"Did You Get One Too?"... Gaming Industry Flooded with Nintendo Switch 2 Consoles [IT Cafe]

"For Sharing Achievements and Boosting Morale"

The domestic gaming industry is experiencing a boom in "Nintendo Switch 2" consoles. Many gaming companies have rewarded their employees with the Switch 2 in recognition of their achievements. The intention is to boost morale, share enjoyable experiences, and encourage further efforts in game development.

This is not an unfamiliar practice. In the past, game companies have provided the latest IT devices of the time, such as the Switch 1, AirPods, and iPhones. NCSoft emphasized that the initiative launched by founder and co-CEO Kim Taekjin has established a new culture within the industry.

Nintendo Switch 2. Provided by Nintendo Korea

Recently, employees at Nexon Korea, located in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, received the Switch 2 Mario Kart World set as a gift. This applied to all staff, including full-time, contract, dispatched, and intern workers, with no exceptions. While some may wonder, "Why give gifts when it's not even a holiday?" Nexon explained that the gesture was meant to celebrate the company's strong performance together with its members.

However, with thousands of employees, it took some time to secure enough units, which delayed the distribution. As of last year, Nexon had about 4,000 employees, and the total purchase cost amounted to approximately 2.75 billion won. Because of the delay, many employees purchased the console on their own in the meantime, resulting in a large number of "brand-new, unopened" units appearing on secondhand trading platforms.

Prior to Nexon, in June, Shift Up and Neowiz also distributed the Switch 2 to their employees, drawing envy from the industry. These companies provided the device virtually as soon as it was released.

At the time, Shift Up gave the Switch 2 to all 300 employees to commemorate cumulative sales of 3 million copies of its action-adventure game "Stellar Blade." Earlier this year, thanks to the success of the game's release, Shift Up had already given employees the PlayStation 5 Pro. Employee satisfaction soared as they received two of the latest gaming consoles within just six months.

Neowiz gifted the Switch 2, along with incentives, to the development team of its action RPG "Lies of P." This was in recognition of the game's global cumulative sales surpassing 3 million copies. An industry insider commented, "For game companies, consistently releasing new titles is crucial, and to do that, employees need to experience a variety of games and consoles. Many employees are genuine gamers themselves, so these rewards have a significant impact."

Industry insiders say that CEO Kim Taekjin played a major role in establishing the practice of distributing the latest gaming consoles as a welfare benefit in the gaming industry. According to NCSoft, in 2017, CEO Kim gave all employees the Switch 1 and The Legend of Zelda package. Marking the company's 20th anniversary, he believed it was important to share a well-made game that he personally enjoyed. At the time, both NCSoft and CEO Kim became icons in the industry.

Since then, game companies have combined performance rewards with gifts of IT devices, and the news spread rapidly. In addition to gaming consoles, Nexon distributed the iPhone 12 Pro Max to employees of its subsidiary Neople in 2021. Previously, employees could choose between an Apple Watch or a Galaxy Watch.

An employee from a game company said, "This is a unique culture of the gaming industry, and friends in other fields often express their envy. I hope that not only do individual companies continue to thrive, but that this also helps further expand the Korean gaming industry's overall market share."