Wait, didn't they announce 13 millions 2 years ago? If so, how is reaching 12 millions again a milestone?
I just want to make sure you realize what you posted.
If you ran a wildly successful business and you once had 13 million customers but suffered when an economic recession hit and then had major delays on exporting your product to the vast market that is China and bled out customers until you were at 11 million, getting back to 12 would be a pretty big milestone.
Wait, didn't they announce 13 millions 2 years ago? If so, how is reaching 12 millions again a milestone?
The highest previous population I remember being announced was 11.5 million. It remained around that mark while the WotLK issues were hashed out over in China. The recent release of WotLK in China suggests they picked up another 500k subs.
I think MMO's and online gaming are more than a lot of people can handle. I am not hating guys, I was an avid WoW player for many years. I just think that the whole virtual universe can be extremely detrimental. It can be negative by neglecting responsibilties and spending time with family and friends to not exercising and even feeling shame for it even leading to these things in the first place. I used to be a pretty serious raider and pvper and trust me, it didn't leave time for much else. Once again, I am not calling anybody bad for being in the mix, I just think it's real easy to lose sight of other more important things out there and this article just proves how big of a deal it is. I also agree with the post above me about the community being the catalyst for me leaving WoW. Just my two cents, thanks for your guys' time and have a good one.
I dunno why anyone cares? Is being Chinese better than being American because there are more Chinese people? Thats just absurd. My liking or not liking of games has what to do with numbers??
Its called marketing. It Catches the eyes of people who doesnt play the game.. who maybe didnt know it existed (..somehow id guess thats a small number now? hehe... )
All they really do is make people look their way.. Its how they always did it. and its how they are Racking up people months after months...
With the kind of money they do (wich is ridiculous.. even if you considers staff and upkeeps of the division) .. Their Next MMO better feel like God himself (for the beleivers) Aliens (for the ..eh.... whatever) .. .lol.
Its like a child going "nyah nyah i got more candy than you" type of Talk they are doing. Guess when you make more Money than your country... your allowed to hah...
otherwise it as no purposes. Its Shallow and only shows how they care about their Numbers more than the actual Content and Improvements they could bring to such a big IP.
Well, gratz to WoW then, for turning around the decline!
That chart could not be more wrong, the huge drop mid 2009? what happens was blizzard/netease were not allowed to register new players, the exisiting players could play and continued too.. those that did not want to wait around for china to approve wrath went to the TW servers... there is no reaosn for that dramtic drop it false data.
The drop is not false, there was more than a month of downtime where even already registered players could not pay or play, and after that it goes right back up, so what is the problem anyway?
If I don't show it, then people complain as well.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site : http://mmodata.blogspot.be/ Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
"In the history of" really only applies to things that have been around long enough to have a significant history of, like for a few generations. A little over one decade doesn't qualify for such a statement.
I think we are just beginning to see the impact of MMOGs, and eventually we will see much larger populations in some of them. I don't think it will be done by following trite formulas though, that won't hold attentions very long (MMOGs aren't TV or the movies!), there will have to be a little something extra that happens in the parts that come together to create something special in the eyes of the players. Creativity will always be a key element.
Publishers ahould be careful not to measure their success in terms of "bigger is better" too much. Sure, everyone wants to ring the cash bell, nothing wrong with that, but having a smaller population for an MMO that still is profitable is still a successful endeavor, in a publishing sense. In a creative sense, success is harder to measure, and think that comes in large part from within, from knowing you did your best to create your vision, and how many people agree with you isn't all that important (even if it is nice to feel validated ).
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall
I hope this puts to rest all the ignorant fanbois of up and coming mmorpgs that always claim WoW is in steady decline and that their game will kill off wow.
I think everyone KNOWS that "WoW Killer" comments are just a joke by now. Don't they? I mean...they ARE a joke. Blizzard will "kill WoW" if and when they're good and ready. I think if anyone takes "WoW Killer" comments seriously...they're probably a bit on the delusional side. I mean...look at all the old games that are STILL not "dead": UO, EQ (original flavor), AO, SWG, DAoC...among others, and none of those ever had 12 million subs. There are still people playing LOADS of old games because...they LIKE THEM. And how many WoW players are actually playing WoW as their FIRST MMO? I would wager a great many. Well...most of those people won't be going anywhere...some might, but...more will probably stay than leave. Because imagine if SWG had been your first MMO and the NGE had never happened.....yeah. You'd still be playing SWG.
Same with WoW, imo.
Note: I am NOT a WoW "fanboi," that's for sure. Been there, done that...wore out the shirt. WoW wasn't my first MMO, however, and that may have something to do with that. Also....just because you're excited for GW2 or TOR or TSW or any myriad of other games, doesn't mean you think any of them will "kill WoW." Who CARES whether WoW is "killed" or not? That's what I don't get. Why does it even matter? lmao
Actually often times the wow killer threads and posts are not jokes. What has happened though is that people that initially subscribed to those ideas have started to realize how impractical and unrealistic their beliefs were, so now when other people make similar posts to what they used to make they try to downplay it because dampening the silliness behind those posts indirectly downplays their own silliness from before.
I really do think some of them are jokes and intended to troll the WoW community into "freaking out," for the purpose of cheap entertainment. I really do think some people do that.
If you're implying that I'VE ever made a "this is going to be a WoW Killer" post or AGREED with one....you're mistaken. You're welcome to search every post I've ever made. No such silliness exists. But if you're saying that other people have flip-flopped on thinking any other game can "kill WoW," then you may be right, BUT....I wouldn't so much say that they're "flip-flopping," as perhaps just seeing, over the course of time, that this just probably isn't going to happen. People do this thing called "learning." It's something that happens as you keep your eyes open, basically. I certainly don't think it reflects on anyone's sincerity if they held one view, and now hold another. If that made someone "stupid," or "insincere," or "silly," then no one would ever learn a damn thing!
I don't like what WoW has become, but...it's hugely popular and successful, and the fact that I really don't care for it....doesn't change any of that, and never will. I don't think WoW will "die," but I do think...some day....over the course of time....it will begin to "fade" a bit. BUT....I could be wrong! Because all of the present day WoW players have children, and those children will have children, and they may indoctrinate ALL of them to be WoWaholics, for all I know!!! LOL (joke)
Well, gratz to WoW then, for turning around the decline!
That chart could not be more wrong, the huge drop mid 2009? what happens was blizzard/netease were not allowed to register new players, the exisiting players could play and continued too.. those that did not want to wait around for china to approve wrath went to the TW servers... there is no reaosn for that dramtic drop it false data.
The drop is not false, there was more than a month of downtime where even already registered players could not pay or play, and after that it goes right back up, so what is the problem anyway?
If I don't show it, then people complain as well.
The drop is false on your graph. Expresso is right.
Why? Because the graph represents subscription numbers and ... the subscription numbers were not affected by a 19 days unavailabilty of the China servers (June 2009) for political reasons (changing providors).
After those 19 days being off line (June 2009), the people could play again with their cards in July and so your supposed hiatus of 19 days had no influence whatsoever on the subscription definition Blizzard handles in the east: have an active paid account during ... the last month.
Blizzard's servers in US and EU are out regulary for 24 hours even. Cumulative that's also a drop of several days during a year. So why not include all down time then ?
Why not? Because the graph represents active subcriber numbers (wityh a 3 months scale). The subscriptions didn't go away automatically because ... the servers went down. Not in US/EU and not in China.
Also ... what is that 12 million doing in your graph at the end of 2009. Blizzard announced 11.5 m and 11.6 m in that period. Never 12 m.
It looks that you tried to "convince" the game was in a downward trend. Apparently you were proven wrong by an official statement.
Time to correct: You create a subscription graph, not an activity graph.
Wait, didn't they announce 13 millions 2 years ago? If so, how is reaching 12 millions again a milestone?
Peeps with multiple accounts. All those that joined under recruit a friend who many probably won't stay but hey that is an account even if it isn't active.
Not sure but guessing they include inactive accounts. Not sure how accounts that people have actually cancelled would fit in but guessing they are counted as they could reactivate at any time and still have the account. Don't remember right off how long before the toons would be wiped or if they would.
Wait, didn't they announce 13 millions 2 years ago? If so, how is reaching 12 millions again a milestone?
Peeps with multiple accounts. All those that joined under recruit a friend who many probably won't stay but hey that is an account even if it isn't active.
Not sure but guessing they include inactive accounts. Not sure how accounts that people have actually cancelled would fit in but guessing they are counted as they could reactivate at any time and still have the account. Don't remember right off how long before the toons would be wiped or if they would.
Blizzard never announced 13 million players.
Blizzard has also detailed how they define a subscriber. They only count accounts that have paid for access to the game in a 30 day period. That is why they press releases say SUBSCRIBERS and not ACCOUNTS.
They specifically state they do not count trial accounts, inactive accounts, etc. Just accounts that have paid for access to the servers.
hi everyone, im as independent as 1 can be about this, i love blizz. works diablo, wow, what ever but i dont play them any more ( dont ask me why cause i dont know either ...) but look at this stuff from this point of view .................
......... wow grew 11.5 million active subs (,,,) in 4 years ( might be 4,5 years ^^) and then in the last year and a half ( +/- ) it grew 500k active subs `0.0´, in my opinion that doesnt show growth more like stagnant
but thats just my opinion / , hope wow keeps and improves ...
Wait, didn't they announce 13 millions 2 years ago? If so, how is reaching 12 millions again a milestone?
Peeps with multiple accounts. All those that joined under recruit a friend who many probably won't stay but hey that is an account even if it isn't active.
Not sure but guessing they include inactive accounts. Not sure how accounts that people have actually cancelled would fit in but guessing they are counted as they could reactivate at any time and still have the account. Don't remember right off how long before the toons would be wiped or if they would.
Lol please try reading the PR post, it states there active accounts that have been paid for in the last 30 days.
All the wow flaming is really funny to me, so you dont like the game? not that keen on it myself but i can see that its successful in its own right.
And if we are all honest then even the 500k new subs is pretty good for a 6 year old game to even keep at 11.5 mill over the last year or two then you have to admit their doing something right.
Just dont understand all this hate? is it becasue the cool kids are hating on wow? are you secretly pissed that wow has more subs than the game your currently playing, really what is it that makes you throth at the mouth lol?
Comments
I just want to make sure you realize what you posted.
If you ran a wildly successful business and you once had 13 million customers but suffered when an economic recession hit and then had major delays on exporting your product to the vast market that is China and bled out customers until you were at 11 million, getting back to 12 would be a pretty big milestone.
big deal.......there is prolly 2 or 3 million gold selling accounts.....or does that count as active "player" these days too??
The bad community killed that game for me.....too bad, wow aint that bad imho.
The highest previous population I remember being announced was 11.5 million. It remained around that mark while the WotLK issues were hashed out over in China. The recent release of WotLK in China suggests they picked up another 500k subs.
I think MMO's and online gaming are more than a lot of people can handle. I am not hating guys, I was an avid WoW player for many years. I just think that the whole virtual universe can be extremely detrimental. It can be negative by neglecting responsibilties and spending time with family and friends to not exercising and even feeling shame for it even leading to these things in the first place. I used to be a pretty serious raider and pvper and trust me, it didn't leave time for much else. Once again, I am not calling anybody bad for being in the mix, I just think it's real easy to lose sight of other more important things out there and this article just proves how big of a deal it is. I also agree with the post above me about the community being the catalyst for me leaving WoW. Just my two cents, thanks for your guys' time and have a good one.
I dunno why anyone cares? Is being Chinese better than being American because there are more Chinese people? Thats just absurd. My liking or not liking of games has what to do with numbers??
Its called marketing. It Catches the eyes of people who doesnt play the game.. who maybe didnt know it existed (..somehow id guess thats a small number now? hehe... )
All they really do is make people look their way.. Its how they always did it. and its how they are Racking up people months after months...
With the kind of money they do (wich is ridiculous.. even if you considers staff and upkeeps of the division) .. Their Next MMO better feel like God himself (for the beleivers) Aliens (for the ..eh.... whatever) .. .lol.
Its like a child going "nyah nyah i got more candy than you" type of Talk they are doing. Guess when you make more Money than your country... your allowed to hah...
otherwise it as no purposes. Its Shallow and only shows how they care about their Numbers more than the actual Content and Improvements they could bring to such a big IP.
The drop is not false, there was more than a month of downtime where even already registered players could not pay or play, and after that it goes right back up, so what is the problem anyway?
If I don't show it, then people complain as well.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
"In the history of" really only applies to things that have been around long enough to have a significant history of, like for a few generations. A little over one decade doesn't qualify for such a statement.
I think we are just beginning to see the impact of MMOGs, and eventually we will see much larger populations in some of them. I don't think it will be done by following trite formulas though, that won't hold attentions very long (MMOGs aren't TV or the movies!), there will have to be a little something extra that happens in the parts that come together to create something special in the eyes of the players. Creativity will always be a key element.
Publishers ahould be careful not to measure their success in terms of "bigger is better" too much. Sure, everyone wants to ring the cash bell, nothing wrong with that, but having a smaller population for an MMO that still is profitable is still a successful endeavor, in a publishing sense. In a creative sense, success is harder to measure, and think that comes in large part from within, from knowing you did your best to create your vision, and how many people agree with you isn't all that important (even if it is nice to feel validated
).
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall
LOL @ all the WoW haters having a temper tantrum. I'm sure we'll still see threads about how WoW is declining in population by the day.
I really do think some of them are jokes and intended to troll the WoW community into "freaking out," for the purpose of cheap entertainment. I really do think some people do that.
If you're implying that I'VE ever made a "this is going to be a WoW Killer" post or AGREED with one....you're mistaken. You're welcome to search every post I've ever made. No such silliness exists. But if you're saying that other people have flip-flopped on thinking any other game can "kill WoW," then you may be right, BUT....I wouldn't so much say that they're "flip-flopping," as perhaps just seeing, over the course of time, that this just probably isn't going to happen. People do this thing called "learning." It's something that happens as you keep your eyes open, basically.
I certainly don't think it reflects on anyone's sincerity if they held one view, and now hold another. If that made someone "stupid," or "insincere," or "silly," then no one would ever learn a damn thing!
I don't like what WoW has become, but...it's hugely popular and successful, and the fact that I really don't care for it....doesn't change any of that, and never will. I don't think WoW will "die," but I do think...some day....over the course of time....it will begin to "fade" a bit. BUT....I could be wrong! Because all of the present day WoW players have children, and those children will have children, and they may indoctrinate ALL of them to be WoWaholics, for all I know!!! LOL (joke)
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
The drop is false on your graph. Expresso is right.
Why? Because the graph represents subscription numbers and ... the subscription numbers were not affected by a 19 days unavailabilty of the China servers (June 2009) for political reasons (changing providors).
After those 19 days being off line (June 2009), the people could play again with their cards in July and so your supposed hiatus of 19 days had no influence whatsoever on the subscription definition Blizzard handles in the east: have an active paid account during ... the last month.
Blizzard's servers in US and EU are out regulary for 24 hours even. Cumulative that's also a drop of several days during a year. So why not include all down time then ?
Why not? Because the graph represents active subcriber numbers (wityh a 3 months scale). The subscriptions didn't go away automatically because ... the servers went down. Not in US/EU and not in China.
Also ... what is that 12 million doing in your graph at the end of 2009. Blizzard announced 11.5 m and 11.6 m in that period. Never 12 m.
It looks that you tried to "convince" the game was in a downward trend. Apparently you were proven wrong by an official statement.
Time to correct: You create a subscription graph, not an activity graph.
Peeps with multiple accounts. All those that joined under recruit a friend who many probably won't stay but hey that is an account even if it isn't active.
Not sure but guessing they include inactive accounts. Not sure how accounts that people have actually cancelled would fit in but guessing they are counted as they could reactivate at any time and still have the account. Don't remember right off how long before the toons would be wiped or if they would.
Gikku
Blizzard never announced 13 million players.
Blizzard has also detailed how they define a subscriber. They only count accounts that have paid for access to the game in a 30 day period. That is why they press releases say SUBSCRIBERS and not ACCOUNTS.
They specifically state they do not count trial accounts, inactive accounts, etc. Just accounts that have paid for access to the servers.
hi everyone, im as independent as 1 can be about this, i love blizz. works diablo, wow, what ever but i dont play them any more ( dont ask me why cause i dont know either ...) but look at this stuff from this point of view .................
......... wow grew 11.5 million active subs (,,,) in 4 years ( might be 4,5 years ^^) and then in the last year and a half ( +/- ) it grew 500k active subs `0.0´, in my opinion that doesnt show growth more like stagnant
but thats just my opinion / , hope wow keeps and improves ...
Lol please try reading the PR post, it states there active accounts that have been paid for in the last 30 days.
All the wow flaming is really funny to me, so you dont like the game? not that keen on it myself but i can see that its successful in its own right.
And if we are all honest then even the 500k new subs is pretty good for a 6 year old game to even keep at 11.5 mill over the last year or two then you have to admit their doing something right.
Just dont understand all this hate? is it becasue the cool kids are hating on wow? are you secretly pissed that wow has more subs than the game your currently playing, really what is it that makes you throth at the mouth lol?