Reforming Gaming Machine Industry
Reforming Gaming Machine Industry
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  • 승인 2007.01.01 12:01
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Opinion

Revitalizing game contents in the wake of the Oceanic Tales scam

The most conspicuous topic these days among pundits on the street and the media is none other than the gambling machine called the Oceanic Tales series. When we are talking about gambling games, we refer to various types of reel games such as Mermaid Tales, Island Tales, Golden Castle, Baek-Gung, and of course Oceanic Tales that incite the desire to gamble.

The gambling games' rattling of national discipline comes from the lagging of related laws, regulations, and deliberation standards as opposed to the speed with which game technologies are advancing.

Furthermore, the scam that sprang from the gambling game can also be attributed to a systemic malfunctioning with respect to the issuance, operation and monitoring of gift coupons offered by e-game bars.

In the years before the advent of Oceanic Tales, the gambling industry was riddled with problems. NGOs including ethics related organizations have been voicing concerns over the gambling nature of the game. Nevertheless, this had been shrugged off under the pretext of fostering a cutting-edge game industry. Moreover, it became a social problem as game operators disregarded the advice to exert self-driven cleansing efforts.

Vicious cycle of developing gambling games

For those domestic developers of arcade games to be supplied to game rooms on the street, there had been hardly any hot-sale game machines since the days of the dance machine called Pump. As a result, it is said that they could not but develop adult-only gambling games as an alternative to reflect the trend of the times when juveniles are shifting to PC rooms where online games are mostly played. The relaxing of deliberation related regulations on arcade game content is appraised to be a major factor that has contributed to the advent of gambling games in large numbers. As the deliberation of games eased, game developers focused on introducing adult-only gambling games, resulting in the vicious cycle of youngsters once again turning their backs away from egame bars short of quality content.

This in turn incited developers to make gambling games. Aside from this, e-Game bars fell into serious difficulties as the makers of home-targeted video games such as the Playstation 3, Game Cube, and X-Box 360 jumped off to widen their market to include e-game bars. To bring an end to the difficulty, more than 15,000 gambling game bars were created nationwide as a result.

Alarmed by this, the police stepped in only to find no unlawful deeds. Anyhow, all the news-making incidents stemmed from gambling games lately have resulted in the government's decision to abolish the gambling game industry without any follow-up measures on the reason that the national sentiment runs high against gambling games. This is what makes a deep concern whether the government will to bring to light and resurrect the game industry through legal processes have vanished altogether.

Need for self deliberation

How then can we overcome such a difficulty

Undoubtedly, we cannot ease the deliberation of game contents without strings attached for the sake of industry's development. The duties of the Korea Media Rating Board lie in the securing of civil and moral soundness of video game content and the protection of juveniles. The deliberation board does not hand down a pass mark to a video game simply because one raises a civil petition even though its content is excessively gambling in nature.

Revitalizing the game industry is a duty of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The reasoning that Japan authorizes pachinko games and we, too, should allow one is also not acceptable. Almost all countries around the world including advanced countries do regulate gambling games. The pubic sentiment runs high against games that are overly gambling in nature. And even if they are to be allowed for play at game bars, we have to wait for a right moment since national consensus should be taken into consideration before others.

Surely the Korea Media Rating Board also needs to study and find a sound deliberation system for the industry's sake. The vitality of games comes from new ideas and imagination. The production of games is a creative activity, making something from nothing as in the case of research and developing new technologies.

Consequently, one must provide specialized services through the studies of circumstances including the market trend and expertise. With respect to the deliberation system, we have to lower the burden of related businesses by clearly setting the standards and the reasons for elimination and by enhancing the predictability.

In the long term, the ensuring of freedom to develop like the US and Japan along with a self-deliberation system with thorough post-management is a sure way to foster the reviving power of game industry.

Government assistance required to innovate game developers

Innovations by game bar operators and game developers are also required. The attenuation of game bars is an industry trend. The advent of PC rooms has made the need to enjoy games at game bars a thing of the past. And since game bars remain at a standstill like in the past, juveniles are turning their backs and moving farther away from game bars.

In the case of cinemas, customers are coming as cinemas have been reshaped into Multiplex entertainment spaces. Not only have more hot movies emerged but theater operators are also bringing in more customers through innovations of their own. It is no time for game developers to grumble about deliberation standards. There is no guarantee that customers will return simply because the deliberation criteria of gambling are relaxed.

Furthermore, the government must provide assistance so that game content that youngsters can enjoy can be developed. The game bars should have the financial support in the form of facility funds that include low-rate loans in addition to tax benefits and scaled down public utility charges. The alternative measure of allowing juvenile game bars to do business near schools with least facility requirements should also be studied. Moreover, the industry's distribution structure should be improved so that game bars for adults only can be managed separately and operated under limited business hours in authorized areas of amusement zones.

Enhancing the understanding of gambling game industry

From the standpoint of promoting digital content, the gambling game industry is a future industry that should not be discounted. If we fail to promote it, then game-related products from Japan, Taiwan, and China will be pouring into the domestic market. There is no magic solution to prevent this in this age of free international trade. But it becomes more dangerous when the industry goes underground. This is because when the gambling industry is linked with organized crime social problems will grow as a result.

The gambling industry has been with us since the start of human existence. In the psychology of mankind, gambling has always existed. As a result, advanced countries continuously guide and monitor gambling bars and complement the industry's shortfalls so that they can operate under sound management. Therefore, it is necessary that we strive to find improvements instead of simply abolishing the industry itself on the grounds that it is gambling.

Games are what our posterity should feed on

If there are sound game bars where juveniles can freely enjoy games without worry, then it will be possible to see the resurgence of game bars. The digital content that includes games is an industry that our future generations should feed on when our service industry as well as the first and second industries are fallen apart. We have to foster the industry well so that it can provide jobs for the young generation. There can be no policy alternative if we approach the issue based only on the logic of morality, and especially without the will to promote a high-tech industry.

Hence, now is the time that we all should gather our wisdom for laying down a policy in support of the game industry that can create decent jobs as a content industry belonging to the industries of videos, leisure, and tourism in addition to Hallyu.


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