Banking on the global power of BLACKPINK as an IP, YG Entertainment will be trying its hand in the game industry.
YG Entertainment, which has a history of unsuccessful ventures, is introducing a game, raising questions about its potential for success. However, this venture, unlike establishing or acquiring a gaming subsidiary, leverages IP (intellectual property), meaning the risk of failure is not as significant.
In particular, on May 5th, YG Entertainment announced that “BLACKPINK The Game (BPTG)”, a mobile game utilizing BLACKPINK’s IP, will be released simultaneously in the global market on May 11th.
“BLACKPINK The Game” allows players to become producers of BLACKPINK and help grow the members. Key content includes puzzles using various photo cards, training members, managing the company, a BLACKPINK world for interacting with BLACKPINK avatars, as well as high-resolution photos and videos shot for the game.
The game’s development and publishing were handled by Take One Company, which invested three years in the development of “BLACKPINK The Game”. The same company introduced a mobile game featuring BTS, titled “BTS World”, in 2019.
This is the first time in two and a half years since November 2020 that YG Entertainment has made a game using their artists, following “Superstar YG”. Although “Superstar YG” is still in service, its recognition among domestic game users is very low.
Relying on the fandom of BLACKPINK, which has grown into global superstars, YG Entertainment is actively promoting the game in foreign markets.
It is interpreted that the plan for a global simultaneous release, rather than launching in the domestic market first and then venturing into the foreign market, is aimed at BLACKPINK’s international fans.
Since March, YG Entertainment and Take One Company have been promoting the game on billboards in major cities worldwide, including Times Square in New York, Tokyo, Paris, Bangkok, and COEX in Seoul.
According to YG Entertainment, “BLACKPINK The Game” surpassed 1 million global pre-registrations, within two days of starting pre-registration. However, it is estimated that this number has not yet reached 2 million.
1 million pre-registrations is not a small number. However, considering this is a global simultaneous release, many believe it’s also not particularly high.
Recently, other game companies’ new mobile games have succeeded in early sales after recruiting 1 million pre-registrants, but these were cases where pre-registrations were received only domestically.
For instance, “Honkai: Star Rail” by miHoYo, which was released globally simultaneously on April 26th, exceeded 10 million global pre-registrations.
Given that BLACKPINK The Game is a puzzle/board game, not a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) or a subculture-style collectible RPG, which are popular in the domestic mobile game market, some believe that it may be difficult to achieve significant success in the domestic market.
There are also views that, while it’s positive that an entertainment planning company is using the IP of its flagship artist to generate income in various ways, YG Entertainment’s past failures in ventures outside of music lower the potential success of “BLACKPINK The Game”.
Previously in 2012, YG Entertainment ventured into its first new business by entering the clothing industry. It established the fashion planning company “Natural Nine” in partnership with Cheil Industries (now Samsung C&T Fashion Division), appointing Yang Min Suk, a representative of YG Entertainment, as the CEO.
Natural Nine launched the casual brand “Nonagon” in September 2014, but after repeatedly running at a loss, it was ultimately liquidated in January 2019.
In 2013, YG Entertainment invested in the film production company “Red Rover” through a third-party allotment paid-in capital increase, but sold it after only one year. In 2014, they ventured into the cosmetics business by launching the brand “Moonshot” through Code Cosme International, a subsidiary of YG Plus.
In the end, YG Entertainment experienced poor performance in the cosmetics business as well, eventually transferring the brand and business rights of Moonshot to the cosmetics manufacturer Cosmax in 2021.
In 2015, they also entered the food business in partnership with Noh Hee Young, the former brand strategy advisor for CJ Group. YG Entertainment established a new corporation called “YG Food” with an investment of 3.5 billion won, but after continuous losses, they sold YG Food in 2019.
In 2017, YG Entertainment acquired 55.26% stake in “Green Works” for 31.5 billion won through YG Plus, thereby entering the golf business. Green Works provides domestic golf course reservation services.
From 2017 to 2020, Green Works had been running at a loss, but returned to profitability in 2021. However, YG Entertainment decided to sell the entire stake in Green Works for 18.7 billion won in April 2022, a price significantly lower than the purchase price.
However, it is assessed that “Blackpink The Game” will not cause a major loss for YG Entertainment.
Unlike HYBE, which announced its entry into the game business by establishing a direct game-related subsidiary, YG Entertainment is only providing Blackpink’s IP, leaving all game development and publishing to Take One Company.
If the game becomes a hit, the licensing revenue YG Entertainment receives will increase, but even if it fails, it won’t become a burden.
Source: Business Post
