Game and Content Industry Struggles with Apple's Sudden Price Hike

Industry Complaints of 'Gapjil' Over Apple's Sudden Price Increase Notice
"Users Forced to Bear Dissatisfaction Without Time to Prepare Response"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Choi] Apple’s sudden notification of in-app purchase price increases has sparked dissatisfaction among South Korea’s game and content industries. Regardless of the industry’s intentions, if prices rise according to Apple’s policy, users may direct their frustration at the companies. There is a prevailing sentiment of bewilderment over the unilateral price hike without clear reasons.

According to the IT industry on the 22nd, domestic game companies and content providers such as webtoon and music platforms have begun reviewing countermeasures in response to Apple’s in-app purchase price increase. The urgency arose after Apple announced on the 20th that it would raise the payment currency prices within the App Store starting next month on the 5th.

According to the notice, the App Store in-app purchase price will increase by 25%, from 1,200 KRW to 1,500 KRW per $0.99. Apple has divided prices into a total of 87 tiers, with Tier 1 at $0.99 rising from 1,200 KRW to 1,500 KRW, and Tier 2 at $1.99 increasing from 2,500 KRW to 3,000 KRW. App Store vendors can only set content prices according to the price list provided by Apple.

The industry is finding it difficult to make decisions easily. A sudden increase in content prices could provoke user complaints. The game industry, in particular, which is highly sensitive to payment models and pricing policies, appears even more perplexed. They are considering minimizing price fluctuations by adjusting payment tiers or increasing the number of items provided.

Naver Webtoon is discussing a plan to adjust the quantity of virtual goods to keep the total amount the same even if the payment price rises. Currently, iPhone users purchasing ‘Cookies’ to access Naver Webtoon’s paid content pay 1,200 KRW for 10 and 5,900 KRW for 49, but with the increase, these would rise to 1,500 KRW and 7,500 KRW respectively.

Apple’s failure to clarify the reasons for the price increase is also a factor making decisions difficult. The industry only speculates that the adjustment is due to the strong dollar. This contrasts with Apple’s previous practice of providing detailed explanations when raising fees due to tax increases or government regulations. A content company official lamented, “It’s difficult to pass the burden onto consumers by using exchange rates as an excuse to raise prices,” adding, “We cannot change unit prices according to constantly fluctuating exchange rates.”

Although concerns are deep, there is little time to prepare countermeasures. Changing pricing policies and reflecting them in the app requires system development and testing, but the notice was received only two weeks prior. Compared to Google, which announced policy changes three months in advance when enforcing mandatory in-app purchases, this is a sudden notice. An industry official criticized, “Suddenly announcing price policy changes can only be seen as an abuse of power,” and pointed out, “Only the domestic industry suffers, having to bear consumer complaints due to price increases without time to prepare countermeasures.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.