MMORPG General News - Online Worlds Roundtable #13, Pt. 3 @ RPG Vault

Five more MMOG developers join RPG Vault for the third part of their latest roundtable.  The topic at hand is what Eastern and Western developers can learn from each other, and here's part of the first response:

Jeffrey Anderson
President & CEO, Turbine
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar et al
I have been fascinated with the Asian gaming culture from my first trip several years ago. Like many, I was instantly awe-struck with the PC café culture and Asian gamers' unquenchable thirst for anything related to experience points. Yet, in many ways, the similarities between the main Asian markets begin and end with this passion for online gaming. Just as Chinese, Korean and Japanese cuisines have their own distinct flavors, I find it difficult to ascribe a single profile to the Eastern developer. Rather, I see them as three very distinct markets, with different audiences, backgrounds and cultures; and, in fact, it is these similarities and differences that make it challenging for American developers to understand Asia as a region and not a place.