Netmarble's 'Je2ui Nara' Craze... Who Can Stop It?

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Netmarble's new title, "The Second Country," is making a strong early impact. It is even threatening the top positions held by NCSoft's Lineage M and Lineage 2M in app market revenue rankings. With highly anticipated releases from NCSoft and Kakao Games lined up for the second half of the year, attention is focused on whether "The Second Country" can maintain its momentum and continue its surge in the competition.

According to Netmarble on the 20th, "The Second Country" has surpassed NCSoft's "Lineage 2M" on Google Play to rank second in revenue. The first and third places are held by NCSoft's Lineage M and Lineage 2M, respectively. On the 17th, "The Second Country" even briefly overtook these "Lineage brothers" to claim the number one spot in revenue.

Netmarble is capitalizing on this momentum with aggressive marketing, such as the "7 Days 7 Colors Login Event," which offers a 4-star 'Imajen' as a login reward on the seventh day.

However, it remains uncertain whether "The Second Country" will sustain its success in the long term. There are forecasts that the game will experience a decline once the "new release convention effect" fades. For example, NCSoft's Trickster M also received significant attention immediately after launch, ranking first in popularity on both major app markets and second in Google Play revenue, but it has since dropped to seventh place in revenue.

Another negative factor for "The Second Country" is the lineup of anticipated competitor releases scheduled for the second half of the year. In particular, Kakao Games' "Odin: Valhalla Rising," set to launch on the 29th, is considered the most likely candidate to overshadow the success of "The Second Country."

"Odin" is being developed by a team including CEO Kim Jaeyoung, known for the "Blade" series, PD Lee Hansoon of "Three Kingdoms Blade," and AD Kim Beom, famous for "Mabinogi Heroes."

Featuring Unreal Engine 4, 3D scanning, and motion capture technology, the game boasts stunning and vivid graphics. It offers a vast array of content, including a world based on Norse mythology, organic role execution among characters, and large-scale wars delivering explosive combat excitement. With 3 million pre-registrations, "Odin" is generating high expectations among users.

Also scheduled for release in the second half of the year, NCSoft's "Blade & Soul 2" (B&S2) is another strong competitor. B&S2 is the sequel to the 2012 PC game Blade & Soul, a mobile game set in an Eastern martial arts fantasy world, characterized by fast-paced action, dazzling graphics, and combat utilizing terrain features.

Since starting pre-character creation in April, B&S2's initial 48 servers were fully booked within three hours, prompting the opening of additional servers and raising expectations for its success.