When it comes to gaming, countries like South Korea have gotten quite a bit of attention due to their gaming culture. However despite having dedicated television channels for broadcasting computer gaming matches, they are also quite strict regarding some aspects of gaming. This has resulted in curfews for gaming and most recently, the ban against the trading of virtual items in games (i.e. Blizzard’s Diablo 3 auction house). The country has officially banned the trade of virtual items, which means that as far as Diablo 3 players in South Korea are concerned, if you want to get your hands on an item, you’re going to have to farm for it yourself instead of popping over to the auction house.
According to South Korea’s secretary of The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kim Kap-Soo, the reason behind the ban is because they feel that games are meant for entertainment and “should be used for academic and other good purposes”. Apparently spending your time farming or playing the auction house is a “serious hinderance” to a “healthy gaming culture”. On a similar note, the country has also passed a law in which it bans the use of bots within games. In case you don’t play many games, bots are used in games such as World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, etc to farm for gold/items even while the player is away and not on their computer.
These programs are expected to be made illegal and players who are caught using them will face a fine of a whopping ₩50 million (~$42,912) and a maximum jail sentence of five years. Yikes! Personally I find that botters and hackers ruin the game and not to mention the economy of the game, so it’s good to know that there is an actual law now that will take action against these botters.