As well as being one of the few communist states left,
North Korea is considered to be the most totalitarian and isolated country in the world,
with almost no cultural influence from the rest of the planet.
However, this may be changing, due to the rising amount of Chinese portable media players or
‘Notels’ being brought into the country. But despite this rise in consumption
of foreign movies and TV shows, there does not seem to be much of a black
market for video games in the hermit kingdom; so, I wanted to know, what is gaming
like in North Korea? Well, for starters,
every single type of media in the country is tightly controlled by the government,
and it is amongst the most strictly controlled in the world.
The constitution purportedly provides for freedom of speech and the press.
However, the government prohibits the exercise of these rights in practice,
unless it is in praise of the country, its government and its leader.
The citizens of North Korea are segregated from each other;
with the wealthier residing in the capital, Pyongyang,
while the less fortunate live in the countryside. This means that it is mostly the wealthy and
high up party officials that can legally obtain media from outside the country.
This lines up with reports about life in Pyongyang, one of which mentions Super
Mario Kart being one of the only games available, most likely played on bootleg or pirated consoles,
or less likely, a PAL Super Nintendo, as NTSC South Korean Super Nintendos,
or Super Comboys as they are known in the South, will not work with the PAL North Korean TV sets.
One brand of bootleg systems known to be used in North Korea is the
‘Micro Genius’ series of bootleg consoles. These consoles, produced in Taiwan,
are imitations of the NES and SNES consoles, and play pirated games such as Super Mario
Brothers and Super Mario World, as well as some original titles
developed by TXC Corporation or Idea-Tec. Nintendo games seem to be more widely available
than some other types of games in the North, as one documentary shows some North Koreans
playing the original Super Mario Brothers, as well as Duck Hunt on Microgenius systems.
However, it is not known whether or not this was staged, or if North Koreans do
have access to these games all the time. As for games developed in the USA, they will have
a hard time being played in the hermit kingdom, as watching or even just being in possession USA
produced media is punishable by death. One game in particular that seems to be
exempt from this rule, though, is Terminator Salvation, released
in 2009 for several different platforms. Even if North Korea does not have a thriving
home console scene, mobiles are becoming more and more accessible in the Hermit Kingdom,
and there have been a couple reports showing North Koreans playing mobile games.
However, these games can only be installed on a phone at a special electronics store, as there
is no access to mobile app stores available. One of the most popular mobile games in the
country is a game called ‘Boy General’, a game based on a North Korean cartoon of the same name.
As well as ‘Boy General’, North Korea has also started to develop more games themselves,
instead of just importing bootleg and pirated games and consoles.
Many of these games appear to be propaganda-based games for Desktop computers,
where the main objective is to beat up or kill political figures from South Korea,
Japan and the United States. A racing game by the name of
‘Pyongyang Racer’ released in 2012, is one of the DPRK’s most recent video games,
although it has been panned by critics for it’s buggy nature, sub-par graphic and audio design,
along with frequent English grammar mistakes. North Korea has also recently released
another game, named ‘Hunting Yankee’, a propaganda shooter where the objective
is to shoot United States soldiers. The North Korean Advanced Technology
Research Institute also reportedly finished developing three games in August 2017,
using the titles “Confrontation war”, “Guardian”, and “Goguryeo battlefield”,
said North Korean news website NKNews. Players of “Confrontation war” must
destroy enemy submarines using depth bombs, nuclear bombs and anti-submarine rockets,
while “Guardian” allows users to simulate naval warfare with cannons,
multiple rocket launchers and mines. “Goguryeo battlefield” is unusual compared
to the other two, in that it is a historical game set on the battlefields of Ancient Korea.
Arcades also seem to be a popular form of gaming in the North,
with there being arcades within the capital, as well as this reported arcade in a more
rural part of the country, which seems to feature many old games such as Boot
Hill which originally released in 1977, Aero City as well as Yie Ar Kung Fu.
This North Korean video also shows SEGA arcade game ‘Let’s Go Jungle!’,
as well as some other arcade units that seem to be North Korean.
It is also reported that in 2013, a new arcade opened up on Rungna Islet in Pyongyang.
Despite all of the censorship shat occurs in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,
it appears that some forms of video games, mostly American and Japanese have managed
to sneak into the country through China, and it seems that the DPRK
is expanding their own video game industry, although it remains to be seen whether or not
any North Korean games will be produced for non-political reasons and gain any
kind of popularity outside of North Korea, and as their neighbour to the south prohibits
the consumption of North Korean media, it is unlikely that these games will ever
gain a foothold across the border, not just because of the ban on North Korean media,
but also because of the high-quality games already available in South Korea without restrictions.
This is one of the main problems the emerging North Korean market faces;
The handful of poorly developed propaganda games from the North cannot compete with the abundance
of high-quality Triple-A games currently available in South Korea and the rest of the world.
It seems that for a long time yet, North Korea will not be able to make any significant
contribution to the games industry. Thanks for watching this video about
gaming in North Korea. If you liked this video,
subscribe for more videos about gaming in different countries in the future.
If you want to learn more about how communist countries have influenced the games industry,
check out this video on communist influenced in Tetris, the Soviet Union’s most famous game.
If you’re also a fan of outlandish conspiracy theories,
last Marxist March we also took a look at why Minecraft is communist,
analysing various aspects of the game.
Just click the card on screen to check it out.
[English subtitles by Kaihatsu]