Following the largest fine ever imposed by the Fair Trade Commission due to a game item probability manipulation controversy, Nexon announced improvements just one week later.
On Jan. 9, Nexon apologized for the recent controversy in a live broadcast starting at 6 p.m. and announced the suspension of sales of the Cube probability-based item.
MapleStory Director Kim Chang-seop stated, “Although Cube, a probability-based enhancement item, is a core product accounting for a significant portion of MapleStory’s revenue, we will no longer sell it.” The sale of Cube items accounts for 30% of the total revenue of MapleStory.
Cubes, priced at around 2,000 won, are like slot machines or lotteries, allowing players to randomly draw potential options for game character equipment. The Fair Trade Commission previously imposed a fine of 11.6 billion won (US$8.8 million) on Nexon for changing the probability structure to reduce the appearance of popular options in September 2010, different from when the Cube product was introduced.
Following these sanctions, the resetting of a game character’s potential abilities will now only be possible through in-game currency earned by playing the game, not with real money. This change in Nexon’s approach is expected to inevitably lead to changes in the gaming industry, where top-revenue companies like NCSoft’s and its Lineage game dynasty still rely on probability-based items as their core revenue model.