From Korea comes word that Xbox 360 piracy has spread across the nation, following in the footsteps of China. This article talks about the effect of piracy in the region, stating that modified Xbox 360 consoles are sold at around 70,000 won (approximately $411 US), with pirated games being sold at 15,000 won, almost a third of the price of original games.

“Hardware sellers hate Microsoft,” said a games store employee as quoted in the article, adding that the sales margin on the console is small and that the company should do more to promote the next-gen console in the country. He also estimates that a little over 10,000 units have been sold in Korea this year.

Seemingly coming out of nowhere is an announcement from Cartoon Network that it is co-operating with Korean game developer Grigon Entertainment on a MMOG.

Dubbed The Cartoon Network MMOG, the game is scheduled for launch in Spring 2008 and will target the television network’s audience of “growing and sophisticated kids.” It will be free to download, with subscription and micro-transactions available to players to enhance the experience. New areas to explore will be added regularly to the game over a span of several years, adding to its gameplay.

Grigon Entertainment is best known for successfully developing and launching several online games in Asia, including Seal Online, a light-hearted RPG. The Cartoon Network MMOG will feature a persistent and expanding world, allowing players to develop their own characters, attributes and possessions. Similar to other MMOGs, the game will also let players meet and interact with other players online, forming virtual friendships and communities. The MMOG will be compliant with the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) seeing as how it will be targeted at highly impressionable kids.

Korea is most often said to be the mecca of gaming, and now, you know why: they have gamer-targeted drinks! Enerzen is the name of the drink which is promoted by its manufacturer directly as a gamerdrink. Thanks to DigitalBattle for the following ad translation:

“All of Youth, It is time for taking Enerzen. While your competitors are sleeping, You, brave new worker(!), should recharge your energy for the win.”

Vivendi has announced that they have licensed Freestyle Street Basketball, a fast-paced online basketball game, for release n North America. Launched in Korea in 2004, and going on to become one of the country’s most popular games, Freestyle focuses on community play, customization and “fun” for all players.

Players will be able to customize and create their own unique player, level up through experience in court and earn points for micro-transactions and more.

No release date was mentioned for the title, but it can be expected sometime later this year.

South Koreans have filed a lawsuit against NCSoft, charging the company for identity theft. Lawyers in the country have filed the lawsuit on behalf of over 230,000 victims, claiming damages of about $1,000 for each plaintiff whose identity was stolen.

The identity thefts took place over the past few months as underground syndicates stole victims’ Korean ID numbers in hacking attacks and used them to register fake accounts in Lineage. These accounts were then ‘farmed’ by low-paid workers in Chinese gaming sweatshops to generate ‘gold’ and other items which were then sold as real-world items for real-world cash.

NCSoft has denied responsibility for the thefts, saying that they registered the accounts in ‘good faith’.