The Never-Ending 'Uma Musume Incident'... Sales Ranking Drops 30 Places Amid Lawsuits

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Google Play Revenue Ranking. (Photo by Mobile Index)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The conflict surrounding the mobile game 'Uma Musume Pretty Derby' is deepening. Just two days after users filed a class refund lawsuit against Kakao Games, Uma Musume's sales ranking dropped by more than 30 places, signaling a red light for its operation.

Sales Ranking Drops 30 Places Two Days After Lawsuit Filed

According to the game industry on the 26th, the lead group of Uma Musume users who filed the lawsuit demanded a refund for the material damages caused by the game's operation in a damage compensation lawsuit filed against Kakao Games at the Seoul Central District Court on the 23rd.

The number of plaintiffs is 201, with a claim amount of 200,000 KRW per person. The number of people wishing to join the lawsuit is about 7,000, and they plan to accurately calculate the damage compensation amount and increase the claim amount in the future. The total estimated damage is between 8 billion and 9 billion KRW.

The gamers participating in the lawsuit claim that Kakao Games was less experienced in operation than the Japanese server, starting server maintenance just before major events ended, and that they suffered damages due to insufficient distribution of items and game currency.

As users move collectively, sales are also sharply declining. According to the big data analysis platform Mobile Index, Uma Musume's Google Play sales ranking fell from 15th on the 23rd to 41st on the 25th, and on this day, it was pushed out of the top 45 rankings. It plummeted more than 30 places in just two days after the lawsuit was filed.

Uma Musume, released at the end of June, was once so popular that it ranked first in sales on both major application markets. Having been released in Japan about a year earlier and gaining high popularity there, Uma Musume also had a large fan base domestically. However, after its domestic release, controversy over differentiated operation compared to Japan arose, leading to user backlash. Kakao Games held meetings, replaced the management team, and CEO Jogyehyun even issued two apologies, but the situation has prolonged.

On the 19th, a protest truck sent by Lineage M users is parked in front of the NCSoft headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

Game Users Demand Fairness

The game industry is seeing an increase in game users engaging in collective actions such as protests and lawsuits. Their main demand is fairness.

Users of NCSoft’s mobile game ‘Lineage 2M’ have also taken collective action. They raised issues that the game company paying advertising fees to game YouTubers and engaging in marketing activities is unfair. They explained that when game YouTubers receive advertising fees in exchange for broadcasting game streams and reinvest them into the game, it creates a structure overwhelmingly advantageous compared to regular users. They plan to file a civil lawsuit at the Busan District Court to claim compensation for damages caused by YouTuber promotions.

Solidarity activities among users of different games are also continuing. Uma Musume users have announced plans to ally with Lineage 2M users. They also plan to engage in activities for gamers’ rights in the future. However, the game industry believes that even if lawsuits are filed, the likelihood of users actually receiving refunds is low. The users filing lawsuits plan to focus more on strengthening gamers’ rights and supporting the normalization of games rather than winning the case.

As the voices of game users grow louder, the political sphere has begun to show interest. Lee Sangheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that he will take the lead in strengthening user rights protection through the prompt review of the pending full revision of the Game Industry Promotion Act. Ha Taekyung of the People Power Party is also preparing to propose a full revision of the Game Industry Promotion Act containing related provisions and said he will establish a ‘Game User Rights Protection Organization.’