by N Rumas - 03.05.07
It hasn’t been long since Nintendo of Korea got the ball rolling, but already things are looking good: The DS lite is readily available at any neighborhood Lotte Mart or E-Mart, not a day goes by on the Seoul Metro when I don’t see at least two or three people playing Brain Age, and my pal’s shop is constantly getting DS inquiries. This is great news, as six months ago, Nintendo only existed in people’s memories, and just barely at that.
The official release of New Super Mario Bros. is coming this week, and as such, things should start to pick up even more. The buzz on the title is already strong, since when it comes to games, Koreans love nothing more than the original SMB. Everyone knows it, even if they don’t know of the company who made it. I think the game may even sell out, though that may be a stretch. We’ll see.
Hit the link below to check out NOK’s (I love saying that) cute little NSMB mini-site. The above pic, taken from it, translates like this: “Mario’s venue is the Mushroom Kingdom!” Right on. Nice to see some Nintendo love over here for a change 
I’ve said it before. If Nintendo can get Blizzard to port Starcraft to the DS, the system will sell like crazy in Korea. Seems like a no-brainer.
Tim Clark - 03.05.07 12:50 pm
Bah, the Smash Bros story is gone. Confirmed that it was fake?
Duderdude2 - 03.05.07 1:07 pm
I’m glad the Korean mafia didn’t break your kneecaps for your Nintendo report six months ago, N Rumas!
Shih Tzu - 03.05.07 2:02 pm
What rumas didn’t tell you is that he wrote this story at gun point…and he had to chop a finger off.
Drew Kora - 03.05.07 3:08 pm
The smash brothers story is gone because, apparently, it was older than time. Sorry guys! Lack of sleep + posting = bad news
Mitch - 03.05.07 5:17 pm
That’s awesome. I’m hoping Nintendo leans on the proper people to get a Kart Rider DS made, that’d be huge.
pete - 03.05.07 5:38 pm
Now if only Nintendo would do the same for other nations of the world which don’t have a Nintendo to help them.
Kenofthedead - 03.05.07 7:59 pm
Kart Rider DS? Nah. What Nintendo really needs to do is sue the makers of that game for copyright infringement. The hardcore console gaming crowd in Korea treats KR like the plague, saying it’s a total MK rip-off. Which it is.
N Rumas - 03.06.07 1:09 am
I did notice a nice selection of DS lites in each color at my friendly neighborhood EMart the other day. I was tempted to pick up a black one, as when I left the US at the start of the year, they were still impossible to find. Only two games were on display … Brain Age and maybe an English training game. So, it was still dwarfed by the PSP section. But it is a start!
And playing Phoenix Wright while waiting for the metro is apparently intriguing to school children …
kVn - 03.06.07 5:09 am
Oh yeah it totally is, either that or MK properly marketed could be a huge seller over there though.
pete - 03.06.07 8:39 am
Nick, where’s your friend’s shop? I brought my DS Lite with me (haven’t had time to play it yet, just started school this week).
amanaplan - 03.07.07 4:43 am
my pal’s shop is in the underground mall under uijeongbu station up north on line 1. he doesn’t have much stuff at all, but he can get most stuff overnight. yongsan’s your best bet for everything, but i can’t stand the shysters over there.
N Rumas - 03.07.07 8:52 am