[New Wave] An Era That Requires 'Gamer Cognitive Sensitivity'

Our society is abuzz with incidents and debates surrounding ‘gender sensitivity’. Looking back, we realize that terms like ‘power sensitivity’ and ‘personal information sensitivity’ have also become popular buzzwords. Sensitivity to social issues refers to the awareness of problems such as discrimination and imbalance, and the intention to recognize and improve them.

Discrimination and imbalance are not new phenomena, but the reason why the term sensitivity is gaining traction is that the value of fairness has shifted under conditions where growth is hard to expect, and it is difficult to explain without mentioning the recent technological spread of information openness.

The baby boomer and X generations spent their youth in an era of double-digit annual growth. Even if there were some disadvantages, enduring them and helping each other meant receiving a fair share of distribution. However, the MZ generation, which grew up during a time when even single-digit growth was declining, learned that working hard does not guarantee adequate rewards. They became sensitive to how to divide a pie that no longer grows. What previous generations might see as petty is better understood as a desperate resistance not to become a pushover, not so much for personal gain but to stop disadvantages.

Connected constantly through SNS and sharing information, the MZ generation has made solidarity over similar issues both a duty and a daily pastime. Even players of the same game differ between the baby boomer generation and the MZ generation. Against this backdrop, I diagnose one incident that emerged as the gamers’ truck protests in Guro and Pangyo.

These protests should not be viewed solely negatively. Just as debt can be an asset, psychologically, how distrust and dissatisfaction are handled can turn adversity into opportunity. There is the ‘John Goodman’s Law’. Customers who usually say little have about a 10% revisit rate. However, when a dissatisfied customer’s complaint is resolved, the revisit rate rises to 65%. This means dissatisfied customers are more likely to become loyal customers. In this respect, gamers conducting truck protests are playing the role of passionate monitors who actively communicate their expectations and desires using their own money and effort.

Some positive changes are also noticeable. Warm news has come that in response to the protest truck demonstrations born out of dissatisfaction, a truck delivering coffee was sent to the ‘Seven Knights’ PD, who actively responded to user opinions with comments and detailed information sharing, instead of protests. The ‘MapleStory’ online meeting held on the 11th lasted eight hours, which is surprising, but even more surprising is that 280,000 people participated. This likely means that interest and affection have not yet faded. Whether this interest and affection will return to the games they enjoy depends on how sincerely the promised ‘establishment of a customer advisory group and close communication’ at the meeting will be put into practice.

Social sensitivity is now undeniably established as the spirit of the times. This means that the gaming industry, as a member of society, must cultivate customer sensitivity?not as a choice but as a necessity. Listening carefully even to small issues and making sincere efforts to correct them will clearly become key factors determining the future success or failure of the gaming industry. I earnestly hope that the sensitive MZ generation’s sensitivity will be satisfied, creating a new customer relationship model.

Lee Jang-ju, Director of Irak Digital Culture Research Institute