It means that 17 millions of people played L2 at least once. It is not the first time NCsoft uses those figures. Get out of your cave! :)
The pictures are old ones. It's not new, NCsoft is always extremely wrong on how the players are. Before CT, in gameplay videos you'd see c-graders in siege, with siege summons. Now you see full parties of lvl 80, Dynasty set and all.
And what is the end result of all this 'Uberization' of levels/gear?
Allow me to pontificate upon the state of this most great and perfect plan! /Skullheadface
1)L80 Dynasty wearing Level Fiends stand in front of their 'Fort'.
2)NG players KNOW they are just under geared and under leveled to go, so don't bother.
3)D grade players KNOW they are just under geared and under leveled to go, so don't bother.
4)C grade players KNOW they are just under geared and under leveled to go, so don't bother.
5)B grade players KNOW they are just under geared and under leveled to go, so don't bother.
6)A grade players KNOW they are just under geared and under leveled to go, so don't bother.
7)S grade players under L80 and without Dynasty KNOW they are just under geared and under leveled to go, so don't bother.
End result, only the L80 w/Dynasty even bother to show up a sieges, limiting them to only those people. And making sieges something the vast majority of people don't even think about. Since they will never be able to 'catch up' to the upper end of the level curve where the top players are. Thereby making sieges something thats NOT PART OF THE GAME for these players!
Apply the same logic to every other piece of 'content' that includes pvp, and all you have left is the pve with only pve rewards.
Either NC needs to create seperate level restricted pvp events for lower grades or they need to REDUCE the power imbalance between characters instead of increasing it as they have. Or they will continue to stratify and alienate the newer players. (Both those who want to make pvp #1, and those who would prefer to do it 'on the side'.)
I'd be most curious to see a FRAPS replay (I don't think the ingame replay will work between Kr/Na Clients...but correct me if I am wrong!) of sieges in Kr. I'm curious if the Korean players even use the Striders or golems for a siege with their higher number of players. Since none of them are apparently used anymore in NA from what I have seen.