Lineage2M, Once Pushed to 2nd Place in Google Play Revenue, Returns to 1st
Ranking Changes Between Lineage2M and LineageM Amid Linjussi's Movements
[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] The reason why NCSoft's (hereafter NC) Lineage brothers have firmly held the mobile throne for years lies in the so-called 'Linjeossi,' a term referring collectively to middle-aged men who enjoy Lineage. NC's mobile pride, 'Lineage 2M' and 'Lineage M,' have been fiercely competing for the number one spot in Google Play revenue rankings for several months.
According to mobile app ranking analysis site Gevolution on the 2nd, Lineage 2M reclaimed the number one spot in Google Play revenue rankings as of the 1st, five days after losing it. This rebound was achieved through the 'Chronicle II: Beora's Ruins' update on Lineage 2M, released on the 29th of last month. In this update, NC introduced the large-scale battlefield 'World Server Dungeon,' which transcends server boundaries. The World Server Dungeon is a content where users belonging to 10 servers with the same name meet and compete in a single battlefield.
Previously, on the 26th of last month, Lineage 2M dropped to second place in Google Play revenue rankings, and Lineage M, which had maintained the second position, rose back to first place. This marks about five months since Lineage 2M first took the number one spot on Google Play in December last year. Released in June 2017, Lineage M had reigned as the emperor of mobile games by holding the number one revenue spot on Google Play for over 28 months.
The rank reversal between Lineage 2M and Lineage M is analyzed to be partly due to the revenue effect from Lineage M's 'Archmage: Awakening of Encounter' update on the 22nd of last month and a boycott movement by Linjeossi dissatisfied with Lineage 2M's payment system. Linjeossi, known as major spenders in the domestic gaming market, refers to male gamers aged 30 to 40 and above who enjoy Lineage. Linjeossi still have a significant influence on the rise and fall of the Lineage brothers.
Emerging online since the late 2000s, Linjeossi generally refers to middle-aged men who enjoy MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) by purchasing items with large sums of money rather than game control. Gamers who enjoyed NC's PC MMORPG 'Lineage,' released in 1998, in their teens and twenties have grown older and now enjoy the mobile versions of Lineage as middle-aged players.
The prestige of Linjeossi can be easily found by simply searching 'Linjeossi' in internet search engines, revealing various cases. Especially, Linjeossi who run personal businesses and have achieved economic success have a markedly different purchasing standard for items compared to general gamers. While salaried workers who invest heavily in Lineage M spend hundreds of thousands to millions of won, Linjeossi are known to pay at least tens of millions to hundreds of millions of won. Because Linjeossi spend large amounts on item purchases, they are inevitably 'VIPs' from the game companies' perspective, and ultimately, game payment policies must be tailored to them. An industry insider said, "Linjeossi are different in nature from paying users of other mobile games," adding, "The culture that has continued since PC Lineage has not been surpassed by other mobile games."
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