'Road Nine' Marks Its First Anniversary Media Briefing
Differentiating as a Game Enjoyable Even Without Paid Purchases
Server Integration with Taiwan Planned for the Second Half of This Year
"A year ago, we highlighted the excessive inducement of paid purchases in MMORPGs and set 'Normalization of Abnormality' as our slogan. Going forward, we will not add gacha-based business models, and we will operate the game so that even non-paying users can enjoy it."
Han Jaeyoung, Chief Service Development Officer at Smilegate (left), who led the development of the MMORPG "Road Nine," and Kim Hyojae, Chief Producer (PD) at NX3 Games (right). Smilegate
Kim Hyojae, Chief Producer (PD) of NX3 Games, who led the development of Smilegate's MMORPG "Road Nine," made this statement at a media briefing held on June 24 at Smilegate's headquarters in Seohyeon-dong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to mark the first anniversary of Road Nine's launch. Road Nine is developed by NX3 Games and serviced by Smilegate. It became a hit, achieving the number one spot in sales on both Google Play and the Apple App Store immediately after its release?this was a first for a Smilegate game.
Kim, who described himself as both an MMORPG developer and a long-time fan, cited 'non-payment' as a key feature of Road Nine. He said, "Over the past year, users have told us, 'There really aren't many games you can play without spending money like Road Nine,'" and added, "The most distinctive aspect compared to other MMORPGs is that you can enjoy it regardless of whether you make paid purchases." He continued, "While other games tend to focus on business models after launch, Road Nine is more focused on long-term service. I can't say for sure whether abnormality has been fully normalized yet, but I see it as a process of normalization."
Previously, at a media briefing held in May last year ahead of Road Nine's launch, Kim emphasized, "I regret that the MMORPG genre has degenerated into probability-based games and that the level of spending has become too high," and stressed that "the business model orientation of Road Nine is the normalization of abnormality."
Jaeyoung Han, Smilegate Service Development Director, is speaking at a media briefing held to celebrate the 1st anniversary of the launch of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'Road Nine'. Smilegate
As part of the normalization of abnormality, Road Nine will introduce a non-payment content called 'Homun Racing' in the second half of this year. 'Homun' refers to a unique pet system in Road Nine. Users can collect materials and create Homun without any paid purchases. Homun Racing is content where players compete to see whose Homun reaches the target point the fastest, based on the Homun's stats. Kim said, "We want to create a game within the game using Homun, which is not tied to paid purchases," and added, "We are also considering other additional content that utilizes Homun."
Regarding the controversy that 'Artifacts,' which were added as an element for character growth, encourage spending, Han Jaeyoung, Chief Service Development Officer at Smilegate, said, "If you ask me whether we have continued the service as confidently as the slogan we set last year (Normalization of Abnormality), there are many areas where I feel regret," and promised, "We will never add gacha-type products to Road Nine again." Artifacts, which were launched in April, could only be obtained with cash-equivalent currency. Because character stats varied depending on whether a player possessed Artifacts, there was criticism that Road Nine was following the monetization system of conventional MMORPGs.
Kim Hyojae, General Producer (PD) of NX3 Games, is speaking at a media briefing held to celebrate the 1st anniversary of the release of the MMORPG 'Road Nine'. Smilegate
On this day, both Kim and Han shared Road Nine's overseas expansion plans. First, they plan to merge the servers of Korea and Taiwan, where Road Nine is currently serviced, in the second half of this year. Kim said, "Having experienced various MMORPGs, I believe that merging servers between countries brings new excitement," and added, "We expect to see new forms of narratives, such as users who were previously adversaries becoming allies when fighting against users from other countries."
In the third quarter of this year, the game will also launch in nine Asian countries, including Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore. Kim said, "Since we are entering countries where device specifications are generally lower than in Korea, we will release a much more optimized version compared to the initial launch."
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