Why Age of Empires 2’s Korean Civ Was a Last-Minute Game Changer!

One of my all-time favorite video games is Age of Empires 2, and I’m far from alone in cherishing glimpses into its creation process, which took place at Microsoft’s now-defunct Ensemble Studios.

In 1999, the game titled “Age of Kings” was released, and a year later, in 2000, its expansion pack named “The Age of Conquerors” came out.

From 1997 to the closure of Ensemble Studios in 2009, Sandy Petersen served as the principal designer and developer, significantly contributing to the creation of Age of Empires.

Over two and a half decades past, Petersen revealed intriguing insights about X connected with the Conquerors expansion and the significant impact that Korea held on the gaming scene back then, owing to the widespread appeal of StarCraft.

According to Peterson, he opted for the “conquering nations” motif as a guideline for picking four civilizations to incorporate into the basic game – specifically, the Spanish, Aztecs, Huns, and Mayans.

In January 2000, approximately five weeks prior to the planned schedule, Petersen received a phone call from Microsoft, which was around eight months before the official release of the Conquerors expansion.

In the context of Age of Conquerors, it was decided that a new civilization would be added, following the request made by Microsoft.

Back in 1998, when it was first released, StarCraft by Blizzard Entertainment enjoyed immense popularity in South Korea.

It’d sold 3 million copies in Korea alone, and Microsoft wanted to get in on the action.

As Petersen puts it, he told Microsoft:

Koreans deserve recognition for not being conquest-oriented. They focused on their own domain. Although they are trendy, they don’t align with the Conquerors theme. It is worth noting that Starcraft does not feature any Korean civilization, implying that the game’s sales were not influenced by a Korean civ.

Petersen’s objections to incorporating a Korean civilization in a game centered around conquerors were well-founded, yet Microsoft remained firm in their decision.

Due to this unexpected new element, the Ensemble team found themselves hurriedly working to incorporate an entirely new civilization within just over four weeks.

Credit goes to Petersen’s team for designing a Korean civilization for Age of Empires II that remains enjoyable to play even today.

Nevertheless, Petersen highlights three errors that Ensemble apparently committed while hastily developing a Korean civilization.

Despite the fact that Ensemble used a genuine source for the artwork, the distinctive Turtle Ship unit was not well-received by the Koreans.

In South Korea, the body of water known as the Sea of Japan by many other countries sparked controversy. This was particularly true when a Microsoft representative from Korea was reportedly apprehended and held for a while due to references made about a Japanese invasion of Korea during the late 16th century.

In simpler terms, Petersen concludes the discussion about the X topic, noting that Age of Empires 2 failed to sell over three million units in Korea. This is likely due to the fact that StarCraft was still popular at the time.

Where is StarCraft today?

Age of Empires and its Definitive Edition continue to thrive, with over 21,000 gamers playing on Steam within the past 24 hours.

In 2021, the follow-up game not directly connected to the original trilogy, Age of Empires 4, was released. It continues to receive regular updates and fresh content.

Amazingly, even Age of Mythology has been given a high-quality revamp by Microsoft and their development teams.

Have you been keeping up with StarCraft lately? I used to play the original quite extensively back in the day, and I always chose Age of Empires 2 over it, but I’ve yet to dive into StarCraft 2.

For quite some time now, the StarCraft series has been cherished by its loyal fanbase. However, it’s been quite a while since any fresh content has emerged from this intellectual property.

It’s clear that since Blizzard has been acquired by Microsoft, it’s logical for them to carry on creating games under the StarCraft brand.

There are rumors that a StarCraft shooter is planned, but so far nothing concrete has come out.

It’s uncertain whether a StarCraft 3 will emerge in the future, but it’s likely that the concept hasn’t been ruled out.

Strategy games that require real-time action have experienced a decline in their initial popularity over the past few years, yet many enthusiasts like myself continue seeking the upcoming breakthrough game in this genre.

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2025-03-20 16:40