Since Lithuania only gained entry to the EU in 2004, unfortunate problems like these still arise as they are still viewed by some as a sattelite state of the USSR. Hopefully as time goes on, these problems will get smaller, but I guess it takes time.
That sounds like an exaggeration. I agree NCSoft should not have grouped Lithuanians on the Russian servers, but I find it hard to believe that they would force an IP ban AND actively block accounts that work around it; it would only reduce their income.
howbout reading up instead of believing? IP block will be in effect.
Lithuanian players cant play AION in the EU servers, when lithuania actually is center of europe. According NCsoft..... lithuania belongs to Russian Region.... witch is not. Young lithuanians dont even speak in russian... and we gonna get only AION RU...... witch is not english version of the game.... A lot of ppl was waiting here for AION, and now its totaly disappointment.
The game should have the option for different languages. At least the option to select between russian and english. It doesn't make any sense if the game is in russian language only. Now, about forcing lithuanians to play in russian servers, I would not take that as discrimination. Perhaps there are some logistics and business issues that made AION devs to make that decision. I think this was a business decision issue, and not discrimination.
page 194-195 describes some minor details about the "treaty of rome" make your own conclusions but make sure to note NCSOFT is a privatly owned buissnes.
Omg what a bunch of noobs at Aion, this is enough for me to boycot Aion. They are in the EU for god sake, it is like not allowing Californian players to play on US servers !
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site : http://mmodata.blogspot.be/ Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
Lithuanian players cant play AION in the EU servers, when lithuania actually is center of europe. According NCsoft..... lithuania belongs to Russian Region.... witch is not. Young lithuanians dont even speak in russian... and we gonna get only AION RU...... witch is not english version of the game.... A lot of ppl was waiting here for AION, and now its totaly disappointment. UPDATE:
these countries experiencing the same issue: - All baltic states ( Estonia, Lithuania and letland )
- Turkey
- Croatia
Well since i'm belonging to the possible customers from the Baltic region (near Croatia) this anouncement made my decission easier NOT to buy AION at all. I won't take it as it is that i can't play this game with other European community members since i can speak English AND German AND my mother language. Luckily i had the opportunity to play the Chinese beta and i must say that I wasn't THAT impressed with the game while i WAS interested in the game before the test.
I must agree that the graphic is increddible well done BUT graphic isn't all in a game. The quests don't offer anything new to the players and it won't change in the future. I expect that AION will get a huge playerbase because IT IS a PvP centric game after all, and i know that the Balaur will be a playable third faction in the near future while the game expands and the story goes on. That's obvious to me.
I will play other F2P games in the mean time and wait for Final Fantasy XIV Online from which i'm expecting MUCH more than AION has to offer.
I wish the AION community all the best. Don't let the publisher throw you sand in the eyes and don't let AION become only another "WoW clone". I hope you'll succeede but you'll have a hard time there because Asian pusblishers aren't well known for accepting criticism (Korean forum flames, Komunism anyone?!)
Lithuanian players cant play AION in the EU servers, when lithuania actually is center of europe. According NCsoft..... lithuania belongs to Russian Region.... witch is not. Young lithuanians dont even speak in russian... and we gonna get only AION RU...... witch is not english version of the game.... A lot of ppl was waiting here for AION, and now its totaly disappointment. UPDATE:
these countries experiencing the same issue: - All baltic states ( Estonia, Lithuania and letland )
- Turkey
- Croatia
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Lithuanian players cant play AION in the EU servers, when lithuania actually is center of europe. According NCsoft..... lithuania belongs to Russian Region.... witch is not. Young lithuanians dont even speak in russian... and we gonna get only AION RU...... witch is not english version of the game.... A lot of ppl was waiting here for AION, and now its totaly disappointment. UPDATE:
these countries experiencing the same issue: - All baltic states ( Estonia, Lithuania and letland )
- Turkey
- Croatia
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site : http://mmodata.blogspot.be/ Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
Lithuanian players cant play AION in the EU servers, when lithuania actually is center of europe. According NCsoft..... lithuania belongs to Russian Region.... witch is not. Young lithuanians dont even speak in russian... and we gonna get only AION RU...... witch is not english version of the game.... A lot of ppl was waiting here for AION, and now its totaly disappointment. UPDATE:
these countries experiencing the same issue: - All baltic states ( Estonia, Lithuania and letland )
- Turkey
- Croatia
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
Mmm but not all EU countries (believe it or not) have the same rules.
Some countries within the EU still have different laws compared to that of another EU country.
Unfortnately I cannot speak of NCSoft/Gaming laws... but I know this is very true generally...
Lithuanian players cant play AION in the EU servers, when lithuania actually is center of europe. According NCsoft..... lithuania belongs to Russian Region.... witch is not. Young lithuanians dont even speak in russian... and we gonna get only AION RU...... witch is not english version of the game.... A lot of ppl was waiting here for AION, and now its totaly disappointment. UPDATE:
these countries experiencing the same issue: - All baltic states ( Estonia, Lithuania and letland )
- Turkey
- Croatia
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
Mmm but not all EU countries (believe it or not) have the same rules.
Some countries within the EU still have different laws compared to that of another EU country.
Unfortnately I cannot speak of NCSoft/Gaming laws... but I know this is very true generally...
Lithuania got same laws and rules as all EU coutries....
so.... it's official NCsoft admit, they won't release Aion in Lithuania becouse of "licensing issues". omg. is it so hard to let europeans to play european game? Its not gonna work that way, NCsoft....
This is why many companies refuse to do business in Europe. Wasn't the EU supposed to fix all this nonsense?
Don't blame the EU for this if NCsoft sells the license to the Russians ...
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site : http://mmodata.blogspot.be/ Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
Lithuanian players cant play AION in the EU servers, when lithuania actually is center of europe. According NCsoft..... lithuania belongs to Russian Region.... witch is not. Young lithuanians dont even speak in russian... and we gonna get only AION RU...... witch is not english version of the game.... A lot of ppl was waiting here for AION, and now its totaly disappointment. UPDATE:
these countries experiencing the same issue: - All baltic states ( Estonia, Lithuania and letland )
- Turkey
- Croatia
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
Mmm but not all EU countries (believe it or not) have the same rules.
Some countries within the EU still have different laws compared to that of another EU country.
Unfortnately I cannot speak of NCSoft/Gaming laws... but I know this is very true generally...
EU law overrules local law.
EU countries do have different local laws, and as long as they do not conlict with EU law, that is fine.
What does this have to do with EU law and their countries really? If NCSoft sells the license to the Russians it is NCSoft that is at fault here.
EU law may regulate this someway, and if so, then NCSoft may be forced to change certain agreements.
Edit :
I did a quick check, and from what I can tell, companies can currently still make regional license agreements, that does not mean they have to, so again, NCSoft is at fault here.
EU legislation will change this, but we will have to wait a bit for that. Actually, it would be a smart thing for NCSoft and all other software companies to start working on a single license agreement for all of the EU members, because once the legislation is there, it could break alot of games and software that do not comply.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site : http://mmodata.blogspot.be/ Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
All of those who care, or even those who "don't give a ****" please vote that Lithuania could play Aion EU, or, more specifically - would simply have a choice
Lithuanian players cant play AION in the EU servers, when lithuania actually is center of europe. According NCsoft..... lithuania belongs to Russian Region.... witch is not. Young lithuanians dont even speak in russian... and we gonna get only AION RU...... witch is not english version of the game.... A lot of ppl was waiting here for AION, and now its totaly disappointment. UPDATE:
these countries experiencing the same issue: - All baltic states ( Estonia, Lithuania and letland )
- Turkey
- Croatia
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
Mmm but not all EU countries (believe it or not) have the same rules.
Some countries within the EU still have different laws compared to that of another EU country.
Unfortnately I cannot speak of NCSoft/Gaming laws... but I know this is very true generally...
Lithuania got same laws and rules as all EU coutries....
All Im saying is it differs from country to country, EVEN though its in the EU.
I lived in Poland for 2 years... they still used their natural currency, EVEN though they were apart of the EU. So, they haven't switched over to the euro. Don't nitpick, it was an example.
All Im saying is I don't think its "NCSoft refuses to deal with my country" Im pretty sure there is some legislation that makes it difficult for them (for whatever reason)
Im sure that NCSoft has a reason to do this, probably the distribution contracts for the russian federation cover those countrys, I understand its bad for those people to be stuck with the russian client but its the way it works
Originally posted by tryklon Im sure that NCSoft has a reason to do this, probably the distribution contracts for the russian federation cover those countrys, I understand its bad for those people to be stuck with the russian client but its the way it works
But the question still remains. WHY should countries that have nothing to do with Russia and are part of Europe, be grouped with Russian Federation?
Frankly, it makes no sense.
Lithuania and Baltic Countries ARE official part of Europe.
Baltic Countries escaped from the claws of CCCP twenty years ago. All Baltic countries have already been official part of EU for more than 5 years. Its about time they are actually treated as such.
Why should Lithuania, where ONLY 8% of population speak Russian as native language(and only 5% are Russians), be grouped with Russian Federation?
Why should "distribution contracts" group these countries with Russia?
Most of people in 18-30 age group do not speak English, so the main age category for the mmorpg is already lost due to the simple fact that the targeted age market in this country does NOT understand the language.
Not to mention quite a high tensions existing between Russian people and the Baltic States.(The national poll of "national enemies" created by Russian "Press" lists all Baltic countries in the top ~5 of the list). With such *cough* emotions *cough* being propagated, I would find it hard for any Lithuanian, who would pass the language barrier, to play there.
It makes no-sense no matter how - territory-wise or language-wise you look at it.
No matter how you look at it, NCSOFT did a huge politically-incorrect decision, a decision which goes against anything that you could pass off as common sense.
# A GRIM, ODD, ARCANE SKY # ANY GOD, I MARK SACRED # A MASKED CRY ADORING # A DREAMY, SICK DRAGON
Man could you please change back your thread title or something more real your title makes many think ALL europe is banned from aion EU till they come in thread and read that it's only 2/3 places now whole europe...
Originally posted by bloodaxes Man could you please change back your thread title or something more real your title makes many think ALL europe is banned from aion EU till they come in thread and read that it's only 2/3 places now whole europe...
The thread title is correct. Nowhere in it does it say that "NcSoft banned ALL EU countries".
# A GRIM, ODD, ARCANE SKY # ANY GOD, I MARK SACRED # A MASKED CRY ADORING # A DREAMY, SICK DRAGON
I thought I'd just post my 2c here, seeing how I'm from Lithuania and planned to play Aion for quite some time.
First of all I was really shocked to hear that NCSoft would not only give the rights to distribute Aion in Lithuania (and Latvia & Estonia) to Russian company Innova but also use IP blocking to prevent us from playing on EU servers. I say shocked because seeing how the Baltic states are part of Europe and European Union, I thought it was a given that we'd be able to play on Aion EU servers (and, after all, we had no problems playing say, World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online or Age of Conan on their EU servers).
Second, while it's true that the Baltic states are a tiny market for MMORPGs (Lithuania only has a population of a little over 3 million, for example - and Latvia & Estonia have slightly less) Europe has a lot of small countries so I don't see how this can be an issue. Furthermore, they'd actually get less customers by giving the rights of distribution to Innova due to the language barrier (most young Lithuanians speak English, not Russian, as everyone is taught it in schools) and tensions between the Baltic states and Russia.
Third, it's a matter of principle. To an outsider it might seem like a lot of Lithuanians are overreacting (it's only an MMO, after all) and that's probably true. However you have to understand that it's due to our country's history. Being occupied and annexed by Soviet Union for 50 years and having gained independence mere 20 years ago, it's kind of a big deal when someone still views us as part of Russia!
Having said all that, I most likely won't be playing Aion as there's no way I'd resort to using proxies or some other "tricks" to force NCSoft to take my money and let me play. They don't want us playing - that's fine. But making Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia a part of Russia is downright insulting.
Comments
Glad I am not from Lithuania then, any idea when you can expect to get the game ?
Aion Strategy Guide
Since Lithuania only gained entry to the EU in 2004, unfortunate problems like these still arise as they are still viewed by some as a sattelite state of the USSR. Hopefully as time goes on, these problems will get smaller, but I guess it takes time.
howbout reading up instead of believing? IP block will be in effect.
The game should have the option for different languages. At least the option to select between russian and english. It doesn't make any sense if the game is in russian language only. Now, about forcing lithuanians to play in russian servers, I would not take that as discrimination. Perhaps there are some logistics and business issues that made AION devs to make that decision. I think this was a business decision issue, and not discrimination.
so.... it's official
NCsoft admit, they won't release Aion in Lithuania becouse of "licensing issues".
omg. is it so hard to let europeans to play european game? Its not gonna work that way, NCsoft....
UPDATE:
these countries experiencing the same issue:
- All baltic states ( Estonia, Lithuania and letland )
- Turkey
- Croatia
Other games have the same issues.
It's simply that they don't have the license to publish in certain countries.
http://books.google.se/books?id=lQI4Mv_tWPcC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=treaty+of+Rome+trade+laws&source=bl&ots=unw4M7fZOq&sig=AlEDOpWraIXllmr1Asq6pC5NY9g&hl=sv&ei=K7WGStyCLszX-QbompC7CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
page 194-195 describes some minor details about the "treaty of rome" make your own conclusions but make sure to note NCSOFT is a privatly owned buissnes.
I feel for you, the same fate has met Finland many of times and it just sucks.
Omg what a bunch of noobs at Aion, this is enough for me to boycot Aion. They are in the EU for god sake, it is like not allowing Californian players to play on US servers !
I can not do much, except for this :
http://www.mmodata.net/
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
Well since i'm belonging to the possible customers from the Baltic region (near Croatia) this anouncement made my decission easier NOT to buy AION at all. I won't take it as it is that i can't play this game with other European community members since i can speak English AND German AND my mother language. Luckily i had the opportunity to play the Chinese beta and i must say that I wasn't THAT impressed with the game while i WAS interested in the game before the test.
I must agree that the graphic is increddible well done BUT graphic isn't all in a game. The quests don't offer anything new to the players and it won't change in the future. I expect that AION will get a huge playerbase because IT IS a PvP centric game after all, and i know that the Balaur will be a playable third faction in the near future while the game expands and the story goes on. That's obvious to me.
I will play other F2P games in the mean time and wait for Final Fantasy XIV Online from which i'm expecting MUCH more than AION has to offer.
I wish the AION community all the best. Don't let the publisher throw you sand in the eyes and don't let AION become only another "WoW clone". I hope you'll succeede but you'll have a hard time there because Asian pusblishers aren't well known for accepting criticism (Korean forum flames, Komunism anyone?!)
Live long, and play well!! :P
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
Mmm but not all EU countries (believe it or not) have the same rules.
Some countries within the EU still have different laws compared to that of another EU country.
Unfortnately I cannot speak of NCSoft/Gaming laws... but I know this is very true generally...
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
Mmm but not all EU countries (believe it or not) have the same rules.
Some countries within the EU still have different laws compared to that of another EU country.
Unfortnately I cannot speak of NCSoft/Gaming laws... but I know this is very true generally...
Lithuania got same laws and rules as all EU coutries....
This is why many companies refuse to do business in Europe. Wasn't the EU supposed to fix all this nonsense?
Don't blame the EU for this if NCsoft sells the license to the Russians ...
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
Mmm but not all EU countries (believe it or not) have the same rules.
Some countries within the EU still have different laws compared to that of another EU country.
Unfortnately I cannot speak of NCSoft/Gaming laws... but I know this is very true generally...
EU law overrules local law.
EU countries do have different local laws, and as long as they do not conlict with EU law, that is fine.
What does this have to do with EU law and their countries really? If NCSoft sells the license to the Russians it is NCSoft that is at fault here.
EU law may regulate this someway, and if so, then NCSoft may be forced to change certain agreements.
Edit :
I did a quick check, and from what I can tell, companies can currently still make regional license agreements, that does not mean they have to, so again, NCSoft is at fault here.
EU legislation will change this, but we will have to wait a bit for that. Actually, it would be a smart thing for NCSoft and all other software companies to start working on a single license agreement for all of the EU members, because once the legislation is there, it could break alot of games and software that do not comply.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
All of those who care, or even those who "don't give a ****"
please vote that Lithuania could play Aion EU, or, more specifically - would simply have a choice 
www.aion-lithuania.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php
P.S "Ne/No" means you guys support us and our wish to play Aion EU. Thank you !
I don't understand why would NCSoft scratch Croatia from Europe lists? For Gods sake Croatia is in the middle of the Europe ...
Well first, claim the politicians of ur country working in the governement to join in EURO. Then I am surely u can play on EU Server. -_- otherwise there is no choice since it is the issue of general liscensing which should be followed by the international laws, IF ncsoft would agree with u and open the EU server for ur country, then, NCsoft would get fucked for the breaking law?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are members of the EU, so I am not sure what are you talking about.
If NCSoft made agreements that Russia should control the Baltic states, then that is NCSoft's choice, and therefore they are pretty stupid.
Mmm but not all EU countries (believe it or not) have the same rules.
Some countries within the EU still have different laws compared to that of another EU country.
Unfortnately I cannot speak of NCSoft/Gaming laws... but I know this is very true generally...
Lithuania got same laws and rules as all EU coutries....
All Im saying is it differs from country to country, EVEN though its in the EU.
I lived in Poland for 2 years... they still used their natural currency, EVEN though they were apart of the EU. So, they haven't switched over to the euro. Don't nitpick, it was an example.
All Im saying is I don't think its "NCSoft refuses to deal with my country" Im pretty sure there is some legislation that makes it difficult for them (for whatever reason)
Im sure that NCSoft has a reason to do this, probably the distribution contracts for the russian federation cover those countrys, I understand its bad for those people to be stuck with the russian client but its the way it works
But the question still remains. WHY should countries that have nothing to do with Russia and are part of Europe, be grouped with Russian Federation?
Frankly, it makes no sense.
Lithuania and Baltic Countries ARE official part of Europe.
Baltic Countries escaped from the claws of CCCP twenty years ago. All Baltic countries have already been official part of EU for more than 5 years. Its about time they are actually treated as such.
Why should Lithuania, where ONLY 8% of population speak Russian as native language(and only 5% are Russians), be grouped with Russian Federation?
Why should "distribution contracts" group these countries with Russia?
Most of people in 18-30 age group do not speak English, so the main age category for the mmorpg is already lost due to the simple fact that the targeted age market in this country does NOT understand the language.
Not to mention quite a high tensions existing between Russian people and the Baltic States.(The national poll of "national enemies" created by Russian "Press" lists all Baltic countries in the top ~5 of the list). With such *cough* emotions *cough* being propagated, I would find it hard for any Lithuanian, who would pass the language barrier, to play there.
It makes no-sense no matter how - territory-wise or language-wise you look at it.
No matter how you look at it, NCSOFT did a huge politically-incorrect decision, a decision which goes against anything that you could pass off as common sense.
# A GRIM, ODD, ARCANE SKY
# ANY GOD, I MARK SACRED
# A MASKED CRY ADORING
# A DREAMY, SICK DRAGON
Man could you please change back your thread title or something more real your title makes many think ALL europe is banned from aion EU till they come in thread and read that it's only 2/3 places now whole europe...
The thread title is correct. Nowhere in it does it say that "NcSoft banned ALL EU countries".
# A GRIM, ODD, ARCANE SKY
# ANY GOD, I MARK SACRED
# A MASKED CRY ADORING
# A DREAMY, SICK DRAGON
I thought I'd just post my 2c here, seeing how I'm from Lithuania and planned to play Aion for quite some time.
First of all I was really shocked to hear that NCSoft would not only give the rights to distribute Aion in Lithuania (and Latvia & Estonia) to Russian company Innova but also use IP blocking to prevent us from playing on EU servers. I say shocked because seeing how the Baltic states are part of Europe and European Union, I thought it was a given that we'd be able to play on Aion EU servers (and, after all, we had no problems playing say, World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online or Age of Conan on their EU servers).
Second, while it's true that the Baltic states are a tiny market for MMORPGs (Lithuania only has a population of a little over 3 million, for example - and Latvia & Estonia have slightly less) Europe has a lot of small countries so I don't see how this can be an issue. Furthermore, they'd actually get less customers by giving the rights of distribution to Innova due to the language barrier (most young Lithuanians speak English, not Russian, as everyone is taught it in schools) and tensions between the Baltic states and Russia.
Third, it's a matter of principle. To an outsider it might seem like a lot of Lithuanians are overreacting (it's only an MMO, after all) and that's probably true. However you have to understand that it's due to our country's history. Being occupied and annexed by Soviet Union for 50 years and having gained independence mere 20 years ago, it's kind of a big deal when someone still views us as part of Russia!
Having said all that, I most likely won't be playing Aion as there's no way I'd resort to using proxies or some other "tricks" to force NCSoft to take my money and let me play. They don't want us playing - that's fine. But making Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia a part of Russia is downright insulting.
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