Japan’s decline in dominance in the gaming industry and Korea’s subsequent rise has had far reaching impacts, both regionally and globally. As mentioned before, Japan’s laws prohibiting gaming for money heavily dissuaded Japanese youth from pursuing professional gaming careers. This had an added effect of impeding Japan’s ability to be a major player in the global gaming stage. Korean gaming teams, on the other hand, consistently rank among the best gamers in the world, not only bringing gaming more mainstream popularity, but also furthering the reputation of the Korean gaming industry (PC World). As a result of Korea’s strong gaming infrastructure, other East Asian countries, like Taiwan and China, rely on Korea companies heavily when developing their own games and products (Chan, 2006). This is another example of the Korean Wave of cultural media products that has permeated through much of Asia and the world, leading to the further spread of an odorless, hybrid Asian culture with worldwide appeal.

Sword Art Online, a popular Japanese anime and light novel, is a prime example of the kinds of hybrid cultural products that permeate through the world and also represents how ubiquitous gaming has become as a form of mainstream media. Sword Art Online follows the story of a skilled gamer, Kirito, who has become trapped in a Virtual Reality MMORPG game along with 10,000 other gamers. The added stipulation that in-game death will lead to death in real life allows this anime to explore many of the themes explored in class such as escapism of real world problems to virtual realms, empowerment of youth through games, garnering social status through skill, and that virtual interactions can be just as significant as real world interactions. The fact that Japan has produced an anime about MMO video games, even though it historically has had very little interest in producing MMO games, shows Korea’s influence in the gaming industry. Its odorless setting and characters from various backgrounds have allowed it to sell 16 million copies of the light novel worldwide, indicating it’s widespread commercial success not only in East Asian countries, but also throughout the Western world (Anime News Network).

Citations:

Chan, D. (2006). Negotiating Intra-Asian Games Networks: On Cultural Proximity, East Asian Games Design, and Chinese Farmers. The Fibreculture Journal.

Sword Art Online Light Novels Have More Than 16.7 Million Copies in Print Worldwide. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-12-19/sword-art-online-light-novels-have-more-than-16.7-million-copies-in-print-worldwide/.82398

Why gamers in Asia are the world's best eSport athletes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://www.pcworld.com/article/2036844/why-gamers-in-asia-are-the-worlds-best-esport-athletes.html