BoomBang is based in Barcelona,

OCT. 5, 2010 • Nexon Co., Ltd. has invested in Spanish online game developer BoomBang Games, acquiring 32% of the latter’s shares. Based in Barcelona, BoomBang designs Flash-based titles that encourage social networking and will appeal to Spanish-speaking teens around the world.

Impact: DFC has long predicted the growth of gaming, particularly online gaming, to new geographies and demographics mainly as a function of access which in turn is almost exclusively governed by bringing down language barriers and rollout of broadband.  One of the major goals of South Korean game publishers is to expand their market reach worldwide. With over 500 million Spanish speakers in the world, Nexon is looking ahead at how to bring its free-to-play online business to this large market the gaming industry has generally underserved.  Exports of home-grown franchises would be preferred, yet Nexon’s acquisition of BoomBang is a wise step. Nexon picks up complementary content that it can distribute at home and elsewhere, and at the same gains greater competency in the European market.