MTV Networks and South Korean online gaming company Nexon unveiled a global strategic partnership Thursday (Nov. 9) in which MTVN will bring its marketing clout to Nexon’s online games and Nexon will help to develop MTVN’s “Neopets” online community.
From January 2007, MTVN will market Nexon’s MMOG (massive multiplayer online gaming) titles in North America, beginning with “Kart Rider” and “Maple Story,” two games already enjoyed by upward of 80 million people around the world, although mostly in Asia at present.
“This partnership between MTVN and one of the world’s leaders in online casual MMOGs is a significant move for us in our growth as a multi-platform global entertainment company,” said Steve Youngblood, executive VP of digital media, MTVN Kids and Family Group, in a statement.
Nexon will develop premium, for-pay services for Neopet, in particular purchasable virtual items, which it helped pioneer and turn into a major part of online gaming in South Korea.
Youngblood tells Billboard.biz that in the United States, Nexon is mostly providing technical knowledge, but in Europe and especially Asia, Nexon’s marketing know-how will be important.
“In Asia, Nexon will work closer with marketing and there will be addition localization, including the effective relaunch in several Asian markets,” he says.
