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| ▲ This photo provided by Kakao Games shows the MMORPG "ODIN: Valhalla Rising." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo provided by IGA Works shows a graph which reflects the demographics of "ODIN: Valhalla Rising." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo captured on Google Play shows "ODIN: Valhalla Rising" ranking as No.1, followed by "Lineage M" in second place, Netmarble's "Cross Worlds" in third, and "LIneage 2M" in fourth place. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- After Kakao Game's latest game "ODIN: Valhalla Rising" took the mobile game market by storm, the former leading game series "Lineage" have started to dwindle in supremacy.
"ODIN," which was released on June 29, remained at the top of Google Play's sales list for more than 10 days.
This is the first time for both of NCSoft's "Lineage M," launched in 2017 and its sequel "Lineage 2M," released in 2019, to lose popularity after it dominated the domestic mobile game market.
Although "ODIN" was labeled as the "Northern European Lineage" due to its similar game genre as well as other features which could be seen in the Lineage game series. However, after "ODIN" was released, it showed signs of long-term success that exceeded the public's expectations.
An official from Kakao Games said, "The fact that the graphics and contents are high in quality like PC online games, as well as the freedom given to users to explore the game seems to be the main reasons for 'ODIN''s success."
"ODIN" also has a strong user base. According to IGA Works' Mobile Index, the number of daily users totaled up to 397,245 as of July 5, a week after the release of "ODIN," ranking second after "Cookie Run: Kingdom."
After a plethora of users rushed to play the multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Kakao Games added four servers on July 9 and proceeded to update and strengthen queuing networks.
A large portion of users were traced back to the MZ generation, where people in their 30s accounted for 34.92 percent of total users, 28.8 percent of people were in their 20s, and those in their 40s made up 23.15 percent. Another notable point was that the proportion of women was 30 percent higher than originally expected.
As the newly launched Kakao Game has adopted a business model (BM) similar to that of the "Lineage: series, which has already been verified, recording impressive sale figures.
"ODIN's first day sales of 7 billion won are estimated to surpass Lineage M's and Lineage 2M's average daily sales levels. ODIN's daily average sales are estimated to have jumped from 1.86 billion won to 3.24 billion won," Sung Jong-hwa, an analyst researcher at eBest Investment & Securities, said.
On the other hand, the "Lineage" game series, which has dominated the domestic game market in recent years, is no longer in the same position as before.
Although NCSoft has denied this statement, it is analyzed that "Lineage M" has been on the downfall since the game's update earlier this year as well as facing a boycott afterwards.
Lineage 2M dropped to fourth place after giving up third place in Google Play's sales ranking to Netmarble's "Cross Worlds" on Wednesday.
NCSoft, which has been negatively affected by various events, expects its new game "Blade & Soul 2," scheduled to be released in the second half of 2021, to regain its glory again.
"Blade & Soul 2," which is a follow up of the previous "Blade & Soul" game released in 2012, is a collaborative MMORPG that can be played on both PCs and mobiles.
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