Yes agreed here. Blizzard has done a magnificent job marketing and keeping the fires lit, so to speak. I also would like to add that the more complaints you see here, the more you know they've done something right. LOL...actually most of the haters, well, I guess it must be some kind of twisted jealousy that whatever they are currently playing just doesn't match up.
Watch what happens in 2008. So many new games, I wonder what kind of canceling out effect there will be? And to that concept, how many are getting, "cold feet" and will continue to pull back their launch dates? It will be interesting and quite entertaining to watch the firework this next 18 months or so!
...long live Azeroth!
All I want is the truth Just gimme some truth John Lennon
Just out of curiousity has anyone seen some numbers to know wow has 9 million other then a sticker on the box that could mean they have had 9 million since launch? Imo it hardly looks like it coudl be possible with the seemingless less and less population people that I have seen and like half their servers are low population. I dont believe those War and AoC will break wow but I think they will put a dent in it. I am ex eq player and pretty much dislike wow along with all my friends yet we give them our money because atm there rly is not anything out that can be a good alternative. I like pvp personally and wow pve is quite possibly the worst thing I have ever had to endure in my entire mmo experience. Its mindnumbing and boring all so repetitive...."o look another boar lets kill it." The entire enviroment is recycled and every inn looks identical... inf billions of dollars your making and cant try new models? The game balances for pvp in a paper rock scissors format and completely just ignores most its pve content other then the mindless zerging of instances and raids. They should add the ability to turn honor off to get xp so I dont have to kill boars for 6 months till I get to go out and kill that one ally killing all my friends. I envy the ppl with the discipline to be able to sit at the computer day after day killing the same thing doing the dumbest quests... go kill 6 boars and collect their tusks! The mmo market is huge right now and getting bigger by the day. War is along the lines I think most wow players are looking for the better pvp system. WoW is pretty much here to stay for a long time but I think there is a good chunk of the population is basically only playing it because it has a large playerbase to be able to do something (like getting into a BG in under 10 mins of playing) that are just out there waiting for something new and exciting to come along that isnt the wow clone. The idea of wow being a non hardcore mmo is great and it changed most mmos for ever like eq2 adapting to that style and eq actually doing the same which is a shame its shying away from its roots. VG the supposid hardcore mmo comes ou and bombs down to only like 4 servers now its just a shame. But as times have changed so have I. I would like a less hardcore mmo but not one where I get to log in and hack and slash for an hour for a bubble of xp running in the same path killing some boars. Thats my opinion anyway... Chances are I will be going to war but if wow gets better then I have no problem staying with them I love the cartoony look and I like some stuff about the game its just too boring to continue over for a long amount of time which imo is why ppl constantly quit and come back just doesnt hold attention long.
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.
So to answer your question, no that 9 million number does not include every subscription since it's release because it doesn't include expired or cancelled subscriptions. Blizzard has been very specific about what it considers a subscription, that is not up for debate. The only possible thing you could debate is whether or not the 9 million number is accurate, but you have to consider that a company like Blizzard doesn't need to make this stuff up and they certainly don't have to put out a press release about it. Since they did, I'd say it's highly likely it's accurate.
What is so funny about this is most haters are PLAYING THE FRIKKIN GAME!!!!
You guys kill me - if you're not enjoying WoW - trying not playing it for a while - then you'll be just like me - playing some other sub standard MMO (sub standard in comparison to WoW anyway). Right now I'm playing CoV and it's mega fun but, the lack of crafting kinda hurts it a little - it is a huge refreshing change of pace. Not worrying about loot is neat - being able to customize the hell of out your char is very cool but, like most of my friends and I say when we try another mmo - "it just ain't WoW".
Blizzard seems to be doing what most mmo's don't. They are constantly actively trying to make their game even better.
World of Warcraft is the only game that updates and makes expansions now?
Oh boy.
No, they are just the only game who actually changes how the game is played each expansion from the looks of it. Don't support games that can't decide wtf they want to be. Constant game altering changes just show that they are not a stable game, so yes Blizzard is one of the only games making expansions that is a different game each one it seems.
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.
So to answer your question, no that 9 million number does not include every subscription since it's release because it doesn't include expired or cancelled subscriptions. Blizzard has been very specific about what it considers a subscription, that is not up for debate. The only possible thing you could debate is whether or not the 9 million number is accurate, but you have to consider that a company like Blizzard doesn't need to make this stuff up and they certainly don't have to put out a press release about it. Since they did, I'd say it's highly likely it's accurate.
The 9million does count however the subscriptions The9 gives out and that are pennies on the hour to play. Along with the Chinese regulations to gaming it is more and more popular to see people with 2 or more accounts due to the 3 hour limit per night for children under the age of 18.
Blizzard seems to be doing what most mmo's don't. They are constantly actively trying to make their game even better.
World of Warcraft is the only game that updates and makes expansions now?
Oh boy.
No, they are just the only game who actually changes how the game is played each expansion from the looks of it. Don't support games that can't decide wtf they want to be. Constant game altering changes just show that they are not a stable game, so yes Blizzard is one of the only games making expansions that is a different game each one it seems.
I don't think you could be any further from the truth. This response demonstrates almost complete inexperience with this genre. Almost all of the well established MMOs today are almost completely different to when they were launched. From the top of my head:
EQ, DaoC, SWG, EQ2.
EQ1 has changed so much over the years it's unrecognizable to it's former self. Class balance, design philosophy, game mechanics, even old areas have been revamped. So much so, that fans have been demanding a "Classic" server for years.
DaoC was changed significantly by the Trials of Atlantis expansion. Some say for the better, many say for the worse. Whatever the case, the game was changed significantly.
SWG. I don't need to say anymore.
EQ2. The first expansion tied in with the infamous "Live update 13", in which I saw my class, and my friends classes, completely altered. Not even in WoW, which has seen many balance tweaks, have I witnessed such a sweeping changes to a game. Arguably, EQ2 is better off for it, but that was one of many changes that make EQ2 unrecognizable from lauch.
So you see, WoW is most certainly not the only MMO to change with each expansion. The changes are minute compared with other MMOs, the 1-58 game virtually unchanged - and for good reason. The end game has seen the most changes, again, for good reasons.
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
Blizzard seems to be doing what most mmo's don't. They are constantly actively trying to make their game even better.
World of Warcraft is the only game that updates and makes expansions now?
Oh boy.
No, they are just the only game who actually changes how the game is played each expansion from the looks of it. Don't support games that can't decide wtf they want to be. Constant game altering changes just show that they are not a stable game, so yes Blizzard is one of the only games making expansions that is a different game each one it seems.
I don't think you could be any further from the truth. This response demonstrates almost complete inexperience with this genre. Almost all of the well established MMOs today are almost completely different to when they were launched. From the top of my head:
EQ, DaoC, SWG, EQ2.
EQ1 has changed so much over the years it's unrecognizable to it's former self. Class balance, design philosophy, game mechanics, even old areas have been revamped. So much so, that fans have been demanding a "Classic" server for years.
Each expansion was not a dramatic game changing addition. Yes they did do several revamps but not each expansion (well at one point multiple expansions a year would of been crazy).
DaoC was changed significantly by the Trials of Atlantis expansion. Some say for the better, many say for the worse. Whatever the case, the game was changed significantly.
Later changed back to legacy servers allowing people to play solely on pre-atlantis servers.
SWG. I don't need to say anymore.
Wasn't changed during an expansion, and yes SWG has been cited as by far one of the worst case scenarios of game changing content during its 2 complete overhauls which is still cited as the most ever done to a game (Though looks like WoW is headin out to beat it).
EQ2. The first expansion tied in with the infamous "Live update 13", in which I saw my class, and my friends classes, completely altered. Not even in WoW, which has seen many balance tweaks, have I witnessed such a sweeping changes to a game. Arguably, EQ2 is better off for it, but that was one of many changes that make EQ2 unrecognizable from lauch.
Yeah, unfortunately due to the imbalances some was changed, but not the whole game was overhauled.
So you see, WoW is most certainly not the only MMO to change with each expansion. The changes are minute compared with other MMOs, the 1-58 game virtually unchanged - and for good reason. The end game has seen the most changes, again, for good reasons.
For the better for the casuals. It just annoys me when a game that was absolutely addictive to the core says hey, we love our casuals. Screw you hardcores lets put in easy as anything content. O yeah, we're not making any new raid content (just all previous content repackaged). It truly is unfortunate that Blizzard listened to all the carebear lovin newbies who couldn't cut it. Yeah 1-58 hasn't changed which is part of the issues when you completely change the end game the way it has. It leaves a gap in progression that is absolutely terrible.
Yes, screw the hardcore players, they don't pay the bills. I don't even want them in a game I play!
WoW rocks, thats why it has 9+ million playing, my favorite class has been fun, unlike EQ where Warriors are WIMPiors.
If you have any questions please ask. I have moved on to WoW from eq and no longer have any desire to play a dead game. Thank you. (posted by another selling his account in EQ1)
Yes, screw the hardcore players, they don't pay the bills. I don't even want them in a game I play! WoW rocks, thats why it has 9+ million playing, my favorite class has been fun, unlike EQ where Warriors are WIMPiors.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Yes, screw the hardcore players, they don't pay the bills. I don't even want them in a game I play! WoW rocks, thats why it has 9+ million playing, my favorite class has been fun, unlike EQ where Warriors are WIMPiors.
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
haha, it's funny how people talk about McD like it tastes bad, like it's dirty, like it doesen't have any standards, like it has anything to do with WoW
if you realy wanna compare WoW to McD then do it properly, McD is the best of fast food restaurants, just like WoW is best of MMOs. if you wanna compare McD with a real, classy restaurant then you have to compare WoW to some completly diferent genre because McD is not definition of food, it's definition of fast food and WoW is not definition of game, it's definition of MMO
Yes, screw the hardcore players, they don't pay the bills. I don't even want them in a game I play! WoW rocks, thats why it has 9+ million playing, my favorite class has been fun, unlike EQ where Warriors are WIMPiors.
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
I am a true WoW fan, WoW owns your puny stupid weak game. Vantard sucks, and so do its players, all of a puny 30k, we need our 9 million to post in comparable numbers to drive you out! Eve-NOTHING, EQ1 NOTHING, all of SOE games NOTHING! WAR and AOC are no threat to us, your games are the ones that can't afford the damage they will do to YOU!
WoW players-Get your friends, your guild members, get them to post here from WoW, overwhelm the other games here, as it should be!
If you have any questions please ask. I have moved on to WoW from eq and no longer have any desire to play a dead game. Thank you. (posted by another selling his account in EQ1)
Yes, screw the hardcore players, they don't pay the bills. I don't even want them in a game I play! WoW rocks, thats why it has 9+ million playing, my favorite class has been fun, unlike EQ where Warriors are WIMPiors.
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
haha, it's funny how people talk about McD like it tastes bad, like it's dirty, like it doesen't have any standards, like it has anything to do with WoW
if you realy wanna compare WoW to McD then do it properly, McD is the best of fast food restaurants, just like WoW is best of MMOs. if you wanna compare McD with a real, classy restaurant then you have to compare WoW to some completly diferent genre because McD is not definition of food, it's definition of fast food and WoW is not definition of game, it's definition of MMO
Oh didle didle, mucus and the spittle...
Wow just like McD offers instant moment of joy for the shortest time. WoW is a fast food of all MMORPGs. Vanguard/EQ1/AC1.. are gurman restaurants that gives great feeling if you actually spend some time there.
Yes, screw the hardcore players, they don't pay the bills. I don't even want them in a game I play! WoW rocks, thats why it has 9+ million playing, my favorite class has been fun, unlike EQ where Warriors are WIMPiors.
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
WoW players-Get your friends, your guild members, get them to post here from WoW, overwhelm the other games here, as it should be!
You know this will never happen. Because half of your "friends" are from asia, and the other 49.998% of subscribers dont know what is MMORPG, dont know there are other games like WoW and think blizzard is the only company making video-games.
Yes, screw the hardcore players, they don't pay the bills. I don't even want them in a game I play! WoW rocks, thats why it has 9+ million playing, my favorite class has been fun, unlike EQ where Warriors are WIMPiors.
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
I am a true WoW fan, WoW owns your puny stupid weak game. Vantard sucks, and so do its players, all of a puny 30k, we need our 9 million to post in comparable numbers to drive you out! Eve-NOTHING, EQ1 NOTHING, all of SOE games NOTHING! WAR and AOC are no threat to us, your games are the ones that can't afford the damage they will do to YOU!
WoW players-Get your friends, your guild members, get them to post here from WoW, overwhelm the other games here, as it should be!
First you should know that there is more to a game than numbers. Secondly, there are not 9 million WoW players, just 9 million accounts. Most of those are in China/Korea. Take those out and you'll actually have around 2-3 million. Still a lot, but then there are the gold farming companies take them out and you have about 2 million, then there are not active accounts like mine, that'll leave you with 1.5 million accounts in the US. The other games should overwhelm Blizz's monstrosity, it's a despicable game with few positive qualities. The only reason it does as well as it does, is it pulls you in with casual game play, then addicts you with a carrot on a stick, and the fact that it was produced by blizzard. Not many of your WoW friends will band together with you because they are going to be either glued to the game, or have some reasoning in them.
Originally posted by sebbonx WoW is far and away the best MMO out there could be why most games are PPO (Puny Pipsqueek Online) games, they don't get it. What we need is a representive population of WoW players to come here. A Vantard flames, 400 WoW players flame back! EQ1, EQ2, Eve, and all those puny games go to a 1.5 rating!
If you think WoW is the "best mmo" then you ain't played much of anything else. I liken it to a child that likes Mc Donald's because he's never been to a decent restaurant.
I can't believe you guys think releasing a "hero class" that you have to basically re-roll for is a "good" thing. Sorry but I want to play my character, not roll up something else. It's stupid and nothing more than a scam to get you guys to start over (or at least half-over). Good luck getting all that raid gear and faction and "unlocks" again with that new character. Boy that sounds wonderfully fun.
I look forward to WAR. It'll be a real game that offers real "War" unlick World of WimpCraft.
Though World of Warcraft is a fun, addicting game, like most products from Blizzard, it lacks the content and experience that MMO's need. It becomes repetitive and boring. One could argue that any MMO you play long enough would be the same, but WoW is on a different level. You have to dedicated yourself to the game to have a chance at competeing with others. For a first MMO, sure Blizzard did great. But it's far from a good game. In the years to come i'm sure they'll polish it to its potential but that's not now. Warhammer Online and Age of Conan will most likely blow it out of the water. I want to see how many subscribers they lose on release of those two games.
Probably not many to AOC because AOC is a totally different feel of a game where War has the same cartoony graphics and feel to it like WOW that will catch players attention.
But WOW is a good game and shouldn't have to many leave for War because War doesn't yet have the content capacity to keep new players who been on that ultimate game experience happy. War also to me is poorly made and not to fun with it's gameplay features and concepts.
You know every game that looks decent on the outside always gets way over hyped such as War and AOC and for example remember Dark and Light being on top the list forever and so much hype on the boards here about how it will make every other game trash, well look what that hype caused.
WoW is far and away the best MMO out there could be why most games are PPO (Puny Pipsqueek Online) games, they don't get it. What we need is a representive population of WoW players to come here. A Vantard flames, 400 WoW players flame back! EQ1, EQ2, Eve, and all those puny games go to a 1.5 rating!
If you think WoW is the "best mmo" then you ain't played much of anything else. I liken it to a child that likes Mc Donald's because he's never been to a decent restaurant.
I can't believe you guys think releasing a "hero class" that you have to basically re-roll for is a "good" thing. Sorry but I want to play my character, not roll up something else. It's stupid and nothing more than a scam to get you guys to start over (or at least half-over). Good luck getting all that raid gear and faction and "unlocks" again with that new character. Boy that sounds wonderfully fun.
I look forward to WAR. It'll be a real game that offers real "War" unlick World of WimpCraft.
So those of us who think WoW is the best MMO haven't played other MMOs? Please. Don't get me started on junk food analogies, I could easily spend several pages going into diatribes about why other MMOs are more 'diluted' than WoW because the grinds in those other games are more apparrent and there's less content consumed with time. If anything, WoW is the juicy tender steak, and the other MMOs are the junk food.
As for your thoughts regarding hero classes, it's kind of funny to see how you would do it. It sounds like what you are asking for already exists in the game with the way talent points work. If you want "hero" classes to be a specialized version of a lower level class then you already have that. Just like a Shadow Priest plays utterly differently to a Holy Priest - your ideal version of hero classes it seems are already in the game. So you would just want to continue being your character with some extra abilities and then call yourself a "hero class"... boooorrriiinng...
I think I prefer Blizzard's version to your non-hero class tbh
Have fun anticipating yet another hyped MMO, maybe this one won't actually bomb or end up on SOE's Station Pass ;p
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
not so much... You forget Blizzard is not publically traded (no public stock) and their parent company Vivendi has a lot more on their plate then just Blizzard... nothing short of nuclear war will ruin Blizzard. They could shut down the servers and stop WoW today and Blizzard would still be an industry giant. Sales of Starcraft II alone could and will completely offset any WoW subscriber losses and a WHOLE lot more
Blizzard is surely not industry giant in compare to SoE for example. But yeh I exaggarated a little with the company crash if they lose 4 milions of subs in a few months. Still that would had a huge impact on them. And I'm sure some people would get fired.
And you would be surprised but Blizzard was not doing that well at all. They still have huge monthly expenses that are dependant on the subs number.
So... you're saying that Blizzard isnt an industry giant compared to SOE because why? From a certain perspective, you are right; Blizzard has one MMO. SOE has a lot of games. But they didn't actually develop many of them. They funded little studios that did the work, and then bought them out after release. (Some could call them cowards...) That is in fact how SOE was established. That dept of Sony was so named after it bought out Verant and 989. And its worth it to mention that Blizzard was doing online gaming before SOE existed (BattleNet). And that they had several million world-wide players on that service long before SOE broke 1million units sold ( - Units Sold - , not subs.).
From another perspective, Blizzard is a behemoth compared to SOE. What were the last numbers released for SOE's All-Access plus all single subs? As of June 2006, Blizzard was estimated to have 52.9% of the market share (http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart7.html). If you combine the 3 games in that estimate that SOE owns (SWG, EQ, EQ2) -and- you assume that the 'All Others' category are all owned by SOE (they arent), then they achieve 7.5% market share. 52.9% compared to 7.5%. Hmmm. And remember that in June 2006, Blizzard had not reached its current estimated ~9million subscriber mark.
You can bet your butt that the management at both Blizzard and Vivendi are bathing in $100 bills. You can also take a look at Blizzard's history. Here's -the- company that is known for holding back release of their software until they are fully confident in its stability. That's a very costly business philosophy in today's market. It takes a lot of money to sit on a product for a few extra months (or years). And you can bet that they have an army of good accountants that make such practices possible. I seriously doubt that the stability of the company hinges entirely on the subscription numbers of WOW on a month to month basis. They could probably not earn another dime and run for several months before the WOW dept. would fold. And even then it would be compartmentalized to just the WOW dept.
Now seriously, who thinks the yearly revenues for a game producing companies are based only on number of subscribers? SoE has expected 2007 revenue 7.6$ bilions. Blizzard has 1.8$ You are stating your assumptions without checking first relevant facts.
Edit: Yes Vivendi has 7.1$, but lets better not see Sony yearly revenues then (50-70$) don't force me to check it preciesly please.
Where the hell did you pluck $7.6 billion from? Every source I've found on the net puts SOE's revenue this year at $150 million ($0.15 billion). Here's one...
By the way in that article there is a quote from Smedley himself saying that indeed nearly all of SOE's revenue comes from subscriptions, directly opposing your statement.
I'm afraid it is you who are stating your assumptions without checking relevant facts.
Yes, screw the hardcore players, they don't pay the bills. I don't even want them in a game I play! WoW rocks, thats why it has 9+ million playing, my favorite class has been fun, unlike EQ where Warriors are WIMPiors.
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
I am a true WoW fan, WoW owns your puny stupid weak game. Vantard sucks, and so do its players, all of a puny 30k, we need our 9 million to post in comparable numbers to drive you out! Eve-NOTHING, EQ1 NOTHING, all of SOE games NOTHING! WAR and AOC are no threat to us, your games are the ones that can't afford the damage they will do to YOU!
WoW players-Get your friends, your guild members, get them to post here from WoW, overwhelm the other games here, as it should be!
First you should know that there is more to a game than numbers. Secondly, there are not 9 million WoW players, just 9 million accounts. Most of those are in China/Korea. Take those out and you'll actually have around 2-3 million. Still a lot, but then there are the gold farming companies take them out and you have about 2 million, then there are not active accounts like mine, that'll leave you with 1.5 million accounts in the US. The other games should overwhelm Blizz's monstrosity, it's a despicable game with few positive qualities. The only reason it does as well as it does, is it pulls you in with casual game play, then addicts you with a carrot on a stick, and the fact that it was produced by blizzard. Not many of your WoW friends will band together with you because they are going to be either glued to the game, or have some reasoning in them.
I didn't realize all the census folks we have on here, so you know for a fact that most of the accounts are asian gold farmers? Did you get to see some inside info on blizzards numbers? Did you do your own detective work? No? Then how did you come up with these figures? Oh? Just made them up in your head eh? <shakes his head> Hate on haters, hate on... <sigh>
You don't see more food places than there are people or more stores than there are people or more of anything taht sells to consumers than there are consumers. If there were 7million asian gold farmers and only 2-3million players - well that wouldn't be very profitable would it?
not so much... You forget Blizzard is not publically traded (no public stock) and their parent company Vivendi has a lot more on their plate then just Blizzard... nothing short of nuclear war will ruin Blizzard. They could shut down the servers and stop WoW today and Blizzard would still be an industry giant. Sales of Starcraft II alone could and will completely offset any WoW subscriber losses and a WHOLE lot more
Blizzard is surely not industry giant in compare to SoE for example. But yeh I exaggarated a little with the company crash if they lose 4 milions of subs in a few months. Still that would had a huge impact on them. And I'm sure some people would get fired.
And you would be surprised but Blizzard was not doing that well at all. They still have huge monthly expenses that are dependant on the subs number.
So... you're saying that Blizzard isnt an industry giant compared to SOE because why? From a certain perspective, you are right; Blizzard has one MMO. SOE has a lot of games. But they didn't actually develop many of them. They funded little studios that did the work, and then bought them out after release. (Some could call them cowards...) That is in fact how SOE was established. That dept of Sony was so named after it bought out Verant and 989. And its worth it to mention that Blizzard was doing online gaming before SOE existed (BattleNet). And that they had several million world-wide players on that service long before SOE broke 1million units sold ( - Units Sold - , not subs.).
From another perspective, Blizzard is a behemoth compared to SOE. What were the last numbers released for SOE's All-Access plus all single subs? As of June 2006, Blizzard was estimated to have 52.9% of the market share (http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart7.html). If you combine the 3 games in that estimate that SOE owns (SWG, EQ, EQ2) -and- you assume that the 'All Others' category are all owned by SOE (they arent), then they achieve 7.5% market share. 52.9% compared to 7.5%. Hmmm. And remember that in June 2006, Blizzard had not reached its current estimated ~9million subscriber mark.
You can bet your butt that the management at both Blizzard and Vivendi are bathing in $100 bills. You can also take a look at Blizzard's history. Here's -the- company that is known for holding back release of their software until they are fully confident in its stability. That's a very costly business philosophy in today's market. It takes a lot of money to sit on a product for a few extra months (or years). And you can bet that they have an army of good accountants that make such practices possible. I seriously doubt that the stability of the company hinges entirely on the subscription numbers of WOW on a month to month basis. They could probably not earn another dime and run for several months before the WOW dept. would fold. And even then it would be compartmentalized to just the WOW dept.
Now seriously, who thinks the yearly revenues for a game producing companies are based only on number of subscribers? SoE has expected 2007 revenue 7.6$ bilions. Blizzard has 1.8$ You are stating your assumptions without checking first relevant facts.
Edit: Yes Vivendi has 7.1$, but lets better not see Sony yearly revenues then (50-70$) don't force me to check it preciesly please.
Where the hell did you pluck $7.6 billion from? Every source I've found on the net puts SOE's revenue this year at $150 million ($0.15 billion). Here's one...
By the way in that article there is a quote from Smedley himself saying that indeed nearly all of SOE's revenue comes from subscriptions, directly opposing your statement.
I'm afraid it is you who are stating your assumptions without checking relevant facts.
Blizzard > SOE. Period.
(edited for spelling)
I agree - what great arguments people can make with ficticious facts.
WoW is far and away the best MMO out there could be why most games are PPO (Puny Pipsqueek Online) games, they don't get it. What we need is a representive population of WoW players to come here. A Vantard flames, 400 WoW players flame back! EQ1, EQ2, Eve, and all those puny games go to a 1.5 rating!
yeah...thats why WoW isnt even in the top 10 anymore.
Not in the top 10, it is number ONE in MMO's period and SOE games are all middle of the pack middling. LotRo upper game, Guild Wars upper, Lineage 1 and 2 upper, we can all look up player population. Only a fool says gold farmers make up a sizable percentage of players in ANY MMO. They are a small percentage of players, and how about all the hacks involving SOE games that aren't punished? You bet your bottom dollar Blizzard bans for that! They don't have the bug to start with! Vantard had ONE QA person, insiders admitted it.
The McDonalds BS is that BS, talk MMOs not fast food. WoW rocked EQ1 to the foundation causing server combines, FACT. WoW launched their first expansion and helped rock Vantard, FACT. SOE sucks in subscriber numbers, FACT.
Never underestimate WoW, Brad did and look what happened to his rotten game!
The McDonalds BS is that BS, talk MMOs not fast food. WoW rocked EQ1 to the foundation causing server combines, FACT.
Hmm actually think that was more likely a combination of games like DAoC, SWG and AC1 - all of which were pre-WoW.
---------------------------- Hundreds of years from now, it will not matter what size my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... But the world may be different because I did something so bafflingly crazy that my ruins become a tourist attraction.
Comments
Yes agreed here. Blizzard has done a magnificent job marketing and keeping the fires lit, so to speak. I also would like to add that the more complaints you see here, the more you know they've done something right. LOL...actually most of the haters, well, I guess it must be some kind of twisted jealousy that whatever they are currently playing just doesn't match up.
Watch what happens in 2008. So many new games, I wonder what kind of canceling out effect there will be? And to that concept, how many are getting, "cold feet" and will continue to pull back their launch dates? It will be interesting and quite entertaining to watch the firework this next 18 months or so!
...long live Azeroth!
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
John Lennon
Just out of curiousity has anyone seen some numbers to know wow has 9 million other then a sticker on the box that could mean they have had 9 million since launch? Imo it hardly looks like it coudl be possible with the seemingless less and less population people that I have seen and like half their servers are low population. I dont believe those War and AoC will break wow but I think they will put a dent in it. I am ex eq player and pretty much dislike wow along with all my friends yet we give them our money because atm there rly is not anything out that can be a good alternative. I like pvp personally and wow pve is quite possibly the worst thing I have ever had to endure in my entire mmo experience. Its mindnumbing and boring all so repetitive...."o look another boar lets kill it." The entire enviroment is recycled and every inn looks identical... inf billions of dollars your making and cant try new models? The game balances for pvp in a paper rock scissors format and completely just ignores most its pve content other then the mindless zerging of instances and raids. They should add the ability to turn honor off to get xp so I dont have to kill boars for 6 months till I get to go out and kill that one ally killing all my friends. I envy the ppl with the discipline to be able to sit at the computer day after day killing the same thing doing the dumbest quests... go kill 6 boars and collect their tusks! The mmo market is huge right now and getting bigger by the day. War is along the lines I think most wow players are looking for the better pvp system. WoW is pretty much here to stay for a long time but I think there is a good chunk of the population is basically only playing it because it has a large playerbase to be able to do something (like getting into a BG in under 10 mins of playing) that are just out there waiting for something new and exciting to come along that isnt the wow clone. The idea of wow being a non hardcore mmo is great and it changed most mmos for ever like eq2 adapting to that style and eq actually doing the same which is a shame its shying away from its roots. VG the supposid hardcore mmo comes ou and bombs down to only like 4 servers now its just a shame. But as times have changed so have I. I would like a less hardcore mmo but not one where I get to log in and hack and slash for an hour for a bubble of xp running in the same path killing some boars. Thats my opinion anyway... Chances are I will be going to war but if wow gets better then I have no problem staying with them I love the cartoony look and I like some stuff about the game its just too boring to continue over for a long amount of time which imo is why ppl constantly quit and come back just doesnt hold attention long.
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.
So to answer your question, no that 9 million number does not include every subscription since it's release because it doesn't include expired or cancelled subscriptions. Blizzard has been very specific about what it considers a subscription, that is not up for debate. The only possible thing you could debate is whether or not the 9 million number is accurate, but you have to consider that a company like Blizzard doesn't need to make this stuff up and they certainly don't have to put out a press release about it. Since they did, I'd say it's highly likely it's accurate.
What is so funny about this is most haters are PLAYING THE FRIKKIN GAME!!!!
You guys kill me - if you're not enjoying WoW - trying not playing it for a while - then you'll be just like me - playing some other sub standard MMO (sub standard in comparison to WoW anyway). Right now I'm playing CoV and it's mega fun but, the lack of crafting kinda hurts it a little - it is a huge refreshing change of pace. Not worrying about loot is neat - being able to customize the hell of out your char is very cool but, like most of my friends and I say when we try another mmo - "it just ain't WoW".
World of Warcraft is the only game that updates and makes expansions now?
Oh boy.
No, they are just the only game who actually changes how the game is played each expansion from the looks of it. Don't support games that can't decide wtf they want to be. Constant game altering changes just show that they are not a stable game, so yes Blizzard is one of the only games making expansions that is a different game each one it seems.
The 9million does count however the subscriptions The9 gives out and that are pennies on the hour to play. Along with the Chinese regulations to gaming it is more and more popular to see people with 2 or more accounts due to the 3 hour limit per night for children under the age of 18.
World of Warcraft is the only game that updates and makes expansions now?
Oh boy.
No, they are just the only game who actually changes how the game is played each expansion from the looks of it. Don't support games that can't decide wtf they want to be. Constant game altering changes just show that they are not a stable game, so yes Blizzard is one of the only games making expansions that is a different game each one it seems.
I don't think you could be any further from the truth. This response demonstrates almost complete inexperience with this genre. Almost all of the well established MMOs today are almost completely different to when they were launched. From the top of my head:
EQ, DaoC, SWG, EQ2.
EQ1 has changed so much over the years it's unrecognizable to it's former self. Class balance, design philosophy, game mechanics, even old areas have been revamped. So much so, that fans have been demanding a "Classic" server for years.
DaoC was changed significantly by the Trials of Atlantis expansion. Some say for the better, many say for the worse. Whatever the case, the game was changed significantly.
SWG. I don't need to say anymore.
EQ2. The first expansion tied in with the infamous "Live update 13", in which I saw my class, and my friends classes, completely altered. Not even in WoW, which has seen many balance tweaks, have I witnessed such a sweeping changes to a game. Arguably, EQ2 is better off for it, but that was one of many changes that make EQ2 unrecognizable from lauch.
So you see, WoW is most certainly not the only MMO to change with each expansion. The changes are minute compared with other MMOs, the 1-58 game virtually unchanged - and for good reason. The end game has seen the most changes, again, for good reasons.
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
World of Warcraft is the only game that updates and makes expansions now?
Oh boy.
No, they are just the only game who actually changes how the game is played each expansion from the looks of it. Don't support games that can't decide wtf they want to be. Constant game altering changes just show that they are not a stable game, so yes Blizzard is one of the only games making expansions that is a different game each one it seems.
I don't think you could be any further from the truth. This response demonstrates almost complete inexperience with this genre. Almost all of the well established MMOs today are almost completely different to when they were launched. From the top of my head:
EQ, DaoC, SWG, EQ2.
EQ1 has changed so much over the years it's unrecognizable to it's former self. Class balance, design philosophy, game mechanics, even old areas have been revamped. So much so, that fans have been demanding a "Classic" server for years.
Each expansion was not a dramatic game changing addition. Yes they did do several revamps but not each expansion (well at one point multiple expansions a year would of been crazy).
DaoC was changed significantly by the Trials of Atlantis expansion. Some say for the better, many say for the worse. Whatever the case, the game was changed significantly.
Later changed back to legacy servers allowing people to play solely on pre-atlantis servers.
SWG. I don't need to say anymore.
Wasn't changed during an expansion, and yes SWG has been cited as by far one of the worst case scenarios of game changing content during its 2 complete overhauls which is still cited as the most ever done to a game (Though looks like WoW is headin out to beat it).
EQ2. The first expansion tied in with the infamous "Live update 13", in which I saw my class, and my friends classes, completely altered. Not even in WoW, which has seen many balance tweaks, have I witnessed such a sweeping changes to a game. Arguably, EQ2 is better off for it, but that was one of many changes that make EQ2 unrecognizable from lauch.
Yeah, unfortunately due to the imbalances some was changed, but not the whole game was overhauled.
So you see, WoW is most certainly not the only MMO to change with each expansion. The changes are minute compared with other MMOs, the 1-58 game virtually unchanged - and for good reason. The end game has seen the most changes, again, for good reasons.
For the better for the casuals. It just annoys me when a game that was absolutely addictive to the core says hey, we love our casuals. Screw you hardcores lets put in easy as anything content. O yeah, we're not making any new raid content (just all previous content repackaged). It truly is unfortunate that Blizzard listened to all the carebear lovin newbies who couldn't cut it. Yeah 1-58 hasn't changed which is part of the issues when you completely change the end game the way it has. It leaves a gap in progression that is absolutely terrible.
Yes, screw the hardcore players, they don't pay the bills. I don't even want them in a game I play!
WoW rocks, thats why it has 9+ million playing, my favorite class has been fun, unlike EQ where Warriors are WIMPiors.
If you have any questions please ask. I have moved on to WoW from eq and no longer have any desire to play a dead game. Thank you. (posted by another selling his account in EQ1)
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
haha, it's funny how people talk about McD like it tastes bad, like it's dirty, like it doesen't have any standards, like it has anything to do with WoW
if you realy wanna compare WoW to McD then do it properly, McD is the best of fast food restaurants, just like WoW is best of MMOs. if you wanna compare McD with a real, classy restaurant then you have to compare WoW to some completly diferent genre because McD is not definition of food, it's definition of fast food and WoW is not definition of game, it's definition of MMO
Oh didle didle, mucus and the spittle...
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
I am a true WoW fan, WoW owns your puny stupid weak game. Vantard sucks, and so do its players, all of a puny 30k, we need our 9 million to post in comparable numbers to drive you out! Eve-NOTHING, EQ1 NOTHING, all of SOE games NOTHING! WAR and AOC are no threat to us, your games are the ones that can't afford the damage they will do to YOU!
WoW players-Get your friends, your guild members, get them to post here from WoW, overwhelm the other games here, as it should be!
If you have any questions please ask. I have moved on to WoW from eq and no longer have any desire to play a dead game. Thank you. (posted by another selling his account in EQ1)
I was thinking of a photocopier when i read the title "Man, blizzard is a machine."
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
haha, it's funny how people talk about McD like it tastes bad, like it's dirty, like it doesen't have any standards, like it has anything to do with WoW
if you realy wanna compare WoW to McD then do it properly, McD is the best of fast food restaurants, just like WoW is best of MMOs. if you wanna compare McD with a real, classy restaurant then you have to compare WoW to some completly diferent genre because McD is not definition of food, it's definition of fast food and WoW is not definition of game, it's definition of MMO
Oh didle didle, mucus and the spittle...
Wow just like McD offers instant moment of joy for the shortest time. WoW is a fast food of all MMORPGs. Vanguard/EQ1/AC1.. are gurman restaurants that gives great feeling if you actually spend some time there.
REALITY CHECK
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
WoW players-Get your friends, your guild members, get them to post here from WoW, overwhelm the other games here, as it should be!
You know this will never happen. Because half of your "friends" are from asia, and the other 49.998% of subscribers dont know what is MMORPG, dont know there are other games like WoW and think blizzard is the only company making video-games.
REALITY CHECK
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
I am a true WoW fan, WoW owns your puny stupid weak game. Vantard sucks, and so do its players, all of a puny 30k, we need our 9 million to post in comparable numbers to drive you out! Eve-NOTHING, EQ1 NOTHING, all of SOE games NOTHING! WAR and AOC are no threat to us, your games are the ones that can't afford the damage they will do to YOU!
WoW players-Get your friends, your guild members, get them to post here from WoW, overwhelm the other games here, as it should be!
First you should know that there is more to a game than numbers. Secondly, there are not 9 million WoW players, just 9 million accounts. Most of those are in China/Korea. Take those out and you'll actually have around 2-3 million. Still a lot, but then there are the gold farming companies take them out and you have about 2 million, then there are not active accounts like mine, that'll leave you with 1.5 million accounts in the US. The other games should overwhelm Blizz's monstrosity, it's a despicable game with few positive qualities. The only reason it does as well as it does, is it pulls you in with casual game play, then addicts you with a carrot on a stick, and the fact that it was produced by blizzard. Not many of your WoW friends will band together with you because they are going to be either glued to the game, or have some reasoning in them.
If you think WoW is the "best mmo" then you ain't played much of anything else. I liken it to a child that likes Mc Donald's because he's never been to a decent restaurant.
I can't believe you guys think releasing a "hero class" that you have to basically re-roll for is a "good" thing. Sorry but I want to play my character, not roll up something else. It's stupid and nothing more than a scam to get you guys to start over (or at least half-over). Good luck getting all that raid gear and faction and "unlocks" again with that new character. Boy that sounds wonderfully fun.
I look forward to WAR. It'll be a real game that offers real "War" unlick World of WimpCraft.
http://www.greycouncil.org/
Probably not many to AOC because AOC is a totally different feel of a game where War has the same cartoony graphics and feel to it like WOW that will catch players attention.
But WOW is a good game and shouldn't have to many leave for War because War doesn't yet have the content capacity to keep new players who been on that ultimate game experience happy. War also to me is poorly made and not to fun with it's gameplay features and concepts.
You know every game that looks decent on the outside always gets way over hyped such as War and AOC and for example remember Dark and Light being on top the list forever and so much hype on the boards here about how it will make every other game trash, well look what that hype caused.
If you think WoW is the "best mmo" then you ain't played much of anything else. I liken it to a child that likes Mc Donald's because he's never been to a decent restaurant.
I can't believe you guys think releasing a "hero class" that you have to basically re-roll for is a "good" thing. Sorry but I want to play my character, not roll up something else. It's stupid and nothing more than a scam to get you guys to start over (or at least half-over). Good luck getting all that raid gear and faction and "unlocks" again with that new character. Boy that sounds wonderfully fun.
I look forward to WAR. It'll be a real game that offers real "War" unlick World of WimpCraft.
So those of us who think WoW is the best MMO haven't played other MMOs? Please. Don't get me started on junk food analogies, I could easily spend several pages going into diatribes about why other MMOs are more 'diluted' than WoW because the grinds in those other games are more apparrent and there's less content consumed with time. If anything, WoW is the juicy tender steak, and the other MMOs are the junk food.
As for your thoughts regarding hero classes, it's kind of funny to see how you would do it. It sounds like what you are asking for already exists in the game with the way talent points work. If you want "hero" classes to be a specialized version of a lower level class then you already have that. Just like a Shadow Priest plays utterly differently to a Holy Priest - your ideal version of hero classes it seems are already in the game. So you would just want to continue being your character with some extra abilities and then call yourself a "hero class"... boooorrriiinng...
I think I prefer Blizzard's version to your non-hero class tbh
Have fun anticipating yet another hyped MMO, maybe this one won't actually bomb or end up on SOE's Station Pass ;p
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
Blizzard is surely not industry giant in compare to SoE for example. But yeh I exaggarated a little with the company crash if they lose 4 milions of subs in a few months. Still that would had a huge impact on them. And I'm sure some people would get fired.
And you would be surprised but Blizzard was not doing that well at all. They still have huge monthly expenses that are dependant on the subs number.
So... you're saying that Blizzard isnt an industry giant compared to SOE because why? From a certain perspective, you are right; Blizzard has one MMO. SOE has a lot of games. But they didn't actually develop many of them. They funded little studios that did the work, and then bought them out after release. (Some could call them cowards...) That is in fact how SOE was established. That dept of Sony was so named after it bought out Verant and 989. And its worth it to mention that Blizzard was doing online gaming before SOE existed (BattleNet). And that they had several million world-wide players on that service long before SOE broke 1million units sold ( - Units Sold - , not subs.).
From another perspective, Blizzard is a behemoth compared to SOE. What were the last numbers released for SOE's All-Access plus all single subs? As of June 2006, Blizzard was estimated to have 52.9% of the market share (http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart7.html). If you combine the 3 games in that estimate that SOE owns (SWG, EQ, EQ2) -and- you assume that the 'All Others' category are all owned by SOE (they arent), then they achieve 7.5% market share. 52.9% compared to 7.5%. Hmmm. And remember that in June 2006, Blizzard had not reached its current estimated ~9million subscriber mark.
You can bet your butt that the management at both Blizzard and Vivendi are bathing in $100 bills. You can also take a look at Blizzard's history. Here's -the- company that is known for holding back release of their software until they are fully confident in its stability. That's a very costly business philosophy in today's market. It takes a lot of money to sit on a product for a few extra months (or years). And you can bet that they have an army of good accountants that make such practices possible. I seriously doubt that the stability of the company hinges entirely on the subscription numbers of WOW on a month to month basis. They could probably not earn another dime and run for several months before the WOW dept. would fold. And even then it would be compartmentalized to just the WOW dept.
Now seriously, who thinks the yearly revenues for a game producing companies are based only on number of subscribers? SoE has expected 2007 revenue 7.6$ bilions. Blizzard has 1.8$ You are stating your assumptions without checking first relevant facts.
Edit: Yes Vivendi has 7.1$, but lets better not see Sony yearly revenues then (50-70$) don't force me to check it preciesly please.
Where the hell did you pluck $7.6 billion from? Every source I've found on the net puts SOE's revenue this year at $150 million ($0.15 billion). Here's one...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/business/worldbusiness/11sony.html?ex=1339214400&en=dce8c096b1feb22d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
By the way in that article there is a quote from Smedley himself saying that indeed nearly all of SOE's revenue comes from subscriptions, directly opposing your statement.
I'm afraid it is you who are stating your assumptions without checking relevant facts.
Blizzard > SOE. Period.
(edited for spelling)
Spoken like a true McDonald's customer....
I am a true WoW fan, WoW owns your puny stupid weak game. Vantard sucks, and so do its players, all of a puny 30k, we need our 9 million to post in comparable numbers to drive you out! Eve-NOTHING, EQ1 NOTHING, all of SOE games NOTHING! WAR and AOC are no threat to us, your games are the ones that can't afford the damage they will do to YOU!
WoW players-Get your friends, your guild members, get them to post here from WoW, overwhelm the other games here, as it should be!
First you should know that there is more to a game than numbers. Secondly, there are not 9 million WoW players, just 9 million accounts. Most of those are in China/Korea. Take those out and you'll actually have around 2-3 million. Still a lot, but then there are the gold farming companies take them out and you have about 2 million, then there are not active accounts like mine, that'll leave you with 1.5 million accounts in the US. The other games should overwhelm Blizz's monstrosity, it's a despicable game with few positive qualities. The only reason it does as well as it does, is it pulls you in with casual game play, then addicts you with a carrot on a stick, and the fact that it was produced by blizzard. Not many of your WoW friends will band together with you because they are going to be either glued to the game, or have some reasoning in them.
I didn't realize all the census folks we have on here, so you know for a fact that most of the accounts are asian gold farmers? Did you get to see some inside info on blizzards numbers? Did you do your own detective work? No? Then how did you come up with these figures? Oh? Just made them up in your head eh? <shakes his head> Hate on haters, hate on... <sigh>
You don't see more food places than there are people or more stores than there are people or more of anything taht sells to consumers than there are consumers. If there were 7million asian gold farmers and only 2-3million players - well that wouldn't be very profitable would it?
Blizzard is surely not industry giant in compare to SoE for example. But yeh I exaggarated a little with the company crash if they lose 4 milions of subs in a few months. Still that would had a huge impact on them. And I'm sure some people would get fired.
And you would be surprised but Blizzard was not doing that well at all. They still have huge monthly expenses that are dependant on the subs number.
So... you're saying that Blizzard isnt an industry giant compared to SOE because why? From a certain perspective, you are right; Blizzard has one MMO. SOE has a lot of games. But they didn't actually develop many of them. They funded little studios that did the work, and then bought them out after release. (Some could call them cowards...) That is in fact how SOE was established. That dept of Sony was so named after it bought out Verant and 989. And its worth it to mention that Blizzard was doing online gaming before SOE existed (BattleNet). And that they had several million world-wide players on that service long before SOE broke 1million units sold ( - Units Sold - , not subs.).
From another perspective, Blizzard is a behemoth compared to SOE. What were the last numbers released for SOE's All-Access plus all single subs? As of June 2006, Blizzard was estimated to have 52.9% of the market share (http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart7.html). If you combine the 3 games in that estimate that SOE owns (SWG, EQ, EQ2) -and- you assume that the 'All Others' category are all owned by SOE (they arent), then they achieve 7.5% market share. 52.9% compared to 7.5%. Hmmm. And remember that in June 2006, Blizzard had not reached its current estimated ~9million subscriber mark.
You can bet your butt that the management at both Blizzard and Vivendi are bathing in $100 bills. You can also take a look at Blizzard's history. Here's -the- company that is known for holding back release of their software until they are fully confident in its stability. That's a very costly business philosophy in today's market. It takes a lot of money to sit on a product for a few extra months (or years). And you can bet that they have an army of good accountants that make such practices possible. I seriously doubt that the stability of the company hinges entirely on the subscription numbers of WOW on a month to month basis. They could probably not earn another dime and run for several months before the WOW dept. would fold. And even then it would be compartmentalized to just the WOW dept.
Now seriously, who thinks the yearly revenues for a game producing companies are based only on number of subscribers? SoE has expected 2007 revenue 7.6$ bilions. Blizzard has 1.8$ You are stating your assumptions without checking first relevant facts.
Edit: Yes Vivendi has 7.1$, but lets better not see Sony yearly revenues then (50-70$) don't force me to check it preciesly please.
Where the hell did you pluck $7.6 billion from? Every source I've found on the net puts SOE's revenue this year at $150 million ($0.15 billion). Here's one...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/business/worldbusiness/11sony.html?ex=1339214400&en=dce8c096b1feb22d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
By the way in that article there is a quote from Smedley himself saying that indeed nearly all of SOE's revenue comes from subscriptions, directly opposing your statement.
I'm afraid it is you who are stating your assumptions without checking relevant facts.
Blizzard > SOE. Period.
(edited for spelling)
I agree - what great arguments people can make with ficticious facts.
yeah...thats why WoW isnt even in the top 10 anymore.
Not in the top 10, it is number ONE in MMO's period and SOE games are all middle of the pack middling. LotRo upper game, Guild Wars upper, Lineage 1 and 2 upper, we can all look up player population. Only a fool says gold farmers make up a sizable percentage of players in ANY MMO. They are a small percentage of players, and how about all the hacks involving SOE games that aren't punished? You bet your bottom dollar Blizzard bans for that! They don't have the bug to start with! Vantard had ONE QA person, insiders admitted it.
The McDonalds BS is that BS, talk MMOs not fast food. WoW rocked EQ1 to the foundation causing server combines, FACT. WoW launched their first expansion and helped rock Vantard, FACT. SOE sucks in subscriber numbers, FACT.
Never underestimate WoW, Brad did and look what happened to his rotten game!
Hmm actually think that was more likely a combination of games like DAoC, SWG and AC1 - all of which were pre-WoW.
----------------------------
Hundreds of years from now, it will not matter what size my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... But the world may be different because I did something so bafflingly crazy that my ruins become a tourist attraction.