A long-lost friend asks for a “Heart,” probably in a mission to break through the 100,000 point mark. A boss keeps his eyes on an employee because he or she didn’t respond to his request for a “Heart.” What is going on?
20 million people have downloaded this game, and 2 million people are accessing it at the same time. Needless to say, in Korea, “Anipang” is on the rise, wildly popular to people regardless of age and sex.
The amount of download counts for “Anipang” cannot be compared to that of “Angry Bird,” which has chalked up 1 trillion downloads worldwide- but it is still considerably tremendous. The impressive achievement in just two months was made by a small venture corporation named SundayToz which “never expected this many users.”
The success of the game seems to be attributed to its simplicity and wide range of players. The ultimate goal of the game is to simply “pop,” or dispose of, the same characters consecutively lined up horizontally or vertically. Even though it requires great concentration, the playing time lasts only a minute so that people can play at any time, any place. In short, the game is simple, but very addictive.
Yet, the most influential factor of the game is its linkage with the great social network program called KakaoTalk. Users are stimulated to beat not only their own scores but also those of their Kakao friends since their scores are openly ranked. There is also a limit on how many times users can play by using up game money called “Hearts” which can be sent or received through KakaoTalk by Kakao friends.
Following Anipang’s popularity, similar social games are continuously arising to compete with it. Above all, CandyPang is closely threatening the original with its renovating item system.
On the other hand, the popularity should not be blindly appreciated to be solely pleasant, and the side effects should not be considered lightly. The problem lies especially for teenagers and elementary students. Millions of them play the game, which means one without a smart phone can be isolated and derailed from the “trend”. The game point is often regarded as a criterion of status, and there’s also a joke saying that 500,000 points is a requirement in order for a student to be class president. “It should be remembered that those social network games are simple, but still addictive electronic games that need conscious control,” said a cultural commentator.
