Highly anticipated third-person shooter Goddess of Victory: Nikke was released on November 4th. Players around the world were not only looking forward to meeting their new bouncy Waifus but also expected enticing launch rewards, as the publisher promised 110 free pulls (or attempts at characters/items from the game’s loot box system) for new accounts.
However, when players logged in, they were extremely frustrated to find out that the free gifts come with a big catch. Some even went so far as to claim they would sue the developer of the game for commercial fraud, a violation of South Korea's price law, and alleged theft of personal information.
Players are mostly dissatisfied about the fact that the alleged free 110 pulls were not a one-time free gift sent through the in-game mail like what most games would do. These rewards instead had to be acquired by clearing various tasks on the story mode and other events. The free pulls players actually get from the launch event is around 40-50, far less than the promised 110.
Players on Twitter and Reddit discussing the “110 free pulls“ of Nikke
Players are also dissatisfied with Nikke’s monetization pricing. A regular 10-pull would cost 60,000 KRW in South Korea and 6000 JPY (~43-45 USD), which is twice as much as comparable anime gacha games. Some players also claim to have witnessed the game having suspicious actions on its backend, similar to personal information crawlers.
A Japanese player said the pulls in Nikke are very expensive.
Nikke’s developer and publisher could face a fine of 2 million KRW (~1,500 USD). Even more troubling is that the game may quickly lose the faith and support of its initial players, which could spell a financial disaster for a newly released game in this market segment. Potentially crippling future development and support for the game.
Source: NGA