NHN USA, Inc., the North American subsidiary of Korea’s leading Internet company, has chosen Live Gamer, developer of the world’s first publisher-supported marketplace for player-to-player exchange of virtual goods, to facilitate virtual trading in a secondary marketplace for NHN USA’s online game properties at www.ijji.com.

The collaboration between NHN USA and Live Gamer marks the first time a player-to-player trading platform has been integrated tightly with a game’s creative design and primary market. This dual-pronged integration of the Live Gamer Exchange will deliver an unprecedented, seamless and balanced experience along with innovative gamer capability.

The Live Gamer Exchange (http://exchange.livegamer.com) is the world’s leading player-to-player marketplace for the exchange of virtual items within online games.  Because it is sanctioned by game publishers and within their terms of service / end-user license agreements, the Live Gamer Exchange offers users a safe and secure solution for the buying and selling of virtual items for real-world money.

“NHN USA will be providing ijji.com players a safe and secure integrated solution that weaves social experiences and commerce together,” said Andrew Schneider, president and co-founder, Live Gamer.  “When we design a player-to-player marketplace that works hand-in-hand with the publisher’s primary marketplace and game dynamics, everyone benefits.  From the start, we worked in partnership with NHN USA to create an itemization strategy that would provide seamless game balance and play dynamics, which are vital factors for marketplace success.”

Consumer demand has created a $2 billion virtual goods economy that previously was channeled primarily toward black and grey market operators, outside of game publishers’ control or consent.  This often resulted in a poor experience for both players and publishers.  The unique marketplace planned by NHN USA and Live Gamer will return control to both the developer and the player, mutually benefitting both.

The companies were able to create deeper integration by implementing a longer development window.  The approach was more holistic than any previous marketplace Live Gamer has created.  Both companies wanted the NHN USA secondary marketplace to set an example as the crown jewel of player to player trading systems – proving it is possible to enhance the player experience, increase retention and drive revenue all at once.

The new marketplace is scheduled to go live on NHN USA communities in late spring.