#Teahouse Chart Talk# “MapleStory” Tops the Charts in the Second Week of November; TouchKOREA Gains Momentum

Looking at last week’s bestseller list, we can observe the following two points:

1. Puzzle games have been performing quite consistently lately. These games exercise visual acuity, mental agility, and hand-eye coordination, requiring players to become increasingly dexterous and quick-witted. Playing these games during breaks from demanding work or study not only relieves stress but also trains our hand-eye coordination and reflexes—a win-win situation. It’s no wonder this genre has become so popular recently.Notable examples include *Word Search*, *Amazing Thief*, *Classroom Jazz: Sneak Dance*, and *Dumb Ways to Die*. All of these games have remained in the top 20 for more than three weeks with relatively stable performance; in fact, *Word Search* has even cracked the top three.As for how long they’ll remain active on the free charts, we’ll just have to wait and see.

2. With a massive influx of overseas games into the South Korean market, competition has intensified for local companies, making it increasingly difficult for them to survive in the domestic market. At the same time, even among local game companies, the variety of game genres is becoming more diverse. As things stand, the absolute dominance of hardcore games is no longer what it used to be.The proliferation of various game genres also indicates that Korean players’ choices are becoming increasingly diverse, and their acceptance of different genres is growing.The following overseas games appear on the Free Chart: *Dungeon Soul for Kakao*, *Survive! Mola Mola!*, *Frozen: Ice Fun for Kakao*, *Amazing Thief*, and *Dumb Ways to Die*.

In addition, the following games from last week’s free chart deserve special attention:

1. *Dungeon Soul for Kakao* is a new mobile game released by TouchKOREA. The game’s visuals and promotional videos evoke the feel of *Dungeon & Fighter*.However, this does not detract from the game’s excellent quality. Furthermore, TouchKOREA—which has extensive experience in the Korean market—has tailored the game’s operations to the local market through idol endorsements, free emojis, and various events. Therefore, its outstanding performance comes as no surprise.

2. *Survive! Mola Mola!* is a pixel art game from Japan that exudes a strong Famicom-era vibe. Released in the Japanese market in August, it surged from outside the top 400 to the number 5 spot in the rankings.It seems Korean players have a fairly high appreciation for retro-style games.

3. *Titan Warriors* is a game from GAMEVIL. Since its release in early October, its ranking has been steadily climbing.

Now let’s take a look at the top-grossing charts. First, *Clash of Clans* remains aloof at the top, towering above the competition.Supercell invested over 20 billion won in advertising and marketing for *Clash of Clans* in the South Korean market, and its near-weekly No. 1 ranking on the top-grossing chart since September has proven that Supercell’s investment was well worth it. Looking at *Clash of Clans*’ performance on the top-grossing chart, it ranks first in nearly every category.

Additionally, two games deserve special attention—*Golden Age for Kakao* and *Pocket Adventure Island for Kakao*.The reason for this focus is that, despite having been available for only a few weeks, they not only surged to the top of the free charts but also broke into the top 10 of the highly competitive top-grossing charts in a very short time—a feat that deserves applause.

*Pocket MapleStory for Kakao* launched a pre-registration event on October 13, offering generous rewards to participants. Leveraging the long-standing reputation of the PC version of *MapleStory* and utilizing social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for sharing, the game attracted a massive following and a large player base.While previous *MapleStory*-related mobile games may have merely leveraged this well-known IP, *Pocket MapleStory for Kakao* can be described as the “authentic adaptation” that fully replicates *MapleStory* on smartphones.

The meteoric rise of *Pocket MapleStory for Kakao* has even boosted the rankings of other mobile games under NEXON, such as the Chinese-developed title *Three Swordsmen*.Previously, *Three Swordsmen* had been hovering around the 20th position, while *Guardian of the Dragon for Kakao*, another Chinese-developed game, was several spots ahead, hovering around the 15th position.Then, last week, driven by the momentum of *Pocket Adventure Island for Kakao*, *Three Swordsmen* also climbed the rankings, engaging in a close race with *Guardian of the Dragon for Kakao*.

Last week, *Three Swordsmen* and *Guardian of the Dragon for Kakao* were neck and neck in the sales rankings.

*Golden Age for Kakao* boasts features such as forming squads for squad battles and high-definition 3D graphics. In particular, when it comes to squad formation, each player can assemble a squad of up to 11 characters and engage in battles with up to 56 players—a feature that is undoubtedly unique in the Korean mobile gaming industry and naturally serves as a major selling point.Combined with the essential pre-registration, various events offering generous rewards, and Netmarble Games’ gold-standard reputation in the mobile gaming industry, these factors further guarantee the success of *Golden Age for Kakao*.

Looking at the overall best-seller charts, it’s clear that Netmarble Games remains dominant, accounting for 25% of the top 20. This is actually tied to the characteristics of Korean players: when a new genre of game first appears on the market, as long as it’s well-made and gains player recognition, player loyalty to that game tends to be quite high.*Daily Tycoon for Kakao*, *Monster Hunter for Kakao*, *Match 3 for Kakao 2*, and *Cookie Run for Kakao* are all prime examples across various genres.

Another major game publisher, WeMade, has not released any new mobile games recently and appears to be experiencing a slump. According to an interview with TIG, WeMade is currently conducting a comprehensive review of both its in-house developed titles and licensed titles.Looking back at Wemade’s recent releases: *Wind Runner 2* launched on May 30, *Dragon Hunter* on July 1, and *Heartbeat Restaurant* on August 26—but no new titles have been released since then.This product review was personally initiated and spearheaded by a Wemade representative. The reason for this review is that, since the massive success of *Wind Runner* in 2013, the company has failed to release any outstanding games to fill the void.*Wind Runner 2*, which launched later, has long since fallen out of the top 100 on the Google Play Top Grossing chart, while *Shenwu* barely hovers around the 60th spot. Subsequent releases have almost universally failed to meet expectations, with some titles even facing release delays of over two years.In light of these circumstances, Wemade has decided to re-evaluate its entire product lineup and personnel arrangements. The company hopes this review will yield effective solutions, allowing Wemade’s purple icon to shine brightly once again in the public eye.

(This article was compiled by Su Cai of Game Teahouse. Please credit the source if reposting.)