[MUD-Dev] Korea and online world responsibility

[Koster]

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2002/11/13/200211130035.asp

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Online game developers pledge to restrain destructive aspects
Officially acknowledging the widespread theory that online games
could be of serious detriment to society, Korea's online game
developers vowed to contain the destructive fallout of online games
- especially their ill effects on minors.

The Korea Game Industry Association (KGIA), an interest group that
represents six different fraternity groups in the industry,
announced yesterday its "plan to foster a sound online game culture"
on its own initiative.

"We have to admit that the effort to contain the fallout of online
games has been marginal compared to the industry's passion to
develop more sophisticated games and solutions," KGIA president Lim
Dong-geun said in a press conference.

The industry initiative calls for a string of technological
breakthroughs to discourage users from playing long hours and
installing a program for parents to control playing time on personal
computers at home. Also, game developers expressed their intention
of establishing a number of rehabilitation and counseling centers
for online game addicts, while offering an array of alternative
offline entertainment programs for youths. "However, the current
problems will only be temporary as they have arisen from the
inevitable lag of legal and moral norms that are to regulate and
provide some kind of guideline for the speedy development of the
industry and technology," he remarked.

In the past, the game industry played down the seriousness of the
destructive social aspects of their products to be "isolated" and
"highly individual" cases.

The industry's decision to correct some detrimental social effects
is viewed as a response to the widespread negative public opinion of
online games in general and the government's stern action against
anti-social elements in such games.

Evident social problems caused by the growing number of online game
addicts aside, the highly competitive nature of some games has paved
the way for the illegal practice of buying and selling online items
and accessories for cyber games and even led to scams and vicious
crimes in the real world. As a result, the government classified
"Lineage," Korea's single most popular Internet-based multi-user
game, as only fit for adults, citing the level of violence and
overly competitive rules of the game as being unhealthy for its
abundant teenage subscribers.

Handed down by the Korea Media Rating Board last month, the ruling
was expected to severely undercut the profitability of NCSoft, the
developer of Lineage, and sent a shockwave through the industry,
which paid only nominal attention to the social repercussions of its
products. Industry statistics reveal that Korea's online game
industry has grown more than 30 percent in recent years to 260
billion won ($210 million) in market value in 2001, second only to
that of the United States. "In line with the popular use of the
Internet in Korea, the online game industry has emerged as a major
source of entertainment and a provider of multimedia contents in
cyberspace," Lim said, explaining the "sound" value of the industry.

"We are at the crossroad of moving into higher gear to secure an
important bridgehead in the world market," Lim added, implying that
strict government regulations could pose a threat to their global
expansion plans.

(khjack at koreaherald.co.kr) 
By Choe Yong-shik Staff reporter 
2002.11.13
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