The Lord of the Rings Online Interview

WarCry had the opportunity to chat with The Lord of the Rings Online executive producer Jeffrey Steefel about the team’s plans to bring the game to other countries as well as the game’s upcoming Book 12 update.

The game, which will also soon launch in China, faces an uphill climb when it comes to what most consider their strongest asset: the intellectual property.

“It’s popular, but it’s nothing like North America and Europe for obvious reasons,” Steefel admitted. Tolkien’s work has a cult-like readership in the Western world and is firmly rooted in European mythology. In Asia, they have their own rich mythology and thus, Tolkien’s work simply doesn’t resonate in the same way. Nonetheless, Steefel is confident.

“The books have been printed, distributed and pretty well read over there in the local language,” he said. “The movies were pretty high up.”