Japan’s console-focused gaming history makes it a tricky market for competitive and grindy games, says Korean MMO dev 

In a recent interview with 4Gamer, Young-Hoon Baek gave insight into the cultural differences he has perceived in the way that Japanese and Korean players tend to enjoy games, and how this impacts the success of MMORPGs. 

Young-Hoon Baek is a director of Smilegate’s Megaport Division, Smilegate Japan as well as the social game platform Stove. Smilegate is a South Korean game company best known for the FPS Crossfire, the RPG Epic Seven and the MMORPG LOST ARK.  

Looking back on his experience of the industry in both countries, Baek reflects that the gap between the South Korean and Japanese game markets has narrowed considerably since 2006. “At the time, the Korean market was mainly online PC games, whereas the Japanese market was console games and browser-based games.” He recalls, giving the opinion that the rise of smartphone games in recent years and the increasing ease with which customers can play global games, have helped narrow the gap between the markets. 

Differences in Japan and Korea’s gaming cultures

Although gamers in South Korea and Japan may be more likely to play on the same platforms now, Baek has observed some cultural differences in how players from the two countries enjoy games. “In general, Korean players tend to place importance on results. On the other hand, among Japanese players there are many who value the process.” 

Baek muses that this difference could be influenced by the background of the two countries’ gaming cultures. South Korea started out with online PC games built around competitive play and has a huge esports scene, explaining why gameplay results became a focal point. Japan’s more console-focused background, on the other hand, may have contributed to the process of playing and exploring a game gaining greater importance.  

Although these are generalizations and both countries make a variety of games, these cultural differences likely impact what kind of MMORPGs are successful. Baek mentions that Korean MMORPGs tend to have lots of daily quests and encourage players to purchase in-game items. “You have to spend a lot of time on them and invest a lot of money,” adding that “it’s more focused on the results than the process.” Games with a strong community basis, like Ragnarok Online, have guild vs. guild aspects to their communities where players can team up and enjoy winning (i.e. the results) together. 

Although there are plenty of Japanese players out there who do enjoy PvP and “play-to-win” style games, Baek emphasizes the importance of offering a sense of relaxation in MMORPGs marketed in Japan. “In Japan, rather than having the players compete against each other, it’s important to manage the game so that players can enjoy a place, such as letting them gather together for a festival or to take group photos.”  

This is very much the case in the highly successful Japanese MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, which gives players plenty of opportunities to chill out in beautiful locations and snap photos (Yoshi-P even once commented that he made the game too stress-free). Although there are various reasons behind it, FFXIV’s PvP competitive mode is a part of the game that many Japanese players have been less keen on. 

Mentioning Blue Protocol, Bandai Namco’s ill-fated MMORPG that will end service in Japan without even launching overseas, Baek commented that “Aside from Final Fantasy XIV, Japanese MMORPG services themselves seem to be in a rather tough situation.” Later in the interview, he adds that, “I don’t think it is easy for competitive MMORPGs to succeed in Japan. However, I think there is still potential for MMORPGs that have good storytelling and some kind of cooperative element.”