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South Korea institutes midnight ban on MMOs photo

To address an ever-growing concern over online game addiction amongst children, the government of South Korea has put in place a ban on youths playing them past the witching hour. Underaged users who play in the wee hours will have their connection to the server severed for a six-hour period and gamers can choose whether it starts at midnight, 1 am or 2 am.

In addition, extended play online will result in a throttling of the user's connection speed. This measure is currently being tested on four MMOs and will later be expanded to apply to a total of 19 online RPGs which represent 79% of the domestic market in Korea.

Kids will inevitably find a way around this, no doubt. but I can appreciate the desire to do this. If I had had people -- we'll call them "parents" -- who told me to turn off my games at midnight or offered punishment for disobeying the instruction, I might have wound up with a real, grown-up job instead of this totally awesome one.

Of course, I did have people like that and I chose to ignore them. Something tells me that's likely to happen again.

Midnight ban imposed on online games [The Korea Herald]








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Conrad Zimmerman is Destructoid's News Editor and home to the busiest mustache in the gaming press. An amateur historian and pop culture fanatic, Conrad possesses a nearly limitless wealth of videogame factoids and a passion for the power of games to teach, inspire and entertain. He enjoys reading, writing and turning things which should be fun into work. Likes Mega Man 2, Arcade Games, Books about games, Board games, Having cultural interests that aren't games Meet the rest of the team



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43 comments | showing # 1 to 43
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Lakitu's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:09
Lakitu
Well, even if I find the fact that South Korea can do this horrible, at least they are trying to do something legitimately beneficial for their people, with their liberty-destroying power.
Clarke's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:11
Clarke
YAY FREEDOM!
Generic Purple Turtle's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:11
Generic Purple Turtle
XD But don't you want a proper grown up job?
Django Reinhardt's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:12
Django Reinhardt
Personally, I'm completely for this. There's no bigger waste of time than an MMO.
Sean Daisy's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:20
Sean Daisy
So they can only notch 126 hours a week instead of 168?

Yeah, that'll show 'em.
Clarke's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:23
Clarke
I always knew Carl Sagan was a red.
Volomon's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:24
Volomon
I can see the young being a reasonable target, but this appears to target all. Why not just force internet cafes to remove minors at even 10pm. I can't see any reason for them to be out past that time anyway. Why force game companies to take a parenting role? When it should be the immediate adults associated with the activity.

Most kids don't own a PC at home in Korea, hell most adults don't either. So why not just target the cafes, cut through all the bullshit and money/time.
koehler83's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:26
koehler83
That is some Big Brother shit right there.
Dreamsower's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:28
Dreamsower
MMOs is just as much an issue with adults, those "parents" whose baby died from malnutrition while tending to their online baby. I'd agree with this, MMOs are uhh something that some people need to be restricted in using 'cause they don't know how to manage their time. They are a bit different than other types of games I think.
LB Jeffries's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:38
LB Jeffries
The only problem with the law is that it lumps all MMOs into one group. Some of them are just weird games, others are so blatantly designed to be psychologically addictive that they ought to come with a Surgeon's General warning for heart disease.
whateverthismeanstoyou's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:47
whateverthismeanstoyou
Basically curfew for on-line gaming after midnight. It's largely pointless, but symbolic. I believe that the Korean online uses more or less a "real" identity approach where everyone who opens an online account uses their equivalent of social security number. G'luck with that and I suppose this will eventually come to America if the effort results anything tangible. In any case, if family can't control something like this, I don't know how much the government can really do.
Chronic Logic's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:48
Chronic Logic
I think South Korea is taking MMO's a little too far, especially with legalizing virtual goods and money as REAL money and stuff.
TheToiletDuck's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:51
TheToiletDuck
@Chronic Logic: Are you serious, legal tender? That's mental. I'd love to read an in depth article on how crazy it is.
Airbr1dge's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 07:58
Airbr1dge
Sounds reasonable enough. 12-2 is pretty late and it's not as if they are banning the games or taking more extream measures.
Piellar's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 08:00
Piellar
But... why the gremlin as a header pic? South koreans multiply when exposed to water?
Sexualchocolate's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 08:10
Sexualchocolate
To be honest, monthly subscription MMO's are a shady business.

Make a game, make it take REALLY long to get anywhere in it to keep people playing and paying, make it social so that people feel the NEED to keep paying/playing and make it rewarding.

It's like MMO's are to endorphine addiction as pipes are to crack addiction.

But what can I say, although I don't play MMO's I AM addicted to gaming.
Conrad Zimmerman's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 08:26
Conrad Zimmerman
@Piellar: That's not a Gremlin. It's a Mogwai.
falinter's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 08:34
falinter
All them little furry Korean kids are going to turn in to Gremlins if they play games after midnight!
Cupcakes's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 08:46
Cupcakes
regulating what people do privately on their own time and dime, self destructive or not, is not compatible with a free society.
Nortonantivirus's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 09:05
Nortonantivirus
@Cupcakes
Last time I checked China, North and South Korea were not free societies.
BoBoTheChimp757's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 09:08
BoBoTheChimp757
I'm surprised it's not their neighbors to the north pulling these sort of hijinks
Bakewell's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 09:15
Bakewell
This has nothing to do with freedom. It has to do with the lack of responsible parents in the world. Just last month there wa the story of the couple who neglected their child to look after a virtual one. If parents cant care for their children then this is the only option.

Children need more sleep than most people would imagine and I know from adult experience that playing video games until waaaay past my be time affects my abiltiy to concentrate at work so these children have no chance of absorbing their education.
Bakewell's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 09:19
Bakewell
Of course we could just sterilise the entire adult population of Korea as a punishment for nelecting
to care for these children who are allowed to stay up to the wee hours playing mmo's

The ISP's dictate why services they allow, even in the "free" countries. If the bill payees don't like it they can stop paying for the services.
viviextreme's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 09:31
viviextreme
Could you imagine if they did this with Starcraft.. South Korea would outrage.. riot or something. They at least have game shows of people playing Starcraft.
BGFUSAB's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 09:41
BGFUSAB
I actually support this. MMOs can be just as addictive as some drugs and potentially as destructive as well. I think it is within the government's purview to regulate them.

There's no such thing as a truly free society; the second people decide to form a government, they abdicate some of their freedoms in favor of some kind of order. Now, there are differing degrees of freedom, but every government impinges on freedom to some extent. This particular law doesn't strike me as particularly noxious.

I don't think we'll see something like this in the US any time soon either. We certainly have our MMO addicts here but it doesn't seem to be the widespread problem it is apparently becoming in South Korea.
Sean Daisy's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 09:43
Sean Daisy
Everyone playing the "FREEDOM!" card; why do you think this couldn't possibly happen in America?

In America, stores are already required to restrict the sale of "mature" games to minors. How does this differ to restriction of the amount of time minors can spend on an MMO? Both are restrictions to services in the interest of the health and safety of minors.

Why do you think, if the government picked up on the idea, and there was evidence that it prevented online game addiction amongst children, that it wouldn't catch on?

Is it because you believe you live in a free country where you can do what you want with your broadband?

Are you sure you don't live in a country where the main supplier of your broadband [url=can slow it down if they want to?

I live in Britain which is also meant to be free. Thanks to the Digital Economy Bill, the power to regulate broadband has been given to Ofcom. (Britain's equivalent of the FCC) The FCC are working on getting similar powers, and trying to get broadband treated like a utility so it can impose regulations much easier.

So, in conclusion, is The West particularly more free than South Korea?
Projectexodus's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 09:47
Projectexodus
Seems like a too simple solution if you ask me. Most of the people absorbed in MMO's are trying to fill up voids in their lives.
Prince Ghidorah's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 10:05
Prince Ghidorah
Hey, I had that Gizmo doll when I was a kid!
Volomon's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 10:29
Volomon
@Chronic Logic I think most Asian countries have some form of this, and there is a similar law that was in the works for the US. It's basically a fundamental of this, time = money = value. MMO's take a lot of time, for instance in Japan stealing an online character or an account is a crime based in severity on how much time was spend on the character for instance an account with straight 80s in WOW on one server is worth more than a brand new account with no characters on it. So imagine it as equivalent to stealing thousands of dollars. However in the US the only value the account has is the original value you purchased it at, I don't think they even figure in the monthly fees.

So Japan erase a boyfriend/girlfriends character out of spite Jail/Fine, America no penalty really because it's considered by most to have no real value or that less than $50.
Matt Welch's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 11:28
Matt Welch
Yeah....because no one has jobs where they sleep during the day and get to play during the wee hours only.....what a stupid idea.

"12-2 is pretty late"

This depends entirely on your sleep cycle, when you work, and many other factors. 12-2 for me is "evening" not "late night".
Bakewell's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 11:32
Bakewell
@matt welch

if youre working then youre an adult and thusly this won't effect you.
Jaffacakelover's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 11:32
Jaffacakelover
I like this idea, but note it cuts the kids off for 6 hours. I thought recommended sleep for under-18s was 8 hours and above?
KCalder's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 12:52
KCalder
Parenting.

Also, all consoles and computers can be programmed to do this, should direct parenting be too much of a hassle.

But to each country their own. Who knows what it would be like to live in a place where hardcore gaming is not only accepted, but to some extent televised and idolized.
mix's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 13:03
mix
This is kind of funny!

Lets do this with crack heads and alcoholics!
dj-anon's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 13:54
dj-anon
I agree with CaptainBus, playing the freedom card is risible.

A teen, if still awake at 1 or 2pm, should be preparing their stuff for tomorrow and not playing some MMO.
Kyle MacGregor's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/12/2010 16:05
Kyle MacGregor
I'm down for it.MMOs can get really scary. I've seen a friend play through the whole night on more than one occasion.
Sheeelashela's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/14/2011 05:43
Sheeelashela
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Katya's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/18/2011 09:42
Katya
This measure is currently being tested on four MMOs and will later be expanded to apply to a total of 19 online RPGs which represent 79% of the domestic market in Korea.
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Lamhan0022's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/10/2011 11:56
Lamhan0022
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Jsparco's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/19/2011 10:21
Jsparco
I love gizmo! The grimlins was such a great movie series. Why would they ban MMOs.. thats silly, let people do what they want. MA Auto Insurance
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Sarah Wilson
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