Wen | Zhang Shule (Columnist of People's Daily And People's Post and Telegraph, Observer of Internet and Game Industry)
When the news of Kim Jong-joo's death came, many people learned that he was the Korean uncle behind classic games such as Bubble Hall, Run Kart, Dungeons & Dragons (hereinafter referred to as "DNF"), and Counter-Strike Online.
According to media reports, Nexon founder Kim Jong-joo died in Hawaii, USA, on February 28 at the age of 54.
Don't think that this Korean uncle is a bitter programmer, relying on his popular to classic games, he is really rich.
According to the 2021 Korea Rich List released by Forbes, Kim Jong-joo is the third richest man in South Korea, with a total wealth of $10.9 billion.
According to the data, Kim Jong-joo is the first generation of veterans in the Korean game industry and has an important impact on the development of the Korean game industry.
In 1994, Kim Jong-joo co-founded nexon with his college classmate Song Jae-kyung, and in 1996 released Kingdom of the Wind, which is considered one of the earliest MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games).
Under the capital operation of Kim Jong-joo, Nexon successively acquired Widget, which produced Adventure Island, and Neopole, which developed Dungeon and Dragons, and turned the two companies into subsidiaries of Nexon.
Through multiple mergers and acquisitions, Nexon has gradually grown into a Korean game giant.
Nexon has many well-known game IPs, such as Dungeons & Warriors, Bubble Hall, and Run Kart.
The most famous of these is undoubtedly Adventure Island, launched in 2003, which has more than 180 million registered users worldwide and is currently operated domestically by Sheng Qu Games Agency.
At this moment, what impact will the death of Kim Jong-joo have on the Korean game industry?
Multiple media and Shule had an exchange, and poor Dao thought:
Think too much, what impact is not. If you really want to talk about the impact, that is, as long as the bubble and run are still there, Jin Zhengzhou is not "dead".
The objective evaluation of Kim Jong-joo is that although he is rich, he has also passed.
As a representative of K-pop games, Kim Jong-woo did create many classic games during the global epidemic of online games in the 2000s, and his subsidiaries created many classic games.
This makes him worthy of the Gaming Hall of Fame and one of the founders and promoters of online games.
Since the 2010s, the influence of Korean games in the world, especially in the Chinese market, has gradually declined.
South Korean game companies, including Nexon, are on the decline.
It can only be said that when the game industry entered the era of online games with K-pop games, Kim Jong-joo and Nexon were once the leaders.
Of course, the departure of the flag bearer may bring variables to the development of the company, but that's all.
At present, Korean games are lagging behind in the global game competition, and their impact on the game industry is naturally minimal.