Briefly: The number of Korean game companies has dropped by 30 per cent in the past few years. This could be related to the country’s sluggish economy, but according to a recent Korean report (via tipster Sang), the country’s gaming curfew law is the main culprit.
The same report (also via Sang) stated that the number of people employed in the Korean game industry dropped to 39,221 in 2014 from 52,466 in 2012. At one time, the Korean game industry was apparently responsible for 3 per cent of all jobs created in the country. These days, sadly, it’s not.
Man holding controller image via Shutterstock
Comments
8 responses to “Korea’s Curfew Law Is Impacting Their Gaming Industry”
When people are dying at their computers at gaming joints then I don’t think a curfew is that terrible an idea. A country can only run as fast as it’s slowest person and concessions have to be made to accommodate the spuds (i was trying to type stupids but autocorrect went with spuds, I am fine with this) that ruin it for the rest of us. If some other aspect takes a hit then that needs to be considered accordingly but human lives tends to beat out most other complaints.
I agree entirely. If a society has individuals who are harmed (or killed) while undertaking activities unsupervised, then we need to ban those activities for the betterment of society as a whole. As such, I propose we ban; driving, smoking, drinking, all sports, walking, running, jogging (or any type of ambulation, really), sitting (it’s the new smoking, after all), standing (that’s as bad as sitting apparently), sleeping, anything to do with electricity, all outdoor activities, all indoor activities and most importantly video games, drugs and rock and roll.
The alternative, after all, is a society where personal responsibility for your own health and actions is the norm and by jove, we can’t have that. It’d be pure anarchy.
To be fair, it isn’t a ban, it is a regulation, the curfew doesn’t say don’t game, it says don’t game for 3 days without food or movement and die, or don’t game for 2 days and get home to a neglected dead baby.
Like a 40kph speed limit through a school zone, having security at airports or a warning label on shampoo saying “not to be taken”. Consider the recent cosplay restrictions of no face coverings or weapons for the new star wars movies in the US. If someone didn’t recentlyish get all trigger happy and shoot up a bunch of people at a dark knight showing then it is unlikely the restrictions would be there.
I will give you the point that my initial post makes my thoughts unclear though.
The curfew is just a law saying minors (under the age of 16) can’t be in an internet café in the middle of the night. That doesn’t sound so unreasonable to me.
Nexi your logic couldnt be more wrong, BUT I love your use of the word spuds.
I’d like to ask exactly how curfew factors into this.
To my knowledge, it only impacts people under the age 16 from playing games online between midnight and 6 am. Under what convoluted circumstances does this factor into 30% of the industry failing in the past few years?
I thought the same thing. This isn’t a population wide curfew, it is just for minors, hard to see it being solely responsible for such a massive hit to the industry. Seems like someone is just trying to use the game industry’s situation to further an anti-curfew agenda.
I agree entirely. If a society has individuals who are harmed (or killed) while undertaking activities unsupervised, then we need to ban those activities for the betterment of society as a whole. As such, I propose we ban; driving, smoking, drinking, all sports, walking, running, jogging (or any type of ambulation, really), sitting (it’s the new smoking, after all), standing (that’s as bad as sitting apparently), sleeping, anything to do with electricity, all outdoor activities, all indoor activities and most importantly video games, drugs and rock and roll.
The alternative, after all, is a society where personal responsibility for your own health and actions is the norm and by jove, we can’t have that. It’d be pure anarchy.