Online Game 'Classic' Craze
Restoration of Servers Over a Decade Old
Popularity Driven by 3040 Generation
Office worker Mr. Yoo (31) has recently become deeply immersed in the game 'Maple Land.' On weekends, he is busy enjoying the game with friends, and even on weekdays, he spares time from his sleep to focus on it.
In fact, Mr. Yoo says he is not the type to be very passionate about games. Nevertheless, he said, "Maple Land might be the first game I take seriously." The biggest reason he can't let go of this game is 'nostalgia.' He explained, "It feels just like when I used to play with my friends, chatting loudly at PC bangs when I was young," adding, "That's why it feels more endearing."
Recreated Exactly as the Game Version from 17 Years Ago... Enthralling the 30s and 40s
Maple Land is a derivative work of Nexon's massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'MapleStory.' Previously, in 2022, Nexon allowed third parties to create modified games using MapleStory's intellectual property (IP), leading to the emergence of numerous derivative games. Among them, Maple Land has achieved the greatest success.
The concept of Maple Land is simple: to implement the past MapleStory within a fan game. More precisely, it is the 2007 version of MapleStory. MapleStory, launched in 2003, has a deep history and has undergone numerous updates over time, transforming not only its internal content but also its graphics. However, some gamers have longed for the early days of MapleStory.
Mr. Yoo is not the only one enthusiastic about Maple Land. Recently, game-related communities and social networking services (SNS) have been dominated by Maple Land topics. The Maple Land channel on the game-specialized SNS 'Discord' has surpassed 130,000 subscribers, and the concurrent user count reaches 55,000. These numbers surpass those of many popular online games. The Maple Land phenomenon is led by gamers in their 30s and 40s who share memories of MapleStory from the early 2000s.
The Common Code is 'Nostalgia'
The origin of the online game classic craze is the private server of the overseas game "World of Warcraft" (a private game server separately implemented by a third party, not the official developer). [Image source=Online community capture]
The game industry has not only recently started paying attention to the demand for 'classic' games. It is already common to remake package games released over a decade ago or to improve graphics and convenience features (remaster) for resale. However, the classic craze in MMORPGs, where players connect online to enjoy games, is a more recent phenomenon.
A representative example is Blizzard Entertainment's 'World of Warcraft Classic (WoW)' project. WoW, officially launched in 2004 and celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has had some middle-aged and older users who nostalgically recall the early days of WoW. Sensing this demand, Blizzard implemented classic servers restoring the past WoW in 2019, achieving considerable commercial success.
NCSoft announced plans to launch a classic service for its MMORPG 'Blade & Soul' this year, and Nexon recently conducted a survey asking gamers about their interest in opening a classic server for 'Baram-ui Nara,' one of the oldest online games worldwide, attracting gamers' attention.
Attractive to Game Companies Too... But Can the Popularity Last?
The classic craze also offers new opportunities for game developers. Planner Mr. A, working at a game studio, told Asia Economy, "A significant portion of online game expenditure goes to marketing, but classic games spread by word of mouth, so saving on these costs is the biggest attraction," adding, "Since it involves reusing already famous IPs, the risk is low and potential profit is high, so game companies welcome it."
However, restoring online games that are over ten years old is by no means easy. Mr. A explained, "Unlike package games, online games are continuously updated. Versions created years ago become 'legacy' (a computer term for outdated software), and bringing them back and maintaining them stably is very complex," adding, "This is why building classic servers takes more time than expected."
Another limitation is that classic games inherently rely on 'nostalgia.' Their overall quality, including graphics and convenience, inevitably falls short compared to the latest games, and no additional content updates occur.
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