Originally posted by Badaboom I see recall reading that ncsoft was expecting 3-4 million in the first year. Can't find the source, but did read the financial report.
I think the numbers are a bit low for NCSoft to be happy. Remember since there is no sub to the game there only other method for making more money is the buy to win cash shop. 1 million is dwarfed by Diablo 3, so while GW2 is doing good sales it isn't blowing away the competition by the looks of it.
You must not have played GW1. It is likely that GW2 will have a similar content delivery modle. Every 6-9 months a b2p content expansion will be released, that will expand the game greatly, and drive profit since the initial system is what represents the cost of most MMOs. And since ANET owns their servers, and was making money off of GW1 while developing GW2 without sinking much money into it (sparse content patches), the inital pre-sales probably have already netted a profit. Remember AoC initial sales = 2mil in profit, and they completely re-wrote the engine.
This is where the GW2 fanboi fantasies start to emerge in fact ArenaNet stated in public interviews that they didn't want to do standalone expansions for GW2. They have not announced any plans for them.
Likely for the next months ArenaNet will focus on bugs and gameplay/server issues. Their two main means of generating money box sales of GW2 and cash shop.
If ArenaNet had smashed sales records with 10 million you could fairly right that this is the greatest mmo game to ever hit, as it is though it looks likely to be smaller game than that with maybe a few hundred K of poeple logging in every night in a few months of time after all the hype dies down.
What they actually said was that they do not plan to make any STANDALONE expansion (i.e., expansions that can be played without the base game). They have certainly not ruled out traditional expansions which require the base game to play (like EQ, EQ2, WoW, etc.). See: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/15/guild-wars-2-to-avoid-retail-mmo-expansion-model/
This. There's no way GW2 will not get any xpacs. That will be one of the main sources of income.
They haven't, though, announced any to date or even that they might want to make any. What seems more likely is DLC-type content through the cash shop, I think. That is much less risk orientated and profit effective, which is likely the direction NCsoft wants...i.e. the strong cash shop driving profits beyond GW2 inital purchase. After all, you could pick up a DLC dungeon and some in-game enhancements at the same time by this model.
The game officially launched 1 day ago.... why would they be announcing new expansions already? Knowing Anet theyve got some general ideas planned, but are waiting to see more feedback regarding current content to really solidify what theyll do for the next release. They have a tendency to listen to player reactions and feedback much more closely than most companies out there.
This is where the fanobois let their fantasies run riot. ArenaNet were doing interviews pre-launch where they stated they didn't want to do stand alone expansions.
Day 1 is actually also when GW2 sales will peak. The hype and headstart prompts folks to reach out for their credit cards and make that purchase. After launch the hype deminishes and so does the sales.
Standalone expansions is what they had in GW1. As in you could buy any of the expansions and play it alone, with its own seperate content and leveling from the start without having to buy the original game. No Standalone expansion does not = no expansion.
BTW, this is where trolls let their hatred blind them to even understanding the meaning of their own words and give them a wonderful ability to misunderstand and misinterpret nearly anything said by anyone.
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Standalone expansions is what they had in GW1. As in you could buy any of the expansions and play it alone, with its own seperate content and leveling from the start without having to buy the original game. No Standalone expansion does not = no expansion.
BTW, this is where trolls let their hatred blind them to even understanding the meaning of their own words and give them a wonderful ability to misunderstand and misinterpret nearly anything said by anyone.
yup ! very well done without anything more needed
hope more to come !
http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fYEQRAoY6alUmaO3ey3E+5Ex2jdqTey9woKtpdFwKA;TwAg0CnowxgjAHbNOck4siYMyGiJGA