"Even after getting hit with a penalty surcharge in the 10 billion won range for probability manipulation, nothing has changed. Are they looking down on users?"
Nexon's popular mobile game "Raising Maple" is under fire over allegations of manipulating probability-based items in the game. Co-CEOs Kang Dae-hyun and Kim Jeong-uk of Nexon Korea posted an apology and promised follow-up measures including "firing the person in charge" along with compensation, but user dissatisfaction has barely subsided since this is not Nexon's first probability manipulation controversy.
Last year, MapleStory, Nexon's long-running game, was fined a penalty surcharge of 11.6 billion won by the Korea Fair Trade Commission for deceitful and misleading practices related to the sale of probability-based items. As controversy spreads that "Raising Maple," regarded as a success story of Nexon's intellectual property (IP) expansion, also misled users in the same way, critics say a decline in trust in the game is inevitable.
◇ "Spent money but performance stayed the same"… 'Raising Maple' put to a trust test
According to the gaming industry on the 28th, Nexon Korea co-CEOs Kang Dae-hyun and Kim Jeong-uk said in a statement posted on the "Raising Maple" website on the evening of the 26th, "We sincerely apologize for greatly disappointing users."
In "Raising Maple," from Nov. 6 to Dec. 2 at 6:27 p.m. last year, for about a month, an error occurred in which the maximum value for the paid "ability options" did not appear according to the stated probabilities. Ability options are additional stats attached to in-game characters, and can be randomly changed by spending the paid currency "Medal of Honor."
Among users, claims had been raised since the game's launch 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 "Raising Maple" side responded to user inquiries by saying it was "a structure in which results are determined according to probabilities set in the game," and the problem grew as the department in charge carried out a corrective patch (bug fix) without further notice or compensation.
Nexon explained that in the ability calculation formula, the probability of the maximum value appearing should have been set to "less than or equal to," but it was mistakenly set to "less than," so it did not function properly. In this case, no matter how much users spent, they could not obtain the maximum value. Nexon management is said to have only become aware of the matter belatedly 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 it would take all disciplinary actions, including dismissal, against the person responsible for "Raising Maple" after a thorough investigation.
They also said, "Going forward, in all games serviced by Nexon, if users' trust is damaged, we will set a principle of providing compensation that exceeds the expense incurred."
Nexon decided to refund 100% of the "Medal of Honor" spent by users who consumed currency to reset abilities during the problem period, and to pay 200% of the currency spent on paid purchases. It also decided to provide in-game items as compensation to all users as an expression of apology.
Even just before the probability manipulation controversy, "Raising Maple" 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 change in actual performance in the section where attack speed exceeded 66%.
When this fact became public, Nexon explained it as "a technical issue that occurred in the process of limiting the maximum number of frames per second to prevent device overheating and screen stutter." Nexon said it would fix the issue in an update on the 29th.
◇ "Nexon still deceiving consumers," users respond coldly
Despite Nexon's response, users are fuming that probability manipulation problems have not been fixed for years and keep repeating. Typically, users of role-playing games (RPGs) like "Raising Maple" spend significant amounts on paid currency for weapon and 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 disadvantage users and failed to disclose it, resulting in a penalty surcharge of 11.642 billion won from 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 "cubes," probability-based items that can increase character stats, in MapleStory. Cubes became the biggest 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 favored by users and did not announce it. The following year, it even set certain options to never appear and 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 of more than 10 billion won in consideration of the fact that the period of deceiving users lasted 10 years. At the time, there was a user who spent 280 million won in a year only on cube purchases to get the desired option. An FTC official said, "Since it is a product that is repeatedly purchased until the desired option appears, probability adjustments likely induced excessive expenditure."
In 2018, Nexon was also sanctioned by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for deceitful and misleading acts related to probability-based items sold in "SUDDEN ATTACK."
"Raising Maple" users have filed collective civil complaints with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the Korea Consumer Agency, and the Content Dispute Resolution Committee, demanding refunds and calling Nexon's operation "consumer deception." Lee Cheol-woo, a game-specialized lawyer and head of the Game Users Association, said, "We plan to report a violation of the E-Commerce Act to the FTC, and 1,200 users have expressed their intention to join."
In the industry, it is interpreted that Nexon hurried to post an apology and announce compensation as the government has toughened its response to probability manipulation, such as last year's enforcement of an amendment to the Game Industry Promotion Act that holds game companies liable for up to three times damages if they fail to display or falsely display the types and probabilities of probability-based items and thereby cause loss to users.
There is also close attention to how this "Raising Maple" controversy will affect the outcome of Nexon's ongoing lawsuit to cancel the penalty surcharge against the FTC. Nexon is engaged in administrative litigation with the FTC, challenging the 11.6 billion won MapleStory penalty surcharge. The first-instance ruling scheduled for the 28th of this month was postponed the day before the verdict, and the court decided to reopen arguments.
A legal source said, "It is unusual for the court to decide to reopen arguments a day before the verdict, and it appears this 'Raising Maple' controversy had an impact." With the hearing date set for Mar. 18, the first-instance ruling is expected to be delayed until after late March.
Meanwhile, "Raising Maple," which Nexon co-developed with external studio AbleGames, has been a hit, topping sales in both major app markets right after its release. In 45 days after launch, it recorded $100 million in sales (about 140 billion won), and the cumulative number of users surpassed 3 million in two months.
A gaming industry official said, "As 'Raising Maple' is on a roll, the key is whether Nexon can overcome the probability manipulation controversy and regain trust."