"Nothing has changed even after getting hit with a penalty surcharge in the 10 billion won range for probability manipulation. Are they underestimating users?"
Nexon's popular mobile game "Maple Raising" is under heavy fire over allegations it manipulated probability-based items in the game. Co-CEOs Kang Dae-hyun and Kim Jung-uk of Nexon Korea posted an apology and promised follow-up measures, including "firing the person in charge," along with compensation, but user complaints are not subsiding since this is not Nexon's first probability manipulation controversy.
Last year, Nexon's long-running game MapleStory was hit with a 11.6 billion won penalty surcharge from the Korea Fair Trade Commission for deceptive and misleading practices related to the sale of probability-based items. As controversy spreads that Maple Raising, cited as a successful case of expanding Nexon's intellectual property (IP), deceived users in the same way, some say a drop in the game's credibility is inevitable.
◇ "Spent money but performance stayed the same"… 'Maple Raising' put to the test of trust
According to the game industry on the 28th, Nexon Korea co-CEOs Kang Dae-hyun and Kim Jung-uk said in a statement posted on the Maple Raising website on the evening of the 26th, "We sincerely apologize for causing great disappointment to users."
In Maple Raising, for about a month from Nov. 6 to Dec. 2 at 6:27 p.m. last year, an error occurred in which the maximum values of paid "ability options" did not appear according to the stated probabilities. Ability options are additional stats attached to in-game characters, which can be rerolled at random by consuming the paid currency "Medal of Honor."
From the early days of the game's launch, users claimed that "even after repeated attempts to reset stats, the maximum value does not appear," and related cases were shared through communities and videos. However, the Maple Raising side responded to user inquiries by saying it was "a structure in which results are determined according to set probabilities in the game," and the issue grew after the department in charge carried out a fix patch (bug resolution) without further notice or compensation.
Nexon said the probability for the maximum value in the ability calculation formula should have been set to "less than or equal to," but it was incorrectly set to "less than," so it did not work properly. In this case, no matter how much users spend, they cannot obtain the maximum value. Management reportedly recognized this issue belatedly only on the 25th.
As the controversy grew, Nexon management said, "This is a serious matter in a game company that must be based on users' trust," and stressed that all disciplinary measures, including dismissal, would be taken against the Maple Raising manager through a thorough investigation.
It also said, "From now on, in any game serviced by Nexon, if users' trust is undermined, we will set a principle of providing the maximum level of compensation that exceeds the cost投入."
Nexon will refund 100% of the "Medal of Honor" used by users who consumed currency to reroll abilities during the problem period and will grant 200% of the currency spent on paid purchases. It will also provide in-game items as compensation to all users as an expression of apology.
Even just before the probability manipulation controversy, Maple Raising faced user complaints after it was revealed that the "attack speed" stat of in-game characters was not reflected beyond a certain range. Users pointed out that although they increased attack speed through spending, there was no actual performance change in the range where attack speed exceeded 66%.
When this fact came to light, Nexon explained it was "a technical issue that occurred in the process of limiting the maximum frames per second to prevent device overheating and screen stutter." Nexon said it would resolve the issue through an update on the 29th.
◇ "Nexon still deceiving consumers," users respond coolly
Despite Nexon's response, users are venting that probability manipulation problems have gone unfixed and repeated for years. Generally, role-playing game (RPG) users like those of Maple Raising spend significant money on paid currency such as weapon/companion draws or cubes to boost their characters' combat power. So-called "heavy users" sometimes spend from several million won to tens of millions of won.
In the past, Nexon changed the probabilities of probability-based items sold in its flagship IP MapleStory to be disadvantageous to users without notifying them and was imposed a 11,642,000,000 won penalty surcharge by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC). This is the largest penalty surcharge ever for a violation of the E-Commerce Act.
In 2010, Nexon introduced a probability-based item called "cube" in MapleStory that can boost character stats. Cubes became the top revenue item, accounting for about 30% of MapleStory's total sales. In September of the same year, Nexon changed the probability structure by lowering the chance of popular options preferred by users and did not announce it. The following year, it set certain options not to appear at all and even posted a false notice saying, "There are no changes to the cube's function and it is the same as before."
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it imposed a penalty surcharge exceeding 10 billion won, reflecting that the period of user deception was as long as 10 years. At the time, there was even a user who spent 280 million won a year on buying cubes just to get the desired option. An FTC official said, "Since it is a product that is purchased repeatedly until the desired option appears, there is a possibility that probability adjustments induced excessive expenditure."
In 2018, Nexon was also sanctioned by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for deceptive and misleading practices related to probability-based items sold in SUDDEN ATTACK.
Maple Raising users, calling Nexon's operation "consumer deception," have filed collective complaints seeking refunds with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the Korea Consumer Agency, and the Korea Creative Content Agency's Content Dispute Resolution Committee. Game attorney and head of the Game Users Association Lee Cheol-woo said, "We plan to report a violation of the E-Commerce Act to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), and 1,200 users have expressed their intention to join."
In the industry, the view is that Nexon rushed to post an apology and issue a compensation notice this time as the government has toughened its response to probability manipulation, with the Game Industry Promotion Act amended last year to make game companies liable for up to triple damages when they fail to display or falsely display the types and probabilities of probability-based items and thereby cause harm to users.
There is also close watch on how this Maple Raising controversy will affect the outcome of Nexon's ongoing lawsuit to cancel the penalty surcharge against the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Nexon is in administrative litigation with the FTC over the 11.6 billion won MapleStory penalty surcharge. The first-trial ruling, scheduled for the 28th of this month, was postponed a day before sentencing, and the court decided to reopen the hearing.
A legal source said, "It is unusual for the court to decide to reopen the hearing a day before sentencing, and it appears this Maple Raising controversy had an impact." With the hearing date set for Mar. 18, the first-trial ruling is expected to be pushed back to after late March.
Meanwhile, Maple Raising, which Nexon co-developed with external developer AbleGames, has been a hit, topping sales in both major app markets immediately after launch. In 45 days after launch, sales reached $100 million (about 140 billion won), and cumulative users surpassed 3 million in two months.
A game industry official said, "As Maple Raising is on a box-office roll, the key question is whether Nexon can overcome the probability manipulation controversy and regain trust."