Diablo III battles South Korean ratings board
Local paper points to new auction house features as the issue for Blizzard
The South Korean release of Diablo III is in trouble after failing to receive approval from the country's Game Rating Board.
A report from The Korea Times suggests that the game's use of real currency, allowing players to buy and sell goods, is to blame.
"Committee members are conflicted about what to do with Diablo 3 because of Blizzard's information on the game's 'auction house' feature," said the South Korean Game Rating Board spokesman.
The game was resubmitted before Christmas with the real currency feature removed, but is still waiting for approval.
"As it is described in the resubmission, committee members are still reluctant."
The issue could cause problems for Blizzard, who hoped for a simultaneous worldwide release for the massive MMO.
"In principle, we are always committed to a global release," a Blizzard spokesperson told the newspaper.
Blizzard has yet to commit to a release date beyond Q1 2012.
The auction house means you compete on a global scale and nobody in his right mind should value his time at the same price as a Chinese wage slave. Once this reality sinks in with the Koreans, the game is good to go.
Plus, Korean government is not friendly at all toward the game industry now. That's another concern.
This is not about the Korean government trying to prevent the exploitation (or honest labor) of gold farmers, Chinese or otherwise. The issue is that Blizzard with their Auction House is trying to integrate the function of the 3rd party marketplaces into their game. There is a CRAP-TON of cash going through that marketplace and yet it really is VERY easy for the major Korean publishers to do what Blizzard is planning (they had the capability years ago). However, the ultra-conservative nature of Korean culture tries to pretend that this business does not exist and that games should be kept "innocent" for the "sake of the children" and . Nevermind that the Ratings Board is in direct contradiction with the legal precendent set by the Supreme Court of Korea a few years back.
In short, its a moral hazard thing meanwhile they let it go on with 3rd parties.
There is another theory that suggests that the Ratings Board has been anti-Blizzard (read anti-foreign gaming giant threatening their local publishers). Not that Nexon or NCSoft is lobbying the Board, the Korean government tends to be protectionist because that's how they view their job should be done.
Either admit that this business is real and tax it. Or ban it entirely. Either way - I want to the beta to open!!!
I believe that on a smaller part, the GRB is also mindful of the economic impact on their game industry if Diablo III is cleared for release. Will Diablo III take away a significant share of the Korea online games' player base?
The jury is also out on whether or not Diablo 3 will gain a lot of traction in Korea. Starcraft 2 did okay but far below expectations in the market that pretty much redefined Starcraft as an e-sport. The first Starcraft is still the sport that people follow here. There are a lot of diehard Diablo fans but a lot of people are making the same sort of comments on how the more mainstream third installment isn't a worthy successor to the series. Moreover, as far as I know Blizzard still hasn't totally figured out business model given the prevalence of internet cafes in Korea.