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A fertile market and a fertile territory for e-commerce -- online games and South Korea -- met up Monday when EA.com, the online gaming division of entertainment software maker Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), announced plans to launch a localized version of its popular Ultima Online role-playing game in the Far Eastern country.
Other games and sporting sites will follow, the Redwood City, California-based company said.
"We see a huge long-term opportunity to bring compelling online content to the booming Korean game market," said John Riccitiello, Electronic Arts president and chief operating officer and general manager of EA.com.
According to EA, South Korea has about 22 million Internet users who spend an average of 16 hours per month online. Gaming is one of the top activities for Korean Web users, the company said.
"Internet gaming rooms are one of the most popular forms of entertainment in Korea, outpacing all other mediums, including television and movies," Riccitiello said.
South Korea is home to about 25,000 Internet gaming rooms, which charge consumers by the hour, EA said.
Korean E-Commerce Booming
Statistics bear out EA's view that the South Korean market is ripe for investment. A May report from research firm Yankee Group found that the country is poised for a consumer e-commerce boom.
More than a third of South Koreans surveyed by Yankee said they were making online purchases regularly, with 65 percent of those buyers in the heavy-spending 16- to 25-year-old age group.
A rebounding economy, growing Internet infrastructure and improved security will help ensure that South Korean e-commerce is strong in coming years, Yankee said.
At the same time, the Yankee report found, few foreign companies have so far moved to exploit the South Korean market.
Growth in Games
EA.com, launched in the United States in October, provides programming for America Online's AOL Games channel and other properties, as well as over its own site.
The EA.com site, which boasts 22 million registered members and a 37 percent share of the market for online interactive games, offers both free and subscription-based games.
The Ultima Online fantasy game has about 235,000 subscribers, according to EA.
Electronic Arts, which also makes games for Nintendo consoles and personal
computers, last month reported an 18 percent year-over-year rise in revenue
for the first quarter ended June 30th. The company lost 33 cents per share
in the quarter, the same as a year earlier. The EA.com division saw a wider
loss, although revenue rose 87 percent.
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