WOW servers merge

rataria

 

the Doom is coming. i thought  there was 9 million subscribers!!!

forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html

 

We're certainly looking at additional means to help realms that have lower populations.



There are a couple issues with merging realms though that we would need to take into heavy consideration if one were to be considered. As many of the lower population realms are PvP, faction balance has to be taken into careful consideration. Would a merge worsen, improve, or leave any faction balance unchanged? Would a merge move the population up too high, queuing or leading to queues for the realm after that point? Do we have realms of the same time zone and type that would merge well under these conditions? There also many logistical issues with merges which ultimately effect the end user, such as conflicting character and guild names. So, in the end, a merge would only be considered if all other possible options have been completely exhausted.



We're not just throwing recommended tags up on realms, and calling it a day. The recommended tag has done a lot of good for a lot of realms, but if we're seeing that they're no longer helping reach the type of population numbers we would like to see, then we would investigate alternate means. That's sort of where we're at now.

cupertino

Yes 9million subs and around 450 servers in the EU+US to service about 3 miilion of those.  Also the capacity of relams where increased with the launched of TBC.

Besides they aint saying they are merging relams, just that merging is the "last resort".

The game pop cannot grow indefinatly, 3 years since release and its not stopped growing.. about time it slows down TBH.

Spiider

Number of subs is growing, not game population. Don't mix those 2. And if they have low population servers it just means the population is dropping.

Blizzard is heavily manipulating numbers here... 9 million games sold... but how many don't play it any more?

rataria

Originally posted by Spiider


Number of subs is growing, not game population. Don't mix those 2. And if they have low population servers it just means the population is dropping.
Blizzard is heavily manipulating numbers here... 9 million games sold... but how many don't play it any more?

lol don't say that to cupertino he is a big blizzard fanboi he gonna quote the blizzard disclaimer for ya

Recant

I'm another "fanboy" but I'm not going to quote the disclaimer, instead I'm just going to post a generic fanboy response that, while being true, will just be ignored by the kind of people that call us fanboys in the first place.  As we know, if anyone posts anything remotely in defense of WoW or Blizzard they're automaton fanboys. *rolleyes*

Here's the deal:  You have millions of players, across hundreds of realms.  Some servers are absolutely chock-full of players, others are pretty low, most are kind of in-between.  Controlling who rolls on which faction on each server isn't easy, because a lot of people don't want to join a low population server, they want to join a full server, or servers with their friends, or servers with a cool name.

Blizzard are the shepherd of millions of sheep, most of whom do not want to move.  They are addressing the issue with free server migrations, which a lot of people do take up - although admittedly it's usually level 70s.

Consider this though: some people might actually like low pop-realms, it makes them feel more unique and special.  So having the choice between high-pop, med-pop and low-pop realms is a Good Thing(tm).  If all realms had the same population, it would be pretty dull IMO.  Incidentally one of the servers I'm on is ranked 186th out of like 220 or so EU servers, in terms of population, and I have no problem finding a pickup party for instances, anything from RFC to Kara.

When WOTLK comes out that's going to mean even more levels, land-area and instances for people to be spread out on - so I expect that server merges will occur (unless WOTLK is so good Blizzard gain a few mil more, which isn't beyond the realms of possibility).

But that doesn't in any way indicate doom.  Every time someone has predicted doom for WoW, it became more popular.  Keep predicting, one day in the distant future you will eventually be right.   I wouldn't hold your breath though.

Kyleran

There's no doom coming... sure, with 430+ server some are bound to get a bit more populated than others.  How to fix the low population ones remains a challenge for any game.....

I thought it was interesting though.... they said that the PVP servers are the ones more likely suffereing population issues.....   there's some meaning in that fact...but can't say if this means people are rejecting PVP or just rejecting PVP as implemented by Blizzard.

cupertino

Originally posted by rataria


 
Originally posted by Spiider


Number of subs is growing, not game population. Don't mix those 2. And if they have low population servers it just means the population is dropping.
Blizzard is heavily manipulating numbers here... 9 million games sold... but how many don't play it any more?

 

lol don't say that to cupertino he is a big blizzard fanboi he gonna quote the blizzard disclaimer for ya

Its 9million active subs... 9million pay some kind of fee every month to play WoW.. its not 9 million units sold.

I am a fanboi, but I dont make up stuff, I always support my points with links and evidence, unlike your typical fanboi.

And I will quote the disclaimer  which I think MMORPG should send to all registered memebers as there are still guys on here that think blizzard make up the numbers and/or its account ever made and/or units sold etc.

World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition

World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules.

Recant

I'm thinking that definition needs to be stickied here.

Recant

Originally posted by xluciferx


on their free month? nuff said.

l2read.

cupertino

To get the free month they need to pay for the box, don't confuse free month with free trial (and btw trial accounts are not counted).

Come on I want more haters to knock down.. YARRRR! 

Recant

We can beat them, forever and ever.

We can be heroes, just for one day.

Arbol

Well, I can't speak for other severs, but I stopped playing right after BC came out (on Gnomeregon, PVE). I logged in again for the first time since then about three weeks ago, and I was shocked at how few players there were. Lots of 70s running around at the banks and AH, but any of the sub-60 areas were thin, thin, thin on population. People pleading LFG on sub-60 instances for long period sof time and obviously getting nowhere. My highly unscientific observation is that the end game has taken over, and the low and mid-level areas are suffering. Of coure, other servers could be different.

Taera

Also, with each expansion and update, a game's geographical area increases - this spreads out the population and makes it FEEL less populated, whether it is or isn't.  Burning Crusade added a whole continent, dispersing the population a good deal.

zevian

9 million subs WORLDWIDE

 

i know my server is bleeding subs, and i know my alts server is the same way.   so it IS happening.

cupertino

Originally posted by Arbol


Well, I can't speak for other severs, but I stopped playing right after BC came out (on Gnomeregon, PVE). I logged in again for the first time since then about three weeks ago, and I was shocked at how few players there were. Lots of 70s running around at the banks and AH, but any of the sub-60 areas were thin, thin, thin on population. People pleading LFG on sub-60 instances for long period sof time and obviously getting nowhere. My highly unscientific observation is that the end game has taken over, and the low and mid-level areas are suffering. Of coure, other servers could be different.

Nope... its the same on all servers.. becuase 99% of players are in outlands. So lvl 65-70's only realy come to azeroth for the Auction house. Such is the draw backs of a level base game. Prior to TBC lvl 20-40 areas had few players as 99% of players where in lvl 60 areas.. and so it will go on.

At lvl 40 I had no reason to go to Darkshore or Barrans or the dungeons around that level such as deadmines and shadowfang, so its always been that way in woW.

lomiller

Originally posted by cupertino


 


Its 9million active subs... 9million pay some kind of fee every month to play WoW..

 

Sure, but only half of them pay Blizzard…

Kyleran

Originally posted by lomiller

Originally posted by cupertino


 


Its 9million active subs... 9million pay some kind of fee every month to play WoW..

 

Sure, but only half of them pay Blizzard…

LOL... point goes to lomiller

cougardave

It is interesting.  And not for the reasons most people think.

First if you look at the wowcensus site, order the servers by age.  The RP servers have more pop than the PVP servers. 

Demographics on the RP servers are typically older age, 40% female (yes, indeed), more "mature" gamers.  What you're seeing is a migration AWAY from PvP servers (younger, more male) to more RP servers (older, more female). 

Want proof?  Look at the facesofwow site, compare RP servers to PvP servers. 

Of the various IRL people I have gamed with for many years, all the couples and females play on RP servers (50% of my guild is couples) and the 2 single younger males both play on PvP servers.

There have been numerous studies lately that have shown that many of the myths of the "typical" gamer are quite incorrect. 

Just one of many such study: Canadian numbers : http://www.theesa.ca/facts-essential.html

 

 

jor8888

9 mill is just a bragging right nothing more like most of the asian mmorpg they claimed 15 mill + sub  or 65 mill + registered.  Do u really think 5mill+ asian are going to pay blizzard to play WoW when they have 20+ mmorpg to play for free? 

 

 

 

 

 

Enforcer71

Originally posted by Taera


Also, with each expansion and update, a game's geographical area increases - this spreads out the population and makes it FEEL less populated, whether it is or isn't.  Burning Crusade added a whole continent, dispersing the population a good deal.

This is so very true, most everyone plays in outland now.  The only reasons most of the higher come to the old area is banking or the auction house, well and of course a few of us in the my guild go back to help our lower brotherin or to start a little pvp war at one of the main cities.

Pappy13

Originally posted by Spiider


Number of subs is growing, not game population. Don't mix those 2. And if they have low population servers it just means the population is dropping.
Blizzard is heavily manipulating numbers here... 9 million games sold... but how many don't play it any more?

You have no clue what you are talking about.  The number of copies sold is WAY over 9 million.  9 million is the number of active subscriptions.  They sold something like 2.4 million copies of BC in the first 24 hours.  You think they only sold 6.5 million since then?  And that's just BC, if you included the original well no telling how many copies of the game they have sold.

Now you're right that doesn't necessarily mean there's 9 milion people playing every day.  Many have an active subscription but don't play everyday, they may only play 1 or twice a week.  And some subscriptions are hard to judge especially outside the US because a lot of people play at game kiosks and such which are very hard to track the actual number of people playing on some accounts.

But just do the math.  Find out how many servers and find out what the average population on a server is a day and it's pretty easy to show that 9 million number is completely plausible.

rataria

Originally posted by Pappy13


 
Originally posted by Spiider


Number of subs is growing, not game population. Don't mix those 2. And if they have low population servers it just means the population is dropping.
Blizzard is heavily manipulating numbers here... 9 million games sold... but how many don't play it any more?

You have no clue what you are talking about.  The number of copies sold is WAY over 9 million.  9 million is the number of active subscriptions.  They sold something like 2.4 million copies of BC in the first 24 hours.  You think they only sold 6.5 million since then?  And that's just BC, if you included the original well no telling how many copies of the game they have sold.

 

Now you're right that doesn't necessarily mean there's 9 milion people playing every day.  Many have an active subscription but don't play everyday, they may only play 1 or twice a week.  And some subscriptions are hard to judge especially outside the US because a lot of people play at game kiosks and such which are very hard to track the actual number of people playing on some accounts.

But just do the math.  Find out how many servers and find out what the average population on a server is a day and it's pretty easy to show that 9 million number is completely plausible.

they never sold 9 millions, they sold that 2.4 millions, and for  china they gave it for free.

Nazaros

Pretty much yeah. Those numbers are "really" insanely inflated. Keep bragging about your bubble until it burst. Most of my link of gamer friends i've known for over a decade all left WoW. So i guess the same is happening among the population of real gamers. You can only keep a game running for so long with clueless noobs... They are very lucky to have such an I.P. because the game itself wouldn't/doesn't justify any of those numbers.

battleaxe22

World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition

World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules.

 

I bet you haters wish your games were doing better,cheers.

Coir

Originally posted by rataria
they never sold 9 millions, they sold that 2.4 millions, and for  china they gave it for free.

Give the man a cookie!

TBC was also handed out for free to chinese subscribers while we had to pay for it. Why...Blizzard realise they don't have as big a slice of the chinese market as what is actually available.

The majority of WoW's subs come from China. And when you stop and think that one of China's internet services has over 19 million active subscribers WoW holding 6 odd million may be massive by western standards but within it's own borders it's not that big a deal.

If you also take into account gold farming in wow China isn't policed anywhere near it is on western servers that again adds a huge number to the sub base. Then we also have the fact many chinese players run two accounts for more playtime the whole thing starts to come into focus.

And the final lol at WoW. One of Blizzards primary competitors recently acquired 20% share of the company responsible for WoW in China. EA is now taking a nifty 20% of WoW's profits back into competitive games in the western market.

If Blizzard was doing as well as they'd like to say they are why wouldn't they give us the real figures and break them down into US, Euro and Chinese. Bliz are simply trying to 'intimidate' their competitors who are yet to try chinese releases, give the fanbois a nice fat round number to toss out and make those who don't understand anything about mmo's a "oh golly gosh...Warcraft has 9 million players...it must be good..."

Personally I know more people who are leaving WoW then those buying a new copy or activating old accounts. Amongst my group of friends at least WoW is down and out. Currently betas and EVE are where people are headed with many waiting for Tabula Rasa or Warhammer Age of Reckoning.

Tinybina

Originally posted by Spiider


Number of subs is growing, not game population. Don't mix those 2. And if they have low population servers it just means the population is dropping.
Blizzard is heavily manipulating numbers here... 9 million games sold... but how many don't play it any more?

Are you so consumed by WOW hater that you have to come here and post this crap?

How about you go find someting more contructive to do, instead of troll the WOW board with your useless dribble.