Streamers, YouTubers and other influencers are more important than traditional media for promoting products today. Although their work is not subject to any control mechanisms and the sources of their income are often debatable (see our article), due to the image of “friends from next door” they inspire more credibility, especially among younger viewers. Experienced “PRs” can, of course, make perfect use of this.
The online game MapleStory is popular especially in Asia, it has already attracted 180 million players.
But sometimes the cooperation does not work out, as when, for example, the Sky Sports television company hired an “expert,” who did not even know the biggest football legends and still rudely insulted female viewers in his spare time (see our article). The popular MapleStory online player, who goes by the nickname Niru, used his popularity with the audience in a far more creative way.
If the name of the game doesn’t tell you anything, then know that it is a Korean free 2 play RPG that has attracted over 180 million players and earned over three billion dollars (approximately 70 billion crowns) in its almost twenty years of history. For example, the singer of the pop culture phenomenon BTS is a big fan of the game, but he also has millions of fans in the West. Niru is probably the greatest of them all, as he was the first person in the world who was able to approach the mythical level three hundred, which is (at least for the moment) the maximum ceiling to which one can train his character.
Streamer Niru has already spent 15 thousand hours in the game, but if the developers do not listen to the community, he does not intend to continue.
He promised to cross the border in a special stream, for which the publisher Nexon advertised in advance, both on social networks and Steam, and even in the form of banners directly in the game. “Get ready to witness history with us…when Niru becomes the first MapleStory player to reach level 300 and we are very excited to see him cross the finish line…tune in to Niru’s stream to be a part of this unforgettable experience,” it read now deleted banner.
The truth is that the approximately 20,000 viewers who tuned in at the given moment of the broadcast will probably not forget this experience. Niru used the rare opportunity to beat the developers over the head with all the criticisms he has towards their game. During the 40-minute speech, he criticized the game mechanics, which, according to him, spoil the overall experience completely unnecessarily, and refused to advance to the last level until the situation improves.
Although most of his demands are incomprehensible to non-MapleStory players, his calm argumentation, which surprisingly did not contain much profanity, shows that it was a long-prepared speech. This has earned him the undying respect of his fans, and I have not been able to find a single post in the comments on social media criticizing him for his stance. However, the Nexon publisher has not commented on the whole situation and is acting as if nothing happened on social networks. In view of the approaching 20th anniversary of the game, however, the power cannot afford to ignore the comments made.
