Selective Cinderella Law to Suppress Hot-Selling KR Online Games
By Date: 01-16-2012 Views:
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Recently, the Ministry of Culture of South Korea publicly proclaimed that the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family has made a concession, and the "Selective Cinderella Law"(The shutdown law) will be officially take effect on Jan. 22. It is learnt that the "Selective Cinderella Law" will not cover all the online games, but only hot-selling ones with an annual sales volume over 30 billion won (approx. US$ 26.1 million), and mobile games will also be excluded.
Must Be 17 Or Older to Play Online at Midnight? OH, NO!
The "Selective Cinderella Law" will officially take effect on Jan. 22, which forbids minors below 16 years old from logging into online games between 0:00 am and 6:00 am. And minors between 16 and 18 years old are not allowed to play online games unless being permitted by their parents. If parents do not allow their children to play online games during this time period, they can submit an online application to control their children's play time.
Korea: Item/Gold Trading Only Available in Adults-only Games
"Selective Cinderella Law" is another wonder
When the passage of "Cinderella Law" was announced, many overseas media reported it as a wonder. And we can say the passage of "Selective Cinderella Law" is another wonder.
According to South Korea media, online games which generate an annual sales volume of over 30 billion won will definitely be restricted by the "Selective Cinderella Law", opinions from parents will be solicited for online games which generate an annual sales volume of 5-30 billion won, and such restriction will not be put on those with an annual sales volume below 5 billion won (approx. US$ 4.35 million).
What Policies Suit the Gaming Industry in South Korea?
So, basically big companies like NCsoft, Neowiz Games, Nexon, NHN and South Korea Blizzard will be restricted by the "Selective Cinderella Law" since almost all the online games produced by them generate an annual sales volume of over 50 billion won, while concerning PS3 and Xbox 360 games with an annual sales volume of over 30 billion won, the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family will release a separate scheme.
According to the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family, starting from Jan. 22, the average gaming time of online gamers in South Korea will be reduced by over 2 hours, which is good for their health.
The gaming industry questions the 30 billion won restriction
Similar to "Cinderella Law", "Selective Cinderella Law" was also questioned by the gaming industry in South Korea. They indicated that the 30 billion won concept is ambiguous. Does the 30-billion won include both domestic and overseas sales, or only include domestic sales? And some small and medium-sized enterprises argued that their sales revenue mainly comes from overseas markets. If the 30-billion won includes both domestic and overseas sales, it’s like dissolving their company.
According to an official, the preliminary draft of the Law developed by the Ministry of Culture was originally opposed by the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family which imposed pressure on the South Korean government. After negotiations, they reached an agreement to produce the so-called "Selective Cinderella Law" on the condition that the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family will receive 1% of the annual sales of online games as a special fund for the Ministry.
It is revealed that the "Selective Cinderella Law" will remain effective for six months, starting from Jan. 22 and ending on Jun. 22.
