G-Star ends in success despite COVID-19

South Korea’s largest game festival G-Star came to an end on Sunday. During the opening ceremony of the four-day event, which was held without fans due to COVID-19, Korean alphabet “ㅉ (ssang jieut)” plastered the comment section as fans left it to give a virtual round of applause.

Although the venue was calm and quiet unlike at last year’s event that attracted more than 200,000 people, fans showed as much enthusiasm online.

The organizing committee of G-Star said Tuesday that the live streaming of the event on Twitch, a video live streaming service, and e-sports channels had 1,573,805 views. The unique number of views stood at 910,088, a significant jump from the highest record of 244,000, which was set last year.

It has been met with a positive response. Some said they would buy tickets to the online event as it offers a variety of programs, while others said it was easier for those who do not live in Busan.

Much attention was paid to new games that will soon be released. WeMade, the main sponsor of the event this year, announced details about “Mir 4” including its launch date. “Mir 4” is a mobile game based on the company’s main intellectual property, “The Legend of Mir 2,” which has been played by 500 million people across the world. “Twenty years ago, “The Legend of Mir 2” swept the world by storm including China,” said WeMade CEO Jeong Hyeon-guk. “Mir 4 will help us to reach the global audience as a leading South Korean game company.” The company said more than three million people have registered pre-launch, and G-Star helped to promote the new game.


yes@donga.com