Blade & Soul Topples Anipang to Nab Korea's Greatest Gaming Award

Published on 2012/11/24 | Source

The 2012 Korea Game Awards took place this month at the Busan Exhibition and Cultural Center. NCsoft's online game Blade & Soul beat out Sundaytoz's Anipang to win the biggest prize: the Presidential Award.

The viral hit game, Anipang, was initially called a heavy favorite to win the coveted prize. It contrasted greatly with Blade & Soul because it was a low-budget puzzle game for mobile devices.

On the other hand, Blade & Soul was a complex martial-arts themed fantasy game. Players could get lost in the texturally-rich graphics and mesmerizing story. It took over 5 years and 50 billion won to create and had a robust performance in the rankings.

It didn't hurt that NCsoft threw its weight behind Blade & Soul to aggressively promote and market the game to fans. According to game research agency Gametrics, Blade & Soul took second-place in game rankings for over three months at internet cafes.

Photo Credit: http://bit.ly/RdvgK6

Blade & Soul also won three other awards in the technical' category for Game Graphics, Game Character, and Game Sound. It goes to show you how much sweat was put into the technical aspects of the gaming experience.

Photo Credit: http://bit.ly/RdvgK6

So Blade & Soul now has an award-winning pedigree. If you're curious to know more about the intricate fantasy world, characters, and story of the game, read this first!

About the author by Anna Sohn

I'm a New Jersey girl with a lifelong fascination with Korea, my motherland. In 2011, I moved to Seoul and I've enjoyed living in this wired and fast-paced city ever since. I'm excited to share the latest tech and design developments I encounter in Korea and hope you enjoy the AT&D blog as much I enjoy writing for it!

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