The compulsory shutdown system was abolished on January 1, 2022. However, Microsoft (MS), which was the beginning of the incident, <마인크래프트>was found to remain a youth-unavailable game.
As of January 3rd, in MS Store <마인크래프트> It is confirmed that a message remains on the Java Edition purchase page: “For players in Korea, you must be 19 years of age or older to purchase and play Minecraft Java Edition.”
(Source: MS official website)
# Now that the law has changed, MS has to move…?!
In order to solve the authentication problem caused by the implementation of the shutdown system in 2011, Microsoft allowed only adults to create an account and use the Xbox service.
And last year MS <마인크래프트> By consolidating Java Edition accounts into ‘Xbox Live’ accounts, young people <마인크래프트> It can’t be imported into Java Edition. This aroused anger among gamers, and this ‘snowball’ formed a national consensus and eventually led to the abolition of the compulsory shutdown system. Note that <마인크래프트>has received a 12-year-old rating from the Game Management Committee in the past.
Microsoft has been following the law as a convenient way to block the use of accounts by teenagers rather than creating a separate system that prevents teenagers from playing games at a certain time (which has completed the authentication process). However, as the compulsory shutdown system is now abolished, teenagers over the age of 12 <마인크래프트>The door must be left open for access.
On July 6, last year, a Microsoft official said, “We are preparing a long-term solution for subscribers under the age of 19 who have already purchased and will purchase in the future. We plan to share details related to this by the end of this year.” Without any announcement, the MS Store is operating the same as last year.
# As long as the authentication system remains, the ‘Galapagos regulation’ is still there, and Microsoft is still in business.
The shutdown system was not completely abolished. Since the ‘game time selection system’ exists in the Game Act, a system that allows parents to certify their relationship with children and adjust game time remains. Major game companies have to respond to this, and major domestic game companies, including Nexon, have completed revision work and announcements of the changed laws.
From the user’s point of view, the regulations have been partially relieved, but in the case of overseas companies that have registered domestic corporations, they are in a situation where they have to guide various procedures including authentication. Both Blizzard and Riot Games have provided guidance on the ‘game time selection system’, but Microsoft is not the only one. Although Microsoft is eager to enter the global market through the Xbox Game Pass, which has an unprecedented subscription fee, it is difficult for Korean teenagers to use it.
Naver Cafe ‘Our <마인크래프트> in ‘space’<마인크래프트> Manager Jeon Hyun-soo, who led the ‘Adult Game Against Game’ movement, said, “I did not expect that Microsoft would immediately take action (selective game time system) because it was January 1st. said.
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