Maple Grows U.S. Roots
By Staff -- Playthings, 3/1/2007
Another massively multiplayer online role play game, MapleStory, will be making its North American debut this year. The PC game, developed by South Korea's Nexon Corp., has more than 50 million registered users worldwide, 2 million of those already in North America. To start off the promotional campaign, MTV Networks has partnered with Nexon, and is one of several games Nexon will be releasing in the states within the next few years.
MapleStory centers around “Maple World,” where players battle cartoon monsters and develop their skills and abilities, interact with other players via chats, trading items and playing mini games. Groups of players can even ally together in guilds to hunt monsters, socialize or just explore.
Min Kim, director of game operations, Nexon America, Los Angeles, tells Playthings that the target audience for the game is ageless. “The art style may give the initial impression that MapleStory is for a younger audience or for hardcore anime fans,” says Kim. “However, MapleStory offers a broad range of activities. We have the hardcore gamers that focus on leveling. We also have the casual user who takes part in the quests, leveling, etc., but spends most of their time socializing with their friends and others in the community.”
To support the game, Nexon card games will be available to retail with additional licensing deals still in the works, as well as a project in place to develop a version of the game for the Nintendo DS.
