Nexon Got Caught Cheating Its Player Base

[Storyteller Hero]

https://www.pcgamer.com/nexon-fined-nearly-dollar9m-for-falsifying-loot-box-drop-rates/

Apparently Nexon (Maple Story, Elsword, etc.) got caught reducing cash shop gacha drop rates without telling the players, and it got so bad that the government had to step in and fine the company.

This is big news since millions of gamers worldwide have potentially either grinded hard as F2P or paid real money under a shady enterprise.

 

[aco175]

Hey, we make money by you buying these Magic cards loot boxes and you hope to get the big cool items, but we do not tell you how often we insert them hoping that you buy more Magic cards loot boxes. And now people are upset when you think you can get the cool item and we secretly set the drop rate to zero without telling you. Shocked I tell you.

 

[James Gasik]

Hey, we make money by you buying these Magic cards loot boxes and you hope to get the big cool items, but we do not tell you how often we insert them hoping that you buy more Magic cards loot boxes. And now people are upset when you think you can get the cool item and we secretly set the drop rate to zero without telling you. Shocked I tell you.

They likely get away with that because it's a "collectable" item. If it wasn't hard to get your secret double chase mythic rare in holofoil full variant art treatment, it would have no value as a "collectable", thus cheating their own customers. And no honest company would do such a thing, right?

 

[Horwath]

this is the reason why I play A Game of thrones card game and not Magic.

 

[trappedslider]

when did Nexon get bought by hasbro/WotC? Or is this just a general cooperations doing evil things?

 

[aco175]

I think the confusion was when I was trying to make a funny comparing Magic to this game I never heard of. I do not play video games and only know about loot boxes from my kids. I was going to post something about buying stuff you do not get to own like a sword for your character in an online game, but do not know much about it.

I should have just said- it is how you become a billion dollar brand.

 

[trappedslider]

I think the confusion was when I was trying to make a funny comparing Magic to this game I never heard of. I do not play video games and only know about loot boxes from my kids. I was going to post something about buying stuff you do not get to own like a sword for your character in an online game, but do not know much about it.

I should have just said- it is how you become a billion dollar brand.

meh, I forget that on any RPG forums it's the cool thing to slam WotC no matter how degrees of separation there is.

 

[James Gasik]

My post applies to other companies as well, it's WotC-agnostic. You could just as easily apply the gist of what I said to Konami, for example, who have something like 23 different rarities for YuGiOh cards.