Starcraft Remastered: An Update

Blizzard Entertainments pre-launch release of Starcraft Remastered, the topic of my prior post,  has generated some controversy in Korea, with PC Room owners complaining to the Fair Trade Commission about the pricing.  According to a report in The Korea Times, Starcraft is regaining popularity with this new release.  (click on the graphic for a full-size version) The article notes that "The 19-year-old computer online strategy game "StarCraft" is recovering its popularity with the exclusive pre-launch of its upgraded version in Korea, according to industry sources, Tuesday. According to its developer and distributor Blizzard Entertainment, about 28,000 copies of a special "StarCraft: Remastered" package have been sold so far. The special package has been exclusively released in Korea."  The article quotes a source in Blizzard Entertainment as saying that "We have also released the game through all our partnered PC rooms since July 30, which numbers some 10,000 nationwide."  Note that this statement MAY NOT indicate that 10,000 PC rooms have accepted Blizzard's terms and are offering the remastered game.

 However, this comment prompted me to update the bar chart published in my previous post with data from the annual Korea Game Industry White Papers published by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). (Click on the chart for a larger version)  This graphic depicts the "rise and fall" of PC Rooms in Korea between their introduction in 1998 and the end of 2015.  The fall or decline in PC Rooms was clearly affected by the arrival, beginning in 2010 (technically the end of 2009) of smartphones and the accompanying growth of mobile games, but there are other factors as well.  Overall the relationships among PC Rooms, MMOGs, the diffusion of broadband access and Korean culture, is a fascinating story.  I'm happy to share this much of it with you.