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Overwatch close to overtaking LoL as the most played game in Korean PC cafes

C

CountAntonius

Member
Via Twitter
Overwatch is now 1% away from overtaking League of Legends as the most played game in PC Cafes in Korea
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ClCR9CFVAAAJNwL.jpg
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I'm actually very surprised by this given how absolutely massive LoL is over there. Can it be the next big Korean E-Sport?
 
J

JeremyEtcetera

Unconfirmed Member
League of Legends to introduce first person mode in 2017.
 
R

RandomExpletive

Member
That launch jump/drop is amazing, though I doubt we'll see LoL lose out to Overwatch globally anytime soon, if ever

Koreans do like their Blizz games
 
K

Ken

Member
isn't there some kerfuffle in league over the solo queue stuff, though idk if that affects korea pc thingies or not
 
T

Tagyhag

Member
SUDDENATTACK.

I always saw Overwatch having a big popularity in Korea. But the big test for Esports will be how China takes the game.

Also, didn't know FIFA was that popular in Korean cafes.
 
A

Archie

Second-rate Anihawk
To give some context as to how massive this is: LoL has been the top played game in South Korea for 203 weeks straight (aka nearly 4 years).
 
T

Tagyhag

Member
Dennis said:
Why do people in Korea play at cafes rather than home?
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There are a lot of reasons, cafes are seen as safe havens where you can go with friends and spend hours drinking, playing, eating etc. without being judged by family members. Rent is extremely expensive in Seoul and its outlying areas, a lot of people can't afford the space for a computer.

Plus it's cheap, my cousin spends around a dollar an hour.

Given the same population density problems and society standards, if Japan was as into PC gaming as Korea was, there'd be PC Bangs all over the country instead of arcades.
 
J

JeremyEtcetera

Unconfirmed Member
Tagyhag said:
Given the same population density problems and society standards, if Japan was as into PC gaming as Korea was, there'd be PC Bangs all over the country instead of arcades.
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The ultimate dream is a place that merges PC cafes and arcades into one amazing place.
 
C

Corpekata

Banned
I've been encountering at least 3-4 Asian people per day (apologies, I can't easily tell between all the languages, so not sure if Korean) and I play relatively normal hours. Haven't really had to play with a language barrier since FFXI.

Do wonder how they're playing on NA PC battlenet servers. Guess just a few random stateside folks?
 
A

Anno

Member
That's pretty impressive by Overwatch. I don't follow League really at all, but just palling around the Dota subreddit it seems like some LoL players aren't super happy with recent changes. Seems like it may be a rough time for discontent amongst the ranks.
 
Q

Quonny

Member
Anno said:
That's pretty impressive by Overwatch. I don't follow League really at all, but just palling around the Dota subreddit it seems like some LoL players aren't super happy with recent changes. Seems like it may be a rough time for discontent amongst the ranks.
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League Reddit is a cesspool and should be ignored.

But yeah the new ranked queue system has really rubbed some of the higher tier players the wrong way.
 
I

IMBored

Member
FPS and Blizzard, if it had zergs in it it would be made national sport most likely.

Just one thing, lol has had a recent change of the ranking system/queuing that probably is costing them a lot of players.
 
A

Aztechnology

Member
GwyndolinCinder said:
Not convinced it will stay like this for long, overwatch is really lacking depth atm.
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Yea, honestly I just picked it up a few days ago because my buddies would not stop bugging me. Compared to a Moba it just doesn't have the same level of dynamics. Honestly I'm not a fan of people being able to constantly switch classes in Overwatch either, it creates weird team composition issues. I guess that isn't such a big deal for competitive play though as teams usually have roles.
 
D

Dremark

Banned
Quonny said:
League Reddit is a cesspool and should be ignored.

But yeah the new ranked queue system has really rubbed some of the higher tier players the wrong way.
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It's rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. You don't have to be a high elo player to not want to play with groups in ranked.

Regardless, the timing on the decision was pretty bad, I'm not sure if it's an issue with the Korean players or not but coming out with an unpopular decision around the same time as Overwatch wasn't the best planning.

IMBored said:
Just one thing, lol has had a recent change of the ranking system/queuing that probably is costing them a lot of players.
Click to expand...

I really wonder how much it's costing them. I am sure it's a lot more than it would have been if they hadn't made the final announcement around the same time a strong competing game came out though.
 
G

Gipsy Danger

Member
Is Korea LoL's biggest market? This is pretty interesting but I also don't think it'll make a big difference long term. Basing that on absolutely nothing though.
 
1

18-Volt

Member
What the hell is a PC Cafe? Is it like internet cafe's of 90s? Why don't they play pachinko like normal people?
 
C

Chairmanchuck

Member
18-Volt said:
What the hell is a PC Cafe? Is it like internet cafe's of 90s? Why don't they play pachinko like normal people?
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If its similar to China, teens go to internet-cafés/bars after school, because their parents dont want them to play PC at home, because "its not good for grades".

So they just tell their parents "I am at a friend learning" and go play the games at the café/bar.
 
L

Lucumo

Member
Dislike both games, so I'm fine with that. The unfortunate part is that Sudden Attack lost share because of this. At least Lineage and Brood War weren't impacted since they are different genres and don't rely on the casual player base.
 
M

Mupod

Member
Honestly when I first got into the beta I really liked the game but wasn't expecting anywhere near this amount of success.

My roommate's son practically lives on League of Legends and he's been telling me a lot of his friends are moving to Overwatch, at least for now. I've showed him the game plenty of times during the stress tests etc and only just now he's considering getting it.
 
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