Lineage 2 Revolution (iOS and Android) is a gigantic success in Asia. The developers at Netmarble want to replicate that success in the West, which required many changes to the game. For instance, men were given beards and women received pants!
The mobile MMO Lineage 2 Revolution celebrated massive successes in South Korea, Japan, and other Asian countries. The successful mobile MMO has now launched in Europe and North America. According to Shim Chul-Min, Netmarble’s General Manager in the USA, Lineage 2 Revolution is also expected to become the top mobile MMO in North America.
However, they had to specifically address the needs of Western players.
Americans prefer to play mobile games at home!
In an interview with the Korean site Ivenglobal, Shim Chul-Min explained some of the peculiarities of the Western market. These had to be taken into account during the marketing and adaptation of the game in the USA and Europe if success was to be achieved.
In Korea and Japan, people play mobile games while on the go. Both countries have excellent public transportation systems and mobile data networks. Thus, one can easily ride the train in Tokyo or Seoul and play mobile games without any issues.
In the USA, however, most people would drive themselves because the public transport system is so poor. Furthermore, compared to Korea or Japan, the rather suboptimal mobile network leads to frequent connection drops.
Therefore, the typical mobile gamer in the USA plays at home in their free time and thus has less time to play.
The leveling speed has been increased in the Western version of L2R, allowing players to experience endgame content such as raid bosses and sieges before the actual endgame.
In the West, men have to be more masculine and women should wear pants!
Another peculiarity of the Western market, according to Shim Chul-Min, is the perception of male and female heroes. The guys in the original game were considered too “cute” by American players. Therefore, in the Western version, you can expect a bearded tough guy, whereas the Korean version featured a smooth-faced youth.
According to Shim Chul-Min, Western gamers also prefer “rugged” figures for women. A warrior in a Korea game is either cute and sweet or sexy. In the West, however, a warrior is more envisioned as a muscular Valkyrie or Amazon. In other words, a woman whom one actually believes can win a fight and not a beauty pageant!
Therefore, women in the Western version of L2R wear pants and blouses, whereas in Korea, bare thighs and generous necklines are the norm.
Marvel Future Fight paved the way for Korean-style mobile MMOs in the West
Lineage 2 Revolution had over 1.5 million registered players before its launch. This is a huge success for a new brand that doesn’t have Marvel or Star Wars in its name. Nevertheless, L2R owes its success in a way to Marvel.
With the mobile MMO Marvel Future Fight, Netmarble released a game back in 2015 that introduced Korean mobile gameplay, like auto-play, to Western players. Thanks to the immensely popular Marvel brand in the West, Future Fight was able to score points in the USA.
Conan O’Brien made Lineage 2 Revolution even more well-known
Shim Chul-Min sees another success factor in the comedian and “Clueless Gamer” Conan O’Brien. His funny appearance at TwitchCon and his other promotional activities led to Lineage 2 Revolution going viral and now achieving decent success in the West.
And this, despite the fact that Netmarble had serious problems actually meeting the famous joker. He was just “too famous” to have a brief encounter. When they finally did meet, however, O’Brien was excited about L2R.
Due to previous successes and experiences, Netmarble is confident in conquering the Western market and becoming a pioneer for Korean mobile MMOs. After all, they have already cracked the tough Japanese market, making the USA and Europe achievable as well!
Here you can register for Lineage 2 Revolution for free
Need a starting guide for L2R? Here is our Beginners Guide for Lineage 2 Revolution!
