is another masterpiece involving the core development team behind 'Lineage 2 Revolution,' which opened the era of Korean mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs)." He expressed confidence, saying, "With 3D graphics, high-quality cutscenes, and music by the renowned maestro Joe Hisaishi, it will be a game that stirs users' emotions."
"The Second Country" is a mobile reinterpretation of the RPG "Ni no Kuni," a collaboration between Level-5 and Studio Ghibli. The video revealed on the day strongly evoked the feel of Studio Ghibli, known for "Howl's Moving Castle." "The Second Country" newly constructs the original worldview and implements a cinematic animation-like experience based on 3D graphics. Park Beom-jin, Head of Development at Netmarble Neo, explained, "We aimed to provide the experience of 'becoming the protagonist of a masterpiece' based on a worldview where fantasy and reality coexist, with visuals and music imbued with craftsmanship."
Netmarble incorporated five different character types, each with unique personalities and stories, to help users immerse themselves in "The Second Country" universe. It is also characterized by battles that vary each time depending on users' choices of special skills and weapons. Elements for user interaction were introduced as well. Users can play with others using sound-producing statues, soccer balls, dice, and more. The "Kingdom" content was also added. The company stated, "The throne battle to determine the best kingdom will be a core fun element."
"Transparent Disclosure of Probability-Based Items"
Netmarble emphasized communication with users on this day. The company announced the establishment of a dedicated service organization exclusively for "The Second Country." Netmarble also plans to transparently disclose information about probability-based items (loot boxes) and balance, which have recently been controversial in the industry.
CEO Kwon said, "Since this is a major issue in the industry, the company has a direction to disclose probabilities as much as possible," adding, "Newly serviced games will aggressively disclose (probabilities)."
Meanwhile, related industries are also paying attention to the performance of "The Second Country." The securities industry named "The Second Country" as Netmarble's most anticipated title for the first half of the year and offered positive forecasts for its success. It is estimated that "The Second Country" will generate daily sales of 1.7 billion KRW. Netmarble's estimated earnings for the first quarter of this year are 628.4 billion KRW in sales and 87.5 billion KRW in operating profit, representing increases of 17.9% and 328.2%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
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