Hmm you know what? I think you don't really know or care about this and are just reading stuff on the Internet (Wikipewhat!?!?) to argue about it. I don't find it a very good idea, especially when it comes down to such a trivial topic, and in a thread that's only loosely related. It's just not worth going to such lengths, your unedited post was perfectly fine.
The development of Internet in Korea was a major contributor to redressing the economy after the global asian financial crash, among other things (comic book rental shops were a huge drive and are still nowadays unique in the world, which is why the government can't really ban them in spite of the big damage to the authors and publishing companies). Online games were a major contributor to the development of Internet in Korea, among other things (you have no idea how high the quality of online services is in Korea). And Starcraft was a major contributor to the popularity of PC games in Korea. You've been taking big shortcuts so far, it would have been enough to say that the game was (mostly indirectly) a strong drive to a then-slowing economy.
Yeah, that's neat numbers. I must say though, over 3.8 million copies of "The Legend Of Zelda" for NES sold in USA, which is more than half of its worldwide sales. It must have saved the country!
Hahaha, let's be serious please. The most popular sports in Korea are football (the real one) and baseball. Then there's taekwondo, golf, badminton, basketball, wrestling, dancing, swimming, athletics, archery, etc. Or maybe you have a special way to determine what is the "number one" sport?
No, not like a football game would be in the US. Or maybe you mean soccer in the US, which then could be comparable I guess. There's a couple cable TV channels that broadcast tournaments, it's not like it's on major channels each evening at 8pm or anything.
Hell, look where Madden NFL is in the list I posted. I think that speaks for itself when you know the game sells almost exclusively (something like 98.5%) in the USA.
Now that's the ultimate counterexample here. Videogames are very controversial in Korea and the phenomenons of addiction they provoke on some kids are being taken extremely seriously. It's a big issue, has been for quite a while, and parents aren't encouraging their kids to spend their weekends on Starcraft. Rather they'd prefer seeing them do outside activities, but the children prefer their games. Same story in every country... Anyway, you're talking like if Starcraft was still the hottest thing around, I hope you realize that its "cultural" popularity has vastly decreased years ago.
Maddness said:well I'd say not sole reason, but major contributor.
The development of Internet in Korea was a major contributor to redressing the economy after the global asian financial crash, among other things (comic book rental shops were a huge drive and are still nowadays unique in the world, which is why the government can't really ban them in spite of the big damage to the authors and publishing companies). Online games were a major contributor to the development of Internet in Korea, among other things (you have no idea how high the quality of online services is in Korea). And Starcraft was a major contributor to the popularity of PC games in Korea. You've been taking big shortcuts so far, it would have been enough to say that the game was (mostly indirectly) a strong drive to a then-slowing economy.
Maddness said:The game sold 3.5 million copies just in Korea, which was a 1/3 of the total global sales for the game.
Yeah, that's neat numbers. I must say though, over 3.8 million copies of "The Legend Of Zelda" for NES sold in USA, which is more than half of its worldwide sales. It must have saved the country!
Maddness said:It got so popular that e-sports is almost the number one sport in Korea.
Hahaha, let's be serious please. The most popular sports in Korea are football (the real one) and baseball. Then there's taekwondo, golf, badminton, basketball, wrestling, dancing, swimming, athletics, archery, etc. Or maybe you have a special way to determine what is the "number one" sport?
Maddness said:with tournaments actually broadcasted on TV like a football game would be in the US.
No, not like a football game would be in the US. Or maybe you mean soccer in the US, which then could be comparable I guess. There's a couple cable TV channels that broadcast tournaments, it's not like it's on major channels each evening at 8pm or anything.
Hell, look where Madden NFL is in the list I posted. I think that speaks for itself when you know the game sells almost exclusively (something like 98.5%) in the USA.
Maddness said:Parents actually encourage their kids to play video games to relieve stress from academics.
Now that's the ultimate counterexample here. Videogames are very controversial in Korea and the phenomenons of addiction they provoke on some kids are being taken extremely seriously. It's a big issue, has been for quite a while, and parents aren't encouraging their kids to spend their weekends on Starcraft. Rather they'd prefer seeing them do outside activities, but the children prefer their games. Same story in every country... Anyway, you're talking like if Starcraft was still the hottest thing around, I hope you realize that its "cultural" popularity has vastly decreased years ago.