SEOUL, July 11 Asia Pulse - Global tech giants such as Microsoft and Sony are locked in fierce competition to increase their share of the Korean market.
NCsoft (KSE:36570), Korea's largest online game service provider, formed a strategic partnership with MSN Korea, a unit of Microsoft and plans to promote games such as Lineage through MSN Messenger 6.0, a new version of Microsoft's popular instant-messenger software.
KT Corp. (KSE:30200), the country's largest fixed-line operator, and Sony Computer Entertainment Korea formed a strategic alliance in the field of video game sales.
Under the partnership, KT's Nespot, which accounts for more than half of Korea's broadband Internet users, will have a joint marketing campaign with Sony to boost sales of the company's PlayStation 2.
Subscribers to KT's high-speed network are eligible for a 20-percent discount on a package that includes a PlayStation 2, periphery devices and Nespot products.
As part of its efforts to boost sluggish Xbox sales, Microsoft's Korean unit may attempt to sell the video game console at discount prices under an alliance with KT after it failed to prosper on the market here, according to analysts.
While Sony's PlayStation 2 has sold 500,000-600,000 units in South Korea, Xbox sales stood at just 25,000-30,000 units at the end of May, according to industry sources.
Analysts have warned that Microsoft's lack of Korean-language software will lead to failure in its foray into the local market.
(Yonhap) 11-07 1241
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