This photo provided by South Korean professional League of Legends team Nongshim RedForce, shows its PC Arena outlet.
SEOUL, July 24 (Korea Bizwire) – Once regarded as a declining industry due to the gaming industry’s mobile transition and the COVID-19 pandemic, internet cafes, known as “PC bangs” in Korean, are now transforming into new cultural spaces through partnerships with the e-sports industry.
E-sports team Nongshim Redforce launched an internet cafe brand called Redforce PC Arena last month and opened a flagship store in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province.
The new store, established in collaboration with internet cafe business NU PC, consists of a space for enjoying games and a store where fans of the gaming team can purchase various merchandise.
“Franchise stores can create earnings by leveraging the team brand, while the team can expand its fan base and explore additional business models by using internet cafes as a platform, thus creating a win-win structure,” said an official from Nongshim Redforce.
T1 Entertainment & Sports (T1), a joint venture between South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and U.S. entertainment firm Comcast Spectacor LLC, also opened an internet cafe, T1 Base Camp, near Hongik University Station in May, leveraging its team brand.
T1 plans to stage team marketing at the internet cafe and launch a program in collaboration with the e-sports academy it currently operates.
SBXG, the operator of the e-sports team LSB, is running a large internet cafe called Portal in a bustling area around Sinnonhyeon Station.
The active collaboration between e-sports game teams and internet cafes is an attempt to explore new income sources.
A substantial number of domestic e-sports game teams have remained in the red for an extended period.
The internet cafe industry, which once led the domestic gaming culture, is now in a desperate situation to create new income sources.
According to data from the Korea Creative Content Agency, the number of internet cafes across the country slipped to 9,265 in 2021 from 21,547 in 2009.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
