[Bu-aeri's Game Dictionary] Nexon Sweats Over FIFA 4 Boycott Movement

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Nexon faced backlash as users launched a boycott, accusing the company of encouraging excessive spending in the soccer game 'FIFA Online 4.'

Park Jung-moo, head of Nexon's FIFA Online 4 division, apologized on the 23rd via the official website, stating, "We apologize for causing disappointment to users who have enjoyed the game due to the faster-than-expected release of the new class and issues related to the salary balancing of the LH class."

The conflict began when Nexon released the 'LH Season Player Pack' on the 26th of last month. The LH Player Pack is an in-game item used to obtain soccer players. The players obtained from the LH Player Pack had overwhelmingly higher performance compared to previously released players, sparking controversy. Typically, players with better performance have higher salaries, but in the case of the LH Player Pack, players had high performance with low salaries.

For example, a user who invested real money to acquire Cristiano Ronaldo on the 11th of last month found that a better-performing Ronaldo was released just two weeks later. Since the player pack system randomly draws players, the amount of money a user might spend to get Ronaldo could range from a minimum of 50,000 KRW to several million KRW.

The release of the LH class also caused the value of players owned by existing users to plummet significantly. FIFA Online 4 features an auction system where players can be bought and sold, but with the introduction of new players through the LH release, existing players held by users became, in stock market terms, 'worthless.' For instance, Real Madrid defender Rapha?l Varane's market value dropped from 950 million BP to 470 million BP, effectively halving his worth.

As Nexon released new player packs roughly once a month this year, already frustrated FIFA Online 4 users began a 'no-spending campaign' starting on the 21st. The no-spending campaign means users pledge not to spend any more money on the game, similar to a boycott.

Various gaming communities and the official FIFA Online 4 website bulletin board were flooded with user protests. Users expressed their dissent collectively by posting emoticons depicting a person lying down and uploaded relay videos on YouTube titled "Joining the No-Spending Campaign."

Faced with user backlash, Nexon eventually bowed to pressure. Along with an apology, Nexon proposed compensation measures. Park stated, "Club owners holding players whose salaries are being changed will receive BP compensation," adding, "We promise to show a more prepared and improved approach for future new class releases."

He continued, "In focusing on making many club owners (game users) satisfied, some players with somewhat excessive salary advantages were released," and explained, "We have re-examined the salary balance of the LH class by reflecting the valuable opinions of club owners and decided to adjust it during the regular maintenance on the 28th."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.