[New Wave] Lessons from Gamers' Truck Protest

At the beginning of this year, gamers dissatisfied with the New Year event operations in the game Fate/Grand Order staged truck billboard protests. While online protests over game operations have occurred in the past, this marked the emergence of physical, offline forms of protest.

What was particularly unusual was that online communities, which typically do not get along well, united to express a common voice. Following this, gamers from titles such as Mabinogi, H2, and Ragnarok Origin also consecutively held truck protests. It seems that gamers are no longer active only within games but are increasingly expressing their demands to game companies in physical forms offline.

However, if we broaden our perspective, phenomena like truck protests are not limited to gaming alone. The movement of online individual investors opposing the short-selling forces behind GameStop, which shook the U.S. stock market, shows striking similarities to truck protests. The incident, which began on the online site Reddit, escalated when the stock trading application 'Robinhood' halted purchases to block short selling. This act was like pouring fuel on a fire, sparking explosive anger that drew in celebrities and politicians.

Underlying these incidents is the issue of fairness and equity. The perception that online users are structurally disadvantaged in these matters has united them. It is still too early to judge whether online users have won, but if past practices and policies continue, it is clear that such conflicts will become more frequent and intense in an era where the boundaries between online and offline are increasingly blurred.

First, we need to move beyond the binary of suppliers and consumers to share a new future. Traditionally, suppliers boasting superior performance and features met consumers with diverse tastes and desires in the market. However, the positions held by suppliers and consumers in the market were not equal. Individual or small-scale consumers were at a disadvantage compared to suppliers with large organizations and capital. For this reason, policies such as establishing consumer protection agencies have been implemented to safeguard consumer rights.

Modern consumers, connected through advanced devices and services like smartphones, are no longer the weak parties of the past. Moreover, they are far from passive users of services provided by suppliers. Through countless hours, effort, and relationships within games, they play a decisive role in enhancing the value of content. Therefore, it is more appropriate to view them not as content consumers but as platform participants. The relationship of sharing a platform is akin to a partnership. Treating partners as just another customer among many in the market, even if profits are not shared, goes beyond fairness and equity?it inevitably causes feelings of insult and betrayal.

When people believe they have been insulted or betrayed by those they trusted, it drives them to exact severe revenge that fully repays the harm done. This means losing customers or partners is not the end. It becomes the worst-case scenario where everyone ends up a loser.

To prevent such a catastrophe, institutional improvements are necessary. It seems essential to implement mechanisms like an ombudsman system involving users in game operations above a certain scale. Additionally, various studies and developments are needed to determine what treatment is appropriate for platform participants rather than just users or consumers. If new norms for the relationship between platform providers and participants emerge through this, they will inevitably become a global standard.

Hopefully, this truck protest will become a turning point that leads to closer and more trustworthy relationships. Just as the ground hardens after rain.

Jangju Lee, Director of Irak Digital Culture Research Institute

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