Senin, 18 Juli 2011

More on the Opening of Korea's Smart Phone Game Market

As noted in an earlier post, the Korean government has decided to open up the market for mobile games, by eliminating required government ratings.  Bloomberg's Business Week has an interesting follow-up article on this development. It included the following description of a game developed in Korea that was not available to iPhone users in Korea until now.

Air Penguin, a game in which players guide an animated penguin across an icy landscape, jumped to near the top of the iPhone gaming charts last spring. Yet until now the game hasn’t been available to iPhone owners in the home country of its creator, Seoul-based Gamevil. That’s because South Korea has long required game makers to submit their products to the government for review of their suitability for various age groups based on factors such as violence and sexual content.

I particularly liked the illustration that accompanied the Business Week article (click to see a full size version).