South Korea Targeting Steam Over Ratings Dispute
- Thread starter Logan Westbrook
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Why should the developers be forced to pay for some government to do the job their parents should do, research the game and see if it's acceptable for their child?
Because there's money to be had, that's why. You don't want all those government workers who sit around deciding what their citizens should and should not be allowed to do to lose their jobs, would you?GeneticallyModifiedDucks said:
Very true. In Germany for instance all games have to be rated by the "USK" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USK ) in order to be allowed to be publicly advertised and sold. This also effects Steam, as we only get censored versions of some games (like Left4Dead) or else they would not receive a 18+ rating. I.e. Valve - or actually the developers of the individual games - do comply with German law on this issue. They probably don't think of South Korea as a relevant market, if they chose not to obtain ratings there.albino boo said:
I'm a teacher out here in South Korea at the moment, and while my students will instantly light up the moment Starcraft is mentioned, they also talk a lot about FIFA games, Counterstrike, and a few FPS's I've never heard of outside of the country.wasalp said:
most all games on steam are Rated by either ESRB or PEGIGeneric Gamer said:
the point is that S. Korea doesn't accept these ratings, instead requiring that all games to be subjected to a Government Mandated Rating System. and in order to get this rating on your game, you must Pay said government To Rate your game. and this rating is good only in this country and no where else.
it isn't an oversight, it is a choice to not comply with a single market that has overbearing regulations set upon it.
You know something, it is.DiscoAtThePanic said:
I might use this at some point.
Although I thought South Korea was a democracy. Man, my grasp on governments is really loose lately.
i dont wanna smoke pot in a starbucks, now a bar that would be another thing entirely, and since some place you cant smoke cigs in bars even i think stressed out smokers should be allowed to buy a toke at the local bar. 
this just sounds like a shake down to me i mean 1000s of dollars for the government to rate your game? if they want to rate it take it and rate on their dime.
this just sounds like a shake down to me i mean 1000s of dollars for the government to rate your game? if they want to rate it take it and rate on their dime.
No.
Screw you Korea, give me my Dragon Ball Online game AND then, we do things your way. I do swear that they have some nerve.
Screw you Korea, give me my Dragon Ball Online game AND then, we do things your way. I do swear that they have some nerve.
South Korea is a democracy but like the rest of 1.6 billion poeple who live in democratic states they are quite happy with qualified freedom of speech. Its only the minority of 350 million poeple that live in the united states don't get the idea qualified freedom of speech is actually helpful to democracy.Macgyvercas said:
Well, it's true that 50% or so of the games available on Steam doesn't have any rating in any form, but that's the magic of Steam being friendly to the indie developers and embracing free will. Now, I can see how's it coming to SK, Valve games mainly might be available for the SK audience, maybe some big third party games, but almost none (if any) of the indie gems would jump into that ship just because of a stupid and greedy law.
C'mon, Steam saved Introversion's asses and the studio itself can barely pay the food and rent of the now few people who works on Introversion. Now, asking for these people to pay thousands of dollars just for their games to be rated on a country that I highly doubt will ever buy their games, that's a bit steep.
C'mon, Steam saved Introversion's asses and the studio itself can barely pay the food and rent of the now few people who works on Introversion. Now, asking for these people to pay thousands of dollars just for their games to be rated on a country that I highly doubt will ever buy their games, that's a bit steep.
[sub]hehehe[/sub]Logan Westbrook said:
My question would be how much of Steam's profits actually come from South Korea? Are they losing out on all that much if they block it?
My friend John Stuart Mill would like a few words with you. Unless you think he should be silenced.albino boo said:
To everyone saying that Steam in Korea is not big:
You're wrong. I went there recently and in the top 10 charts after StarCraft (which is undoubtedly is #1)? Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead 2.
All you may hear about Korea is MMOs and StarCraft, but there is definitely a strong market for Valve games. I had the pleasure of playing TF2 over there, and the players are pretty damn good, and this is just from pubbing.
So please, at least have some experience before you comment. Because that's just insulting to a nation whose population is far better than the media says.
You're wrong. I went there recently and in the top 10 charts after StarCraft (which is undoubtedly is #1)? Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead 2.
All you may hear about Korea is MMOs and StarCraft, but there is definitely a strong market for Valve games. I had the pleasure of playing TF2 over there, and the players are pretty damn good, and this is just from pubbing.
So please, at least have some experience before you comment. Because that's just insulting to a nation whose population is far better than the media says.
