Something that could be very profitable to Funcom.

[___________Stargazer]

I just recently began trying to keep up with the anarchy online forums and stuff, so Funcom might have already considered, or even put this into action.... But here goes anyway...

I'm originally from South Korea. It was a couple of years back, I went back there for a visit for the second time in 4, 5 years and oh.... MAN, was it ever different!!! There was what they call PC Rooms everywhere! (Like internet cafe, except you can play games, chat online... whatever.) And every single one of them that I've visited had games like Starcraft or Diablo II... (Blizzard games are really big in Korea. I heard that 1/3 of the world-wide Starcraf sales took place in South Korea.) Also, they have "very large" and sophisticated online gaming communities. (Which is natural (being large, I mean), 'cause they have more people living in Seoul (capital city) than the entire Canada... Or so I heard, anyway... :P) I recently chatted with my cousin who lives in Korea and he said "any games that do not have some kind of massive multiplayer capabilities are not even treated as games..." I'm almost certain that a game like AO will hit it really big in the fertile market like South Korea (and Japan for that matter.) So far, I haven't seen any Sci-Fi MMORPG in Korea, so it would be a unique gaming experience for most of the players. (There was a big fantasy novel boom one or two years back, and the games are severely affected by that.)

So, my humble suggestion is....
If you haven't already considered releasing Korean (and Japanese) version of AO, Funcom, I really think you should.
If you HAVE considered it, then please disregard my babbling.

Forever watching the stars,
Stargazer

[_______________Intra]

I agree its a good idea (there are many japanese in game and the game supports japanese text already... there are japanese versions of the offical site I believe also) I am not sure that the funcom servers could handle the amount of players a south korean release would bring though.

also, would the same number join when there is a monthly charge aswell as what they would have to pay in the shop? or is that a common thing anyway

[___________Stargazer]

It's more common to download the entire game from various approved websites so you don't have to buy the game, but it's not uncommon to buy the game from shops either.

There are a few different types of subscriptoin in Korea, that I have seen.
1. You pay monthly subscription fee.
2. You subscribe and are charged for the amount of time you are logged on. (The rate is something along the lines of 20 Won (Won is the Korean currency, and 20 Won is equivalent to about 1.5 cent US) per minute. Just so you know, if you wanna buy a lolipop, you need at least 500 Won. )
3. You purchase credits or "time coupons."

As far as the overflow of users goes, Funcom WILL HAVE TO have multiple Korean servers. (My suggestion to Funcom is to start out with just a server or two then add addtional servers as they get more players. Now, I have no idea what it takes to run a server, so that's why I make it sound so easy. I'm very ignorant when it comes to things like that. )