Hellrose:
Koreans hate NCsoft.
They hate NC the way ppl hate Microsoft. They're all looking for the next ship to
jump on, just no games other than WoW really gave them that opportunity yet. WoW
WOULD've been the L2 killer imo if its character models weren't so low-poly and
'western-styled' and it didn't fuck up servers going live. They're not as concerned
with games being 'hardcore'. They like hierarchies, yes. And they're big on
'respect' the way a rapper might get 'respect' for his bling (which is why L2 does
so well.. it's full of graphical bling.. I sound funny saying this but it's so true).
But I'm sure that can be put into game design without killer grind. Koreans hate grind
as much as we do and they blame NC for cornering them into MMOs that have this kind
of levelling style.
PushyCat on official boards:
So, Koreans play and sell in their own servers and it covers the cost of their PC
Room and meals. This is a normal aspect of Korean games. Listen to me while I say
this. Ebaying is NOT CONSIDERED CHEATING in KORea. It is an important element of
mmporgs. With game money, not only can you sell it to make cash, you can also order
pizza, buy computers and accessories (like auto mouses, keyboards, macroprograms),
and pay for your monthly fee (for those who play at home). In Korea, game money is
an accepted tender for Real Life. Noone posts on message boards about cheaters,
ebayers, and bots because EVERYONE does it. In Korea, the game is played much
differently than in North America, and asians have different cultural backgrounds
that make gameplay different as well.
Korea Times article (1):
"These days, no one plays `Lineage' just for fun," 28-year-old Lineage II user Kim
Tae-suk from Seoul said. "People keep doing it because they can make money, and
because they like exchanging items with others."
Korea Times article (2):
"They have the power to control the flow of the adenas using various methods within
the game" said Lee, who operated Sunitem.com until last year. "No one would deny
that Lineage's success is based on the item market."
My opinion about L2 and NC - long, rantish, but accurate
