Neowiz
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| Type | Public (KRXQ: 042420) | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 | |
| Location | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Industry | Online Games, Internet, Social Networking Service | |
| Products | Pmang, SayClub, JukeOn, OneChoo | |
| Employees | 800 (Including subsidiary studios) (2007) | |
| Website | [1] | |
| Korean name | ||
| Hangul | 네오위즈 | |
Contents |
[edit] Company history
Neowiz(KOSDAQ: 042420) is an internet and online game service company in South Korea founded in 1997. In 1998, Neowiz released the world’s first automatic internet access software, One Click which helped users skip different settings for internet access through dial-ups. One Click software brought 3 million new users who were computer novices to the Internet.[1]
Neowiz launched the first Korean SNS website, SayClub in June 1999. This service grew rapidly to 20 million registered members and 500,000 simultaneous users by 2003. Neowiz initiated the concept of online identity by virtual image with personalities so the users can choose their own characters. In 2000, Neowiz launched a service called Avatar and received overwhelming response from users. After the beta-service, Neowiz made Avatar as paid service where users have to purchase items like cloths and hairdo of their virtual character.[2]
In 2003, Neowiz began focusing heavily on online games by launching a casual game portal, Pmang. After going through some aggressive mergers and acquisitions the company currently owns various game developing studios such as Dragonfly Co. Ltd. Dragonfly’s FPS game, Special Force was ranked as the most popular game for 79 weeks straight in the online game community since its launch in 2004.[3] Other popular online games by Neowiz are A.V.A, Cross Fire, War Lord and SEALS Online. Neowiz launched EA Sports FIFA Online in 2007. Currently all these games are serviced through the Pmang website.
Neowiz also has its own online music streaming service called JukeOn. It was one of the first legit free online music service in South Korea. Its service started in November 2003 as SayClub’s supplement music service and became an independent music portal in August 2004. JukeOn offers streaming services, MP3 downloads, M/V, music broadcasting, blogging and music search.
As of June 5, 2007, the Company invested in Neowiz Games Asia Co. and Neowiz Games Asia Limited.
Neowiz opened a social shopping information site called OneChoo on October 22, 2007.
[edit] Neowiz Games
| Genre | Games |
|---|---|
| FPS/TPS | Special Force, Alliance of Valiant Arms, Cross Fire, S4 League |
| Sports/Racing | EA Sports FIFA Online 1, EA Sports FIFA Online 2, Slugger, Ray City, XL1, Shot Online |
| RPG | War Lord, Decaron, Silk Road, SEALs Online |
| Arcade/Action | Duel Gate, Perfect KO, Pokie Pokie, Sasunmu |
| Board/Casual | Gostop, Poker, Rumi Cube, Baduk, Chess, Omok, Sanghai etc. |
[edit] Other Neowiz Services
- SayClub – Social Networking Service
- Jukeon – Online Music Service
- LiveCAST – Internet Push Service
- OneClick – Internet Access Service
- eGames – Online Game Access Service
- OneClickPay – Online Payment Service
- OneChoo – Social Shopping Information Service
[edit] References
- ^ Neowiz Corporate Site, PR Section (Flash). Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ Korea's Consumer Power (HTML). KT&I. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ `Special Force' Tops in PC Game Rooms (HTML). Korea Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
