Korean Government reviews censoring Steam (in Korean)

http://www.gamemeca.com/news/view.php?gid=464096

by bane • 13 years ago

17 11 13 years ago

kyrra• 13 years ago

I don't see this as all that important. South Korea has some fairly strict rules on gaming within the country. I believe to get a game account (like a Steam account, or a WoW account), the company must get the users government ID information. Then they must impose fairly strict regulations on persons under 16 years old. I also believe it's difficult for non-Korean companies to operate their games there due to other regulations. So most gaming companies will outsource running games in Korea to companies like Nexon.

wnevets• 13 years ago

So most gaming companies will outsource running games in Korea to companies like Nexon.

it what valve did with dota 2

notastartup3• 13 years ago

I think what's more sinister is that Korean corporate culture is to become a monopoly, bribe politicians, media executives, alter the law so they are the only people to do business with, squelch any naysayers, even if it conflicts with the constitution and democracy. They simply do not have Korean consumers in their hearts. It's possible that large game companies like Nexon employs the time tested technique used by large Korean conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai. Example is during the 1990s the Hyundai Comboy (a NES whitelabel) and Samsung labelled SNES games. Anti-japanese sentiments are exploited to make sure any new business venture goes through the handful of conglomerates in Korea. You don't want an impossibly high tariff and restrictions that makes your product unreachable in Korea, than you do business with one company at the time who has bought most of the national assembly.

lukejduncan• 13 years ago

I think OP meant "censor". Translated site here: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&pre...

bane• 13 years ago

Correct, fixed!

ewzimm• 13 years ago

Current foreign illegal pornography and gambling sites provide content only if that use is impossible. However, due to the amendment of this Act 'and do not pass the hearing domestic content "is to get into regulated, the purchase of non-domestic sites to sell goods is likely to approach itself is blocked.

As the article clearly states, "many gamers are used to be domestic." The foreign illegal pornography and gambling sites (hereinafter fipags) clearly pose an imminent and incontrovertible threat to all citizens who are used to be domestic PC platform. What of fipags with PC bang?

beloch• 13 years ago

If Valve wants to fight this, all they have to do is talk Blizzard into making the next Starcraft expansion a Steam exclusive in Korea.

Drexl• 13 years ago

The humor isn't beyond me, but this will never happen. Blizzard is too big to be on Steam. They have no reason to profit share with anyone.

notastartup3• 13 years ago

Ultimately this is the naive exuberance of some naive South Korean politicians who have no inherent understanding of technology and law and that the rest of the world must follow it's own outdated system.

Korean gamers are required to enter their social insurance number everytime they register for any site which only works with Internet Explorer with groundbreakingly secure ActiveX technology and that no criminals would dare try to harvest and mine and steal information.

dickfurnace• 13 years ago

Active x is one of the biggest hurdles facing Korean internet gamers. And IE is usually only version 6 on most computers at PC bangs. We need an active forum on this issue at our discussion site http://idiotsofkorea.proboards.com/ because a number of our members are game afficionados. Although I am a site moderator, I am not enough of an expert to help them. Anyone here want to lead the discussion?

notastartup3• 13 years ago

thats such an awesome forum, i've signed up.

Korean Government reviews censoring Steam (in Korean)

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