As the smartphone has become a necessity regardless of gender, mobile games have successfully pegged the female gaming culture now prevalent among working women.

“In the past when online games were dominant, excellent female gamers would be stigmatized as game-addicted hermits,” said NHN Hangame spokesman Hwang Hyun-don, saying that female gamers had unfairly suffered from a negative, androgynous image.

“Nowadays, all men and women can play games without damaging their personal image and style.”

According to the 2012 statistics on games compiled by the Korea Creative Contents Agency, Korean women play games for 54.8 minutes every day on average.

The state-run cultural content promotion institute states that fast-growing mobile games almost caught up with online games in the number of players. About 36.2 percent of female gamers play mobile games, and about 36.8 percent play online games. As the mobile culture prospers under both corporate and governmental support, the mobile game culture will also thrive, game industry experts said.

During rush hour in particular, commuting female gamers bury their noses in smart devices to play these games. KOCCA’s statistics reveal that gaming hours for women peak between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., when most working women are heading home. About 34.2 percent female players play games in those hours.

While the mobile game market is bursting with old and new products ― “Anipang,” “Dragon Flight,” “Fish Island” and “I Love Coffee,” for instance ― not all mobile games are popular among female players.

“Easy control, free access unrestricted by time and place, and adorable game characters are crucial in attracting female players,” spokesman Hwang said, taking mobile game “Fish Island” as the best example that satisfies all of these conditions.

“Fish Island,” a free fishing game, has topped the app download popularity chart since being independently developed and launched by NHN Hangame in September.

The characters in the game are designed in adorable, youthful-looking caricatures with super-enlarged heads, super-downsized bodies, huge eyes and cute poses.

The game’s easy user interface and maneuvering, optimized for touch devices, uses three-dimensional rendering techniques that enable players to actually feel the tug as they draw up the fish.

Hwang says a particular appeal of the mobile fishing game is that it is accessible anytime, anywhere.

Popular mobile games may differ in genre but all satisfy these three conditions, Hwang said. Puzzle games such as SUNDAYTOZ’s “Anipang” and NHN Hangame’s “Line Pop,” business simulation games such as PATISTUDIO’s “I Love Coffee,” and casual games such as “Fish Island” faithfully abide by these three rules, he said.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)