south-korea posts

South Korea is known in the gaming industry for its massive amount of PC internet parlors where PC gamers tend to spend hours of their time playing. Now a report from the Korean Times web site states that a college student from the country's city of Ulsan has died this week after a 12 hour marathon playing an "online shooting game" (the game itself is not named).

The report is sketchy but states that the 19 year old student went to an internet parlor (known in Korea as a "PC bang") to start playing at 2 am on Monday. He took a brief break to go home to eat at 10:30 am before returning to the parlor to play some more. On Monday afternoon the student "suddenly fell to the ground". He was then taken to the hospital where the report states that the student, who is named only as Moon in the story, was declared dead upon arrival. There is still no word on what exactly caused his death.

[Via Kotaku]

Yes, it's true. The country that actually developed StarCraft II will be one of the last places in the world for the sci-fi RTS game to go live. Blizzard's game has officially gone live for its many Southeast Asian and Australian players including, naturally, South Korea where tons of fans lined up to purchase the game. For many Asian nations the game won't appear on store shelves at all. It will only be available as a digital download where players can choose to pay for unlimited online play or play with monthly or daily fees. Players of World of Warcraft in Korea can play StarCraft II for free.

Across the Atlantic it's now past midnight in Europe which means those gamers who showed up at midnight launch events at various retailers can now install and play StarCraft II. The UK-based Rock Paper Shotgun has an entertaining live blog of the author installing and trying to play the game. Meanwhile Blizzard's official StarCraft II Facebook page has a gallery of photos showing launch event festivities in various Asian and European locations. Check after the jump to see a couple more photos including Blizzard's Dustin Browder in Paris and a Terran soldier in Moscow.

Earlier this year reports hit the internet that a number of pro StarCraft players in South Korea were under suspicious of fixing and throwing matches for money. Today the Korea Times reports that the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office has now indicted 11 current and former pro StarCraft players in that country for deliberately losing matches.

The story says that three Web sites were also indicted in the investigation. They allegedly masterminded the operation to pay the 11 players to throw matches. The web sites then were paid with gambling winnings knowing the outcome of the matches. It's the first time such indictments have ever been made in the e-sports industry in South Korea where the original StarCraft is considered to be a national sport.

[Via Blue's News]

StarCraft II is perhaps the biggest upcoming PC game of all time, especially in South Korea where it's pretty much the country's national sport. Now, in a shocking move, the Korea Times reports that the sci-fi RTS sequel has been hit with an Adults Only rating by the country's rating board.

The ratings board apparently objected to the game's "level of violence, foul language and depiction of drug use." Oddly StarCraft II got a over-15 rating based on test versions sent to the board by developer Blizzard last year. However, Blizzard wanted the board to reevaluate the game's rating to get it down to an over-12 level. While Blizzard has 30 days to appeal the rating, a Blizzard Korea spokesperson stated they have not yet decided what their next move is with the new Adults Only rating. If they choose to edit StarCraft II, the article claims it could push the game's release in that country to 2011.

[Via Kotaku]

Gallery: StarCraft 2 Screenshots

They are calling it the equivalent of the "Black Sox" scandal in baseball, only there's no Charlie Sheen involved in the movie version (at least we hope not). News reports from South Korea (and translated by other sites) indicate that a number of the StarCraft pro players in that country have been accused of gambling violations including intentionally throwing games for money.

As some of you may know, the original StarCraft is pretty much the national sport in South Korea with some pro players paid and treated like the US treats basketball players and the rest of the world treats soccer players. It's currently unknown if this scandal will have any effect of the release of Blizzard's sequel StarCraft II.

[Via Blue's News]

Aion, the MMO that gives you wings, is already a huge hit in S. Korea, a country where online games are a part of the culture's daily life. In the fourth (and last) video podcast, the developers at NCsoft travel to Seoul to get the fans' comments and reactions to the game. It also answers some burning fan submitted questions. Hopefully, the enthusiasm in Asia will carry over to the West, since the game is set to officially went live in North America today. The gorgeous launch trailer can be seen after the jump.

Download HD Aion Video Podcast #4 (769 MB)
Download HD Aion Launch Trailer (112 MB)
Check out all Aion downloads