| gPotato | |
| Commercial: | Yes |
| Num Users: | 21 million [1] |
| Type: | Video game portal |
| Language: | 10 languages |
| Registration: | Required |
| Owner: | Gala Inc. |
| Content License: | Copyright |
| Screenshot Size: | 200px |
gPotato is a free multiplayer game portal website operated in Japan and South Korea by Gala Inc. and its subsidiaries, and formerly in North America and Europe by subsidiaries of South Korean-based Webzen. gPotato game portals are in South Korea and Japan. Games hosted at gPotato range from traditional MMORPGs to more accessible casual flash games/browser-based games, all of which are free-to-play so no annual/monthly payment is required; revenue is generated from a micropayment system. Games and their premium item shops can be accessed by the Group's regional gPotato portal sites. gPotato games are aimed at a broad range of players. Gala Inc.'s corporate philosophy is to "connect people all over the world and by doing that, contribute to global peace."[2] With this in mind, the games published on gPotato portals have no blood in them and are appropriate for a wide age group of players.
gPotato in North America and Europe was previously operated by Gala Inc. In February 2013, Gala-Net, Gala Networks Europe and Gala-Net Brazil were acquired by Webzen.[3] In May 2014 the European and North American gPotato Web sites were merged into the Webzen.com portal.
| Portal | Languages | Company | Established |
|---|---|---|---|
| gPotato.jp | Japanese | Gala Japan Inc. | 2006 |
| gPotato.kr | Korean | Gala Lab Corp. | 2010 |
The gPotato portal sites are serviced by Group companies of Gala Inc. in Japan and South Korea.
In September 2011, the global gPotato community had over 20 million registered members[1] [5] playing on 18 games globally.As with all free-to-play games or gaming communities, the number of registered users has to be differentiated from:
There are no public numbers for unique, active, or paying users.
gPotato portals have a variety of features. Each gPotato portal is designed and maintained based on the cultural trends where that gPotato portal is serviced so the features vary on each gPotato portal site. In general, the portals offer:
The virtual currency is called gPotatoes. The gPotatoes can be used to obtain virtual game items via a premium item shop. Other users normally would not have access to these items or would have to spend more time in-game to obtain them. gPotatoes can be purchased using credit cards, PayPal, charging through the mobile phone, through gPotato pre-paid cards or through earning free gPotatoes by taking online surveys. Payment methods differ from each gPotato portal based on the regional payment options available.
On July 12, 2007, gPotato suffered a data breach in which more than 2 million users' account details were exposed.[6] At the time of the breach's discovery in 2016, the affected user accounts had since been migrated to the Webzen.com portal. The exposed data included dates of birth, email addresses, genders, IP addresses, names, passwords, physical addresses, security questions and answers, usernames, and website activity.
| Title | Developer | Genre | First Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flyff | Gala Lab | Client-based MMO | 2005 |
| Street Gears | Gala Lab | Client-based MMO | 2007 |
| Rappelz | Gala Lab | Client-based MMO | 2006 |
| Eternal Blade | Gala Lab | Client-based MMO | 2010 |
| Title | Developer | Genre | First Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Space Cowboy Online | MasangSoft | Client-based MMO | 2006[7] |
| Canaan Online | XPEC Entertainment | Browser-based MMO | 2008 |
| Prius Online | CJ Corporation | Client-based MMO | 2008 |
| TalesRunner | Rhaon Entertainment | Client-based MMO | 2008 |
| Castle of Heroes | Snail Games | Browser-based MMO | 2009 |
| Dragonica | Gravity Games | Side-scrolling MMO | 2009 |
| Luna Online | Eya Soft | Client-based MMO | 2009 |
| AIKA Online | JoyImpact | Client-based MMO | 2010 |
| Vandia Breaker | Namco Bandai | Browser-based MMO | 2010 |
| Allods Online | Nival | Client-based MMO | 2010 |
| Iris Online | Eya Soft | Client-based MMO | 2010 |
| KungFu Hero | 9wee | Browser-based MMO | 2010 |
| Terra Militaris | Snail Games | Browser-based MMO | 2010 |
| Age of Wulin | Snail Games | Client-based MMO | Open Beta July 2013 |