I have been noticing a disturbing trend in the PC gaming industry. Most games which have already hit the US gaming arena, hits the Asian market several months later and that too, specific Asian versions. Recently, the multiplayer shoot ‘em up game Counter Strike (CS) was launched for the Asian market. This version is meant for Asian countries only.
With World of Warcraft recently launching The Crusade into Mainland China (Asian version), and Valve’s Asian version of CS; the Asian computer gaming market is really making the big bucks.Also, in Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and China, the gaming population is higher than US. At least that’s what I think.
Keeping the gaming population in mind, Nexon joined hands with Valve to be the sole publisher of CS in Asian markets. Nexon is a publisher and developer of super hit blockbusters like MapleStory and KartRider. CEO of Nexon Japan David K. Lee said recently:
It is our utmost pleasure to be able to develop Counter-Strike Online with Valve.We will be devoting our expertise in online game development and service know-how for Asian territories to Counter-Strike Online
The Nexon CEO calls the Counter Strike a global phenomenon. The Counterstrike was first released back in 1999. An upgraded version was launched in 2004 along with Half Life version 2. The game plot is mostly based on rescuing hostages. Hopefully, Nexon will be raking the dough from the sales of this version.
