Korea to impose online gaming ban
Midnight blackout and crippling of internet connection speeds planned
The Korean authorities have announced plans to impose time limits on online gaming for younger players.
According to a report by the Korea Herald, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is to shutdown internet access to games for a six hour period each day, with the user given three options of between midnight and 6 am, 1-7 am and 2-8am.
A trial "slowdown" period is also under way, in which internet connection speeds are crippled the longer the user is connected and playing an online game. The plan is to roll out the scheme to 19 role-playing games, including Dungeon & Fighter and Dragon Nest, which make up around 79 per cent of the Korean online gaming market.
The move is against a perceived addiction to online gaming in younger players, although the report suggests that some other popular massively multiplayer online games, including NCsoft's Lineage, are not included in the ban.