SuperStar SMTOWN

SuperStar SMTOWN
Developer(s)	Dalcomsoft Inc.
Platform(s)	iOS, Android
Release	August 26, 2014
Genre(s)	Music

SuperStar SMTOWN is a South Korean rhythm game developed by Dalcomsoft, Inc. which was first launched on Google Play in August 2014. The game features songs by artists of the entertainment company, SM Entertainment, such as Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, f(x), EXO, Red Velvet and NCT.^[1] 'SMTOWN' is the umbrella name for SM Entertainment's recording artists. The game is available in South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, United States, and is playable in English and Korean.^[2][3] A version distributed by PONOS Corp. is available in Japan for both iOS and Google Play.^[4][5]

SuperStar SMTOWN is a score-based, note-matching music game. The goal is to complete a song and unlock the following song in three levels: Easy, Normal and Hard.^[6] As of October 5, 2018, the game features more than 450 songs from 36 solo artists, groups and units of SM Entertainment.

In July 2016, Pulse News reported that the game has over 8 million downloads and has raised ₩10 billion ($8.8 million) in cumulative revenue since its release.^[7]

In May 2, 2018, the game announced to have reached 10 million downloads, associated with an R card gift.

Background and history

SM Entertainment, one of the top entertainment companies in South Korea, launched the game in August 2014 and said they wanted K-pop fans to enjoy both the game and their favorite celebrities. It was first released on Google Play, but was made available for the iOS in the next month.^[1]

On March 4, 2015, Daum Kakao announced that it will jointly publish the game with China's mobile game publisher, Chukong.^[8]

Months after the departure of former Girls' Generation member Jessica Jung and former EXO member Lu Han from the company and their respective groups, S.M. Entertainment announced that the artists' 'Star Cards' will be removed from the game and gave the players the option to exchange their cards for other artists' cards. On April 8, 2015, both cards were removed from the game.^[9]

Gameplay

Like most rhythm games, players tap descending colored objects when they align with the bar at the bottom of the screen, the goal being to accumulate points. Tapping the objects in time correctly, and consecutively without any misses, gives bonus points. After each song, scores are recorded and enables the player to compare scores with other players online. With enough points, a player can go up a rank on the weekly chart.

Songs from various artists of SM Entertainment are featured in the game. After completing a song, a new song is unlocked. The goal is to unlock all the songs in all three levels, Easy, Normal and Hard. The same 400+ songs must be unlocked in the three levels. After beating all three levels, the 'Challenge' mode will be unlocked. 'Star Cards' (Cards that feature the solo artists and individual group members of SM Entertainment) is also a feature of the game. New cards are earned after completing a song, although a player may purchase them from the game's store in packs. When equipped, cards enable the player to gain more points, with an even bigger advantage if the player collects all the cards that corresponds to the theme of the group or artist. These cards can also be used to enhance other cards to gain more bonus. As of August 2018, there are over 600+ star cards to collect in the game.

The game is also monetized through in-app purchases. 'Headphones' act as lives which are used every time a song plays. Headphones may be earned when a player goes up a rank, but are gained after waiting 5 minutes. Only a maximum of 5 can be stored, unless the number of headphones purchased or received exceeds the limit. Once spent, the time starts again. 'Diamond' is the currency used in the game. They can be used to purchase headphones, star cards, and rhythm points. 'Rhythm points' are earned after finishing a song and are used to buy star cards and also used to upgrade star cards. After the new update on August 8, 2017, max free headphones are now 20 with a 20 minute cool down time. 'Dalcom coins', which were also one of the added features in this update (as a currency), are earned through playing only and cannot be purchased with real money. Dalcom coins have special uses, such as purchasing 'card selectors' or a 'theme exchanger' or a '100% power up card'.

A new game mode called "Superstar League" has been added in the update version 2.3.0 around September 4–5, 2017. In this lobby, the players have to clear one random song designated for each day of a whole week. There are three chances for each day to play a single song. A certain amount of Dalcom coins are awarded to players depending on their weekly ranking. Pressing on stars allows a player to obtain Dalcom coins during each song with 'Super Perfects' giving more points. The rankings of the players range worldwide with around 100,000 SuperStar SMTOWN players competing with each other, each week.

Soundtrack

SuperStar SMTOWN has more than 450 songs from 36 of SM Entertainment's boy groups, girl groups, sub-groups and solo artists, namely: Kangta, BoA, TVXQ!, Super Junior, KyuHyun, Super Junior-D&E, M&D, Ryeowook, Yesung, Super Junior-M, Henry, ZhouMi, Girls' Generation, Girls' Generation-TTS, Girls'Generation-Oh!GG, Taeyeon, Tiffany, Seohyun, Hyoyeon, Yoona, Yuri, SHINee, Taemin, Jonghyun, f(x), Amber, Luna, EXO-K, EXO-M, Lay, EXO-CBX, Red Velvet, NCT U, NCT 127 and NCT Dream. Songs by the SM unit, SM the Ballad and SMTown are also included. The songs must be unlocked in all three levels of the game, Easy, Normal and Hard. Below is a list of songs available for the game:

References

External links

• SuperStar SMTOWN App Store profile

• SuperStar SMTOWN Google Play Store profile