Kranky Kraut (not verified) on May 7, 2006 - 17:50.
Even more in Europe than in the USA. This is in fact not surprising and there are deep cultural reasons that I'll examine another time. Another small proof of this is that, for example, DAoC is currently much more successful in Europe than how it is in the USA.
This is an interesting statement. You observation is right: PvP _is_ more popular in Europe than in the USA. What I disagree on is that there are cultural reasons for that.
I'd actually say that culturally Europeans are less inclined to prefer PvP. From my experience, Europeans are less competitive and more cooperative than Americans. Reaching consensus is more important than having your way. This is very apparent in corporate culture, for example. Europeans tend to see themselves more as part of a group effort rather than in direct competition with their co-workers. From my experience, Europeans are less driven to distinguish themselves, or "stand out" in a group, than Americans. That's why this "Employee of the Month" stuff doesn't really fly here, it is, in fact, resented.
The reason why DAoC has been so successful in Europe is not because of PvP. DAoC has been successful because it was the first major MMORPG that offered French and German localizations (IIRC DAoC had about 90k subscribers at one point in Germany alone). DAoC single-handedly _created_ the MMORPG market in Germany and France. Before DAoC, MMORPGs were a super-niche in continental Europe.
And that's IMO one of the main reasons why PvP gameplay in MMORPGs is so popular in Europe: the first game many European MMORPG gamers played was a PvP game.
Gamers without previous MMORPG experience may have picked a PvP server not because if a cultural inclination to PvP but because the theme of WoW clearly suggests PvP: Orcs vs Humans, Alliance vs Horde and so on. Combine the two reasons and you have a fairly substantial explanation for the popularity of PvP servers in Europe.
A third reason might be that gaming culture in Europe is quite a bit younger than in the USA. Video gaming is less mainstream in Europe than it is in the USA and the averge European gamer is probably younger than the average American gamer. In my opinion, cooperative gameplay appeals more to older gamers than to younger gamers, who are often less into the social aspects of online gaming but rather into the exciting competitive aspects.
Re: PvP and faulty thinking - How to learn all the wrong lessons
This is an interesting statement. You observation is right: PvP _is_ more popular in Europe than in the USA. What I disagree on is that there are cultural reasons for that.
I'd actually say that culturally Europeans are less inclined to prefer PvP. From my experience, Europeans are less competitive and more cooperative than Americans. Reaching consensus is more important than having your way. This is very apparent in corporate culture, for example. Europeans tend to see themselves more as part of a group effort rather than in direct competition with their co-workers. From my experience, Europeans are less driven to distinguish themselves, or "stand out" in a group, than Americans. That's why this "Employee of the Month" stuff doesn't really fly here, it is, in fact, resented.
The reason why DAoC has been so successful in Europe is not because of PvP. DAoC has been successful because it was the first major MMORPG that offered French and German localizations (IIRC DAoC had about 90k subscribers at one point in Germany alone). DAoC single-handedly _created_ the MMORPG market in Germany and France. Before DAoC, MMORPGs were a super-niche in continental Europe.
And that's IMO one of the main reasons why PvP gameplay in MMORPGs is so popular in Europe: the first game many European MMORPG gamers played was a PvP game.
Gamers without previous MMORPG experience may have picked a PvP server not because if a cultural inclination to PvP but because the theme of WoW clearly suggests PvP: Orcs vs Humans, Alliance vs Horde and so on. Combine the two reasons and you have a fairly substantial explanation for the popularity of PvP servers in Europe.
A third reason might be that gaming culture in Europe is quite a bit younger than in the USA. Video gaming is less mainstream in Europe than it is in the USA and the averge European gamer is probably younger than the average American gamer. In my opinion, cooperative gameplay appeals more to older gamers than to younger gamers, who are often less into the social aspects of online gaming but rather into the exciting competitive aspects.