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[Apha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] Of the nation's leading game companies '3N (Nexon, NCsoft, Netmarble)', only Nexon continues its high march.
While NCsoft and Netmarble are struggling with a new drought, they seem to have solidified their unique first-tier system. Thanks to the even growth of old and new works, Nexon achieved record-high sales and operating profit as of the second quarter of this year.
NCsoft, which has received an "earning shock" level, will start checking the system to improve its physical strength. Netmarble, which has the largest number of licenses (service licensing rights in China), will rebound in performance by releasing new works. As long as there is no change, Nexon is likely to continue its growth in the second half of the year, and some predict that the game market will be reorganized from 3N to 1N.
Nexon announced on the 9th that consolidated sales and operating profit reached KRW 902.8 billion and KRW 264 billion in the second quarter of this year. Compared to the same period last year, sales and operating profit increased by 12% and 22%, respectively. Even if NCsoft and Netmarble's operating profits are combined, they cannot catch up with Nexon.
Accumulated sales in the first half of this year amounted to 2.891 trillion won and operating profit amounted to 802 billion won. This is a 25% and 37% increase from the previous year, respectively. Soccer games such as "FIFA Online 4" and "FIFA Mobile," and various genres of games such as subculture game "Blue Archive" and multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG) "HIT 2" have been successful around the world, Nexon explained.
NCsoft's operating profit plunged 71.3% in the second quarter to 35.3 billion won due to delays in the release of its new products and a series of competitors for Lineage Like. Sales fell 30% to 440.2 billion won and net profit fell 74.3% to 30.5 billion won.
Since its launch in 2021, Lineage W's sales, which have served as NCsoft's cash cow, have halved (54%) year-on-year.
Netmarble posted an operating loss of 37.2 billion won in the second quarter, up from 34.7 billion won a year earlier. Sales also fell 8.7% to 603.3 billion won. The increase in marketing costs ahead of the release of the new product in the second half of the year and the temporary increase in costs such as the payment of severance pay due to manpower adjustment were affected.
AlphaBIZ 폴 리(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
