Lord of the Rings Online Executive producer Jeffrey Steefel has recently returned from a trip to Korea where Turbine is getting ready to launch Lord of the Rings Online. MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood recently caught up with Steefel to talk about developing for these two very different markets and what Noth American and European players can expect to see from the move.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Lord of the Rings Online Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel where we talked about launching the game in the Korean market and what that might mean for those of us in the west.

As you may or may not know, Steefel had just returned from a business trip to Korea where Lord of the Rings Online is getting ready to make its debut. He told me that right now, they are finishing up the Closed Beta process and are moving toward a limited Open Beta.

It seems as though there is a lot of interest in the game over there and that fans have been enthusiastic as the game gets closer to launch. When I asked him to compare the fans and anticipation in Korea with the fans and anticipation for the same stage of development here in the North American market, he said that it was a bit like comparing apples and oranges as the markets are so different.

Read the whole article here.

Very interesting... should be fun to see how the two versions differ.

Maybe Turbine can spread that attention to detail to the EU, by offering us the same deal as the US, in regards to the recently advertised trial, cheaper client pricing and subscription offer. Not a sniff of anything similar for us Euro-types.

Tam

Good luck in the east Turbine!

And thanks mmorpg for an nice interview.

It is like Jeff never stops thinking, he is always a step a head of the industry in almost everything he produces. Break a leg in Koreas dudes !

Originally posted by solareus

It is like Jeff never stops thinking, he is always a step a head of the industry in almost everything he produces. Break a leg in Koreas dudes !

In all seriousness, how is Turbine/Jeff ahead of the industry in what they produce?

i bet he had dollar signs in his eyes when doing that interview..just out for pure financial gain and the game comes second.

First of all, I don't see different games for different markets, since it's also clearly said that while some tweaking may be in order, any changes will be incorporated into a game on a worldwide basis.

Second, I hope Turbine studies the Koreans more than they have.  If what Jeff says about what Koreans want and expect from a game regarding content and questing were true, Lineage 2, which is 4 years old, wouldn't have 11 million subscribers worldwide with a large percentage of them, in Korea (NCSoft is a Korean company) and Asia.  While it is true that most Korean MMOs have a rich storyline/backrgound, most quests in their games are nebulous at best.

Lastly, Turbine has to be extremely careful regarding any changes (and actually putting much time and effort in alterations to) Lord of the Rings Online's version of Player versus Player (PvP) -- the Freeps Vs. Creeps, or Player versus Monster Player (PvMP) in the Ettenmoors.  LotRO is not a PvP game.  While PvMP is a cute and interesting diversion for players, the player versus player aspects of LoTRO are, and must remain, a minor diversion.  Careful attention must be taken, when making any changes, to remain completely true to the lore of Tolkein's Middle Earth.  If the Koreans (or anyone for that matter) want true PvP, there are many other games out there for them and drastic changes to LotRO would most definitely alienate more current players then woo new ones.