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Champions Online: Numbers & Revenue Spike
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Cryptic Studios, Atari and the Champions Online dev team have announced a gigantic spike in both revenue and player participation in the game since the "Free For All" version was released at the end of January. Concurrent users, unique log ins and revenue have risen over 1000%. To celebrate, devs have a free gift for players that can be claimed at the C-Store.
As a special thank you to all current, new and returning players, we created a special, free XP boost available for pick-up inside the Champions Online game in the C-Store's Bonus tab. The boost increases the speed at which a player gains experience for completing missions and defeating enemies. Players just need a free account or a Gold Membership and they may then claim the free boost either inside the Champions Online game or even on the web C-Store
Read more here.
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Comments
Hopefully this means we won't have to wait long for Star Trek Online's switch to F2P.
Gratz to them, but personally i dont think it will last, peoples are just checking it out now, in a few months i predict the game would be back pretty much where it was before it went f2p.
I think this might be more telling of just how bad things had gotten for the game's income than anything else. CO is actually still a pretty solid game. It always was. It just wasn't finished or polished at launch. The 1000% increase is stunning. But what will need to happen now is a steady influx of worthwhile content that will make people want to pay (either sub or in the shop).
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QFT. If Cryptic sits on its laurels, this number will shrink to pre-F2P levels within 6-9 months. They need to churn out new content to make the game look vibrant and evolving and keep people interested. Their adventure packs have been great thus far. They just need to step up the frequency. One adventure pack every 6-8 weeks should do it.
Adventure packs actually dont excite me that much mostly because you do them once or twice and you're like "Ok, did that, what's next?"
Ive been playing CO since release and the things I most look forward to are the stuff that gets more use than a run or two. I actually look forward to power reviews/updates more than adventure packs since I usually make a new character to test out the changes and have a lot of fun.
I'm in love with my archer since the archery changes.
The plans for SG bases and the new heavy weapon powerset I'm most excited about.
I'm so happy CO got such a great response, I think the method they changed the game (archetypes) was really perfect and the numbers show that. Ive heard from tons of people in the game that they came to check out f2p and actually loved the game and now sub. They wouldnt have before because of the required box purchase or the free trial was too limiting. Now people can play the whole game for free, and if they find they understand the systems and really like it, they can sub or make some cstore purchases.
And about frequent updates, I think they are already proving thats what they are going to do. We've had maintenance every week since F2P and each one always brings necessary changes, bug fixes, an update, or a new cstore item.
So they're up to what...$150 a month in subscriptions? :-)
Just kidding. That's actually pretty cool. I've been trying to decide whether to load from my DvD's and patch the client or download the new client.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Download the new client! You'll be patching for a very long time if you go from the dvd. There are gigabytes of updates.
Saw that coming. It's not a bad game, it just started that way. Now that it's free, people can see that for themselves without committing to anything. It was the smartest thing they ever did. Now they just need to make STO f2p and they might actually grow into a semi-lucrative company.
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I never realized how good superhero goes with F2P. It's casual, fun and gratifying. Most F2Ps are none of those simply because uniqueness is something achieved in the lategame instead of at CC.
I was happy to find they went F2P, until I logged in and was forced to turn my favorite character into a gimped template that 90% of everyone else playing is also using. In my opinion, they've done it wrong.
It will blow over. The game is fun at first but once you realise there is no depth it quickly gets tiresome.
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Lovely... the system works, and people are paying in to their unlimited trial. Looks like Nexon got a new competitor in how hard you can screw your consumers, yet have then hand you oodles of money just to get screwed and treated like 3rd class garbage. Before anyone rages, I logged in, checked it out, got to level 20, got tired of being nerfed and not having freeform, the massive costs of their "archetypes", backpack slots, bank slots, etc, and just gave up.
If they give out a free token giving one freeform to all characters, look me up. That or they put it on sale for around $8 or $10. Maybe make a rewards program for buying cash shop money, like how with Turbine you go from "Free" to "Premium", getting free character slots, etc. Otherwise, I won't pay into being screwed by these lackluster crooks.
It's not a bad game but lacks any real fun end game,this mens those who don't plan to subscribe to get access to the games main feature character customization will tire with it very quickly and leave.Those woh do pay for the customization options will get longer use out of the game but unless your a total altaholic will tire of the game in a couple of months give or take.
But if your an altaholic and/or an RPer who cares less about gamepaly and more about your look and acting out your own stories this game is probably a good fit.
But unless they use thier new funds to make lot sof new content I beleive their paying customer numbers will start to drop drastically again in a few months.
Game goes Free to Play and revenue increases 1000%. This pretty much sums up the F2P model and why many people frown on them.
I miss the MMORPG genre. Will a developer ever make one again?
Explorer: 87%, Killer: 67%, Achiever: 27%, Socializer: 20%
if that happens id be happy to play it
People frown on the model because it allows you to buy yourself an edge against other people who are just playing the game. It goes completely against the spirit of gaming to open your wallet and buy "cheats".
Now that the devs make more money from it, I could care less.
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Well this is proof possative that the western free to play model is prefered over the the subscription model when it comes to nearly all mmos . I'm betting the minute the likes of vanguard , warhammer ,city of heros , age of conan ( the list goes on and on) change to free to play they will make a lot more money and I'm betting it wont be long before the majority of new games offer some version of it or the other . I know its not popular with many mmo players but there will proberbly still be some games out there for you to pay for . The rest of us will enjoy the casual play and if we like a game enough and get far enough into it we'll pay for vip access or micropayment for the content we want .
F2play/optional sub/optional micropayment is the future . Can't wait
Oh well user numbers are up? I mean, the game is free sure many check it out and then never ever play it again.
Hope this pay2win crap will be gone soon, hate it. Sorry but this news sounds more like a sponsored one.
We need a MMORPG Cataclysm asap, finish the dark age of MMORPGS now!
"Everything you're bitching about is wrong. People don't have the time to invest in corpse runs, impossible zones, or long winded quests. Sometimes, they just want to pop on and play."
"Then maybe MMORPGs aren't for you."
I'm sure there will be many new accounts opened, the creation process is fun, but 30 minutes into the world and the dreary gameplay starts to become obvious. The cash shop will benefit from the desperate need to make your unique creation feel unique but sadly this is a game based upon customisation but attached to a gameworld where customisation and individuality count for nothing. Even for free its difficult to imagine Champions has enough to keep players coming back.
On the contrary, this proves that if a game sucks ass, it is best to offer a free-to-play model. Btw, I haven't heard Turbine gloat much lately about DDO. DDO, for the first week is fun as hell, but it quickly gets boring and then you find yourself forcing yourself to log in. Same with these other crap games like Champions Online. The initial increase in revenues is from the excitement factor (and that is IF the numbers are not bloated or misrepresented by the marketing).
If your theory was correct, then WoW would have began hemorraging subscription numbers the moment free-to-play started catching fire.
The free-to-play model for games like Champions Online, LoTRO, etc will fade and the developers will have two choices: 1. Simply kill the game or run it at a measily low profit. 2. Design new models that gives huge advantages to players at big costs. People will pay hundreds a month for huge advantages. Look at certain browser games, if you do not believe me. For example, I was involved in the artwork for one particular browser-game that had a couple members that would spend as much as $400 - $500 a month to stay on top. There is no exaggeration in those numbers. This will contribute to increasingly lower population numbers. In turn, the developers will respond by adding new, higher priced worthlessness until the game no longer makes a profit because no one plays it.
splat
Agree, happend to me. I love customization, fast paced combat ... but game is without real essence. Mainly button masher .. does not matter a lot sequence of spells, no tacts involved, ... and same damn boring 3 member group of mobs. Or something like that. Only 3 completely different areas (city, Canada, burning sands) is depressing. Monster island is more like joke. Besides if one want to be fire specced runs out pretty fast of fire build powers ... and start using all the rest. Same for any other build. Travel powers are very fun, but mainly useless. Unless somebody is mazochist. As minimum super speed, acrobatics, ... should all have ability to run up structures.
So ... essentially after returned back after one year ... I have really enjoying for week or two ... even created new alts ... now sub still valid have not logged back for few days. And if I do is for 10 mins when i start wondering why I have logged in at all.
Same problem with DC Online. Have now concurrent sub. Fun ... but lacking "essence".
Guess I have grown spoiled by years mainly playing "game full of everything", that is wow, would not know.
Well, I'm altholic :-), have purchased many additional slots even before, now I think have aprox 16 alts all between 20 and 29 ... but not with single one I had interest to level it to top. Same boring to death areas, boring to death all equal mini instances and quests, ... If at least they would add different areas like wow or alike ... would fill different.
I loved AoC and some day will still return, War was fun some time, still love EQ2, .... but only wow keep my interest to level full set of classes to max level and playing on daily basis. Game is so full of everything, complete in any sense, ... that competition can be only filler up when need short break. Saddly, because I'm always in lf new game to be fun.
Btw ... all that alts were fun to some level, because I love to compare different builds, doing same quests with different set of powers, ... etc. Maybe, thinking now, main problem is I like alts so i get bored. In wow had no problem to level all to max because always fun, original, full of different areas, every class is really unique and add something .... Maybe next time with some other game will try to force myself to play only few alts but to max .. would not know.
I did say many mmos will adopt it not all . WoW does fine with the sub model as does EvE and a few others . I've not played champions enough to know if its good ,bad or mediocre but I,ve played lotro enough years to know its pretty good . DDO I found ok as a casual game if it did'nt suck as you put it but it was,nt worth the standard monthly fee to me . Its also pretty obvious you don't get the difference between the eastern and western f2play models while it would be possible to spend that sort of money in the DDO/Lotro model its highly doubtful anyone would but in the eastern model it is entirely possible . Like so many posts on this emotive subject it you seam to have a lack of understanding . Hope you remember this post of yours in 5 years when most mmos offer some version of free to play . Because at then end of the day you will be proven wrong .