No one here can say its losing members. Do you have the numbers? They boast 12 million players. If you accuse them of not having that, there is something called false advertising. Why don't you sue them? A drop of a couple thousand players surely will not make Blizzard worried. You only see a certain amount of people on a server anyways, so why care about numbers?
What goes up must come down. WoW is no exception. If it starts to decline from here on in, I don't think it is necessarily due to some bad decision. Sooner or later, the addicts slip the hook, and the new player appeal declines for a game that's now 6 years old.
China may bolster it and keep it alive for years to come, but the west will move on, I think. It's definitely a good time for blizzard to be putting together something new.
It matters not if WoW is on the decline. I'm not a fan but i could care less if it stays or goes. However, attending the last Blizzcon told me one thing...Blizzard was preparing for the age of WoW to finally reflect upon the market. Honestly the new content has been mediocre at best, ICC is a gimmick dungeon compared to Naxx 40 back in the vanilla WoW days. The reason being...Blizzard has been working on another MMO, this one will be sci-fi (and no fanboys it will not be Starcraft, Blizz has confirmed this). Sadly, I foresee their next MMO to probably ending up like WoW because people are going to think "Blizz makes awesome games this MMO will be awesome." And to disagree would make those people claim blasphemy to those who don't share their views. Wait...I think I just also described Bioware and SWTOR, which ironically is one of the biggest contenders on the hype-meter to overthrow WoW.
"If at first you don't succeed, excessive force is probably the answer."
theres a curve somewhere. Its reached it's saturation point or whatever now.Thats not to say it can't retain its millions of subscribers in the same way as its players that still play on Battle.net. (Starcraft, Warcraft 3 etc)
If Blizzard only cared about money they would be like SOE and pump out an expansion every 2 months. Do I think its peaked? Maybe. I am sure they will see a jolt when Cataclysm comes out. What kills me is when people say WOW is easy. Let me see your Alganon kill, or hey how about the 25 man heroic Arthas. Most of the people who say its easy are just spouting off at the mouth with no real validity to back it up. Then people say they are handed epics, sure u can get epics, but they are not the best pieces of equipment unless you run the hard modes.
IM pretty sure there will be a jolt of returning players when Cataclysm launches, but I think most of those will quit again after 2 or 3 months. I am fairly likely to be among them.
As for the raiding can be hard if you want it to, so can a 100msprint for 5 year olds be. If you decide to shoot yourself in the foot first :P thats how it feels to me, you gimp yourself just to make the game more challenging, instead of forcing players to learn, force them to become better. Naxxramas isnt hard, yet some groups still fail because some people are horrible players, because they have never had a challenge in the game to overcome.
Does it matter? if they lost 80% of there current subs they still have more subs then any other game out. Unless somthing better comes along which so far hasent they will only lose minimal people anyway. WoW isnt going anywhere for a long time hate it or not.
Aion currently has 7 million subs in Asia alone. Just thought I'd throw that tidbit out there.
The fact that they can't draw new players, vet players are slowing leaving is NOT a good sign. I've noticed this long before Blizzard finally manned up and said it. It was getting harder and harder to get raids going, decent 5-mans or finding groups for elite quests. Instead of trying to improve the game to stop the bleed, Blizz just makes it easier to get groups. This is only a temp-fix.
The fact that Wrath did NOT bump the subscription numbers tells me that Cataclysm isn't going to have much an effect either. When they announced the xpac, reaction was rather luke-warm. During one stage presentation announcing the upcoming changes, they actually got booed. Never a good sign when Blizzcon fans are booing you on your own stage at your own convention.
Also something to think about. Roughly 70% of subscriptions are in Asia, most gold farmers are based in Asia. I don't think those two numbers are unrelated. Until they get caught the farmer is a subscriber after all.
IMO World of Warcraft is passed its best as a game . I could be wrong and find Cataclysm returns it to a semblance of what it once was . When I finally left and deleted all my characters it just felt the game had become too spoonfed but I'm an older gamer I can imagine for children the ease of leveling now as well as the gaining of epic gear easily makes the game more attractive . Which is why it retains a high subscriber rate . I seriously doubt the truth of it retaining 11.5 million subscribers . Blizzard will still be feeding us that line in ten years time . Warcraft will never offically lose subscribers simply because it would be bad for buisness . The miracle is that its popularity has lasted so long . Yet thats more a testiment to the lack of competition form other games . I'm sure millions of those subscribers would move to another game when and if theres something worth moving to . Only a matter of time .Be it this year , next year or even another 5 years . Sooner or later it will happen .
IMO World of Warcraft is passed its best as a game . I could be wrong and find Cataclysm returns it to a semblance of what it once was . When I finally left and deleted all my characters it just felt the game had become too spoonfed but I'm an older gamer I can imagine for children the ease of leveling now as well as the gaining of epic gear easily makes the game more attractive . Which is why it retains a high subscriber rate . I seriously doubt the truth of it retaining 11.5 million subscribers . Blizzard will still be feeding us that line in ten years time . Warcraft will never offically lose subscribers simply because it would be bad for buisness . The miracle is that its popularity has lasted so long . Yet thats more a testiment to the lack of competition form other games . I'm sure millions of those subscribers would move to another game when and if theres something worth moving to . Only a matter of time .Be it this year , next year or even another 5 years . Sooner or later it will happen .
I am fed up with these kinds of posts which are based on ZERO facts
The thread was made by the most reknown WOW hater figure on these pages at the momet Blizzard released its financial reports of the last Q of 2009 and the 11.5 million active subscribers.
The game made 329 million dollars in just the last 3 months of 2009 , that was on par with the last time Blizzard communicated on the first quarter of 2009 (314 million dollars for that 1st quarter). It is all there on the web, just search.
Money income proves the game has these kind of subscriptions. Period.
And the following pages of the reference gives a clear picture of how and why and when.
WOW obtained these subs on Dec 2008 (6 weeks into the launch of Wotlk) and retained them throughout the 2009 year. The financial facts simply prove it.
As to its future, I will predict one thing: it will grow even before CATA will hit at the end of 2010. Simply by the fact worldwide growth was due to the economic recession and the hic-up in China (which seems to be settled now). Where are those "WOW killers of 2008 and 2009"? Nowhere: they are standing at a fraction of WOW's revenus.
Why I am so sure?
Simple: look at the recent changes Blizzard is making to their show horse. The new LFG tool is nothing short of revolutionary, the new LFG tool will be used in about 4 weeks time on their new PvP system too.
They will introduce guild PvE and Guild PvP leveling (and PvP competition with the return of the titles) and the mechanics of the game never have been better before.
So I think the thread created and constant feeding of it by some is clear proof some feel the "danger" of an even bigger WOW gorilla that spoils their fun.
And if the latest adjustments to the game are showing anything: the chances it will grow completely out of the competition is very much bigger than ever before.
The gap was just widened as of Dec 2009. The players know it.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
Does it matter? if they lost 80% of there current subs they still have more subs then any other game out. Unless somthing better comes along which so far hasent they will only lose minimal people anyway. WoW isnt going anywhere for a long time hate it or not.
Oh yes it matters to many of us.
Sure it will be around for a long time, but now we actually know that WOW hasn't grown since 2008. One could wager that WOW will finally begin it's inevitable decline in the next couple of years. As WOW loses it monstrous grip on the industry, we will then have a much healthier environment for new MMOs. WOW has certainly had it's time. This is fantastic news.
well I am sry that your hatred for wow keeps you up at night, me personally if I dont like a game I dont play it anymore nor do I stalk it and blame it for all of lifes problems maybe its time for you to move on
I am fed up with these kinds of posts which are based on ZERO facts The thread was made by the most reknown WOW hater figure on these pages at the momet Blizzard released its financial reports of the last Q of 2009 and the 11.5 million active subscribers. The game made 329 million dollars in just the last 3 months of 2009 , that was on par with the last time Blizzard communicated on the first quarter of 2009. It is all there on the web, just search. Money income proves the game has these kind of subscriptions. Period. http://seekingalpha.com/article/187939-activision-blizzard-inc-q4-2009-earnings-call-transcript?source=feed&page=6 And the following pages of the reference gives a clear picture of how and why and when. WOW obtained these subs on Dec 2008 (6 weeks into the launch of Wotlk) and retained them throughout the 2009 year. The financial facts simply prove it. As to its future, I will predict one thing: it will grow even before CATA will hit at the end of 2010. Simply by the fact worldwide growth was due to the economic recession and the hic-up in China (which seems to be settled now). Where are those "WOW killers of 2008 and 2009"? Nowhere: they are standing at a fraction of WOW's revenus. Why I am so sure? Simple: look at the recent changes Blizzard is making to their show horse. The new LFG tool is nothing short of revolutionary, the new LFG tool will be used in about 4 weeks time on their new PvP system too. They will introduce guild PvE and Guild PvP leveling (and PvP competition with the return of the titles) and the mechanics of the game never have been better before. So I think the thread created and constant feeding of it by some is clear proof some feel the "danger" of an even bigger WOW gorilla that spoils their fun. And if the latest adjustments to the game are showing anything: the chances it will grow completely out of the competition is very much bigger than ever before. The gap was just widened as of Dec 2009. The players know it.
If I was as happily hopeful as you, man life would be a hell of a lot less stressful
This is a near 6 year old game that has not grown in subscribers (as per Blizzard) since 2008. All good things come to an end, WOW is just taking it's time. However, even when the game is down and out there will still be people playing for who knows how long, so don't get overly upset.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
Does it matter? if they lost 80% of there current subs they still have more subs then any other game out. Unless somthing better comes along which so far hasent they will only lose minimal people anyway. WoW isnt going anywhere for a long time hate it or not.
Oh yes it matters to many of us.
Sure it will be around for a long time, but now we actually know that WOW hasn't grown since 2008. One could wager that WOW will finally begin it's inevitable decline in the next couple of years. As WOW loses it monstrous grip on the industry, we will then have a much healthier environment for new MMOs. WOW has certainly had it's time. This is fantastic news.
Quoted for truth. It's time to get a new perspective on MMO's, down with the king.
How exactly is wow preventing other companies from offering a new perspective?
It isn't like blizzard is going into other company design rooms and telling them what to create. When wow does start to decline, the only healthy way that is going to happen is at the hands of another game making an impact on the market.
If wow is declining simply because people are leaving and not migrating to other mmos, that isn't going to help your overly optimistic views of what will happens. Chances are more companies will try to make more wow styles clones thinking they can capitalize on the void being created by the decline wow.
Long story short, the only thing preventing great new games from taking advantage of the market is all the other development companies not knowing what they are doing and releasing crap. I can only assume there are millions of players looking for a new mmo to play and the fact that no one has taken advantage of that speaks so loud at how the lack of understanding game companies have right now. The decline of wow will not suddenly open the eyes of developers to what they are doing wrong.
Does it matter? if they lost 80% of there current subs they still have more subs then any other game out. Unless somthing better comes along which so far hasent they will only lose minimal people anyway. WoW isnt going anywhere for a long time hate it or not.
Oh yes it matters to many of us.
Sure it will be around for a long time, but now we actually know that WOW hasn't grown since 2008. One could wager that WOW will finally begin it's inevitable decline in the next couple of years. As WOW loses it monstrous grip on the industry, we will then have a much healthier environment for new MMOs. WOW has certainly had it's time. This is fantastic news.
well I am sry that your hatred for wow keeps you up at night, me personally if I dont like a game I dont play it anymore nor do I stalk it and blame it for all of lifes problems maybe its time for you to move on
I sleep fine thanks, lol.
I used to love WOW, it was my first MMOrpg. And as such I will always remember it fondly. I left several months after release because it wasn't the type of game I wanted to play long term. I'm currently following the game's success as I actually care greatly for the MMOrpg genre, and I personally feel that much like religion WOW has outlived the helpful portion of it's lifespan. The game did wonders for the genre, but at this point (not Blizzard's fault necessarily) it's only hindering it's growth.
Is that ok with you?
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
I am fed up with these kinds of posts which are based on ZERO facts The thread was made by the most reknown WOW hater figure on these pages at the momet Blizzard released its financial reports of the last Q of 2009 and the 11.5 million active subscribers. The game made 329 million dollars in just the last 3 months of 2009 , that was on par with the last time Blizzard communicated on the first quarter of 2009. It is all there on the web, just search. Money income proves the game has these kind of subscriptions. Period. http://seekingalpha.com/article/187939-activision-blizzard-inc-q4-2009-earnings-call-transcript?source=feed&page=6 And the following pages of the reference gives a clear picture of how and why and when. WOW obtained these subs on Dec 2008 (6 weeks into the launch of Wotlk) and retained them throughout the 2009 year. The financial facts simply prove it. As to its future, I will predict one thing: it will grow even before CATA will hit at the end of 2010. Simply by the fact worldwide growth was due to the economic recession and the hic-up in China (which seems to be settled now). Where are those "WOW killers of 2008 and 2009"? Nowhere: they are standing at a fraction of WOW's revenus. Why I am so sure? Simple: look at the recent changes Blizzard is making to their show horse. The new LFG tool is nothing short of revolutionary, the new LFG tool will be used in about 4 weeks time on their new PvP system too. They will introduce guild PvE and Guild PvP leveling (and PvP competition with the return of the titles) and the mechanics of the game never have been better before. So I think the thread created and constant feeding of it by some is clear proof some feel the "danger" of an even bigger WOW gorilla that spoils their fun. And if the latest adjustments to the game are showing anything: the chances it will grow completely out of the competition is very much bigger than ever before. The gap was just widened as of Dec 2009. The players know it.
If I was as happily hopeful as you, man life would be a hell of a lot less stressful
This is a near 6 year old game that has not grown in subscribers (as per Blizzard) since 2008. All good things come to an end, WOW is just taking it's time. However, even when the game is down and out there will still be people playing for who knows how long, so don't get overly upset.
No problem if you can't see the simple facts.
The game didn't drop since ... 6 weeks after the launch of WOTLK a single dollar in revenu (look at the 314 M dollar for 1st quarter in 2009). We talk since Dec 31 2008 here.
The game was during 3 months off line in China.
The US video gaming branch had a collapse of -10.6%.: read recession.
And the game got the equal amount of revenu 14 months after the last expansion publication.
Also read up the references I gave you and read the comments of Morhaime of the why and when of CATA.
Then come back and speak about a "6 year old game" again.
Then think why there simply were no WOW killers in these last 3 years.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
...The decline of wow will not suddenly open the eyes of developers to what they are doing wrong.
No it won't, but they might actually then have the freedom to make something different. You know, get inspired and use their imaginations. That's a much improved design philosophy over obeying the higher ups and what they deem to be the right approach. Do you really not see how this game is influencing just about every mmo released, and why that's bad?
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
No problem if you can't see the simple facts. The game didn't drop since ... 6 weeks after the launch of WOTLK a single dollar in revenu (look at the 314 M dollar for 1st quarter in 2009). We talk since Dec 31 2008 here. The game was during 3 months off line in China. The US video gaming branch had a collapse of -10.6%.: read recession. And the game got the equal amount of revenu 14 months after the last expansion publication. Also read up the references I gave you and read the comments of Morhaime of the why and when of CATA. Then come back and speak about a "6 year old game" again. Then think why there simply were no WOW killers in these last 3 years.
It's not about how much money they make man, that's not the point of this thread. For the first time we know the game hasn't grown for quite some time. Take from that what you will. It sucks but WOW won't be numero uno forever capiche?
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
How exactly is wow preventing other companies from offering a new perspective?
It isn't like blizzard is going into other company design rooms and telling them what to create. When wow does start to decline, the only healthy way that is going to happen is at the hands of another game making an impact on the market.
If wow is declining simply because people are leaving and not migrating to other mmos, that isn't going to help your overly optimistic views of what will happens. Chances are more companies will try to make more wow styles clones thinking they can capitalize on the void being created by the decline wow.
Long story short, the only thing preventing great new games from taking advantage of the market is all the other development companies not knowing what they are doing and releasing crap. I can only assume there are millions of players looking for a new mmo to play and the fact that no one has taken advantage of that speaks so loud at how the lack of understanding game companies have right now. The decline of wow will not suddenly open the eyes of developers to what they are doing wrong.
Unfortunately, you are correct in your assessment. The "WoW killers" of 2008 and 2009 had too much in common with WoW to threaten it. I can tell you with 100% confidence that any WoW'er who looked into other mmos and returned to the behemoth 9 out of 10 times did so thinking: "If this game is just like WoW, I guess I'll just go back - after all my high lvl toons and good gear is on XX server, waiting for me, and all my friends will welcome me back"
I am coming to the belief after having played other mmos which in some ways are better but in many other ways are eerily similar to WoW that the only mmo that will kill it will be the one Blizz launches around 2012. If you study trends you will see this is the most likely scenario. SW:TOR is not a threat because it is a sci-fi mmo, hence it will appeal to a niche audience. Aion was never a threat because instead of quest grinding you mob grind, and many westerners don't care for that sort of thing. WAR was never a threat because other than RvR lakes it seemed to me that it was pretty close to WoW, besides PQ's.
SW:G is turning out to be a fun game for me, very open, though I understand many people got burned by SOE with it several years ago. Vanguard? No threat, it's still got more bugs than an ant nest and is slowly dying from people leaving and SOE pulling support. EQ? It's got its niche audience. EQ2? It's got a niche audience as well, but it's hard for new players to really get into it on some servers because so many are close to cap.
These are just some examples of other mmos and how they cannot be threats to WoW. Also, please keep in mind that a healthy mmo doesn't need millions of subs to generate a profit. lotro has new content patched to it every few months, and it only has 12 (?) servers.
I personally don't care if WoW lives or dies. I've moved on, and others should do the same. Unfortunately part of the human condition is finding things to complain about, since most people measure their lives by how miserable they are.
Does it matter? if they lost 80% of there current subs they still have more subs then any other game out. Unless somthing better comes along which so far hasent they will only lose minimal people anyway. WoW isnt going anywhere for a long time hate it or not.
Oh yes it matters to many of us.
Sure it will be around for a long time, but now we actually know that WOW hasn't grown since 2008. One could wager that WOW will finally begin it's inevitable decline in the next couple of years. As WOW loses it monstrous grip on the industry, we will then have a much healthier environment for new MMOs. WOW has certainly had it's time. This is fantastic news.
well I am sry that your hatred for wow keeps you up at night, me personally if I dont like a game I dont play it anymore nor do I stalk it and blame it for all of lifes problems maybe its time for you to move on
I sleep fine thanks, lol.
I used to love WOW, it was my first MMOrpg. And as such I will always remember it fondly. I left several months after release because it wasn't the type of game I wanted to play long term. I'm currently following the game's success as I actually care greatly for the MMOrpg genre, and I personally feel that much like religion WOW has outlived it's helpful portion of it's lifespan. The game did wonders for the genre, but at this point (not Blizzard's fault necessarily) it's only hindering it's growth.
Is that ok with you?
so like all the religious fanatics out there are you gonna stand on your box at the street corner with your overly large sign and cry the world(of warcraft) is going to end lol.
Fortunately it's not up to you nor any of the wow flamers to decide whether or not it has or hasnt outlived its usefulness it's up to those that enjoy it still and pay for what they enjoy.
And sorry it hasnt hindered anything the ones that hinder that growth are the developers that try to jump on its bandwagon, you should be blaming them for the lack of growth and new stuff not warcraft
...The decline of wow will not suddenly open the eyes of developers to what they are doing wrong.
No it won't, but they might actually then have the freedom to make something different. You know, get inspired and use their imaginations. That's a much improved design philosophy over obeying the higher ups and what they deem to be the right approach. Do you really not see how this game is influencing just about every mmo released, and why that's bad?
Simple fact:
If you were REALLY interested in following the new mechanics and trends in MMO play, you would be following and experiencing WOW just for the sheer new techniques used these days.
You can't experience a game on the forums.
That's why I am so confident (AND sad) the competition is nowhere at the moment.
The cross server LFG mechanism made the game - with one blow - 4.5 years younger in the leveling department. You can't speak about it, without experiencing this.
It is ridiculous to think the revolution comes from the competition. The last years proved it.
How sad you may be. Be realistic and at least experience before commenting.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
...The decline of wow will not suddenly open the eyes of developers to what they are doing wrong.
No it won't, but they might actually then have the freedom to make something different. You know, get inspired and use their imaginations. That's a much improved design philosophy over obeying the higher ups and what they deem to be the right approach. Do you really not see how this game is influencing just about every mmo released, and why that's bad?
you talk like wow has all the other developer's families locked up in a jail somewhere with threats that they will kill them if they come up with something different.
sorry to disappoint you but its not blizzard that is limiting there imaginations
you talk like wow has all the other developer's families locked up in a jail somewhere with threats that they will kill them if they come up with something different.
sorry to disappoint you but its not blizzard that is limiting there imaginations
Right it's the mentality of "let's do what they did over there....look how much money they are making", that did it. It's never healthy when one product dominates the market for too long. Look at what's happened to the genre. If you're ok with copy after a copy, then more power to ya.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
Comments
China was half up half down from June to Sep 2009.
China didn't even have an offical permission till Feb 12th 2010 to operate. Now they have.
China is still to launch Wotlk.
US video game industry fell with 11.6% in 2009 and had a drop in all departments.
WOW Dec 2009 had the same subscriptions as WOW Dec2008 (1 month post Wotlk launch) with all the above.
And WOW2 - CATA has to launch in 6 months time...
You can "hope" all you want, but any other game would be at 30% with the above facts.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
No one here can say its losing members. Do you have the numbers? They boast 12 million players. If you accuse them of not having that, there is something called false advertising. Why don't you sue them? A drop of a couple thousand players surely will not make Blizzard worried. You only see a certain amount of people on a server anyways, so why care about numbers?
Pepsi1028
PEPSI!!!!!
Get out of your box already...
What goes up must come down. WoW is no exception. If it starts to decline from here on in, I don't think it is necessarily due to some bad decision. Sooner or later, the addicts slip the hook, and the new player appeal declines for a game that's now 6 years old.
China may bolster it and keep it alive for years to come, but the west will move on, I think. It's definitely a good time for blizzard to be putting together something new.
It matters not if WoW is on the decline. I'm not a fan but i could care less if it stays or goes. However, attending the last Blizzcon told me one thing...Blizzard was preparing for the age of WoW to finally reflect upon the market. Honestly the new content has been mediocre at best, ICC is a gimmick dungeon compared to Naxx 40 back in the vanilla WoW days. The reason being...Blizzard has been working on another MMO, this one will be sci-fi (and no fanboys it will not be Starcraft, Blizz has confirmed this). Sadly, I foresee their next MMO to probably ending up like WoW because people are going to think "Blizz makes awesome games this MMO will be awesome." And to disagree would make those people claim blasphemy to those who don't share their views. Wait...I think I just also described Bioware and SWTOR, which ironically is one of the biggest contenders on the hype-meter to overthrow WoW.
theres a curve somewhere. Its reached it's saturation point or whatever now.Thats not to say it can't retain its millions of subscribers in the same way as its players that still play on Battle.net. (Starcraft, Warcraft 3 etc)
when the new expansion comes out theyl all return havent you people learned anything yet? sigh noobs
IM pretty sure there will be a jolt of returning players when Cataclysm launches, but I think most of those will quit again after 2 or 3 months. I am fairly likely to be among them.
As for the raiding can be hard if you want it to, so can a 100msprint for 5 year olds be. If you decide to shoot yourself in the foot first :P thats how it feels to me, you gimp yourself just to make the game more challenging, instead of forcing players to learn, force them to become better. Naxxramas isnt hard, yet some groups still fail because some people are horrible players, because they have never had a challenge in the game to overcome.
There will be a day when wow is number 2.
And that is the day when Blizzard has a new number one.
They will be a mighty pair!
Aion currently has 7 million subs in Asia alone. Just thought I'd throw that tidbit out there.
The fact that they can't draw new players, vet players are slowing leaving is NOT a good sign. I've noticed this long before Blizzard finally manned up and said it. It was getting harder and harder to get raids going, decent 5-mans or finding groups for elite quests. Instead of trying to improve the game to stop the bleed, Blizz just makes it easier to get groups. This is only a temp-fix.
The fact that Wrath did NOT bump the subscription numbers tells me that Cataclysm isn't going to have much an effect either. When they announced the xpac, reaction was rather luke-warm. During one stage presentation announcing the upcoming changes, they actually got booed. Never a good sign when Blizzcon fans are booing you on your own stage at your own convention.
Also something to think about. Roughly 70% of subscriptions are in Asia, most gold farmers are based in Asia. I don't think those two numbers are unrelated. Until they get caught the farmer is a subscriber after all.
they can feed on the big ass expansion coming out :P
Pepsi1028
PEPSI!!!!!
Get out of your box already...
IMO World of Warcraft is passed its best as a game . I could be wrong and find Cataclysm returns it to a semblance of what it once was . When I finally left and deleted all my characters it just felt the game had become too spoonfed but I'm an older gamer I can imagine for children the ease of leveling now as well as the gaining of epic gear easily makes the game more attractive . Which is why it retains a high subscriber rate . I seriously doubt the truth of it retaining 11.5 million subscribers . Blizzard will still be feeding us that line in ten years time . Warcraft will never offically lose subscribers simply because it would be bad for buisness . The miracle is that its popularity has lasted so long . Yet thats more a testiment to the lack of competition form other games . I'm sure millions of those subscribers would move to another game when and if theres something worth moving to . Only a matter of time .Be it this year , next year or even another 5 years . Sooner or later it will happen .
I am fed up with these kinds of posts which are based on ZERO facts
The thread was made by the most reknown WOW hater figure on these pages at the momet Blizzard released its financial reports of the last Q of 2009 and the 11.5 million active subscribers.
The game made 329 million dollars in just the last 3 months of 2009 , that was on par with the last time Blizzard communicated on the first quarter of 2009 (314 million dollars for that 1st quarter). It is all there on the web, just search.
Money income proves the game has these kind of subscriptions. Period.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/187939-activision-blizzard-inc-q4-2009-earnings-call-transcript?source=feed&page=6
And the following pages of the reference gives a clear picture of how and why and when.
WOW obtained these subs on Dec 2008 (6 weeks into the launch of Wotlk) and retained them throughout the 2009 year. The financial facts simply prove it.
As to its future, I will predict one thing: it will grow even before CATA will hit at the end of 2010. Simply by the fact worldwide growth was due to the economic recession and the hic-up in China (which seems to be settled now). Where are those "WOW killers of 2008 and 2009"? Nowhere: they are standing at a fraction of WOW's revenus.
Why I am so sure?
Simple: look at the recent changes Blizzard is making to their show horse. The new LFG tool is nothing short of revolutionary, the new LFG tool will be used in about 4 weeks time on their new PvP system too.
They will introduce guild PvE and Guild PvP leveling (and PvP competition with the return of the titles) and the mechanics of the game never have been better before.
So I think the thread created and constant feeding of it by some is clear proof some feel the "danger" of an even bigger WOW gorilla that spoils their fun.
And if the latest adjustments to the game are showing anything: the chances it will grow completely out of the competition is very much bigger than ever before.
The gap was just widened as of Dec 2009. The players know it.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
Oh yes it matters to many of us.
Sure it will be around for a long time, but now we actually know that WOW hasn't grown since 2008. One could wager that WOW will finally begin it's inevitable decline in the next couple of years. As WOW loses it monstrous grip on the industry, we will then have a much healthier environment for new MMOs. WOW has certainly had it's time. This is fantastic news.
well I am sry that your hatred for wow keeps you up at night, me personally if I dont like a game I dont play it anymore nor do I stalk it and blame it for all of lifes problems maybe its time for you to move on
If I was as happily hopeful as you, man life would be a hell of a lot less stressful
This is a near 6 year old game that has not grown in subscribers (as per Blizzard) since 2008. All good things come to an end, WOW is just taking it's time. However, even when the game is down and out there will still be people playing for who knows how long, so don't get overly upset.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
Oh yes it matters to many of us.
Sure it will be around for a long time, but now we actually know that WOW hasn't grown since 2008. One could wager that WOW will finally begin it's inevitable decline in the next couple of years. As WOW loses it monstrous grip on the industry, we will then have a much healthier environment for new MMOs. WOW has certainly had it's time. This is fantastic news.
Quoted for truth. It's time to get a new perspective on MMO's, down with the king.
How exactly is wow preventing other companies from offering a new perspective?
It isn't like blizzard is going into other company design rooms and telling them what to create. When wow does start to decline, the only healthy way that is going to happen is at the hands of another game making an impact on the market.
If wow is declining simply because people are leaving and not migrating to other mmos, that isn't going to help your overly optimistic views of what will happens. Chances are more companies will try to make more wow styles clones thinking they can capitalize on the void being created by the decline wow.
Long story short, the only thing preventing great new games from taking advantage of the market is all the other development companies not knowing what they are doing and releasing crap. I can only assume there are millions of players looking for a new mmo to play and the fact that no one has taken advantage of that speaks so loud at how the lack of understanding game companies have right now. The decline of wow will not suddenly open the eyes of developers to what they are doing wrong.
Oh yes it matters to many of us.
Sure it will be around for a long time, but now we actually know that WOW hasn't grown since 2008. One could wager that WOW will finally begin it's inevitable decline in the next couple of years. As WOW loses it monstrous grip on the industry, we will then have a much healthier environment for new MMOs. WOW has certainly had it's time. This is fantastic news.
well I am sry that your hatred for wow keeps you up at night, me personally if I dont like a game I dont play it anymore nor do I stalk it and blame it for all of lifes problems maybe its time for you to move on
I sleep fine thanks, lol.
I used to love WOW, it was my first MMOrpg. And as such I will always remember it fondly. I left several months after release because it wasn't the type of game I wanted to play long term. I'm currently following the game's success as I actually care greatly for the MMOrpg genre, and I personally feel that much like religion WOW has outlived the helpful portion of it's lifespan. The game did wonders for the genre, but at this point (not Blizzard's fault necessarily) it's only hindering it's growth.
Is that ok with you?
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
If I was as happily hopeful as you, man life would be a hell of a lot less stressful
This is a near 6 year old game that has not grown in subscribers (as per Blizzard) since 2008. All good things come to an end, WOW is just taking it's time. However, even when the game is down and out there will still be people playing for who knows how long, so don't get overly upset.
No problem if you can't see the simple facts.
The game didn't drop since ... 6 weeks after the launch of WOTLK a single dollar in revenu (look at the 314 M dollar for 1st quarter in 2009). We talk since Dec 31 2008 here.
The game was during 3 months off line in China.
The US video gaming branch had a collapse of -10.6%.: read recession.
And the game got the equal amount of revenu 14 months after the last expansion publication.
Also read up the references I gave you and read the comments of Morhaime of the why and when of CATA.
Then come back and speak about a "6 year old game" again.
Then think why there simply were no WOW killers in these last 3 years.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
No it won't, but they might actually then have the freedom to make something different. You know, get inspired and use their imaginations. That's a much improved design philosophy over obeying the higher ups and what they deem to be the right approach. Do you really not see how this game is influencing just about every mmo released, and why that's bad?
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
It's not about how much money they make man, that's not the point of this thread. For the first time we know the game hasn't grown for quite some time. Take from that what you will. It sucks but WOW won't be numero uno forever capiche?
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
How exactly is wow preventing other companies from offering a new perspective?
It isn't like blizzard is going into other company design rooms and telling them what to create. When wow does start to decline, the only healthy way that is going to happen is at the hands of another game making an impact on the market.
If wow is declining simply because people are leaving and not migrating to other mmos, that isn't going to help your overly optimistic views of what will happens. Chances are more companies will try to make more wow styles clones thinking they can capitalize on the void being created by the decline wow.
Long story short, the only thing preventing great new games from taking advantage of the market is all the other development companies not knowing what they are doing and releasing crap. I can only assume there are millions of players looking for a new mmo to play and the fact that no one has taken advantage of that speaks so loud at how the lack of understanding game companies have right now. The decline of wow will not suddenly open the eyes of developers to what they are doing wrong.
Unfortunately, you are correct in your assessment. The "WoW killers" of 2008 and 2009 had too much in common with WoW to threaten it. I can tell you with 100% confidence that any WoW'er who looked into other mmos and returned to the behemoth 9 out of 10 times did so thinking: "If this game is just like WoW, I guess I'll just go back - after all my high lvl toons and good gear is on XX server, waiting for me, and all my friends will welcome me back"
I am coming to the belief after having played other mmos which in some ways are better but in many other ways are eerily similar to WoW that the only mmo that will kill it will be the one Blizz launches around 2012. If you study trends you will see this is the most likely scenario. SW:TOR is not a threat because it is a sci-fi mmo, hence it will appeal to a niche audience. Aion was never a threat because instead of quest grinding you mob grind, and many westerners don't care for that sort of thing. WAR was never a threat because other than RvR lakes it seemed to me that it was pretty close to WoW, besides PQ's.
SW:G is turning out to be a fun game for me, very open, though I understand many people got burned by SOE with it several years ago. Vanguard? No threat, it's still got more bugs than an ant nest and is slowly dying from people leaving and SOE pulling support. EQ? It's got its niche audience. EQ2? It's got a niche audience as well, but it's hard for new players to really get into it on some servers because so many are close to cap.
These are just some examples of other mmos and how they cannot be threats to WoW. Also, please keep in mind that a healthy mmo doesn't need millions of subs to generate a profit. lotro has new content patched to it every few months, and it only has 12 (?) servers.
I personally don't care if WoW lives or dies. I've moved on, and others should do the same. Unfortunately part of the human condition is finding things to complain about, since most people measure their lives by how miserable they are.
-Cym
Oh yes it matters to many of us.
Sure it will be around for a long time, but now we actually know that WOW hasn't grown since 2008. One could wager that WOW will finally begin it's inevitable decline in the next couple of years. As WOW loses it monstrous grip on the industry, we will then have a much healthier environment for new MMOs. WOW has certainly had it's time. This is fantastic news.
well I am sry that your hatred for wow keeps you up at night, me personally if I dont like a game I dont play it anymore nor do I stalk it and blame it for all of lifes problems maybe its time for you to move on
I sleep fine thanks, lol.
I used to love WOW, it was my first MMOrpg. And as such I will always remember it fondly. I left several months after release because it wasn't the type of game I wanted to play long term. I'm currently following the game's success as I actually care greatly for the MMOrpg genre, and I personally feel that much like religion WOW has outlived it's helpful portion of it's lifespan. The game did wonders for the genre, but at this point (not Blizzard's fault necessarily) it's only hindering it's growth.
Is that ok with you?
so like all the religious fanatics out there are you gonna stand on your box at the street corner with your overly large sign and cry the world(of warcraft) is going to end lol.
Fortunately it's not up to you nor any of the wow flamers to decide whether or not it has or hasnt outlived its usefulness it's up to those that enjoy it still and pay for what they enjoy.
And sorry it hasnt hindered anything the ones that hinder that growth are the developers that try to jump on its bandwagon, you should be blaming them for the lack of growth and new stuff not warcraft
No it won't, but they might actually then have the freedom to make something different. You know, get inspired and use their imaginations. That's a much improved design philosophy over obeying the higher ups and what they deem to be the right approach. Do you really not see how this game is influencing just about every mmo released, and why that's bad?
Simple fact:
If you were REALLY interested in following the new mechanics and trends in MMO play, you would be following and experiencing WOW just for the sheer new techniques used these days.
You can't experience a game on the forums.
That's why I am so confident (AND sad) the competition is nowhere at the moment.
The cross server LFG mechanism made the game - with one blow - 4.5 years younger in the leveling department. You can't speak about it, without experiencing this.
It is ridiculous to think the revolution comes from the competition. The last years proved it.
How sad you may be. Be realistic and at least experience before commenting.
Want a real mmorpg? Play WOW with experience turned off mode and be Pve_Pvp King at any level without a rat race.
No it won't, but they might actually then have the freedom to make something different. You know, get inspired and use their imaginations. That's a much improved design philosophy over obeying the higher ups and what they deem to be the right approach. Do you really not see how this game is influencing just about every mmo released, and why that's bad?
you talk like wow has all the other developer's families locked up in a jail somewhere with threats that they will kill them if they come up with something different.
sorry to disappoint you but its not blizzard that is limiting there imaginations
Right it's the mentality of "let's do what they did over there....look how much money they are making", that did it. It's never healthy when one product dominates the market for too long. Look at what's happened to the genre. If you're ok with copy after a copy, then more power to ya.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb