Chapter 335
Chapter 335
After checking, it was not only OTK Games Korea that received the official notice. It is said that most game companies have received official notices with similar contents.
I didn’t quite understand so I asked.
“But why is the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family sending this? Gaming is a cultural industry, isn’t the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in charge?”
On this side, Taek-gyu, who was quick-witted, said:
“The issue of game regulation is effectively the responsibility of the Ministry of Leisure.”
“why?”
“The Youth Protection Committee is under the Ministry of Leisure. That is why the Ministry of Recreation and leisure takes the lead in the shutdown system, the healthy use of internet games for teenagers, and the judgment of harmful media for teenagers.”
I read the memorandum carefully again. First of all, the first part is a bit absurd.
“Are you saying limit the access time to 4 hours to guarantee the right to sleep and the right to learn? You said there is a shutdown system already?”
Taek-gyu explained.
The shutdown system is a bill that blocks access to online games from 12 p.m. to 6 a.m. for teenagers under the age of 16.
If you are logged in before then, you will be forced to log out.
What if you run a raid together to catch a boss monster and the healer is a middle school student? At 12 o’clock, the healer is thrown out immediately, and the other characters cannot be healed and are annihilated.
In fact, this happened quite often in online games, and around midnight, when you play cooperatively such as raids or group battles, you have to check your age.
“A few years ago, during an e-sports competition, the match was delayed and after 12 o’clock, a Korean gamer withdrew.
“What kind of Cinderella are you?”
“Huh. That’s why it’s called the Cinderella Law.”
“… … .”
This incident was featured in the press around the world, and was recorded as the most absurd event that occurred during an e-sports match.
The Korean game industry is dominated by online games. As a result, the shutdown system hit the game industry directly. However, the shutdown system only applies to online games, and console games and mobile games are not included.
Some game companies deliberately increased sensationalism and violence to make it 19 gold, or even moved overseas to avoid regulations.
To this problem, game companies have repeatedly raised the issue of equity, and the Ministry of Recreation has recently come up with a solution.
“how?”
“From now on, we will implement a shutdown system for console games and mobile games.”
“… … .”
It’s a genius solution.
“Anyway, if I ask you to limit this to 4 hours, doesn’t it mean that you shouldn’t play the game at all?”
There was even a kind explanation written under it, saying that it would block access to the game every 2 hours and allow it to reconnect only once after 10 minutes due to the cooling-off system.
I flipped through a few more pages and couldn’t contain my absurdity.
13. Prohibition of directing and expression that presents uniform standards for appearance in the game
13-1. Do not present uniform standards of desirable appearance.
– In the game, uniform appearance standards are indiscriminately emphasized. If all the characters come out as handsome and beautiful, there is a risk of promoting appearanceism among teenagers who play the game.
13-2. Avoid over-proportioning female characters with similar looks.
– The age and appearance of female characters in the game do not vary. Most of the female characters are in their 10s and 20s, and they have clean skin, a thin body, a feminine hairstyle, and clothes that reveal the body. Please diversify this by age and appearance.
“What nonsense is this?”
It is not that there are no necessary provisions. Who would say no to protecting youth, preventing game addiction, and regulating speculative practices?
But most of them are absurd and absurd provisions.
If you want to meet all the rules listed here, you have to rip and fix the whole game, starting with the character design.
Fortunately, this is not a correction order, but a request for cooperation in self-regulation. It’s not compulsory, so you don’t have to follow it.
But if the relevant ministries receive such an official notice, which company can ignore it?
Taehyung said in anger.
“In the end, this inevitably leads to self-censorship! It’s the government’s oppression to limit creative freedom!”
“Okay, calm down.”
It’s rare for him to get so angry. The guy who laughed even when he was arrested and dragged in handcuffs would be so angry at the game regulations.
* * *
We had a video call with OTK Games.
Shigeru Ichikawa, who received the report from OTK Games Korea, responded with excitement.
“What do you mean by not letting female characters with similar looks come out? I’ve been working on this floor for over 20 years, but this is the first time I’ve heard of the government pointing out that the game character is a pretty girl and asking them to fix it.
I sighed.
“Actually, I heard it for the first time.”
“What the hell is the organization doing there, so why are you sending such an official message?”
“… … .”
How do I explain this to foreigners?
Shigeru Ichikawa is the father of the Lost Fantasy series. And this Lost Fantasy Online is a masterpiece that he created with all his might.
A game is like a child to the creator. The proposal to fix it to suit the government’s taste was an insult in itself.
he said firmly.
“I am aware of the issues of speculation, sensationalism, and violence, and I made it by reflecting it from the development stage. We stopped when we stopped the service in Korea, and we can never accept such a ridiculous request for revision.”
Taehyung nodded his head.
“I am of the same opinion. It’s better not to release it than to ruin the game that way.”
At those words, President Ichikawa made a slightly moved expression on his face.
Well, which investor would say this?
“I’ll take care of this for you, so don’t worry about it and just focus on what you’re doing.”
“Okay.”
* * *
I looked into the background for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to send this official letter. And I was able to figure out the situation right away.
It was during the Park Si-hyeong administration that full-scale regulations on online games were put in place.
The government designated gaming as one of the four major addictions along with alcohol, drugs, and gambling, and implemented a shutdown system to prevent youth from addiction to gaming.
“I know that gaming, alcohol, drugs, and gambling are the four major addictions, but why are you missing cigarettes?”
“do not know. You must have played an online game and said, ‘That game is a harmful game’.”
“… … .”
In any case, despite the opposition from game companies and youth, this policy received a great response from public opinion.
Thanks to this, the ruling party of the Republic of Korea (now the Liberty Korea Party), which was the ruling party at the time, proposed the “Act on the Prevention and Treatment of Internet Game Addiction Support”. The name is plausible, but if you look into the contents, it is literally covered with all kinds of game regulations.
Fortunately, the bill did not pass the National Assembly and was automatically repealed upon the expiration of the term. However, lawmakers from the Liberty Korea Party, such as Rep. Lee Jeong-hye and Rep. Na-kyung Yeon, recently started to propose the bill again!
Several lawmakers from the New Politics Party also put their names on the joint initiative or supported the bill.
From the perspective of game companies, who were secretly expecting that regulations would be eased with a change of government, they were struck by lightning. In addition, as the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Shin-mi Shin (a member of the New Political Party) is strongly supporting it, the possibility of passing the bill is higher than ever.
Then, why is the leisure department so passionate about game regulation?
There are two big reasons for this.
The first is because it is the easiest way to get support. When games are regulated, parents love it.
All parents in Korea, both liberal and conservative, do not like their children playing games. And while parents are all precious voters with the right to vote, minors do not.
I nodded.
“I’m coming to say this now, but in the past, my mother was very worried about playing with you.”
Taehyung was surprised.
“What? why?”
“After I met you, I didn’t study and just played games.”
The reason I fell in love with the game was because of Taek-gyu Oh. Well, if it wasn’t for him, he wouldn’t have been able to play the MMORPG Lutnia, and then he wouldn’t have had to sell his character to exchange for Bante.
After all, it’s the online game that made OTK Company what it is today!
Taek-gyu said as if he was embarrassed.
“After all, you went to Korea University!”
“Come to think of it, it was like going to a different high school than you.”
“… … .”
The second is money. Any buddha can use its power only if it has money. So, the Minister of Strategy and Finance, who deals with the budget, also serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of Economy and ranks first among all ministers. And other departments compete fiercely to win their respective budgets.
At the heart of this bill is money. According to the bill, funds are raised for the establishment of the Internet Game Addiction Healing Center, and the Minister of Leisure is in charge of raising the funds.
To this end, the Minister of Leisure may collect funds from Internet game-related business operators within the limit of 1% of annual sales.
Not 1% of net profit, but 1% of sales!
Although a game company has a large net profit as a percentage of its sales, 1% of its sales is a huge amount. Theoretically, it is possible to collect funds from companies that are in the red.
In addition, if violations are found, an additional fine of up to 5% of sales can be imposed!
Are there many game addicts or smartphone addicts?
Of course, there are many smartphone addicts. However, it does not raise a portion of its sales to smartphone manufacturers. I don’t bet on A-Tube just because I’m addicted to videos, or to Facenote just because I’m addicted to SNS.
Nevertheless, the reason why such restrictions are applied only to games is because it is the most blissful.
If the rules are applied as much as possible, most game companies will go bankrupt.
Of course, unless the government is determined to kill the game industry, it won’t do that… … .
Taehyung shook his head.
“That’s because you don’t know the Minister of Leisure right now. Do you not feel anything after reading this official notice?”
“… … .”
I feel something
As long as the bill is passed, the Minister of Leisure will have the power to run game companies at will. Then, in the future, game companies will have no choice but to watch the leisure department and make games.
“From what I’ve heard, it’s definitely a serious problem.”
In addition, the bill included a clause to strengthen the shutdown system. Currently, it is for under 16 and for six hours from 12 p.m. to 6 a.m., but according to the new law, it will be raised to under 19, and the time will also be increased to 9 hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
At this point, it’s like saying that minors shouldn’t play games.
In addition, all games must be measured for the Internet Addiction Induction Index before release. If the addiction induction index is high, distribution may be banned. What’s even more absurd is that when a patch or update is made, the addiction-inducing index must be re-measured.
“What is this… … .”
It is true that game addiction is a serious problem and we need to find a solution. But games and drugs are different.
As drugs are illegal and harmful in themselves, they must cure addiction while thoroughly regulating the industry to annihilate itself, but games have the net function of being a hobby and entertainment that fills people’s leisure time. However, the recent legislation is nothing more than defining the game as a social evil.
If game addicts arise and treat all games as harmful and impose regulations, the entire industry may collapse if done wrong.
There are regulations in any country, but Korea is particularly harsh.
Korean companies have no choice but to follow government policies. However, foreign companies are relatively free.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
There are many ways to avoid it from our point of view.
Lost Fantasy Online has no servers in Korea. However, it is only providing official services by setting up a corporation in Korea.
It was initially released simultaneously in Korea because Taek-gyu invested in OTK Games and offered it as a condition to release it in Korea at the same time, but it is not a situation worthy of being so hung up on the Korean market.
Shigeru Ichikawa was aiming for a worldwide box office from the production stage. In fact, Lost Fantasy M was popular not only in Asia, but also in North America and Europe, and interest in Lost Fantasy Online has risen significantly.
Therefore, it is enough to withdraw the Korean subsidiary and stop the service. If you want to play the game, you can connect to a foreign server, create an account and sign up.
There may be restrictions in marketing and various events, but that is not a big problem. At least it would be better than going head-to-head with the leisure department.
However, Taek-gyu had a different idea.
“You are trying to kill the game industry with these ridiculous regulations. I can’t stand still like this!”
“What if I don’t stand still?”
Taek-gyu clenched his fists and shouted.
“We must fight against unfair regulations to the end!”
I said crazy.
“Since when did you become so passionate about fighting?”
“From this moment on! This is the moment!”
“… … .”
There is a tendency to even call a musical number.
Instead of singing, Taek-gyu sang Jeong Ki-hong, the team leader, who returned from his honeymoon.
I said goodbye
“Being a new groom, you have a clear mind. Did your honeymoon go well?”
“Yes. We had a happy time thanks to the representative and vice-president. I never imagined that I would ever fly a private plane in my life. It was like a dream. How beautiful is the sea in Cancun, and every morning when I wake up, I start the day with Hyunjeong, thanking the CEO and the vice president for their consideration… … .”
Taek-gyu cut off those words and said.
“We’ll talk about it later, and immediately call buster calls to major domestic game companies.”
Of course I didn’t understand.
“What is a Buster Call?”
“Call me Mo. From now on, we will begin collective action.”
“Yes? Are you going to gather game companies all of a sudden?”
I nodded.
“Just do it.”
Taek-gyu was burning alone. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him so ambitious. Now we can’t stop Oh Taek-gyu!
“okay. Do whatever you want.”
People should do what they want to do.
