East meets West. I feel like there should be an opera or something about this. (O Draco...)
In this fascinating article, Ophelea examines differences in expectations for MMOG advertising, pricing, design, and gameplay between Eastern and Western markets.
Historically, North American/European (Western) designed MMOs have been built and a subscription slapped on to the product. I believe there are reasons for this that Ill get to in a moment. But, part of the inherent design of the Western MMO is the fact that we exist on a continent that has as many as 7 distinct time zones. When the first big three MMOs launched in North America, the concept of licensing to localized providers didnt exist and communities were built of players from all areas of the globe encompassing all 24 time zones. Because licensing and localization does occur in the European market for many MMOs, the idea of a 24-hour time zone may not exist in the front of a designers mind. Nonetheless, players who want to play together will find a way; and let us not forget our friends Down Under.
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