The Inside Story of 'ItemBay' Caught in the Controversy Over Probability-Based Items [Buaeri's Game Dictionary]

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[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] As the government and ruling party take strong measures against probability-based items, dissatisfaction continues in the gaming industry, and recently, an unexpected opposing force has emerged.

According to industry sources on the 27th, the Korea Online Shopping Association submitted a statement of opinion to the National Assembly on the 23rd regarding the "Act on the Promotion of the Game Industry (full revision bill, led by Representative Sangheon Lee of the Democratic Party of Korea)," which includes obligations related to probability-based items.

In the statement, the Online Shopping Association expressed concerns that "excessive regulations on some provisions included in the amendment have caused unintended negative impacts on other industries," and that "unreasonable regulations are being imposed on the online shopping industry."

Probability-based items, which are a major source of revenue for leading domestic game companies, are a type of "gacha." Users cannot know which item they will obtain before purchase. Due to the low probability akin to lottery winnings, these items have been criticized for causing excessive spending by users.

Because of this, the government and ruling party proposed an amendment to the Game Industry Act to address the issue. According to Article 59 of the amendment, game developers or distributors must display the game's rating, game content information, types of probability-based items, and supply probability information for each type when distributing or providing the game to users. The gaming industry is opposing this, saying it is equivalent to "disclosing trade secrets."

However, the appearance of the Online Shopping Association, which seems completely unrelated to the gaming industry, has puzzled everyone. The Online Shopping Association includes members such as eBay Korea, Naver, Coupang, and 11st. The association itself described this as a "very unusual case" in its statement.

According to the Online Shopping Association, it is seriously concerned about provisions related to "game-related advertisements," such as prohibitions on advertisements harmful to youth, advertisements for illegal currency exchange under the Game Industry Act, and advertisements that could be mistaken for promoting gambling.

Since the distribution and food industries collaborate with famous game brands, various online shopping malls frequently display advertisements, and there is a possibility that related industry personnel could be penalized under the Game Industry Act.

However, most of the relevant provisions in the Game Industry Act target "game operators and game providers," so they are practically unrelated to the Online Shopping Association’s member companies.

Then why did the Online Shopping Association take such an active stance? Behind this was a company called "ItemBay," which is an executive member of the association.

ItemBay is a game item trading brokerage site. The company earns revenue through commissions from game item transactions, with higher-priced items generating more commission. ItemBay recorded sales of 15.9 billion KRW (as of 2019), and according to the company, sales last year were at a similar level.

The lower the probability of a game item, the higher its trading price, creating a structure where ItemBay can earn more revenue. In other words, the interests of game companies and ItemBay align. From ItemBay’s perspective, the Game Industry Act targeting probability-based items is inconvenient.

Following the controversy, the Online Shopping Association reportedly requested multiple media outlets to delete articles containing their statement.

An industry insider said, "In a way, game companies and ItemBay have a symbiotic relationship regarding 'probability-based items,'" adding, "Perhaps in their urgency, they ended up issuing such an absurd statement."

Editor's Note

Our goal at 'Game Encyclopedia' is to understand and clearly convey game-related issues every weekend. We always listen to incidents and diverse voices arising from games. Any tips are always welcome.

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