Korean cable operator CJ Hellovision has taken the plunge into cloud gaming via a partnership with Israeli firm Playcast Media, and will offer console-quality video games from the world’s major game publishers to its 3.5mn TV subscribers through their set-top boxes.
The new service will offer an assortment of the industry’s leading game titles in an affordable monthly subscription package, and is hoped to revolutionise Korea’s gaming market, which does not have the penetration of video consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 seen in other markets.
Instead, South Koreans head to the country’s 20,000 Internet cafes to play video games, and the cableco’s Chief Marketing Officer Young-gook Lee hopes that the new service could bring a “historical shift” in the local marketplace.
There are over 100 cable operators in South Korea which together serve around 15mn subscribers, although many of these households pay very small fees to receive just a few channels.
