''Anipang'' is a South Korean mobile puzzle game available through Cyworld Appstore and Naver Social Apps. ''Anipang'' is a

social network game A social network game (sometimes simply referred to as a social media game, social gaming, social video game or online social game) is a type of online game that is played through social networks or social media. They typically feature multiplayer ...

in which users compete with each other. It was developed by SundayToz. Service began on 11 October 2012, and within 74 days, the game had been downloaded more than 20 million times, making it the first South Korean game to achieve that milestone. On the strength of popularity, Sunday Toz has released a sequel titled "''Anipang 2''". This game is under consideration for entering the North American market.

Cause of popularity

The first aspect is that this game is a short-term game, with sessions lasting one minute. Therefore, this game is good for passing the time when commuting or going outside to subways or bus stations. The second aspect relates to

social networking service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...

s. This game is based on the Kakao Talk system, so users can send messages to their friends related on kakaotalk friends. Also, ''Anipang''s structure is simple and middle-aged people prefer to play this game.

Controversy and influence

''Anipang'' has been criticised by mass media in South Korea, because its basic structure is very similar to other mobile games. As a result, mass media and broadcasting people have accused the developers of copying other companies' ideas. Another controversy has arisen over the gambling system; for example, ''Anipang: The Sichuan'' has a structure similar to the game of

mahjong Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: ) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-play ...

. and there are other problems because of the bug. This bug programme causes the high score to rise automatically.

Impact

This game was released in 2011 and became popular in South Korea mobile market, because ''Anipang'' is the first mobile game based on a social networking system in that market. There were over 5,000,000 users in 2011, and more people took part in and enjoyed this game after years. There are now over 20,000,000 users, the highest number of users in the mobile game market in South Korea. The stock price of the developer SundayToz has risen rapidly over the past three years. Sunday Toz has opened an ''Anipang'' pop-up store in a department store in South Korea. In 2015, ''Anipang'' 2 entered the overseas mobile market, reaching countries such as Japan and China. The community application '

Line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

' helped to spread ''Anipang''.

Sequels

The first sequel to the original ''Anipang'', ''Anipang Sanghai'', had a game structure based on the original ''Anipang''. There were more than one million advance bookings for downloads of ''Anipang Sanghai'' prior to its release. The second sequel to the original ''Anipang'' was ''Anipang Matgo''. This game is based on a traditional Korean card game called '' hwatu matgo'', while the design is similar to other ''Anipang'' games. The third sequel to the original ''Anipang'' was ''Anipang: The Sichuan''. This game is based on the program named Sichuan. This game is similar to the Chinese game mahjong.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Video games Kakao Talk, Sunday Toz, Android OS 2012 video games Video games developed in South Korea Android (operating system) games IOS games Puzzle video games