This post is part of our regular series of interviews with people across Asia-Pacific who’ve caught our eye, using the Internet to create, connect and grow.
Jaejoon Song of Com2uS in Korea
How would you describe Com2Us in one sentence?
We’re a mobile developer and publisher behind some of the world's most popular games including
Summoners War: Sky Arena and
Ace Fishing.
What inspired you to enter the gaming industry?
I've always been a big fan of gaming, art and technology. We started when the Korean gaming industry was being formed in the late 1990s. Client-based black-and-white mobile phones just came onto the market, and we thought we could be successful if we started early enough and grew with the market. Luckily the devices got better with Android smartphones, and global platforms like Google Play have really disrupted distribution methods, enabling us to get to where we are today. We’re now a company with 600 employees.
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| Jaejoon Song speaking at a recent Google event about the possibilities of a Mobile First World |
What has been your biggest challenge?
The industry and technological landscape are constantly changing. Much like a chameleon, we’ve had to transform ourselves along with the market, often completely changing inside and out to keep up or stay ahead. In the beginning, we had to work with fragmented carrier distribution and fragmented platforms like Java and BREW. These issues were resolved when smartphones became popular, but then we had to get used to working on larger screens. Then we had to shift to the $0.99 game and then eventually to Free to Play (where we earn revenue based on in app purchase). Most recently we had to shift totally to 3D and also change from a product-driven company to a service-based company.
What does the future hold for Com2Us?
Our future will be shaped by the creativity of our team — and of course by how the smartphone market and their use changes around us. We want to keep making great games that will bring new experiences to our users. We've been focusing a lot on increasing the quality of all of our games, such as better graphics, and on providing true global service distribution through our four remote offices around the world. In the near future, you'll see more exciting games with better quality graphics coming.
Com2Us has grown into the biggest gaming company in Korea. What advice would you have for entrepreneurs who are just starting out?
Set big goals, never give up and be open to reinventing yourself. We come from a relatively small country on the eastern fringe of Asia, but that didn’t stop up from dreaming of being a global player one day. When we started, we picked a technology niche where we thought we could be a leader some time in the future, and have been working on achieving that goal for more than a decade. Gaming may be the niche that we chose, but there are so many things that can change in this world, and I believe majority of the platforms like Android and Google Play are already here.
Posted by Jaejoon Song, Senior Executive Vice President, Com2uS
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