It has been hard to separate the truth from the spin in the ongoing Age of Conan saga, but we’re seeing more and more evidence that neither players nor stockholders are satisfied with Funcom’s campaign of misinformation.
After repeated misleading press releases, Funcom still has no answers for people wondering where all the players are going. Populations on all servers are down, forum activity is dropping, and the community at large seems content to simply pack up and go home. Funcom refuses to acknowledge this fact, and seems comfortable giving no response to its waning Conan fanbase.
As a subscriber who plays AOC daily and has since about a month after launch I can tell you that the population was quite low in December, and that is no surprise. It has grown ALOT though, it's noticable in mini games and just walking around. There are considerably more people to pvp or talk to, and this was true even before the free trials started. I admit that I am a fan of the game and it has made great progress in the last 6 months so say what you will about my biased view. I do not however work for the company, am not a troll, and just really enjoy the game.
I'm guessing they want new players experience the game and making up their own mind, rather than scaring them off with what we assume is a relatively low number of subscribers.
just my guess, but that's we're all doing in this thread, right?
As a subscriber who plays AOC daily and has since about a month after launch I can tell you that the population was quite low in December, and that is no surprise. It has grown ALOT though, it's noticable in mini games and just walking around. There are considerably more people to pvp or talk to, and this was true even before the free trials started. I admit that I am a fan of the game and it has made great progress in the last 6 months so say what you will about my biased view. I do not however work for the company, am not a troll, and just really enjoy the game.
You do realize that Funcom merged 4 servers into 1 server.. so yeah.. your servers population 'should' be 4x's larger than it was in December..... Warhammer did the same thing, merged 4 servers into 1 (in most regions). It's a great thing for players because of the reasons you mentioned (better gameplay).. but noting that your servers population increased because of a merger isn't germaine to this conversation about overall subscription numbers.
As a subscriber who plays AOC daily and has since about a month after launch I can tell you that the population was quite low in December, and that is no surprise. It has grown ALOT though, it's noticable in mini games and just walking around. There are considerably more people to pvp or talk to, and this was true even before the free trials started. I admit that I am a fan of the game and it has made great progress in the last 6 months so say what you will about my biased view. I do not however work for the company, am not a troll, and just really enjoy the game.
You do realize that Funcom merged 4 servers into 1 server.. so yeah.. your servers population 'should' be 4x's larger than it was in December..... Warhammer did the same thing, merged 4 servers into 1 (in most regions). It's a great thing for players because of the reasons you mentioned (better gameplay).. but noting that your servers population increased because of a merger isn't germaine to this conversation about overall subscription numbers.
Of course I realize that 4 servers merged in to 1. I also realized this was the exception rather than the rule. Most of the servers merged 2 together not 4, as is the case on the server I play.
It has been hard to separate the truth from the spin in the ongoing Age of Conan saga, but we’re seeing more and more evidence that neither players nor stockholders are satisfied with Funcom’s campaign of misinformation. After repeated misleading press releases, Funcom still has no answers for people wondering where all the players are going. Populations on all servers are down, forum activity is dropping, and the community at large seems content to simply pack up and go home. Funcom refuses to acknowledge this fact, and seems comfortable giving no response to its waning Conan fanbase.
This sounds about right to me, but let's face it if the fans aren't turning up to watch the football match it's because the home team sucks right? They end up supporting a different team that has a chance of winning the league, only the realy loyal fans stay with their team as it's relegated to division 4 then swear blind they'll "win the cup this year!".
As for AoC being a niche MMORPG, I say AoC is a niche CORPG at best. Probably more like a single player RPG with a multiplayer option that after you've played it once you uninstall and never bother with it again. I expected some instancing when I bought it but really this was ridiculous, in my opinion AoC has the MMORPG equivelant of AIDS! AoC is stuck with a terminal sickness called instancing, it will eventually suck all the life out of the patient until server mergers, free trials and other quick fix soloutions can no longer keep it alive. Then it will succumb and slip away quietly into virtual hell, that's what you get for unprotected development and not listening to those with more experience!
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
The only company that doesn't hide its player numbers is CCP. When EVE is loaded the server count is given on the login screen. It has and always will be like this because the Chinese server is doing terribly (max 5000 people online) compared to the EU (Tranquility) with 50.000 players. CCP have recently started doing well with mass advertisement but it wasn't always like this, once upon a time even the EU server was struggling to get 8000 people and they still didn't hide the numbers.
There's no need to hide these things because they come over as dishonest and sneaky, creating even more, unnecessary, aggrevation. They do it because they think they're clever, but alike most ignorant industries, they fail time and time again. I don't really care, I just want a nice game to play that isn't WoW-like with the average age being 12 (middle aged people behaving like 13 year olds doesn't really make a good game.)
Its the new trend. Its a Mini-game....I found the number..but don't want to spoil it for everyone else. Now get out there and find it....great fun! Yay!
It's better to lurk in forums and be thought a fool...than to endlessly "Quote" and remove all doubts.
Jesus people, why is this thread still here and or being reply'd to. This is a biat thread. Can you not tell by the simple fact the OP has not responded at all. These threads should be removed as they do nothing but fuel the fire. Cmon moderators, do something about this.
Jesus people, why is this thread still here and or being reply'd to. This is a biat thread. Can you not tell by the simple fact the OP has not responded at all. These threads should be removed as they do nothing but fuel the fire. Cmon moderators, do something about this.
OP has not responded so this thread is 'biat'? What kind of dumbass logic is that? The simple fact that people keep replying to this thread is enough to keep it going. This is clearly a subject users want to talk about.
Question OP is asking is a good one. If Funcom had a big improvement in their numbers, we would see proof of that.
Track record, Track record, Track record time and again with this company they deceive, distorte, hype, and if necessay flat out not tell the truth. Sub numbers will reflect this and they need too keep as many stockholders around to stay in business. This company is not worth any of my money ever again.
" Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Those Who Would Threaten It " MAGA
When something is hidden...thus harder to find...you appreciate the results when you discover them for yourself. Thus the term "Easter Egg".
Now stop whining and get out there and look!
It's better to lurk in forums and be thought a fool...than to endlessly "Quote" and remove all doubts.
AmazingAveryAge of Conan AdvocateMemberUncommonPosts: 7,188
Originally posted by vikingclub
Question OP is asking is a good one. If Funcom had a big improvement in their numbers, we would see proof of that.
They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
Question OP is asking is a good one. If Funcom had a big improvement in their numbers, we would see proof of that.
They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
I don't think anyone has said anything about Funcom not having a right not to publish subscription numbers. Of course they have a right to do that. Maybe OP is saying that because they are not telling the numbers, things are not looking good for them?
I don't get it. After launch Funcom was yelling their subscription numbers in every interview. Then they suddenly went silent. That was of course because they lost about 90% of players and they tired to hide that fact but now we all know it happened so why the need to hide it? We all know about the mass exodus and the fact that AoC's lowpoint before Christmas was about 50k subscriptions. Most people estimate AoC has about 100k subscriptions and it's was kind of confirmed be Craig in an interview (he said it by mistake). Why can't Funcom be honest and release the numbers? Then we could all see if AoC is really growing. Or maybe it is not growing? My explanation is that the "growth" is generated by the trial people, most of whom won't subscribe after trial. That is the only reasonable explanation. If AoC was growing, why not show proof and get even more players to resubscribe?
I'd suggest people actually /tryplay the game and see for themselves the server populations rather than reading baseless hype waste.
It does not benefit Funcom in any way to publish the numbers,esp since any sort of perceived downward trend would only serve to accelerate the decline since MMO players seem to be terribly sensitive to such news.
Sure, EVE and WOW publish them, because they are always good news (going upwards).
I don' t think I've seen WOW numbers recently, I suspect they've started to head downward and they won't be so forthcoming.
Certainly AOC doesn't have 500K players, but what does that really matter? If people play and enjoy it, what does it matter?
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
AmazingAveryAge of Conan AdvocateMemberUncommonPosts: 7,188
Originally posted by vikingclub
Originally posted by AmazingAvery
Originally posted by vikingclub
Question OP is asking is a good one. If Funcom had a big improvement in their numbers, we would see proof of that.
They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
I don't think anyone has said anything about Funcom not having a right not to publish subscription numbers. Of course they have a right to do that. Maybe OP is saying that because they are not telling the numbers, things are not looking good for them?
Of course it is ok to question and I am not disputing that. But history shows us if AO can go for 7 years, Funcom have the cash in bank for development, logging in to the majority of servers on a free trial and seeing if things are ok, what really is there to worry about? A lot of people use the phrase that 12 million ppl can't be wrong for one particular game, does that mean your prone to others making a decision for you or are you basing your own opinion yourself. Everyone has that capacity to make an informed decision now without paying for it. And in the long run everything else adds up ok from all the servers I have a character on. It is all about if it is worth your money or not.
OP asks why not release numbers to get more ppl to play if they are good. My argument is that not everyone is a sheep.
Question OP is asking is a good one. If Funcom had a big improvement in their numbers, we would see proof of that.
They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
I don't think anyone has said anything about Funcom not having a right not to publish subscription numbers. Of course they have a right to do that. Maybe OP is saying that because they are not telling the numbers, things are not looking good for them?
Of course it is ok to question and I am not disputing that. But history shows us if AO can go for 7 years, Funcom have the cash in bank for development, logging in to the majority of servers on a free trial and seeing if things are ok, what really is there to worry about? A lot of people use the phrase that 12 million ppl can't be wrong for one particular game, does that mean your prone to others making a decision for you or are you basing your own opinion yourself. Everyone has that capacity to make an informed decision now without paying for it. And in the long run everything else adds up ok from all the servers I have a character on. It is all about if it is worth your money or not.
OP asks why not release numbers to get more ppl to play if they are good. My argument is that not everyone is a sheep.
This has nothing to do with not being a sheep. Funcom did publish those numbers when they had a lot of subscribers. Now that the numbers suck they keep quit about it. It's just your basic damage control, there's nothing noble about it.
AmazingAveryAge of Conan AdvocateMemberUncommonPosts: 7,188
Originally posted by vikingclub
Originally posted by AmazingAvery
Originally posted by vikingclub
Originally posted by AmazingAvery
Originally posted by vikingclub
Question OP is asking is a good one. If Funcom had a big improvement in their numbers, we would see proof of that.
They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
I don't think anyone has said anything about Funcom not having a right not to publish subscription numbers. Of course they have a right to do that. Maybe OP is saying that because they are not telling the numbers, things are not looking good for them?
Of course it is ok to question and I am not disputing that. But history shows us if AO can go for 7 years, Funcom have the cash in bank for development, logging in to the majority of servers on a free trial and seeing if things are ok, what really is there to worry about? A lot of people use the phrase that 12 million ppl can't be wrong for one particular game, does that mean your prone to others making a decision for you or are you basing your own opinion yourself. Everyone has that capacity to make an informed decision now without paying for it. And in the long run everything else adds up ok from all the servers I have a character on. It is all about if it is worth your money or not.
OP asks why not release numbers to get more ppl to play if they are good. My argument is that not everyone is a sheep.
This has nothing to do with not being a sheep. Funcom did publish those numbers when they had a lot of subscribers. Now that the numbers suck they keep quit about it. It's just your basic damage control, there's nothing noble about it.
Nearly all games release numbers at launch and / or not long after. If Mythic was just Mythic and not EA Mythic it would of been the same. Turbine is Turbine and they have always done things in a certain way just like Funcom has. There are also all those reasons for being a traded company that people forget about or chose to ignore or not fully understand which weighs into the grand scheme of things in all approaches.
Is it not just assumption to presume that number suck? Would it not just be fair for the new person to the game just download the free trial and see themselves? or would it be more appropriate for a company that have ravenous ex players to disregard any official numbers either way - because we all know that would happen anyway wouldn't it. History also shows us that when Mythic and Funcom release numbers there were floods of ppl saying that is BS, people who played and people who didn't, how does that help anyone. Now both games have a trial, to onus is on the interested party to try it out for free. I would call that very fair.
Avery be honest with yourself, why do you think any MMORPG company that doesn't release subscriptions with hold the numbers? Funcom stated that subscriptions would need to be atleast 200k+ for them to consider it a success, we all know they are struggling to try and stay above the 100k mark (though some have put that at the 50k mark). They don't want to be forced to publicly admit that they've failed by their own standards, so they refuse to release the figures.
You'll notice the games that do release figures are all doing well, the ones that don't are either stagnent or bleeding subs. In short if AoC was doing well they'd release the subscription numbers. You can rationalize and make excuses for them all you want but that is a stone cold fact. AoC has a sickness, it's called instancing, and due to the fact this is a core mechanic ingrained into AoC this sickness isn't going to get cured. So much like a case of HIV that's become full blown AIDS we're just standing around watching the subscriuption count drop like a stone in a lake. While the patient is lying slowly dieing and sliping in and out of a pain and morphine induced halucanagenic trance, with fanbois standing around pretending it isn't happening.
Face facts, AoC will not be making a comeback anytime soon.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
But history shows us if AO can go for 7 years ....
You may want re-think using an MMO that almost no one had ever heard of and has less than 10K active subs for the last 5 years as an example for AoC's future.
Also, ask an AO player how great it was to watch FC funnel their sub money to dev another title, than drop the old game like a hot rock to nurse the new broken shiny.
AmazingAveryAge of Conan AdvocateMemberUncommonPosts: 7,188
Originally posted by Unfinished
Originally posted by AmazingAvery
But history shows us if AO can go for 7 years ....
You may want re-think using an MMO that almost no one had ever heard of and has less than 10K active subs for the last 5 years as an example for AoC's future.
Also, ask an AO player how great it was to watch FC funnel their sub money to dev another title, than drop the old game like a hot rock to nurse the new broken shiny.
I know that my server of choice will be populated for a long time to come. Always has been, there is nothing out there that will change that in the short term or mid-long term future.
A. So long as content keeps coming (proven commitment and implementation from the company so far)
B. So long as there are sufficient people to play with ( on the increase as of late)
C. So long as I find the game fun ( tied in with 'A' mainly)
A+B+C are all still good in my book.
Before FC release AoC they said it would have content for 900 hours. I am well supassed that now and I had a heads up before paying any money from those expectations. Currently spending hours in the Crows Nest in Tarantia Commons a nice 6 man dungeon with a renewed vigour in ppl on the test server.
Again, if FC can take AO and make a mill a Quarter ish from 25k ppl, how many do you want on your server in AoC. There is current belief my server has 3/4 that many characters made on it active. I care not as I won't meet them all. Just as the 10k ppl on the DF server don't know each other. Probably, taking into account listed number of downloads from some sites and factoring in a guess of mmorpg and Funcom own trials the game has been looking at well over 70K "trialers" over the past couple weeks. Using polls around such as on these boards even if at least 35% sub, it all helps. I see no reason that anything major will happen until the expansion at which time there will be another rush of peeked interested ppl to check it out and the cycle continues.
If Funcom are willing to keep AO going before major investment in AoC 5 years later then that is a company that shows commitment in their product regardless of how many ppl play it. With TSW being in production not long after AoC was and a decent amount in before AoC was released then that is just good business sense. FC have plenty of things on the go at the moment. I also don't see myself playing the game for over 5 yrs either.
So long as you find it fun and worth your money at the end of the day.
But history shows us if AO can go for 7 years ....
You may want re-think using an MMO that almost no one had ever heard of and has less than 10K active subs for the last 5 years as an example for AoC's future.
Also, ask an AO player how great it was to watch FC funnel their sub money to dev another title, than drop the old game like a hot rock to nurse the new broken shiny.
Lol owned
Yes, you might not want to use AO as a big success story..
Comments
It has been hard to separate the truth from the spin in the ongoing Age of Conan saga, but we’re seeing more and more evidence that neither players nor stockholders are satisfied with Funcom’s campaign of misinformation.
After repeated misleading press releases, Funcom still has no answers for people wondering where all the players are going. Populations on all servers are down, forum activity is dropping, and the community at large seems content to simply pack up and go home. Funcom refuses to acknowledge this fact, and seems comfortable giving no response to its waning Conan fanbase.
As a subscriber who plays AOC daily and has since about a month after launch I can tell you that the population was quite low in December, and that is no surprise. It has grown ALOT though, it's noticable in mini games and just walking around. There are considerably more people to pvp or talk to, and this was true even before the free trials started. I admit that I am a fan of the game and it has made great progress in the last 6 months so say what you will about my biased view. I do not however work for the company, am not a troll, and just really enjoy the game.
I recall it selling almost a million copies. Where's the other 600,000 members? I guess temporary play of online games is standard these days.
I'm guessing they want new players experience the game and making up their own mind, rather than scaring them off with what we assume is a relatively low number of subscribers.
just my guess, but that's we're all doing in this thread, right?
"nerf rock, paper is working as intended."
- Scissors.
Head Chop
You do realize that Funcom merged 4 servers into 1 server.. so yeah.. your servers population 'should' be 4x's larger than it was in December..... Warhammer did the same thing, merged 4 servers into 1 (in most regions). It's a great thing for players because of the reasons you mentioned (better gameplay).. but noting that your servers population increased because of a merger isn't germaine to this conversation about overall subscription numbers.
You do realize that Funcom merged 4 servers into 1 server.. so yeah.. your servers population 'should' be 4x's larger than it was in December..... Warhammer did the same thing, merged 4 servers into 1 (in most regions). It's a great thing for players because of the reasons you mentioned (better gameplay).. but noting that your servers population increased because of a merger isn't germaine to this conversation about overall subscription numbers.
Of course I realize that 4 servers merged in to 1. I also realized this was the exception rather than the rule. Most of the servers merged 2 together not 4, as is the case on the server I play.
This sounds about right to me, but let's face it if the fans aren't turning up to watch the football match it's because the home team sucks right? They end up supporting a different team that has a chance of winning the league, only the realy loyal fans stay with their team as it's relegated to division 4 then swear blind they'll "win the cup this year!".
As for AoC being a niche MMORPG, I say AoC is a niche CORPG at best. Probably more like a single player RPG with a multiplayer option that after you've played it once you uninstall and never bother with it again. I expected some instancing when I bought it but really this was ridiculous, in my opinion AoC has the MMORPG equivelant of AIDS! AoC is stuck with a terminal sickness called instancing, it will eventually suck all the life out of the patient until server mergers, free trials and other quick fix soloutions can no longer keep it alive. Then it will succumb and slip away quietly into virtual hell, that's what you get for unprotected development and not listening to those with more experience!
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
The only company that doesn't hide its player numbers is CCP. When EVE is loaded the server count is given on the login screen. It has and always will be like this because the Chinese server is doing terribly (max 5000 people online) compared to the EU (Tranquility) with 50.000 players. CCP have recently started doing well with mass advertisement but it wasn't always like this, once upon a time even the EU server was struggling to get 8000 people and they still didn't hide the numbers.
There's no need to hide these things because they come over as dishonest and sneaky, creating even more, unnecessary, aggrevation. They do it because they think they're clever, but alike most ignorant industries, they fail time and time again. I don't really care, I just want a nice game to play that isn't WoW-like with the average age being 12 (middle aged people behaving like 13 year olds doesn't really make a good game.)
Its the new trend. Its a Mini-game....I found the number..but don't want to spoil it for everyone else. Now get out there and find it....great fun! Yay!
It's better to lurk in forums and be thought a fool...than to endlessly "Quote" and remove all doubts.
Jesus people, why is this thread still here and or being reply'd to. This is a biat thread. Can you not tell by the simple fact the OP has not responded at all. These threads should be removed as they do nothing but fuel the fire. Cmon moderators, do something about this.
OP has not responded so this thread is 'biat'? What kind of dumbass logic is that? The simple fact that people keep replying to this thread is enough to keep it going. This is clearly a subject users want to talk about.
Question OP is asking is a good one. If Funcom had a big improvement in their numbers, we would see proof of that.
Track record, Track record, Track record time and again with this company they deceive, distorte, hype, and if necessay flat out not tell the truth. Sub numbers will reflect this and they need too keep as many stockholders around to stay in business. This company is not worth any of my money ever again.
MAGA
When something is hidden...thus harder to find...you appreciate the results when you discover them for yourself. Thus the term "Easter Egg".
Now stop whining and get out there and look!
It's better to lurk in forums and be thought a fool...than to endlessly "Quote" and remove all doubts.
They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
Funcom doesn't have too cater to people and tell them anything. Subscription is really based on a need to know bases and why do players need to know.
They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
I don't think anyone has said anything about Funcom not having a right not to publish subscription numbers. Of course they have a right to do that. Maybe OP is saying that because they are not telling the numbers, things are not looking good for them?
I'd suggest people actually /tryplay the game and see for themselves the server populations rather than reading baseless hype waste.
It does not benefit Funcom in any way to publish the numbers,esp since any sort of perceived downward trend would only serve to accelerate the decline since MMO players seem to be terribly sensitive to such news.
Sure, EVE and WOW publish them, because they are always good news (going upwards).
I don' t think I've seen WOW numbers recently, I suspect they've started to head downward and they won't be so forthcoming.
Certainly AOC doesn't have 500K players, but what does that really matter? If people play and enjoy it, what does it matter?
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They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
I don't think anyone has said anything about Funcom not having a right not to publish subscription numbers. Of course they have a right to do that. Maybe OP is saying that because they are not telling the numbers, things are not looking good for them?
Of course it is ok to question and I am not disputing that. But history shows us if AO can go for 7 years, Funcom have the cash in bank for development, logging in to the majority of servers on a free trial and seeing if things are ok, what really is there to worry about? A lot of people use the phrase that 12 million ppl can't be wrong for one particular game, does that mean your prone to others making a decision for you or are you basing your own opinion yourself. Everyone has that capacity to make an informed decision now without paying for it. And in the long run everything else adds up ok from all the servers I have a character on. It is all about if it is worth your money or not.
OP asks why not release numbers to get more ppl to play if they are good. My argument is that not everyone is a sheep.
They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
I don't think anyone has said anything about Funcom not having a right not to publish subscription numbers. Of course they have a right to do that. Maybe OP is saying that because they are not telling the numbers, things are not looking good for them?
Of course it is ok to question and I am not disputing that. But history shows us if AO can go for 7 years, Funcom have the cash in bank for development, logging in to the majority of servers on a free trial and seeing if things are ok, what really is there to worry about? A lot of people use the phrase that 12 million ppl can't be wrong for one particular game, does that mean your prone to others making a decision for you or are you basing your own opinion yourself. Everyone has that capacity to make an informed decision now without paying for it. And in the long run everything else adds up ok from all the servers I have a character on. It is all about if it is worth your money or not.
OP asks why not release numbers to get more ppl to play if they are good. My argument is that not everyone is a sheep.
This has nothing to do with not being a sheep. Funcom did publish those numbers when they had a lot of subscribers. Now that the numbers suck they keep quit about it. It's just your basic damage control, there's nothing noble about it.
They reserve the right to not publish them, it is their game, their company, their product just as much as the next man along *cough* "Turbine". Yet you will not see the same trolls on that board. Why not?
It is all about retention, after a trial that has been out how long? 3 1/2 weeks is logically worthwhile to release a statement to say "we have X number of subs" ? is that fair to measure that over that time, even though over 70k ppl have dl's the trial since start April. Does any other company announce sub results so short after trial introduction.
Why do people want to know? huh? going to make them come back or carry on? If you play you can see the pop on your particular server first hand. Is it because the actual number would influence your choice on if you like the game or not? (which is ridiculous premise)
At the end of the day, do people want to be individual or a sheep? Is the game fun or not, is it worth your own money.
When I make a decision I make it, not friends or other people. Influencial interest is garnered by myself. If I owned FC I wouldn't release numbers for many reasons that outweigh others.
I don't think anyone has said anything about Funcom not having a right not to publish subscription numbers. Of course they have a right to do that. Maybe OP is saying that because they are not telling the numbers, things are not looking good for them?
Of course it is ok to question and I am not disputing that. But history shows us if AO can go for 7 years, Funcom have the cash in bank for development, logging in to the majority of servers on a free trial and seeing if things are ok, what really is there to worry about? A lot of people use the phrase that 12 million ppl can't be wrong for one particular game, does that mean your prone to others making a decision for you or are you basing your own opinion yourself. Everyone has that capacity to make an informed decision now without paying for it. And in the long run everything else adds up ok from all the servers I have a character on. It is all about if it is worth your money or not.
OP asks why not release numbers to get more ppl to play if they are good. My argument is that not everyone is a sheep.
This has nothing to do with not being a sheep. Funcom did publish those numbers when they had a lot of subscribers. Now that the numbers suck they keep quit about it. It's just your basic damage control, there's nothing noble about it.
Nearly all games release numbers at launch and / or not long after. If Mythic was just Mythic and not EA Mythic it would of been the same. Turbine is Turbine and they have always done things in a certain way just like Funcom has. There are also all those reasons for being a traded company that people forget about or chose to ignore or not fully understand which weighs into the grand scheme of things in all approaches.
Is it not just assumption to presume that number suck? Would it not just be fair for the new person to the game just download the free trial and see themselves? or would it be more appropriate for a company that have ravenous ex players to disregard any official numbers either way - because we all know that would happen anyway wouldn't it. History also shows us that when Mythic and Funcom release numbers there were floods of ppl saying that is BS, people who played and people who didn't, how does that help anyone. Now both games have a trial, to onus is on the interested party to try it out for free. I would call that very fair.
Avery be honest with yourself, why do you think any MMORPG company that doesn't release subscriptions with hold the numbers? Funcom stated that subscriptions would need to be atleast 200k+ for them to consider it a success, we all know they are struggling to try and stay above the 100k mark (though some have put that at the 50k mark). They don't want to be forced to publicly admit that they've failed by their own standards, so they refuse to release the figures.
You'll notice the games that do release figures are all doing well, the ones that don't are either stagnent or bleeding subs. In short if AoC was doing well they'd release the subscription numbers. You can rationalize and make excuses for them all you want but that is a stone cold fact. AoC has a sickness, it's called instancing, and due to the fact this is a core mechanic ingrained into AoC this sickness isn't going to get cured. So much like a case of HIV that's become full blown AIDS we're just standing around watching the subscriuption count drop like a stone in a lake. While the patient is lying slowly dieing and sliping in and out of a pain and morphine induced halucanagenic trance, with fanbois standing around pretending it isn't happening.
Face facts, AoC will not be making a comeback anytime soon.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
You may want re-think using an MMO that almost no one had ever heard of and has less than 10K active subs for the last 5 years as an example for AoC's future.
Also, ask an AO player how great it was to watch FC funnel their sub money to dev another title, than drop the old game like a hot rock to nurse the new broken shiny.
You may want re-think using an MMO that almost no one had ever heard of and has less than 10K active subs for the last 5 years as an example for AoC's future.
Also, ask an AO player how great it was to watch FC funnel their sub money to dev another title, than drop the old game like a hot rock to nurse the new broken shiny.
I know that my server of choice will be populated for a long time to come. Always has been, there is nothing out there that will change that in the short term or mid-long term future.
A. So long as content keeps coming (proven commitment and implementation from the company so far)
B. So long as there are sufficient people to play with ( on the increase as of late)
C. So long as I find the game fun ( tied in with 'A' mainly)
A+B+C are all still good in my book.
Before FC release AoC they said it would have content for 900 hours. I am well supassed that now and I had a heads up before paying any money from those expectations. Currently spending hours in the Crows Nest in Tarantia Commons a nice 6 man dungeon with a renewed vigour in ppl on the test server.
Again, if FC can take AO and make a mill a Quarter ish from 25k ppl, how many do you want on your server in AoC. There is current belief my server has 3/4 that many characters made on it active. I care not as I won't meet them all. Just as the 10k ppl on the DF server don't know each other. Probably, taking into account listed number of downloads from some sites and factoring in a guess of mmorpg and Funcom own trials the game has been looking at well over 70K "trialers" over the past couple weeks. Using polls around such as on these boards even if at least 35% sub, it all helps. I see no reason that anything major will happen until the expansion at which time there will be another rush of peeked interested ppl to check it out and the cycle continues.
If Funcom are willing to keep AO going before major investment in AoC 5 years later then that is a company that shows commitment in their product regardless of how many ppl play it. With TSW being in production not long after AoC was and a decent amount in before AoC was released then that is just good business sense. FC have plenty of things on the go at the moment. I also don't see myself playing the game for over 5 yrs either.
So long as you find it fun and worth your money at the end of the day.
You may want re-think using an MMO that almost no one had ever heard of and has less than 10K active subs for the last 5 years as an example for AoC's future.
Also, ask an AO player how great it was to watch FC funnel their sub money to dev another title, than drop the old game like a hot rock to nurse the new broken shiny.
Lol owned
Yes, you might not want to use AO as a big success story..