South Korea

Korean MMOG developer NCSoft has licensed Unreal Engine 3 for use in upcoming projects. The deal, which Epic Games says is the largest it has ever closed in Asia, means NCSoft will use Unreal Engine 3 in the upcoming Blade&Soul; and future games. More >

Thirteen million user accounts have been compromised after online game MapleStory was hacked, publisher Nexon has confirmed. Nexon discovered last Thursday that data including user IDs, passwords, names and residential registration numbers had been taken, according to the Korea Herald, though only South Korean user accounts were compromised. More >

South Korean gamers under the age of 16 will no longer be able to play online on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 after the government extended its Shutdown Law to cover console services PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. According to Kotaku, the Shutdown Law, which originally covered PC games and forbids under-16s from playing online between midnight and 6am, will also apply to consoles from November 18. More >

Market research firm Newzoo has shown in a new report that the free-to-play MMOG model is increasing in popularity around the world. In the US, free-to-play will account for 47 per cent of the $2.6 billion Newzoo predicts will be spent on MMOGs. Last year, that figure was just 39 per cent. More >

One of PSP's unsung heroes, the DJMax series, is headed to PlayStation Vita, according to Siliconera. Korean developer Pentavision is to bring its turntablism game DJMax Technika - first released in Korean arcades in 2008 - to Vita, using both front and rear touch controls.

Unity Technologies, provider of the increasingly popular Unity game development platform, has announced plans to launch a subsidiary in South Korea. Led by country manager William Hugo Yang, a former analyst and consultant in the Korean gaming industry, Unity Korea will serve as a localisation and support centre for future Unity expansion in the country. Yang said: "As the Korean development community continues to grow, we will provide our expanding Korean user base fully localised tools and documentation, as well as dedicated technical support." Unity CEO David Helgason added: "Our strong following in the Korean developer community tells us that Unity is the perfect solution for Korea's dynamic games industry, which requires a cross platform solution enabling casual, MMORPG, mobile, PC and console games development on current and emerging platforms." Earlier this month Unity secured $12 million in a Series B financing round, part of which the firm said would be used to help it push into the Asian market.

Despite suffering losses of more than $3.2 billion during the last financial year and the PlayStation Network security breach, Sony remains Asia's most valued brand. That’s according to a survey by market research firm TNS, which polled over 3,300 people between the ages of 15 and 64 across ten regional markets in Asia. Electronics companies Samsung, Panasonic, LG and Canon followed Sony, all retaining their top five spots from last year. "I think we often find it's the everyday brands that come out on top in this survey," said Atifa Hargrave-Silk, editorial director of brand media Asia for Haymarket media, who sponsored the survey. "It's not a reflection of Asia's love affair with luxury brands.” TNS commercial director Thomas Isaac added: "Luxury brands, by definition are not mass market products. In most Asian countries, the man on the street has not heard of Louis Vuitton, but he has heard of Sony."

Crytek's shooter was released in 2007, and seemed destined to forever remain PC-exclusive. Kotaku reports that the ever-premature Korean Ratings Board - which last week outed the PSN conversion of Limbo - has rated the game for Xbox 360. South Korean gaming site Inven claims to have had confirmation from EA Korea that Crysis is indeed headed to Microsoft's console, with a release date still to be announced.

Game Set Watch has spotted a Korean Ratings Board listing for Danish studio Playdead’s game, which was released on Xbox Live Arcade last July. The board’s website claims Sony Computer Entertainment Korea submitted the game for classification, so it appears a PSN release may be on the cards. We’ve contacted Playdead for comment.