Korea to MMO underaged players: Good night!

"What? I have to sleep now?"

Most of the people I know who are hooked on MMOs know that South Korea is Nirvana on Earth. It's the place where most of the following happens:

• The place where the biggest MMOs were created
• Where online gamers are treated like freaking rock stars
• The government has a separate budget for online gaming
• The fastest Internet connection on the planet

And now add the following:

• The place where kids can't play MMOs after midnight

Yep, you heard that right, Korea just announced two policies that will help parents wean their kids off MMO bit by bit.

According to the ministry, underaged users will be forced out of gaming sessions when online access automatically shuts down as soon as the clock strikes midnight.

The policy also includes a "slowdown" system in which internet connection speeds will be stifled dramatically if underaged users are logged on for a lengthy period of time.

As a father, I think this is a great idea if implemented well. However, like all ideas, it has its Pros and Cons.

Pros:

• Online MMO population will go down past midnight, resulting to better latency and world chat (I hope)
• Kids would be able to sleep longer hours and be able to study better
• Adult players will be able to find more mature parties

Cons:

• Some kids may find a way to forge their identities as adults, and if caught will be banned from games and probably have some discussion with the police.
• Kid's characters will have a harder time in levelling up their characters.
• A chance that in order to level up fast before the midnight ban, may use hacks, powerlevelling services, and exploit bugs to get ahead in the game.

In the end, it's up to the parents to ensure that the kids cooperate with the ban.

Source