Tomorrow Korean MMO Prius online will open up to the public. The game is a sort of massive multilayer World of Warcraft inspired fantasy title. Few details of the game have been leaked by beta players, but game play indicates your character battles gigantic monsters while a young girl follows you around.
Although it has received little coverage outside of Korea, the launching of the game could be a very big deal for the MMO market. In its early stages the game will pose no threat to industry juggernaut WoW, but the title has been hotly anticipated in Korea. As most people know Koreans are absolutely crazy about there games, this MMO is launching in a country that has not one but two dedicated StarCraft cable channels. If Koreans take to Prius Online like they did to StarCraft the game could build a domestic user base of 4 million players. Before the game even launches internationally it could potentially have half the user base of WoW.
This is an awful lot of speculation and the whole theory hinges on Koreans preferring Prius Online over WoW. Although WoW already operates in Korea with an estimated 160,000 users Korean gamers are patriotic bunch and have a history of picking home grown options over imports. Its a long shot, but the relatively quiet launch of Prius Online could eventually lead to the end of the World…of Warcraft.
Tags: Blizzard, CJ Entertainment, CJ Internet, Game, Game Industry, Games, Korea, Korean Game Industry, Korean MMO, massively multiplayer online game, MMO, MMOG, Multiplayer Game, Prius, Prius Online, Prius Online Game, Warcraft, WOW
