SuperStar SMTOWN

SuperStar SMTOWN
Developer(s)	Dalcomsoft Inc.
Platform(s)	iOS, Android
Release	August 26, 2014
Genre(s)	Music

SuperStar SMTOWN is a South Korean rhythm game developed by Dalcomsoft Inc. which was first launched on Google Play in August 2014. The game features songs by artists of the entertainment company, S.M. Entertainment, such as BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior and Girls' Generation.^[1] 'SMTOWN' is the umbrella name for S.M. Entertainment's recording artists. The game is available in the South Korean, Thailand, Singaporean, Malaysian, Hong Kong, Philippine and just recently Indonesian, Vietnamese and Kazakh market and is in English and Korean.^[2][3]

SuperStar SMTOWN is a score-based, note-matching music game. The goal is to complete a song and unlock the following song in three levels: Easy, Normal and Hard.^[4] As of November 30, 2016, the game features more than 270 songs from 29 solo artists, groups and units of SM Entertainment.

In July 2016, Pulse News reported that the game has over 8 million downloads and has raised ₩10 billion ($8.8 million) in cumulative revenue since its release.^[5]

Background and history

S.M. Entertainment, one of the top entertainment companies in South Korea, launched the game in August 2014 and said they wanted K-pop fans to enjoy both the game and their favorite celebrities. It was first released on Google Play, but was made available for the iOS in the next month.^[1]

On March 4, 2015, Daum Kakao announced that it will jointly publish the game with China's mobile game publisher, Chukong.^[6]

Months after the departure of former Girls' Generation member Jessica Jung and former EXO member Lu Han from the company and their respective groups, S.M. Entertainment announced that the artists' 'Star Cards' will be removed from the game and gave the players the option to trade their cards for other artists' cards. On April 8, 2015, both cards were removed from the game.^[7]

Later on November 24, 2015, Sulli and Tao's cards being removed months after the departure of them from their respective groups, f(x) and EXO.

Gameplay

Like most rhythm games, players tap colored bars when they descend and reach the bar at the bottom of the screen, hitting them on time correctly, with combos gaining more points. After each song, scores are recorded and enables the player to compare scores with other players online. With enough points, a player can go up a rank on the weekly chart.

Songs from various artists of S.M. Entertainment are featured in the game. After completing a song, a new song is unlocked. The goal is to unlock all the songs in all three levels, Easy, Normal and Hard. The same 270+ songs must be unlocked in the three levels. After beating all three levels, the 'Challenge' mode will be unlocked. 'Star Cards' (Cards that feature the solo artists and individual group members of S.M. Entertainment) is also a feature of the game. New cards are earned after completing a song, although a player may purchase them from the game's store in packs. When equipped, cards enable the player to gain more points, with an even bigger advantage if the player collects all the cards that corresponds to the theme of the group or artist. These cards can also be used to enhance other cards to gain more bonus. As of November 30, 2016, there are over 360+ star cards to collect in the game.

The game is also monetized through in-app purchases. 'Headphones' act as lives which are used every time a song plays. Headphones may be earned when a player goes up a rank, but are gained after waiting 5 minutes. Only a maximum of 5 can be stored, unless the number of headphones purchased or received exceeds the limit. Once spent, the time starts again. 'Diamond' is the currency used in the game. They can be used to purchase headphones, star cards, and rhythm points. 'Rhythm points' are earned after finishing a song and are used to buy star cards and also used to upgrade star cards. After the new update on August 8, 2017, max free headphones are now 20 with a 20 minutes cool down time.

Soundtrack

SuperStar SMTOWN has more than 320 songs from 31 of S.M. Entertainment's boy groups, girl groups, sub-groups and solo artists, namely: KANGTA, BoA, TVXQ!, Super Junior, KYUHYUN, Super Junior-D&E, M&D, RYEOWOOK, YESUNG, Super Junior-M, Henry, ZhouMi, Girls' Generation, Girls' Generation-TTS, TAEYEON, TIFFANY, SEOHYUN, SHINee, TAEMIN, JONGHYUN, f(x), AMBER, LUNA, EXO-K, EXO-M, LAY, EXO-CBX, Red Velvet, NCT U, NCT 127 and NCT DREAM. Songs by the S.M. unit, S.M. the Ballad and SMTOWN are also included. The songs must be unlocked in all three levels of the game, Easy, Normal and Hard. Below is a list of songs available for the game:

References

External links

• SuperStar SMTOWN App Store profile