Nintendo of Korea BASICALLY Shuts Down

Nintendo, despite not being the kind of technical giant that Sony or Microsoft can claim to be, is still such a massive figure in the global market that it's got international headquarters everywhere: Japan, America, Europe... there's even a Korean branch, if you can believe that, which opened up in 2006.

Anyone with any historical knowhow would probably realize that a predominantly japanese company opening a branch in Korea might seem like a strange move: the Koreans are famously anti-Japanese, and there are even laws against depicting Japanese Samurai as anything but villains in popular culture... and yet, up until recently, the headquarters was flourishing, starting with 60 employees and working its way up to 100 in recent years.

But according to Korean game website GameMeca, things have taken a sudden, sharp turn for the big N's prospects in Korea. They're now offering an early retirement program, and perhaps more problematically, their staff has been reduced down to ten people. Now, instead of being a studio branch of Nintendo, the Korean office will focus entirely on the distribution of their products to the Korean audience.

This decision was largely the work of Nintendo's new and largely untested president, Tatsumi Kimishima. We don't know why he chose the Korean branch for closing, but a lack of profitability or potential growth could be a key reason. There aren't even any Wii U's in South Korea, which is problematic, as the console is region locked, meaning importation is impossible.

Regardless of the reason, though, it means Nintendo has lost a not unsubstantial amount of talent. I wonder what it could mean...?