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Daum hiring industry 'veterans from western region' for Black Desert
When Pearl Abyss announced that Korean internet giant Daum would be publishing Black Desert in the west, my first reaction was "really?" It makes a certain amount of sense, though, as having one worldwide publisher (Daum is also releasing the fantasy sandbox in its native Korea) could work in the title's favor in terms of localization and time-to-launch efficiency. On the other hand, Daum has no real presence in Europe or North America. That last point was recently addressed by Pearl Abyss Director of Overseas Business Brian Oh, who spoke with MMO Culture at ChinaJoy 2014. "Daum is looking to set up a new games business team and hiring veterans from the western region to operate the new games platform," Oh explained. The interview also delves into Black Desert's translation process as well as IP restrictions and other notables.
Black Desert's NA and EU publisher is Daum
Black Desert's search for a Western publisher has made news on more than one occasion in recent months. As it turns out, though, the fantasy sandbox MMO will be published in North America and Europe by the same company publishing it in its native Korea. That company is Daum, one of South Korea's largest internet conglomerates. News of the deal was confirmed by Steparu via an email exchange with a representative of Black Desert development studio Pearl Abyss. While there is no information available regarding Western beta dates, Pearl Abyss began working on an English client over seven months ago. Black Desert Korea will kick off its third closed beta sometime in late August or early September.
PlanetSide 2 coming to South Korea
PlanetSide 2 is forging in-roads with South Korea as SOE has announced a partnership with Daum Communications to bring the free-to-play MMOFPS to the country. Daum will be handling all of the operations of the title with exclusive publishing rights. Daum Leader of Game Division Sean Hong anticipates a strong response from the country's gamers: "PlanetSide 2 is a groundbreaking MMOFPS, and its competitive nature is a perfect fit for the South Korean audience." The date of the South Korean launch is unknown, but the two companies will be showing PlanetSide 2 off at G-STAR from November 14th through 16th. [Source: SOE press release]
South Korea's FTC finds Google not guilty of antitrust measures
Google has been acquitted of the anti-competitive allegations brought to it more than two years ago by South Korean search operators NHN and Daum Communications, the Yonhap News reported today. Back in April 2011, the two firms accused the Mountain View company of having an unfair advantage by making its own search engine the default on the Android operating system. After a couple of raids and a lengthy review process, the local Fair Trade Commission has finally decided that Google doesn't hurt NHN's or Daum's competitive chances at all. FTC officials said that both companies presently enjoy a healthy chunk of the domestic search engine market -- NHN's portal maintains a good 70 percent share, for example -- and that users could easily download NHN and Daum apps onto their phones as alternatives. Chalk this one up as at least one victory in the search giant's seemingly never-ending battle with authorities.
South Korea's FTC reportedly raids Google again over lack of cooperation
Google might be in trouble for how it handled an earlier raid by South Korean officials over antitrust concerns. Insiders claimed to AllThingsD that the country's Fair Trade Commission stormed Google's Seoul offices again on May 28th after the company allegedly stonewalled the investigation in suspicious ways. Among the accusations, Google supposedly deleted files and asked staff to work from home rather than face inquiries. The FTC's goal was still to answer complaints from local search firms Daum and NHN that Google was unfairly making it difficult to use a non-Google search engine in Android. Google still says it's cooperating with regulators, but the assertions if they're accurate would paint a different picture. They certainly don't alleviate pressure in the US over similar subjects.
Google's South Korean offices raided over alleged antitrust violations
Google's South Korea offices have been raided once again -- this time, over alleged antitrust violations. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) stormed Google's Seoul offices on Tuesday, amid claims that the company unfairly stifles competition by making its search engine the default option on Android handsets. South Korea's largest mobile search operators, NHN and Daum Communications, filed a complaint with the KFTC in April, claiming that Android is "systematically designed" to discourage users from switching to different portals, and that Google excludes competitors by delaying OS certification for phone manufacturers that attempt to pre-load devices with other search engines. Similar charges, as you may recall, fueled an FTC investigation in the US, where anti-competitive allegations have been flying around for a few months, now. Google neither confirmed nor denied that yesterday's raid took place, but a spokesperson said the company would "work with the KFTC to address any questions they may have about our business," adding that its OS does "not require carriers or manufacturers to include Google Search or Google applications on Android-powered devices."
