CDC games, which publishes and operates online games in both Asia and North America recently announced early success in North America for the Korean-born online game Lunia, which it began by operating in China. On the heels of that announcement, we spoke to CDC USA general manager Ron Williams about the process of "exporting" a Korean game and operating it in the U.S.

Williams has said that North American Lunia Gold players have averaged more than 205,000 hours altogether, with the average player putting in about six hours per week. Since launch, CDC says registered users have grown 158 percent, with peak and average concurrent user figures up 151 and 140 percent, respectively.

But the East-to-West connection runs in both directions for CDC, who also operates CCP's EVE Online in China. We've spoken to companies like Outspark, who believe the way to energize an entirely new audience of multiplayer online gamers lies in importing the right kinds of titles from Asia. Williams agrees, and he explained to Worlds in Motion some of the very interesting particulars involved.

What's different about marketing a game like Lunia Gold in North America versus in Asia?

Ron Williams: Today the most sophisticated free-to-play microtransaction-supported games are developed in Korea, and almost all of them, including Lunia Gold, were designed to do well in the Korean online game market as well as Greater China, Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The typical MMO games in these markets have a strong focus on close-knit social relationships, and offer a more casual experience for gamers than a lot of MMO games coming out of North America and Europe.

"Casual," in this context, means shorter time frames to reach proficiency in the game, and play sessions in a single engagement with the game can be much shorter while still offering a fun and fulfilling experience. Lunia Gold is one of the few games coming out of Korea that also had a lot of design considerations built in for outside-of-Asia export markets like North America, Europe, and South America.