South Korean commission says company have been rigging the odds in secret
Korean publisher Nexon have been fined 11.6 billion won - around $8.9 million - for secretly altering the drop rates of coveted items in free-to-play MMO gacha gameMapleStory. The fine, issued by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, is the largest penalty ever doled out for violation of South Korea’s Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce.
“We imposed the largest fine because the Cube is a core product of the game (Maple Story), the period of the violation is long and this is the second violation (by Nexon) following Sudden Attack,” said Kim Jung-ki, director of the market surveillance department of the Korea Fair Trade Commission. The first violation saw Nexon paying out 939 million won for misleading Sudden Attack players about certain lottery items.
Nexon have yet to say much in public about all this, but are apparently thinking about challenging the commission’s decision, or even taking them to court.
