Diablo 3 rated in South Korea

The Korean Game Rating Board has now given a rating to Diablo 3, after showing reluctance due to the game's auction house feature.

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Diablo 3 has been facing an uphill battle in South Korea, where the ratings board balked at the auction house feature for its similarities to gambling. The problem has apparently been resolved, as the Korean Game Rating Board now shows the game with an "18-and-up" rating.

The rating (via Kotaku) was granted today. Blizzard had been releasing multiple versions of the game for consideration, and the latest even reportedly removed the auction house feature altogether. The ratings board still felt reluctant, for unspecified reasons. This risked putting a wrench in Blizzard's plans for a worldwide launch.

Whatever the reason, that cautious mood has been taken care of, and the game has been given the green light in the territory. Maybe with that settled, Blizzard will be able to give us a release date.

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  • reply
    January 13, 2012 8:15 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Diablo 3 rated in South Korea.

    The Korean Game Rating Board has now given a rating to Diablo 3, after showing reluctance due to the game's auction house feature.

    • reply
      January 13, 2012 8:57 AM

      Maybe we're finally going to get a release date now (soon...-ish).

    • reply
      January 13, 2012 9:09 AM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      January 13, 2012 10:48 AM

      [deleted]

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      January 13, 2012 11:21 AM

      What happens if a company gets a rating, and then patches/adds content to a game that makes that rating approach a new level? Do they have to give refunds to all users under the new rating? Is that just flat out illegal?

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        January 13, 2012 11:32 AM

        My guess is that content patches can't make a game have a higher (more mature) rating that was originally given. Just a guess though.

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          January 13, 2012 11:45 AM

          Are we talking ESRB or SK?

          Because if we're talking ESRB then my guess would be yes since that's similar to what happened with Oblivion

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESRB_re-rating_of_The_Elder_Scrolls_IV:_Oblivion

          Not 100% the same thing (a patch is not what introduced the need for the new rating) but it doesn't take a Hot Coffee incident to get a new rating (T -> M)

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            January 14, 2012 12:48 PM

            Oblivion was never patched from T to M. It always had piles of burning skulls and bones, its rating should've been M from the get-go. So they updated it.

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      January 15, 2012 3:14 AM

      How the hell do they expect to incorporate an auction house in a single-player game without breaking the experience by offering overpowered items too early in the game?

      The only way I see is if the AH always locks items that are more than one level higher than your char, and that would make the selection totally indistinguishable from the normal vendors of Diablo 2! Are they hoping for AH ad revenues? What is Blizzard's angle, here?

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