The odds are a mandatory element of a game, especially online games. In online games, players have the chance to earn or get abilities or items, such as healing powers and weapons. We might get desired items or unwanted items from a random game item which uses probability. Through the probability featured in the game, we can feel joy or despair and become more immersed in the game.

The problem begins with this probability. Unlike foreign games, Korean games earn most of their profits from random game items. Current regulations on games in South Korea were legislated in 2006; however, at that time, there was no concept of random game items. Revealing the probability of random items is currently only partially publicized in the name of self-regulation. As a result, the information that users want is only partially revealed on the game company’s website. To paraphrase this, it's like buying food without knowing any ingredients in it. To overhaul the unreasonable system of the existing Korean game market, ‘Probabilistic Item Regulation Bill’ was proposed in December 2020.

Many people will remember that ‘MapleStory’, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, was in the recent news. It is because there has never been a case where users have united and collided head-on with a game company. It's not just ‘MapleStory’. With other games, protests against game companies have also occurred, leading to a boycott of game companies. In the past, users defended games for game companies when games were considered as harmful substances, so recently why did they come together so extensively to make an unusual resistance? It began in January 2021 from a mobile game.

The mobile game 'Fate/Grand Order' is a smartphone social game that selects the character you want and proceeds with the story. It was the highest-selling game in many countries around the world in 2018. In Korea, the game company Netmarble has taken charge of the distribution and operation of the game. The problem began when Netmarble became the company in charge of servicing the game. For more than three years after the server opened, users continued to complain because fewer rewards for participating in an event were given within the Korean server or the company didn't run events, such as adding mini games on April Fools’ Day events or giving out limited items, compared to servers in other countries. An apology in 2020 promised to improve the management, but it was never even achieved. Such complaints from users and antipathy built up throughout the Korean game industry in January 2021, leading to protest.

Whenever users felt dissatisfied about the management, there has only been indirect criticism, such as a rating attack. But this case was different. Users began to criticize together as they united and reached their fundraising goal to rent a sign truck for protesting. The reason for using a truck to voice their complaints was to raise the issue and warn the shareholders of game companies and avoid group infection from COVID-19 at the same time. The protest resulted in setting up a meeting between a user delegation and the company, which succeeded in normalizing the game's operations.

The importance of the "Fate/Grand Order" incident is that users who have been a victim of the game industry have begun to take practical action. Unlike in the past, the users took action and appointed a lawyer to pressure the company. This could be viewed as an attempt to win consumer rights, and it is significant in giving users the belief that they could change the game companies. Protests by users have been spreading rapidly regarding other games since then. Also, as the incident became a hot topic, the ‘Probabilistic Item Regulation bill, waiting for legislation in the National Assembly, has drawn keen attention. Game companies began to feel the crisis and changed their stance, such as promising better service and full disclosure of random items’ probability.

Among all the Korean games, MapleStory was excessive in terms of unpredictable probability. This unpredictability affected all items, such as those for upgrading weapons and armour, optional hairstyles, and pets. Users had to spend money without knowing what the percentage of the probability was to get the item or abilities they wanted because there was no bill on such items. In short, users have continued to gamble without even knowing what their winning rate is. Complaints toward management have continued to build up, but it has been impossible to gather the opinions among the users. The reason is that the game company has preserved the value of existing items despite continuous updates. However, the situation turned upside down as the management decided to change the probability logic of one item due to game companies beginning to feel the crisis.

What they changed is the logic of giving a "bonus option", an ability granted to make items more powerful. Getting a usable option was also difficult, because it came out randomly. Therefore, it was regarded as a crucial factor in measuring the value of the item. There was a huge controversy when the management confirmed that the probability system, in which users had been making great efforts and investments, was deliberately forcing unpopular options by a certain logic, not randomly. This is nothing but an act of deceit to users, further damaging the trust between the users and the game company. Remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Most of the probabilities in MapleStory have still not been disclosed. Users also protested against the game company just like they did in 'Fate/Grand Order', leading to improved management attitudes and the disclosure of probabilities for most items. However, a collective lawsuit is being filed against Nexon, the game company that manages MapleStory, claiming that the company did not notify consumers of options that do not appear among the probabilities of the items released.

Fifteen years have passed since the game bill was legislated in 2006, and recent incidents show that it has failed to keep up with the times. Because of the outdated law, the probabilities in Korean games have had huge side effects. As the MapleStory incident shows, the biggest problem is that the management gains an advantage over users by being the only party to know the probability. So, how do other countries regulate random game items? First of all, there is China, which discloses all the probabilities of random game items. The Chinese Ministry of Culture fully reveals the performance, content, quantity, and probability of random game items in games. Belgium and the Netherlands are the two countries that consider selling probabilistic items for a fee in games seriously. From 2020, both countries treat games which feature random items the same as gambling. In Japan, the government provides guidelines for the game industry to follow and has a company manager in charge of operations to record random game items and conduct internal audits.

The revision of the game law, which is currently under legislation in the Korea, has been proposed by Rep. Lee Sang-Heon. This bill has additional strengthening of definitions and standards, supervision measures, and more protections for consumers. The law also mandates stricter disclosure of probabilities than self-regulation and makes it punishable by a suspension of business, cancellation of registration, and imprisonment for up to two years if violated. If the bill gets passed, game companies abusing the low probability to get benefits from gamers would be decreased. Most importantly, the relationship between users and game companies will be restored. Besides that, the quality of games might go up because the companies would intend to make profits with the games themselves rather than from random game items.

Kim HyunRim  arnoldkim123@naver.com

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