Chapter 92
The Gacha Item Regulatory Bill was enforced.
The business models of Game Companies were hidden behind the shield of Self-Regulation.
That shield was shattered by the mace of Legal Regulation, and these business models began to be exposed to the world.
Naturally, this applied to all Mobile Game Companies and PC Game Companies without exception.
The Users, as if they had been waiting for this moment, began to act without a hitch.
[Nickname: Anonymous]
[Title: I'm compiling Exposed Probability Manipulation Cases, and these bastards really got creative with their scams lol]
The most common cases are those where there's a difference in probability between the Self-Regulation Probability Table and the Regulated Probability Table.
All these bastards' excuses are that they didn't know there was an error and fixed it as soon as they realized it. Lol. Who would believe that?
*Meanwhile, Enson Korea also lives up to its reputation.*
During the last Special Attack event, there was a Gacha Event for Character Skins, and surprisingly, this gacha was a Complete Gacha.
You could get a skin by collecting from 1 to 8 Skin Fragments and combining them.
But these bastards didn't make the Skin Fragments appear according to the stated probabilities; instead, they made it a variable system where the probability decreased the more Skin Fragments you had. Complete Gacha is already a Malicious Business Model that was banned five years ago in neighboring Japan, but it's still rampant in Korea, a situation which is legendary.
[Comment List][Newest]
-Do you think the nickname 'Don-son' came out for nothing?lol
LIsn't EnsonGT also like that?
LThey're an anomaly lol
LSeriously, if Ji Hojin hadn't held them tight, they would've been the same.
-Amidst all this chaos, Great Hojin has no controversies... we should worship him, right?
LWe worship you... *Great Hojin*.
Users, who until then had been collecting probability-related data, immediately began to expose the Game Companies' manipulations.
Caught in the users' dragnet, the game companies soon had no choice but to admit their manipulation and bow their heads.
They really shouldn't have accumulated so much bad karma.
However, the number of Game Companies caught was much smaller than Before Regression, which seemed to be because the Bill Enforcement Period was moved up.
Before Regression, many Mobile Games that were caught for Probability Manipulation had not yet been released.
Should I say it's fortunate that I prevented user damage before it occurred...?
Clicking my tongue with regret, wishing it had been like this Before Regression, I hurried with my Work Preparation.
***
Kang Hanseong, the General Director of Age of Odin.
He is currently experiencing an unprecedented sense of crisis in his entire life as a game developer.
The reason, of course, was Gacha Item Regulation.
Initially, there weren't any particular problems.
The Paid Business Models subject to probability disclosure actually had no issues with their probabilities.
However, problems began to erupt with Flame of the Ancient God, which had undergone extensive Probability Adjustment before the Gacha Item Regulation was enforced.
It was after a user discovered that the Additional Option Grant Probability of the Flame of the Ancient God BM had been modified.
[Nickname: Anonymous]
[Title: I think I found something strange in the Ao Test Server Patch Notes.]
No, the item Description Tooltip originally said “Grant Additional Options Randomly”.
But why do the Test Server Patch Notes say that all types of additional options that can be granted to an item will be modified to be granted with Equal Probability?
So, it wasn't “Grant Additional Options Randomly” after all.
This isn't some cheap item; these bastards are swindlers.
[Comment List][Newest]
-? It's true.
-Link to the announcement, please.
-F*ck, is Ao blowing up too?
Honestly, this seems even more malicious than other game companies.
-No, what the f*ck is this now?
When it was revealed that Flame of the Ancient God operated on a completely different logic from its Description Tooltip, Users literally exploded.
Unlike simply messing with probabilities, applying probabilities completely opposite to the Description Tooltip was, quite literally, fraud.
Moreover, Flame of the Ancient God was an expensive item with very few sources of acquisition.
Realizing this, users began full-fledged action.
Reports to Media Companies, Community Uproar, and even In-game Protest.
Faced with such all-encompassing negative developments, Kang Hanseong ultimately had no choice but to bow his head to the users.
However, even with an apology released within a day, public opinion among Users showed no signs of cooling, and Kang Hanseong was eventually summoned by the Director who recognized the gravity of the situation.
The Enson Korea Live Broadcast Division Director's Office.
Director Choi Taehyeon gazed steadily with his characteristic sharp gaze at Kang Hanseong, who had entered the Director's Office.
It was truly a suffocating atmosphere.
In this atmosphere, Kang Hanseong could only keep his head bowed.
“Hey, Kang Hanseong.”
“Ah, yes... Director.”
“You know how big a mess you've made, don't you?”
“...I know.”
Although the Flame of the Ancient God incident wasn't his fault, he couldn't tell the Director that.
The moment he uttered such an excuse to the Director, it would be tantamount to admitting his incompetence.
From his perspective, it was absurd, but that was the nature of being a final manager.
“As soon as I came to work today, the Chairman called me in for a private meeting.”
“...”
“That guy next door from EnsonGT... Ji Hojin, you know him, right?”
Of course, it was a name he had to know.
He was the root cause of the current situation.
Hanseong suppressed his rising anger as much as possible and replied.
“...Yes.”
“He told me to contact him and get help.”
“What?”
Even though he heard the Director's words right in front of him, the unbelievable content made him unconsciously ask again.
Get help from whom? Ji Hojin?
“Is that really true...?”
Choi Taehyeon nodded at Kang Hanseong's question.
“No, why on earth...”
“How would I know? Who can know the Chairman's True Feelings?”
The Director took a sip of coffee and continued.
“And Kang Hanseong. I know what feelings you have towards that Ji Hojin fellow, but don't let personal feelings get in the way. This is your last chance, so pull yourself together and do it right. Understood?”
The Director's Stern Warning.
At that warning, Kang Hanseong felt his head clear.
“Underst...ood.”
***
Kang Hanseong, with his large physique, was currently drinking coffee in front of me with a frown.
How did this happen, you ask...? I received a call.
From Kang Hanseong, during Working Hours.
I wondered why someone who clearly had negative feelings towards me because of this incident would call me, and it turned out to be due to the Chairman's Order.
From what I heard, the Chairman told him to come to me for help...
Should I believe this or not?
Anyway, it didn't seem like a lie, so when I went to the Cafe, our Meeting Place, Kang Hanseong was indeed there.
“Hello, I am Ji Hojin, the EnsonGT Director.”
As I approached and offered a greeting, Kang Hanseong also stood up with a surprised expression and bowed his head to me in greeting.
“I am Kang Hanseong, Director of Age of Odin.”
After exchanging greetings and business cards, the full-fledged discussion began.
“Director Ji Hojin, time is of the essence... How can I resolve this situation?”
“Before we discuss a solution, may I ask just one question?”
“Yes. Please, go ahead.”
“Thank you. Director Kang Hanseong, then, do you still believe I am the root cause of this situation?”
“Uh... Is that a mandatory question to answer?”
“It is.”
Faced with such a direct question, Hanseong's flustered expression was evident.
He probably didn't expect me to ask such a direct question.
“Actually, yes. That's right. But how on earth did you know my thoughts, Director?”
“I heard that the Director personally called our company's CEO to complain, isn't that right?”
“Ah...”
Only then did Hanseong realize how I knew his thoughts, and he looked displeased.
Ignoring Hanseong's reaction, I spoke.
“If we're talking about the Solution to the Situation, you must first change that thought: the thought that there would have been no problem if I hadn't been involved.”
“No, but...!”
I cut off Hanseong, who was responding as if he felt wronged by my words.
“First, hear me out completely.”
“...Understood.”
“Gacha Item Regulation was a regulation that would have come into being sooner or later, regardless of this incident, no matter what the Director thinks.”
“...”
Hanseong had an expression that showed he didn't quite believe my words, but I ignored it and continued.
“So, it's actually fortunate that it blew up early this time. It's an opportunity to correct the Distorted Business Model with minimum damage.”
“I understand what you're saying, Director, but what exactly should I do?”
“The first thing you, Director, must do is not to issue an apology letter, but to go on a live broadcast and offer a sincere apology to the users.”
“An apology letter didn't work, so will public sentiment really return if I offer a face-to-face apology on a live broadcast?”
“Of course, that alone isn't enough. A sincere apology and appropriate compensation are essential. This isn't just a solution to the situation; it's the minimum obligation you owe to the users.”
Of course, all these suggestions were only possible because of Age of Odin's current situation.
Before Regression, I would have told him to prepare for a Legal Battle instead of this, if the Age of Odin had followed the incident, which erupted several years later.
“And you must delete the Problematic Business Model.”
Hanseong asked with an expression that said the suggestion to delete a core pillar of the game's business model was impossible.
“Even so, how can I delete the Core Business Model? If I just apologize and tweak the content a bit...”
“Then, it will be branded by users with the derogatory term “Fraudulent Game” for the rest of its life.”
“...”
At those words, Hanseong's expression twisted, as if offended.
He must be annoyed and worried.
If, not due to his own fault but the fault of previous Directors, he doesn't get rid of a BM that easily generates billions of won, he'll be called a fraud.
“Is there no Other Method...?”
“No. At least not in the current situation.”
Hanseong sighed at my definitive answer.
He eventually nodded, as if there was nothing else he could do.
“Thank you for your valuable advice, Director... I'll go back and think about it a bit more. Goodbye then.”
With those words, Hanseong, who was the first to stand up, had an expression full of worry.
He's probably agonizing over whether to follow my advice or not.
Well, he'll figure it out.
Because even if I offer the Best Option, there's nothing I can do if the person involved refuses it.