Perspective

[Malakar]

A couple things about Lineage:

First, it runs on machines that World of Warcraft would break:

# System: PII 350 or equivalent
# RAM:128 MB RAM
# Hard Drive Space: 900 MB
# Mouse: Yes
# Sound Board: Yes

And I think that's for the more graphically intense US version.  But you really don't need  a computer of your own to play it at all, at least in east asia - a lot of cyber cafes have it set up so you can play.  Thus, the cost of ownership necessary to start playing is really low to start playing.  To play EQ in the US, you pretty much need your own computer and net connection.  To play lineage in East Asia, you pay for some terminal time at the local cafe and that's pretty much it.

Comparing raw account numbers doesn't tell the whole story.  It really is apples vs oranges in this case.  Because of the accessability, it is more popular with the teen set, whereas over here the average mmorpger trends higher on the age scale.  One of the reasons I imagine WoW is handled (billings wise) in different regions by different companies is so an Asian company which understands the Asian market can pursue that market in the right way - perhaps by giving cafes some kind of package deal - so they can take on games like lineage in thier home turf.
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I've played Lineage off and on since it was in Korean beta, 8? years ago (I lost count), around the time Diablo 1 came out. At that time the game ran on my 486.. now the system requirements are slightly higher but not much. So yes, the system cost is low, but most Koreans play it in Internet Cafes where the price of the system is not their concern, they pay on an hourly basis. Not to mention, most of these Cafes must have been set up for support for Lineage II, so they could probably run WoW well.

Besides, many Koreans spend tons of money on this game. High level characters go for nice cars, like BMW's. I don't think teenagers have that kind of money to spend.

Personally, I've played lineage, just to see what all the fuss was about.  Let me just say I have a friend with a neurological disorder that affects his balance (can't remember the exact disorder) who can move faster than a lineage character.

Lineage is one of the least newbie friendly games. If I hadn't started off on the ground floor, or had a friend to loan me some items to get started, I probably would've quit like all the other Americans I've talked to. You start off really slow, but can use haste potions all the time later. At first you have to regen hp cause you can't afford potions, later you just pump potions and kill monsters non-stop.

From what I can tell, this is why Koreans love the game so much:
It's about competitive level grinding with no end, which they seem to in general have a personality trait that can handle that. It's about fast-paced PVP, in which deaths mean experience and possible item loss. It's about fighting with your bloodpledge (guild) to take a castle or PK your enemies.

It can be a fun game, but it gets boring to me, just like any other game. The main reason I kept playing it on and off for so long is the community of players I met, that still play the game. :rolleyes: