S. Korea computer game giant takes on US mobile market

LOS ANGELES: South Korea-based WeMade Entertainment went shoulder-to-shoulder Wednesday with titans at the E3 videogame extravaganza in Los Angeles with games designed to bring computer-quality play to smartphones or tablets.

The 12-year-old company behind massively-multiplayer-online-role-player-game (MMORPG) "Legend of Mir" planned to ride into the US market on the back of the mobile gadget lifestyle.

The game has been a hit in Asia, particularly in China, and boasts more than 100 million players.

"A little more than two years ago our company had an epiphany where mobile phones and tablets would dominate the game platform of the future," WeMade chief financial officer Gene Kim said at the E3 videogame fair in LA.

"We want to be a vanguard to blur the line between PC (personal computer) and mobile games."

WeMade promised 20 mobile games this year, including an MMORPG called "Project Dragon: The Roar from the Dungeon," a Viking-themed game with social networking components and a "Rhythm Scandal" title with "glitz, glam and music."

Peeks at the budding WeMade mobile games line-up for gadgets powered by Apple or Google-backed Android software were available at facebook.com/WeSocial.

"With our aim to become the Number One global game company, we believe our mobile game line-up will bring unforeseen changes in the industry throughout the globe," WeMade chief executive Namgung Hun said.

WeMade is wading into a fiercely competitive arena for mobile games, with videogame industry giants such as Electronic Arts battling for player's time and money with Internet age hot shots such as Zynga and Gree.