This is the second of my "Light a fire under NCSoft's tail" posts.
We have a couple of very interesting threads that cropped up in the past couple of days. The White Paper, and the employee reviews of NCSoft West at Glassdoor.com.
Both of these make good fodder for consumer interest/consumer protection posts because they indicate two things. NCSoft in specific, and extra-US companies in general, cannot be counted on to protect the interests of US consumers--and NCSoft in specific, and extra-US companies in general, cannot be counted on to continue a profitable US product produced by a US firm under their umbrella if it is not profitable enough, or profitable in their geographical sphere (Korea in this case).
Why should this matter to Consumer Protection groups?
Because companies operating outside the US are buying up US companies all the time (as NCSoft did when it bought Paragon from Cryptic). What if the product was a medicine, or a therapeutic device, or even something as simple as someone's favorite brand of (fill in the blank)? This example can hit home with anyone.
Because companies operating outside the US are NOT subject to the same consumer protection laws as those operating within the US (as we saw with the recent pet-food poisonings and lead-painted childrens' toys scandals).
Time to bend to the keyboard and start posting our story--pointing these things out--on consumer protection boards.
It is also worth pointing out the substantial time-and-effort investment we put in these games. This isn't like a single player game with a known endpoint that you work to, or movie that you buy knowing you will watch it to the end, maybe a couple more times, then it goes on the shelf. This is more like an investment in a set of golf clubs, knowing you will improve, knowing you will get different experiences on different courses, knowing you will be paying more fees to play golf, and suddenly being told that you have to give back the clubs and all the pictures and golf instruction videos, and any prizes or memorabilia you have collected and will never play golf nor see golf again. You could point out that in some games, that time-and-effort has accumulated to the point that the players could sell their accounts for a substantial amount of money, as a player recognition for the fact that effort+time=money in the game world, just as in the real world.
Why does this matter?
Because a significant number of people will go and sign our petition. An equally significant number of people will complain on our behalf to NCSoft. And a small but interesting percentage will complain to their lawmakers, or the Consumer Protection Agency.
This will all reflect badly on NCSoft. NCSoft particularly does NOT want the attention of foreign lawmakers. These are the people who make international trade treaties, one of which is being negotiated right now. The government of Korea might even take a (negative) interest.
At the very least this puts more negative public opinion pressure on NCSoft at a time when they are about to debut yet another craptastic grindfest in this country.