Over here we pay $6 more for a half-effective item :-/
Thats because over here people are STUPID enough to pay super inflated prices for GARBAGE results. If people werent so willing to throw their money at ncsoft, our shop prices would not be so high.
I for one would actually use the shop if they made the prices fair.
Thats because over here people are STUPID enough to pay super inflated prices for GARBAGE results. If people werent so willing to throw their money at ncsoft, our shop prices would not be so high.
I for one would actually use the shop if they made the prices fair.
It could be argued that the median income in South Korea is much less than the US, which is why we pay more. But even so, if there exists a 200% Rune, give us THAT one for $15, not the 100% one. NCsoft would sell a lot more if its NA prices aligned better with KR prices.
I understand that NA L2 is always behind KR L2 in terms of content, but what I don't understand is why store items also seem to be lagging behind (the items are available in-game now). Take the Jet Bike, for example, which you can buy in Korea for $8:
All valid points. But we still havent recovered from the economic meltdown and charging us so much is just stupid in my opinion. My guess is people who blow tons of money on shop A. Rich or trust fund kiddies. B. Stole the credit card.
No one else can justify the price and I tend to waste money on useless things alot lol.
It could be argued that the median income in South Korea is much less than the US, which is why we pay more. But even so, if there exists a 200% Rune, give us THAT one for $15, not the 100% one. NCsoft would sell a lot more if its NA prices aligned better with KR prices.
I understand that NA L2 is always behind KR L2 in terms of content, but what I don't understand is why store items also seem to be lagging behind (the items are available in-game now). Take the Jet Bike, for example, which you can buy in Korea for $8:
Sorry to bust your bubble sweetie but koreans make more money on average than europoors or americants. This isn't 1950, korea is one of the most wealthiest and most developed countries on this planet. Yet their cash shop has reasonable prices. Why? morals perhaps?
ncsoft is releasing their cash shop in a very common bait and switch manner that you see with super cheap f2p games that die within 6 months. They release a ****** and over priced item, people desperately buy them, and then a week later or so they release an even better item for the same price and of course, everyone has to go rebuy what they already had, generating more money. It's immoral and shady and we shouldn't tolerate it.
Sorry to bust your bubble sweetie but koreans make more money on average than europoors or americants. This isn't 1950, korea is one of the most wealthiest and most developed countries on this planet. Yet their cash shop has reasonable prices. Why? morals perhaps?
Sorry to burst your bubble sweetie but these links disagree with you:
A friend of mine lives in Seoul and has told me about how things are over there. Cyber cafes and areas in general for public computers are a dime a dozen... why? Because few people can afford a good computer, much less multiple for their entire family. Do you know why Lineage II has macro support? It's because in Korea, media keyboards are a rarity, as are computer mice with a back and forward function.
Taiwan is also considered to be a very wealthy country, but I've been there many times and have seen what it's like for the regular folk. I've talked to engineers at some of Taiwan's largest companies and if you knew their income, you'd be a little shocked. You can bleed for your company in countries like this but your paycheck will rarely show it.
In South Korea, there are 7x as many computers running Internet Explorer 6.0 as there are in the US. That wouldn't be the case if most people there had the means to upgrade or purchase a new PC often like we can over here (by often, I mean every three years or so).
Things like rent, food and other living expenses are generally much cheaper in Asia, but computers and other electronic devices are not (well, they are, just not to a major degree).
Yet their cash shop has reasonable prices. Why? morals perhaps?
Yes, morals. In most (or all) of Asia, accepting tips for a cab ride, hotel room cleaning, meal, et cetera, is not commonplace and is most often considered an insult. In America, any way someone can make money off you is fantastic.
All valid points. But we still havent recovered from the economic meltdown and charging us so much is just stupid in my opinion. My guess is people who blow tons of money on shop A. Rich or trust fund kiddies. B. Stole the credit card.
No one else can justify the price and I tend to waste money on useless things alot lol.
Then stop buying it and they will stop overcharging. As long as they are profitable with it, there will be no incentive to lower the prices. It's simple economics, recession or not.
Korean servers are not Free to Play. Whatever they charge for items, those players are also being charged for time played.
There are many more reasons than just affordability in regards to why they tend to play games in PCbangs. Some prefer playing in a social environment, most don't want to piss off their parents or spouses, especially with the reputation that Lineage2 has in Korea.
Things like rent, food and other living expenses are generally much cheaper in Asia, but computers and other electronic devices are not (well, they are, just not to a major degree).
you have obviously not tried to rent a flat in Shibuya or buy some electronic "devices" in Akihabara or buy your food at National Abazu ...
A friend of mine lives in Seoul and has told me about how things are over there. Cyber cafes and areas in general for public computers are a dime a dozen... why? Because few people can afford a good computer, much less multiple for their entire family. Do you know why Lineage II has macro support? It's because in Korea, media keyboards are a rarity, as are computer mice with a back and forward function.
Taiwan is also considered to be a very wealthy country, but I've been there many times and have seen what it's like for the regular folk. I've talked to engineers at some of Taiwan's largest companies and if you knew their income, you'd be a little shocked. You can bleed for your company in countries like this but your paycheck will rarely show it.
In South Korea, there are 7x as many computers running Internet Explorer 6.0 as there are in the US. That wouldn't be the case if most people there had the means to upgrade or purchase a new PC often like we can over here (by often, I mean every three years or so).
Things like rent, food and other living expenses are generally much cheaper in Asia, but computers and other electronic devices are not (well, they are, just not to a major degree).
Yes, morals. In most (or all) of Asia, accepting tips for a cab ride, hotel room cleaning, meal, et cetera, is not commonplace and is most often considered an insult. In America, any way someone can make money off you is fantastic.
Windows XP can install IE8.
The IE6 crap is useless banter and has nothing to do with how much money people make there.
They are just too lazy to update their own PCs, or perhaps they're running pirated versions of Windows in many cases (similar to China).
There is literally no reason for a Cyber Cafe to not update the browser on those computers. Actually, it's a bit irresponsible not to do so.
Then stop buying it and they will stop overcharging. As long as they are profitable with it, there will be no incentive to lower the prices. It's simple economics, recession or not.
So true.
Who made you the expert on Korean gaming culture?
Who, me? I never said I was an expert on such things. I just stated what I know.
Korean servers are not Free to Play. Whatever they charge for items, those players are also being charged for time played.
This I did not realize. I automatically assumed that given these items were being sold, that L2 was in fact F2P in Korea. That changes quite a bit to my argument (though if their subscription rates are on par with what they were in L2, they still come out way ahead). Thanks for pointing that out.
you have obviously not tried to rent a flat in Shibuya or buy some electronic "devices" in Akihabara or buy your food at National Abazu ...
you have everything backward.
I could pick places in Taiwan and China that are also higher-priced, but that doesn't hurt my argument. I have friends in Taiwan who have decent apartments for $400~$500 / mo, and can eat all day for $5 or less if they wanted to. I have other friends that pay closer to $800~$1000 / mo for their apartments, based on location (close to Taipei city center, for example). Honestly, it seems like it's you who's unfamiliar with everywhere outside of Japan. Have you ever actually been anywhere else?
Like any other country, there's going to be areas that are more expensive than others. I've stayed at hotels in Taipei that were in city center for $300 a night that weren't nearly as nice as the $100/nt hotels I've stayed in 10 minutes outside of town. Generally speaking, from everything I've seen and from people I know who actually live there, Asia (excluding Japan probably) is cheaper than North America. I've been considering moving to Taipei for some time so I've done a fair amount of research on this.
The IE6 crap is useless banter and has nothing to do with how much money people make there.
It was just an add-on dumb point I tossed in there. My friend in Korea has said that a lot of government places and schools don't ever update their browser for fear of it breaking things, because a lot of the software there is finely-tuned for IE6 use. I am sure there is more to it than that though.
South Korea also has the fastest internet in the world.
I believe the US is something like #26 ... somewhere behind Bulgaria ... :rolleyes:
Yup. I've connected to free WiFi hotspots in Asia before that were faster than my home connection right now.
Sorry to bust your bubble sweetie but koreans make more money on average than europoors or americants. This isn't 1950, korea is one of the most wealthiest and most developed countries on this planet. Yet their cash shop has reasonable prices. Why? morals perhaps?
ncsoft is releasing their cash shop in a very common bait and switch manner that you see with super cheap f2p games that die within 6 months. They release a ****** and over priced item, people desperately buy them, and then a week later or so they release an even better item for the same price and of course, everyone has to go rebuy what they already had, generating more money. It's immoral and shady and we shouldn't tolerate it.
I thot koreans were those people who have only 1 TV per home, don't have home consoles or computers at house (most people), reason why handhelds are more sucessful and also because they are cheaper (nintendo) ?
Thats because over here people are STUPID enough to pay super inflated prices for GARBAGE results. If people werent so willing to throw their money at ncsoft, our shop prices would not be so high.
I for one would actually use the shop if they made the prices fair.
It's still P2P in Korea. And the monthly fee is still much more than what you guys used to pay when it was P2P here. (about $30 a month per account.)
You still have to pay to play and pay extra to get the items from the shops. Price has to be different.
A friend of mine lives in Seoul and has told me about how things are over there. Cyber cafes and areas in general for public computers are a dime a dozen... why? Because few people can afford a good computer, much less multiple for their entire family. Do you know why Lineage II has macro support? It's because in Korea, media keyboards are a rarity, as are computer mice with a back and forward function.
Taiwan is also considered to be a very wealthy country, but I've been there many times and have seen what it's like for the regular folk. I've talked to engineers at some of Taiwan's largest companies and if you knew their income, you'd be a little shocked. You can bleed for your company in countries like this but your paycheck will rarely show it.
In South Korea, there are 7x as many computers running Internet Explorer 6.0 as there are in the US. That wouldn't be the case if most people there had the means to upgrade or purchase a new PC often like we can over here (by often, I mean every three years or so).
Things like rent, food and other living expenses are generally much cheaper in Asia, but computers and other electronic devices are not (well, they are, just not to a major degree).
Yes, morals. In most (or all) of Asia, accepting tips for a cab ride, hotel room cleaning, meal, et cetera, is not commonplace and is most often considered an insult. In America, any way someone can make money off you is fantastic.
Ummm....... which part of Seoul is your friend live? out of earth?
You do know that I play in Korea, right...?
I personally have 3 computers, 2 laptops and 2 pc tablets....
Most of my friends and people I come across has similar to what I have or more...
I still go to internet cafe whenever I have chance not because my computers are out dated...
I still go there to sit with my friends and play together, drink coffee together while playing or have snacks.. grab a cigarette together.. etc..
Do you remember the president Obama mentioning the internet speed and things we use in Korea compare to that of what Americans have??
Did you know Korea has the fastest internet speed connections in the world? 1.4GB movie can be downloaded in 8 seconds... takes good 8 to 11 min in USA...
I live and travel both USA and Korea.. so.. what you stated seems nonsense to me... sorry..
Korean servers are not Free to Play. Whatever they charge for items, those players are also being charged for time played.
There are many more reasons than just affordability in regards to why they tend to play games in PCbangs. Some prefer playing in a social environment, most don't want to piss off their parents or spouses, especially with the reputation that Lineage2 has in Korea.
I thot koreans were those people who have only 1 TV per home, don't have home consoles or computers at house (most people), reason why handhelds are more sucessful and also because they are cheaper (nintendo) ?
Wouldn't this say something?
Did you come from 1940's or 50's???
Amazing....
handhelds are more successful simply because most kids in Korea lives in the hell of education.
Can you imagine going to school by 7 o'clock in the morning and come home around 11 o'clock at night?
Only kids that are allowed to leave early are those that has to go to private academic schools after you are done with your regular school that you have to pay out of your pocket to register. They live in education hell. It's common that you have to go to 3 to 7 academic schools after your regular school before you can go back home.
And most parents spends most of their income on their kids education..
Another point of view on how Koreans currently have a stronger economy than most other countries in the world. From my experience from high school to university, the better that country is doing, the more students from that country will study abroad. Currently there is heaps of students from China and South Korea in Australia. The university tuition fee for an international student is ~AUD$15,000 (~USD$16,000) for 1 semester (half a year); so that's ~AUD$30,000 (~USD$32,000) per year, and the tuition fee increases every year as well.
So most of those parents will have to do way better than ~USD$32,000 per year, so support their kids to study abroad. Let's not forget their kids still needs somewhere to live and eat.
Ummm....... which part of Seoul is your friend live? out of earth?
You do know that I play in Korea, right...?
I personally have 3 computers, 2 laptops and 2 pc tablets....
Most of my friends and people I come across has similar to what I have or more...
He lives 15 minutes from NCsoft's HQ. I am not familiar with Seoul to be more specific than that.
I live and travel both USA and Korea.. so.. what you stated seems nonsense to me... sorry..
Please remember to step outside your front door from time to time and see what's actually going on around you.
Another point of view on how Koreans currently have a stronger economy than most other countries in the world. From my experience from high school to university, the better that country is doing, the more students from that country will study abroad. Currently there is heaps of students from China and South Korea in Australia. The university tuition fee for an international student is ~AUD$15,000 (~USD$16,000) for 1 semester (half a year); so that's ~AUD$30,000 per year, and the tuition fee increases every year as well.
I've heard the opposite point-of-view. Where I live in Atlantic Canada, we have a lot of Chinese students come to our city to study, and I've always been told that it's because it's so much cheaper (and better) than studying in China.
I can't state that as fact though... I've never talked to any of them (friends of mine have who studied alongside them.)
Sorry to bust your bubble sweetie but koreans make more money on average than europoors or americants.
Sorry, but thats not true. The average purchasing power of south koreans are lower than most western nations. And by a fair margin.
I really don't see any problem with the current pricing. There has always been items missing from the western version compared to the korean one and I mean literally ever since L2 Beta.
It's still P2P in Korea. And the monthly fee is still much more than what you guys used to pay when it was P2P here. (about $30 a month per account.)
You still have to pay to play and pay extra to get the items from the shops. Price has to be different.
Considering that they're paying to play, its understandable that they have lower prices on items...here items are their main income and thus have to be higher to compensate.
The prices aren't wrong...people blow hundreds of dollars on facebook games monthly, so this is really not much.
I've heard the opposite point-of-view. Where I live in Atlantic Canada, we have a lot of Chinese students come to our city to study, and I've always been told that it's because it's so much cheaper (and better) than studying in China.
I can't state that as fact though... I've never talked to any of them (friends of mine have who studied alongside them.)
The Canadian Federation of Students says on average, international students attending university in Canada spend about $16,000 on annual tuition. The organization says that's about three times the amount domestic students pay.
That's only roughly 1 semester in Australia for an international student >.<
Tuition fee: RMB 60,000--70,000/person/year (USD$ 9,527.44-11,115.35) as of conversion rate for today
That tuition fee is for domestic (local) students in China, and I don't know how good that university is lol. I can see why Chinese (mainland china) parents would want to send kids to overseas (and we do have the idea of oversea stuff is always better... even it might not always be true :rolleyes: lol)
But yea... it's more expensive in Australia, especially with the conversion rate of Australian dollars. Even though, I think it is more in the UK for international students (because of Pounds).
South Korea also has the fastest internet in the world.
I believe the US is something like #26 ... somewhere behind Bulgaria ... :rolleyes:
Maybe they should focus on raising their standard of living, instead of their broadband speeds.
But you need that when half your country games in an internet cafe.
We do that stuff from home here.
And why would I need more than 30 Mbps consistent download speeds (almost 10 upload), anyways, in my house. Certainly not to stream HD movies since that's doable on a 5mbps DSL connection while downloading a Torrent.
ALso I don't understand the Anti-US bashing from foreigners who state we think everything revolves around the USA. Especially when half of those people have only been here briefly (probably only in one or two places) or not at all... It's pretty priceless. Wow, you went to school at some University in the US, obviously you now know everything about everyone here (probably one of the countries with the most diverse mixture of cultures, mannerisms, etc. really you can't make generalizations about the US without looking like a bigot unless you're quite specific).
Maybe they should focus on raising their standard of living, instead of their broadband speeds.
But you need that when half your country games in an internet cafe.
We do that stuff from home here.
And why would I need more than 30 Mbps consistent download speeds (almost 10 upload), anyways, in my house. Certainly not to stream HD movies since that's doable on a 5mbps DSL connection while downloading a Torrent.
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this
dunno why ppl think broadband speeds make them a far better country.
I live in europe in one of the most expensive citys of the world and even if I pay for my 10mbit(which is ok for me, I could also get 50+) the same for the 100mbit+ you have...the standard of living and my salary keep me from moving in one of this cheap homes of fast broadbands.
Maybe they should focus on raising their standard of living, instead of their broadband speeds.
But you need that when half your country games in an internet cafe.
We do that stuff from home here.
Who says US has higher living standard?
I live and work in NYC. I live here about 8 month, go back to Korea and live there for about 4 month.
I can compare and see the difference of two countries. I don't see much difference in two.
Actually when it comes down to the entertainment or after work activities.. and living standard.. most American friends of mine that makes higher salary lives poorer life style that of my Korean friends in Korea that makes less money than them.
Now we are not talking about the income here since you brought up life style. Do you think what cost here cost same elsewhere?
You can have higher living standard with lower income in some countries.
Even in US, the living standard is so much different based on your location, not your income. Who do you think have better living style? Someone who makes over $100k per year that lives in NYC or makes less than 40k a year but lives elsewhere. Cost of living is different.
Why do Koreans go to Cyber cafe instead of do it at home?
Read below. and there are many more reasons.
Who made you the expert on Korean gaming culture?
There are many more reasons than just affordability in regards to why they tend to play games in PCbangs. Some prefer playing in a social environment, most don't want to piss off their parents or spouses, especially with the reputation that Lineage2 has in Korea.
dunno why ppl think broadband speeds make them a far better country.
I live in europe in one of the most expensive citys of the world and even if I pay for my 10mbit(which is ok for me, I could also get 50+) the same for the 100mbit+ you have...the standard of living and my salary keep me from moving in one of this cheap homes of fast broadbands.
Cheaper home gets faster speed and more expensive home gets slower speed? Isn't it usually the other way around? lol
there are rich and poor americans, rich and poor Japanese, Koreans, Bulgarians, Russians ..etc etc etc.
there are also very expensive places and very cheap places to live in each country .. I mean I could probably find a flat for rent in "Middle of no where" North Dakota for $100 a month and declair it is "cheap!" to live in the USA... but of course we all know it is not the case.
there are rich and poor americans, rich and poor Japanese, Koreans, Bulgarians, Russians ..etc etc etc.
there are also very expensive places and very cheap places to live in each country .. I mean I could probably find a flat for rent in "Middle of no where" North Dakota for $100 a month and declair it is "cheap!" to live in the USA... but of course we all know it is not the case.
The united states still has the highest earning parity compared to most countries, what planet are you people from? That's why the US is the biggest consumer market in the world and owes every body money cause the yanks buy too much stuff on credit.
Besides why are you all yabbering about? 7 day 200% is in the ncstore.