"PC Bang" in South Korea. Wikipedia
With the bad press South Korea has been getting over what many have labeled as “gaming addition,” two new policies have been announced in an attempt to restrict underage access to online gaming after midnight, according to the Korea Herald.
Called a “nighttime shutdown” the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism intends to snuff out gaming addiction among teens, and hopes these measures will help. Underage users will be forced out of gaming sessions by shutting down online access the moment midnight strikes. There will also be what is called a “slowdown” system in effect, whereby internet connection speeds will lag significantly should an underage user be logged on for more than a certain amount of time.
Gamers will be given three time options for their six hour curfew: Midnight to 6 a.m., 1-7a.m., and 2-8 a.m.
These policies are being applied to popular titles such as Maple Story and Mabinogi during the second half of this year. The slowdown system is being applied to a total of four RPGs including Dragons Nest and Dungeon Fighter, but will be extended to 19 titles in total, which the Korean Herald reports is over 79% of the domestic online game market.
Further countermeasures will be put in place to prevent underage players from using their parents Resident Registration Number to set up online accounts. A Resident Registration Number would be the equivalent of a Social Security number here in the United States: its a thirteen digit number all residents of South Korea are issued, and is very heavily used online for identity verification and the like. This is why it’s so bloody hard to get into a Korean Closed Beta test; RRN’s aren’t easy to come by for foreigners.
While the issue of addiction is becoming more and more outrageous in South Korea, (perhaps the most notorious incident being the parents who neglected their daughter to her death while raising a virtual child), it still seems like a line has been crossed. Sure, taking a stance against addiction is admirable, but restricting a person’s freedom is not. To make matters worse, these policies only apply to people under the age of 18, which means adults can still be as irresponsible as they wish. A good analogy would be how the selling of alcohol is restricted to certain hours of the day. It’s a good idea, but it doesn’t solve alcohol addiction.
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Research.(Illustration)
Daily Variety July 11, 2005
Market share by studio
OVERALL Total: $10.53 billion
Represents consumer spending on DVD and VHS purchases and rentals.
Warner ** $2.11 bil. 20.0% Disney * $1.76 bil. 16.7% Uni *** $1.57 bil. 14.9% Fox $1.40 bil. 13.3% Sony $1.12 bil. 10.6% Par $1.01 bil. 9.6% Other $729 mil. 6.9% MGM $479 mil. 4.5% Lions Gate $353 mil. 3.4%
CATALOG DVD SALES
Total: $3.25 billion
Warner ** $700 mil. 21.6% Fox $533 mil. 16.4% Disney * $364 mil. 11.2% Par $345 mil. 10.6% Uni *** $342 mil. 10.5% Sony $333 mil. 10.3% Other $335 mil. 10.0% MGM $232 mil. 7.1% Lions Gate $61 mil. 1.9%
NEW RELEASE DVD SALES
Total: $3.72 billion
Disney * $856 mil. 23.0% Warner ** $760 mil. 20.4% Uni *** $668 mil. 17.9% Fox $397 mil. 10.7% Par $389 mil. 10.5% Sony $361 mil. 9.7% Other $119 mil. 3.2% Lions Gate $91 mil. 2.4% MGM $80 mil. 2.1%
TOTAL DVD SALES
Total: $6.97 billion
Warner ** $1.46 bil. 20.9% Disney * $1.22 bil. 17.5% Uni *** $1.01 bil. 14.5% Fox $930 mil. 13.4% Par $734 mil. 10.5% Sony $694 mil. 10.0% Other $454 mil. 6.5% MGM $312 mil. 4.5% Lions Gate $152 mil. 2.1%
Source: DVD Exclusive research; year-to-date.
All $ figures represent U.S. consumer spending.
* Includes Miramax/Dimension
** Includes New Line and HBO
*** Includes DreamWorks
Note: Table made from pie chart.
TOP OVERALL YEAR-TO-DATE (ranked by DVD sales rev.)
DVD Release sales Title (Label/distributor) date B.O. rev.
1 The Incredibles (Dis) 3/15 $261 $267 2 Shark Tale (DW/Uni) 2/8 160 147 3 National Treasure (Dis) 5/3 173 130 4 Meet the Fockers (Uni) 4/19 280 121 5 Ray (Uni) 2/1 75 115 6 Troy (WB) 1/4 133 95 7 Notebook (NL/WB) 2/8 81 93 8 Bambi: Special Edition (Dis) 3/1 — 86 9 AVP: Alien vs. Predator (Fox) 1/25 80 74 10 Ladder 49 (Dis) 3/8 75 70 11 Friday Night Lights (Uni) 1/18 61 67 12 Lemony Snicket’s (Par) 4/26 119 65 13 The Village (Dis) 1/11 114 61 14 Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) 12/21/04 45 60 15 Ocean’s Twelve (WB) 4/12 126 59 16 SpongeBob Movie (Par) 3/1 85 57 17 The Aviator (WB) 5/24 103 54 18 Finding Neverland (Mir/Dis) 3/22 52 52 19 Shall We Dance? (2004, Mir/Dis) 2/1 58 51 20 The Grudge (Sony) 2/1 110 48 newreleasedvdnow.net new release dvd
All rentals plus VHS sales Title (Label/distributor) rev. Total
1 The Incredibles (Dis) $47 $314 2 Shark Tale (DW/Uni) 46 193 3 National Treasure (Dis) 53 183 4 Meet the Fockers (Uni) 57 178 5 Ray (Uni) 52 167 6 Troy (WB) 48 143 7 Notebook (NL/WB) 50 143 8 Bambi: Special Edition (Dis) 7 93 9 AVP: Alien vs. Predator (Fox) 32 106 10 Ladder 49 (Dis) 55 125 11 Friday Night Lights (Uni) 49 116 12 Lemony Snicket’s (Par) 33 98 13 The Village (Dis) 46 107 14 Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) 40 100 15 Ocean’s Twelve (WB) 41 100 16 SpongeBob Movie (Par) 23 80 17 The Aviator (WB) 28 82 18 Finding Neverland (Mir/Dis) 35 87 19 Shall We Dance? (2004, Mir/Dis) 42 93 20 The Grudge (Sony) 36 84
Source: DVD Exclusive research; $ in millions, total U.S. consumer spending on titles released since Jan. 3, 2005
TOP RENTERS: YEAR-TO-DATE (ranked by DVD rev.)
Release DVD Title (Label/distributor) date B.O. rev.
1 Meet the Fockers (DW/Uni) 4/19 $275.0 $46.28 2 Ladder 49 (Dis) 3/8 $73.7 $45.06 3 Without a Paddle (Par) 1/11 $57.2 $44.32 4 National Treasure (Dis) 5/3 $169.8 $44.03 5 The Notebook (NL/WB) 2/8 $81.0 $41.03 6 Ray (Uni) 2/1 $69.3 $40.79 7 Troy (WB) 1/4 $133.3 $41.10 8 Friday Night Lights (Uni) 1/18 $57.3 $39.54 9 The Forgotten (Sony) 1/18 $66.0 $38.54 10 The Village (Dis) 1/11 $114.1 $36.01 11 Taxi (Fox) 2/15 $36.1 $35.26 12 Saw (LG) 2/15 $54.9 $35.38 13 Ocean’s Twelve (WB) 4/12 $125.3 $36.21 14 Flight of the Phoenix (Fox) 3/1 $16.7 $35.14 15 Shall We Dance? (2004, Mir/Dis) 2/1 $56.4 $33.18 16 Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) 12/21/04 $37.6 $33.36 17 The Incredibles (Dis) 3/15 $251.7 $33.24 18 Cellular (NL/WB) 1/18 $31.7 $33.13 19 Spanglish (Sony) 4/5 $42.0 $32.55 20 The Grudge (Sony) 2/1 $109.9 $30.92
VHS rev. Total Title (Label/distributor) $7.92 $54.21 1 Meet the Fockers (DW/Uni) $7.84 $52.90 2 Ladder 49 (Dis) $7.24 $51.55 3 Without a Paddle (Par) $6.32 $50.35 4 National Treasure (Dis) $9.30 $50.33 5 The Notebook (NL/WB) $7.87 $48.66 6 Ray (Uni) $6.88 $47.99 7 Troy (WB) $7.16 $46.69 8 Friday Night Lights (Uni) $5.69 $44.22 9 The Forgotten (Sony) $6.79 $42.79 10 The Village (Dis) $6.60 $41.86 11 Taxi (Fox) $5.98 $41.36 12 Saw (LG) $4.53 $40.75 13 Ocean’s Twelve (WB) $5.56 $40.70 14 Flight of the Phoenix (Fox) $7.10 $40.29 15 Shall We Dance? (2004, Mir/Dis) $6.50 $39.87 16 Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) $6.43 $39.66 17 The Incredibles (Dis) $6.44 $39.57 18 Cellular (NL/WB) $3.78 $36.34 19 Spanglish (Sony) $4.56 $35.48 20 The Grudge (Sony)
Source: Rentrak Corp.’s Home Video Essentials; $ in millions, U.S.
consumer spending on rentals of titles released since Jan. 3, 2005
TOP-SELLING DVD CATALOG TITLES YEAR-TO-DATE
Title (Label/Distributor) Released Revenue
1 Star Wars Trilogy (Fox) 9/21/04 $53.1 2 Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) 12/21/04 19.3 3 Attack of the Clones (Fox) 11/12/02 14.3 4 Passion of the Christ (Fox) 8/31/04 13.1 5 Family Guy: Seasons 1&2 (Fox) 4/15/03 12.9 6 Chappelle’s Show: Season 1 (Par) 2/24/04 12.1 7 The Phantom Menace (Fox) 10/16/01 11.7 8 24: Season 1 (Fox) 9/17/02 11.6 9 Day After Tomorrow (Fox) 10/12/04 11.5 10 Shrek 2 (Dw/Uni) 11/5/04 11.0 11 The O.C.: Season 1 (WB) 10/26/04 10.5 12 Band of Brothers (HBO/WB) 11/5/02 10.1 13 Garfield: The Movie (Fox) 10/19/04 10.0 14 Family Guy: Season 3 (Fox) 9/9/03 9.6 15 Die Hard: Ultimate Collection (Fox) 7/10/01 9.5 newreleasedvdnow.net new release dvd
Source: DVD Exclusive research; $ in millions, U.S. consumer spending since Jan. 3, 2005, on purchase of DVDs in stores at least 12 weeks
TOP-SELLING TV TITLES ON DVD YEAR-TO-DATE
Title (Label/Distributor) Released Revenue
1 Chappelle’s Show: Season 2 (Par) 5/24 $55.1 2 Friends: Season 9 (WB) 3/8 25.9 3 The Sopranos: Season 5 (HBO/WB) 6/7 22.8 4 Seinfeld: Season 4 (Sony) 5/17 22.3 5 Sex and City: Season 6 Pt. 2 (HBO/WB) 12/28/04 20.7 6 Deadwood: Season 1 (HBO/WB) 2/8 17.6 7 Charmed: Season 1 (Par) 2/1 15.6 8 South Park: Season 5 (Par) 2/22 15.3 9 The Simpsons: Season 5 (Fox) 12/21/04 14.9 10 Seinfeld: Seasons 1&2 (Sony) 11/23/04 13.3 11 The O.C.: Season 1 (WB) 10/26/04 13.0 12 Family Guy: Seasons 1&2 (Fox) 4/15/03 12.9 13 One Tree Hill: Season 1 (WB) 1/25 12.5 14 Chappelle’s Show: Season 1 (Par) 2/24/04 12.1 15 24: Season 3 (Fox) 12/7/04 11.9
Source: DVD Exclusive research; $ in millions, U.S. consumer spending since Jan. 3, 2005, on purchase of DVDs
TOP DVD PREMIERE MOVIES YEAR-TO-DATE
Title (Label/Distributor) Released Revenue
1 Mulan 2 (Dis) 2/1 $59.5 2 Tarzan 2 (Dis) 6/14 23.1 3 Aladdin: 2&3 Collection (Dis) 1/18 18.9 4 Barbie: Fairytopia (LG) 3/8 14.9 5 Blue Collar … Rides Again (Par) 12/7/04 14.6 6 The Sandlot 2 (Fox) 5/3 13.0 7 Aloha, Scooby-Doo! (WB) 2/8 12.5 8 LBT: Invasion of Tinysauruses (Uni) 1/11 11.1 9 Lion King 2 (Dis) 8/31/04 9.3 10 Into the Sun (Sony) 2/15 8.7 11 Wake of Death (Sony) 12/28/04 7.9 12 Balto 3: Wings of Change (Uni) 2/1 6.2 13 Barbie … Princess and Pauper (LG) 9/28/04 5.9 14 Control (Sony) 2/16 5.8 15 Pokemon: Destiny Deoxys (Mir/Dis) 2/15 5.6
Source: DVD Exclusive research; $ in millions, U.S. consumer spending since Jan. 3, 2005, on purchases and rentals of DVD and VHS
