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Posted by Chad Kilinski on Oct 4, 2011

Diablo 3 Real Money Auction House Stirs Controversy In South Korea

One of the most anticipated features in the upcoming Blizzard title, Diablo 3, is creating a scene.  South Korea, also known as a major Mecca for the video game industry, interprets the auction system as a form of gambling.  A report by the Game Rating Board was sent from Shim Jae-chul, a representative of the Grand National Party in Korea, to the Korean National Assembly stating that a game with virtual items that drop on a random basis cannot be traded for real money or it is considered a form of gambling.  This law has been in effect since July and is called the Gaming Industry Promotion Law.

It is huge news if the Game Rating Board denies the rating of Diablo 3, because that will in turn result in no Diablo 3 release in Korea.  This is because a game with no rating shall not be released to the public.

News of this possible ban made its way to the media and the public where it created somewhat of an uproar.  Blizzard is a big part of Korean culture due to Starcraft being regarded on the same level as any other sport in this region.  If Diablo 3 were to be banned, the government would likely see some backlash.

The Board can’t make any decisions yet because Blizzard has not yet introduced the game formally to be rated, but it is a big possibility that they won’t let the auction house pass.  This happened last year with the game Zhu Hou Online.  An extensive line of action would possibly be to remove the real money auction house in Korean clients.

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