[MUD-Dev] Why doesn't Lineage count as the most popular MMOG ever?

[Koster]

From: Daniel Anderson

> When a developer is asked what is the most popular MMOG, they will
> typically say EQ.  When they are asked about Lineage, an often
> heard response is, "Well, that doesn't count."  My question is,
> why doesn't Lineage count?  It does in fact have the highest
> subscription rate, right?

Two big reasons:

  1) The business model throughout Asia is a mix of Western style
  subscriptions and location-based subscriptions where internet
  cafes pay for cafe accounts and players play in the cafes. It's
  hard to equate these cafe accounts to actual subscribers.

  2) They're myopic and dismiss the rest of the world or other
  genres. Asia, with huge games like Lineage, Red Moon, and Ragnarok
  being ignored (among many others), isn't alone; people tend to
  ignore the numbers of people playing games such as NeoPets,
  Mankind, or Habbo Hotel.

> Also, people seem to be making a big deal out of which MMOG will
> be the first one to get over a million subscriptions in America.
> I guess I would understand if no other online game has ever done
> that before, but Lineage was the first in the world...

1 million in "the Western World" would indeed be a significant
achievement and milestone, hence why people talk about it so
much. And then there's the "what's a subscription" thing mentioned
above.

-Raph
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