Hangame
| Hangame | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Homepage layout  Homepage as of May 2010 | |
| Web address | http://www.hangame.com |
| Slogan | Joyful Rest, Go Hangame! (즐거운 쉼표, Go 한게임!) |
| Commercial? | Yes |
Type of site | Online game portal |
| Registration | required |
| Available in | Korean |
Content license | Copyright |
| Owner | NHN Entertainment Corp. |
| Launched | December 1999 |
Alexa rank | 13894[1] |
| Current status | Online |
Hangame (Korean: 한게임) is a popular South Korean online game portal operated by NHN Entertainment Corporation (formerly known as NHN Corporation). Launched in December 1999, Hangame offers casual, first-person shooter, MMORPGs, sports, and other genres. With over 20 million members and a peak concurrent user base of 290,000 in South Korea, it is the country's largest game portal.[2] Hangame also has affiliates in Japan (NHN PlayArt). It also offers channeling and publishing services for many popular online games.
History
Hangame was launched in December 1999 as the online game service of Hangame Communications, which changed its name to NHN in September 2001. In 2000, Hangame entered the Japanese online market with Hangame, Japan. The following year, Hangame became an online game publisher. In 2003, mobile games were also started to be offered by Hangame. In 2004, it moved into the Chinese market with Ourgame, a joint venture company with Sea Rainbow Holdings Corp however discontinued the service in October 2010.[3] In 2007, it entered the U.S. market with the launch of the English service ijji.com however sold the stake of ijji.com on December 2011. On August 1, 2013 NHN was re-split into NHN Entertainment Corporation and Naver Corporation for strategic reasons and Hangame is currently serviced by NHN Entertainment.
Features
Hangame provides both casual titles, like board games and card games, as well as hard-core games like first-person shooters and massively multi-player online role-playing games. All games offer the use of avatars and community services, allowing players to interact with each other. Many games also offer in-game items—such as clothing, armor, weapons, etc. -- that can be purchased for a small fee. Hangame offers both for-fee and free-to-play games.
See also
References
External links
Chosun Ilbo, "GoGoXing Opens Public Service on the 17th," January 16, 2008 (in Korean).
Monitoring, "Hangame Evolves into Customized Game Portal," January 14, 2008 (in Korean).
Dong-A Ilbo, "'Tales Runner' Achieves 15,000 Concurrent Users," December 31, 2007 (in Korean).
Eye News 24, "NHN's 2008 Project: 'We Aim to Reach the Top in Game Distribution'" (in Korean).