온라인 MMORPG 약관의 현금 거래 금지 조항에 관한 유저들의 인식 및 태도에 관한 연구

Abstract

본 연구는 최근 온라인 게임의 아이템 현금거래 행위를 규제하고자 하는 법안들이 난립하며 관련 규제의 실효성 문제가 논란의 중심에 서게 된 것을 계기로 시작하였으며, 문제에 대한 해결책으로 가상공간의 이해를 가장 충실히 반영한 규제인 약관과, 게임의 필수 요소이자 이해관계자인 유저에 주목하였다. 그리고 연구문제를 통해 이용약관과 운영정책을 분석하여 MMORPG 장르의 아이템 현금거래 관련 약관이 장르를 대표하기에 가장 적당하다는 결론을 내리고, MMORPG인 블레이드&소울을 플레이하는 유저들을 상대로 인식과 태도를 조사하였다. 유저들은 아이템 현금거래 행위를 취미생활에 대한 투자이자 게임 콘텐츠의 일부로 받아들이고 있었다. 아이템 현금거래 관련 약관의 존재에 대한 유저들의 인식은 비교적 높게 나타났으나, 구체적인 내용에 대한 인식은 저조했으며 작업장을 제외한 약관의 공정성 및 형평성에 대한 태도는 비교적 부정적으로 나타났다. 또한 대부분의 유저들은 아이템 현금거래 금지 약관이 유저와 회사 간 대화를 통해 개선되어야 하며, 지나치게 엄격한 기준이나 처벌 수위가 수정되어야 할 필요성을 주장하였다. 그러나 개인의 불이익과 함께 아이템 현금거래가 게임 내 시장에 미치는 부정적인 영향도 걱정하며, 조항의 완전 삭제보다는 기준의 수정을 대안으로 제시하였다. 본 연구는 MMORPG 장르로 대표되는 아이템 현금거래 현상과 약관에 대한 유저들의 인식과 태도를 담고, 기존 약관의 문제점과 방향을 제시하기 위해 노력하였다. 아이템 현금거래 현상이 법과 사회적인 측면에서 다양하게 연구되고 있는 지금, 본 연구가 아이템 현금거래 약관과 유저들에 대한 이해를 돕기를 희망한다.|This study started from the cause that as lately a lot of bills to regulate item cash transaction behaviors in online games were proposed, the effectiveness of the regulations came to stand at the center of the controversy, and in order to find out solutions, it focused on agreementsthat are regulations that most firmly reflect understanding of the cyber space, and on users that are essential elements of and persons concerned in games. And it concluded that, by analyzing user's agreementsand management policies through research problems, agreements related to item cash transactions in MMORPG genre gamesare the most appropriate to represent this issue, and investigated recognitions and attitudes of users who play one of the MMORPG games, Blade&Soul. The users were considering item cash transaction behaviors as an investment in their hobby and a part of game contents. Users’ recognitionsof the existence of agreements related to item cash transactions turned out to be relatively high, but recognitions of specific contents were low, and their attitudes towards fairness and equity of agreements, excludingworkplaces, turned out to be relatively negative. And most of the users claimed that item cash transaction prohibition agreements should be improved through conversations between users and the company, and severely strict standards or the penalty level should be modified. However, they were also concerned about individual disadvantages, and negative effects of item cash transactions on the market within the game, and suggested modification of standards as an alternative, rather than complete deletion of clauses. This study tried to examine the status of item cash transactions represented by MMORPG genre games, and users’ recognitions of and attitudes towards agreements, and grasp problems of existing agreements and suggest future directions. At this time that the status of item cash transactions is being diversely researched from both legal and social aspects, we desire that this study would help understand item cash transaction agreements and users.; This study started from the cause that as lately a lot of bills to regulate item cash transaction behaviors in online games were proposed, the effectiveness of the regulations came to stand at the center of the controversy, and in order to find out solutions, it focused on agreementsthat are regulations that most firmly reflect understanding of the cyber space, and on users that are essential elements of and persons concerned in games. And it concluded that, by analyzing user's agreementsand management policies through research problems, agreements related to item cash transactions in MMORPG genre gamesare the most appropriate to represent this issue, and investigated recognitions and attitudes of users who play one of the MMORPG games, Blade&Soul. The users were considering item cash transaction behaviors as an investment in their hobby and a part of game contents. Users’ recognitionsof the existence of agreements related to item cash transactions turned out to be relatively high, but recognitions of specific contents were low, and their attitudes towards fairness and equity of agreements, excludingworkplaces, turned out to be relatively negative. And most of the users claimed that item cash transaction prohibition agreements should be improved through conversations between users and the company, and severely strict standards or the penalty level should be modified. However, they were also concerned about individual disadvantages, and negative effects of item cash transactions on the market within the game, and suggested modification of standards as an alternative, rather than complete deletion of clauses. This study tried to examine the status of item cash transactions represented by MMORPG genre games, and users’ recognitions of and attitudes towards agreements, and grasp problems of existing agreements and suggest future directions. At this time that the status of item cash transactions is being diversely researched from both legal and social aspects, we desire that this study would help understand item cash transaction agreements and users.