According to several reports from over the weekend, the ratings board of South Korea is cracking down on the distribution of unrated video games in the country, and has everything from homebrew games to Valve's Steam service in its sights.
The law in Korea currently states that all games must be rated by the government. Doesn't matter if it's a AAA blockbuster or some mobile game a kid made in his bedroom, if it's publicly available, then it has to be rated.
This of course costs money, so many developers avoid doing this. Hence the crackdown. So far a site that lets people build their own RPG games has been targeted, being forced to remove all user-made games, while threats have also been made against Valve's online PC store Steam, which sells games in Korea but does not carry Korean ratings.
Hopefully things won't get that drastic; according to a translation of the piece by teamliquid, a "complete block is on the table", but the Korean ratings board is "seeking alternate options"
source
Korea is one strict country.
The law in Korea currently states that all games must be rated by the government. Doesn't matter if it's a AAA blockbuster or some mobile game a kid made in his bedroom, if it's publicly available, then it has to be rated.
This of course costs money, so many developers avoid doing this. Hence the crackdown. So far a site that lets people build their own RPG games has been targeted, being forced to remove all user-made games, while threats have also been made against Valve's online PC store Steam, which sells games in Korea but does not carry Korean ratings.
Hopefully things won't get that drastic; according to a translation of the piece by teamliquid, a "complete block is on the table", but the Korean ratings board is "seeking alternate options"
source
Korea is one strict country.
