NCsoft Expanding Non-Game Biz

NCsoft, the online computer game company is growing its non-game business. They are trying to make an effort to diversify its business portfolio. NCsoft is organizing a new team that would lead the sales and marketing of non-game Internet Businesses. They are looking forward to start online identification and social-networking services. During the process of planning this new business, they are hoping a mid-career journalist Hwang Soon-hyun, from Chosun llbo to take charge of the strategic affairs of the internet service operation. It is common for Korean Internet companies to recruit IT journalists for their high position job.
NCsoft is one of the largest game companies in South Korea and has produced high quality games such as “Lineage” and “Guild Wars.” These two games were a big hit in South Korea with thousands of users. However, as the growth of the game sector has been stopped, the company started to look for new business items in the non-game sector. They began to operate in-house software studio called Openmaru which they made a number of Web utility services. Until now, NCsoft has invested approximately 30 billion won on the non-game business. One of the new items they made was called “Open ID project” which allowed internet users to access multiple web sites with and ID and a password. NCsoft has already become a leader in the Open ID business in South Korea and looking forward to improve through producing innovative services online.
NCsoft has been passive in promoting activities of its non-game sector for several reasons.1) They have yet to make any profit from the Openmaru projects. 2)in its oversee(U.S), the movement was sometimes interpreted as a sign of the firm’s decreasing investment in the game sector. In addition, the company made future plans of nurturing the non-game business by building several partnership deals with web portal sites. Since the beginning of this year, they signed contracts with Daum Communications and Yahoo Korea to provide its Web tools.

http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2008/03/123_21073.html

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