Starcraft Popularity in Korea

What do you people think of when they hear the word computer? Many will think of games because one of the significant roles that computers play in the world today is in the gaming industry. There are numerous gaming companies and games in the world today, but there is one company that dominates in the world of computer gaming: Blizzard.

Blizzard is a company that makes mainly rts and rpg type games. This company has never failed on a game before. When an announcement is made for a new game they're making, the gaming industry goes crazy. They know it's going to be another fabulous game. In the world today, there is one country that plays a game created by Blizzard, and the game has become almost part of their culture: Korea.

When gamers hear Korea, they think of the word Starcraft immediately pops up in their heads. Starcraft has become pretty much a sport in Korea. They have a channel fully dedicated to Starcraft all 24 hours of the day, and people can make a living being a professional Starcraft player. So how exactly did Starcraft become so popular in Korea?

If you have ever been to Korea before, one thing you will definitely notice is the uncountable number of cyber café. There are so many of them with such low prices that anyone can play for hours in the café without spending much money. Also, Starcraft is a complex rts game that requires lots of strategy to play. It takes hours of practice a day to become good. Korean people tend to like these type of complex, challenging, enjoyable games. The school system in Korea is highly stressful so teenagers and adults both go to cyber café to play games. They can either go with a group of friends or just play online any time of the day and have an enjoyable time.

There are numerous competitions in Korea dedicated to Starcraft. Many competitions are set up in a manner where there are thousands of seats for the crowd, lots of huge TVs that the crowd can see what the players are doing, and 2 areas where each player goes into for gaming. Starcraft players are treated like celebrities. One noticeable player is "Slayer_Boxer". Professional Starcraft players make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year playing.

It's been 10 years since starcraft came out, and it has taken over the culture. Starcraft 2 has been announced in Korea which excited millions of fans not only in Korea, but throughout the world as well. At the rate starcraft is spreading in Korea, starcraft will be established as an official sport in Korea by the time Starcraft 2 comes out. We'll just have to wait and see what happens when Starcraft 2 is released, but I'm sure it's going to be huge!