14 DAY TRIAL // A lot of countries have developed over the years a certain history in terms of gaming. Such a thing is very true with South Korea, whose people are avid online gamers, aiming at each and every possible MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) out there, that is, unless they are playing StarCraft.
But although there are quite a lot of companies in the Asian country that are quite successful in gaming, the president of the country, Lee Myung-bak, thinks that South Korea still has a lot of development to do, and wonders why it can't be more like Nintendo, which is extremely popular all over the world, especially in the aforementioned country.
During a visit he made to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in his country, the president declared that, “A lot of our elementary school children have Nintendo game machines. Why can't our companies develop products like that?” a statement that took a lot of people by surprise, considering that South Koreans are very patriotic about their local companies.
The statement didn't go so well with representatives of gaming companies in the country, as an unnamed man told The Korea Times that, “I don't think government officials have a good understanding of the realities of the country's IT industry.” The official from a local Internet company continued by saying, “You don't have the right to be daydreaming about Nintendo, when Korean online game firms, which are actually doing well overseas, feel they could do better if the government wasn't biting at their ankles.”
So it seems that while South Korean companies want to be more like Nintendo, the president might consider helping them, as is the trend in a lot of countries these days. While British politicians are lobbying for tax deductions for developers, Texas has even gone so far to proclaiming a day dedicated to video games. Hopefully such actions will be replicated in South Korea too.