Android market to open game category for S. Korean users

Google Inc. is nearing an agreement with the South Korean government to start offering mobile game applications on its Android market this month, a lawmaker said Wednesday. Due to regulatory and rating issues, Google shut down the Android market's game category for local users in March, 2010, despite growing sales of Android devices in the country. Before the end of this month, the South Korea government and Google plan to wrap up negotiations to bring game applications to South Korea's Android phone users, according to Jun Byung-hun, the main opposition Democratic Party lawmaker. In opposition to the move by South Korea's game rating agency to rate smartphone game applications, Google suspended its service for game applications nearly 20 months ago. The South Korean government will give a six month period to the game rating board to adopt Google's proposal, if any disagreement arises between the agency and the U.S. company, Jun said. Apple Inc., which also disabled its game category for local users of the iPhone and iPad due to the rating issues, plans to begin negotiations with the government to resume its mobile game market in South Korea, according to the lawmaker.