I’ve said it already, and I will continue saying it: The outpour of support from MMO developers and the community toward Japan has been absolutely overwhelming. Already we have seen support from Square Enix, Sony Online Entertainment, CCP, Hi-Rez, and NCsoft, and the list just keeps on growing.
Nexon today announced a two-tiered plan to send aid to Japan, via select relief agencies including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. On the first tier, the company has donated $1.2 million USD in initial corporate contributions. But that’s not all. Players can have a direct effect on the second tier of contributions via the game’s cash shop:
In addition to Nexon’s donation, from March 14 through March 20, Nexon America will be donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of many of our in-game items to the Red Cross for the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami disaster relief efforts.
The following games are included in the charity movement:
As you can see from the top notice, on the 5th of this month, Nexon began a cash shop sale on their game Maplestory in Europe. The details are sketchy, and seem to change slightly depending on who you ask, but it appears that a 90-day double experience card found its way into the same area as the 24-hour double experience cards. Of course, in a world where we are brought up to understand that if a deal feels too good to be true, it probably is, the pricing was a mistake. Nexon fixed the price, and all was alright in the world, right?
Of course not, that would be too easy. After a week, Nexon fixed the cash shop item, and replaced the already purchased cards with 24-hour cards, which sent the forums into an uproar. The opinion appears to be split over whether or not players should be compensated or if they should have been aware that the sale was an “obvious bug” (their words, not mine) in the first place. According to a few members on the forums, this is not the first time Nexon has had such a cash-shop fluke, but apparently this is the first time they had responded by removing the items post-purchase from a user’s account.
Granted, we could yell until our faces are blue about the legality of this change in product, given the many loopholes and issues that would be raised from commerce laws between European countries, to exemptions in place because the product was purchased with Nexon Cash instead of real currency. I see a lot of people using examples of tangible purchases, but the two have separate laws that govern each form of commerce.
Of course, for those of you who did purchase the bugged card, there is still the option of reversing the charges on your credit card, if you are unconcerned with your Nexon account being banned.
The question now, as always, rests in the hands of the Nexon European community. I think it’s safe to say that, despite what the trolls say, players won’t be reeling in fear that their items are going to suddenly start being replaced en masse. You can buy that pack of regularly priced potions without worrying about them being turned into weak potions. I would, however, take great caution when buying something during any sales on the cash shop, as this is not the first time such an error has occurred. Nexon does not appear to be taking as much leniency with those who purchased the bugged item, maliciously or not.
I believe Nexon should have at least refunded the cash shop points back to players, and perhaps next time not take a week to implement a fix that should only take a few minutes.
I’ve said it already, and I will continue saying it: The outpour of support from MMO developers and the community toward Japan has been absolutely overwhelming. Already we have seen support from Square Enix, Sony Online Entertainment, CCP, Hi-Rez, and NCsoft, and the list just keeps on growing.
MMO Fallout 