With over 25 million Wii units sold it’s not difficult to see why Nintendo would want to take their waggling juggernaut completely global. The latest campaign into foreign markets is the monster mmorpg country that is Korea. Nintendo has pushed commercials, billboards, and even got big time Korean celebrity, Won Bin to deliver the Wii experience to gamers. Unfortunately since its launch on April 26th the Wii sold a measly 35,000 in South Korea. Korean gamer, Jang Jae-heung explains why…

“Hard-core gamers don’t like to buy Wii because the Korean version can only play Korean version software titles, which so far are few,” said Jang Jae-heung, a 30-year-old gamer. “Many want to play popular Japanese titles. This is important because it is hard-core gamers who lead the gaming market trend.”

I’m sure Nintendo’s stubborn hold on region locking is a big factor, but is that really an excuse? Should Korean gamers leave their Starcraft infested PCs and try some console gaming, or are they on to something?

Korea Times