I attended a large-scale game event for the first time. I knew that there were many people in Korea who loved games, but I didn't know who actually liked games and what their reaction would be. I saw a lot of young people who loved games, and I could see middle-aged and older people as well.

Rather than fun, I got to see and feel new things. In particular, many people experienced cosplay, and I saw several boyfriends cosplaying as female characters. It was very fresh. I want to share what I felt after going to the game event.

✅ The cash cow of the game industry is still in-app purchases, advertising, and game download costs.
In the case of large game companies, they are not only using the current profit methods, but also using their established reputation to create goods and sell them for profit. Games that cannot do this are still relying on the existing cash cow method. There may be other profit methods that I don't know, and the word "still" may be jarring, but I haven't found anything else yet.

Especially, in the case of indie games, it seems difficult to use a different cash cow strategy. That's why I understand that they have to safely challenge the strategy that has worked so far. I hope that some other strategy will come up and diversify the profit structure so that they can continue their business for a long time.

✅ There are many indie games in Korea.
The venue was quite large, and I didn't know there were so many indie games in Korea. The games were unique in style, and the designs, graphics, and characters were diverse. There was a game that you play by shining light on it, a turn-based game based on biblical worldview, and I didn't know high school and college students could make games so well.

The most impressive game was "Metal Suits," which will be released by Eggtart. It was said to be made by benchmarking Mega Man and Metal Slug. The graphics were good for an indie game, and it included dazzling effects, so I was personally looking forward to it.

✅ I was disappointed that 3N wasn't there.
This was my first time visiting a game event like this, and I was disappointed that 3N, a major game company in Korea, was not there. Of course, Bandai Namco, Nintendo, and Gravity participated, but I think some people were expecting the real 3N.

It would have been nice to have gotten item codes that could be used for MapleStory cash, Netmarble Cookie Run, Everyone's Marble, etc. through the event (although it's too much of a cherry-picker...). It's my personal regret.

The fact that 3N didn't participate seems to be because they are focusing on different things. In the end, there has to be a return on investment, a profit, and they seem to be focusing on something else than PlayX4 now. Or maybe they don't have any games scheduled for release, or it's not yet the right time to open them.

✅ Need for localization
When I brought up the topic of localization at the booths I visited, some people were interested. Officials from game companies that had achieved significant success in Korea reacted positively. It seems like they are turning their attention overseas after achieving some success in Korea. It seems like they feel burdened to release overseas simultaneously from the beginning, unless they are a major game company.

My personal observations may not be the answer, but I think I gained something meaningful in my own way. There are still differences of opinion and controversies about games, but I would like to look at the positive aspects from a positive perspective. I hope that the game industry will continue to develop in the future, and I hope that I can help.