What's interesting is that every time I was on, it was mostly NA players. That was even during daytime NA hours. I bet if there was an NA server people would have played more.
What makes me sad about the new version is there is no real peasant phase. You make money and xp so fast that you don't get that fun struggle or sense of accomplishment you got in the old version.
That being said, I still prefer the new version overall.