Originally posted by mangar Strike the match and let this baby flame!! EQ2 was from the start intended to be a game that will deliver a very slow crushing death to all of these other flash in the pan MMORPGs. Look at the recent developments with the release of Guild Wars. Who got hit harder WoW or EQ2? SoE released EQ2 as a functional shell, a smart bomb of sorts. You put a base of a game out there with four or five expansions developed between 60%-90% in your back room. Sit back and gage the reaction of the public. Begin to push one of the said expansions based on what seems to be the big thing all the kids are crying for. While expansion is developing pander as best as you can to your existing client base to keep them paying. Throw some enhancements out that you started to play with in beta. Test the waters with new marketing ideas. Release expansion that should win back a good portion of the clients you lost to shorter lived games because you have something NEW and they are getting bored with what is available. Here are a few contributing facts: EQ2 started as a core group game. Lost a lot of clients to solo friendly games so it became more solo friendly to retain the few that remained (demonstrating great flexibility in design dont you think??). Now low and behold EQ2 will have a fresh new PvP and solo system in place when none other than the big dog itself D&D is released. Banking on WoW and GW getting stale after five more months for the people out there that are fringe RPG/ACTION gamers is a wise bet because EQ2 will lose the old school geeks like myself for a while to D&D when it is hit and they need to fill that client void. Dont believe me? Turn up your graphics setting to the max on a box that is at todays top of the line specs notice ant performance delay? Get the feeling that SoE kicked this premature game out the door with the intentions of it being a long slow work in progress? EQ2 is built to be a universe the thing is so big that it will eventually have room for almost all style of gamer. So flame on people! SoE has plans that might just might land you sitting down in front of your PC humming that all so catch theme song
Pretty hard to argue with any of that man.... one of the better posts Ive read in a while.... and Id say on balance your probably right.
+-+-+-+-+-+ "MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol" http://purepwnage.com -+-+-+-+-+-+ "Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
Originally posted by Razorback Originally posted by mangar Strike the match and let this baby flame!! EQ2 was from the start intended to be a game that will deliver a very slow crushing death to all of these other flash in the pan MMORPGs. Look at the recent developments with the release of Guild Wars. Who got hit harder WoW or EQ2? SoE released EQ2 as a functional shell, a smart bomb of sorts. You put a base of a game out there with four or five expansions developed between 60%-90% in your back room. Sit back and gage the reaction of the public. Begin to push one of the said expansions based on what seems to be the big thing all the kids are crying for. While expansion is developing pander as best as you can to your existing client base to keep them paying. Throw some enhancements out that you started to play with in beta. Test the waters with new marketing ideas. Release expansion that should win back a good portion of the clients you lost to shorter lived games because you have something NEW and they are getting bored with what is available. Here are a few contributing facts: EQ2 started as a core group game. Lost a lot of clients to solo friendly games so it became more solo friendly to retain the few that remained (demonstrating great flexibility in design dont you think??). Now low and behold EQ2 will have a fresh new PvP and solo system in place when none other than the big dog itself D&D is released. Banking on WoW and GW getting stale after five more months for the people out there that are fringe RPG/ACTION gamers is a wise bet because EQ2 will lose the old school geeks like myself for a while to D&D when it is hit and they need to fill that client void. Dont believe me? Turn up your graphics setting to the max on a box that is at todays top of the line specs notice ant performance delay? Get the feeling that SoE kicked this premature game out the door with the intentions of it being a long slow work in progress? EQ2 is built to be a universe the thing is so big that it will eventually have room for almost all style of gamer. So flame on people! SoE has plans that might just might land you sitting down in front of your PC humming that all so catch theme song
Pretty hard to argue with any of that man.... one of the better posts Ive read in a while.... and Id say on balance your probably right.
I'd have to agree that probably is their plan.. but I have a feeling that they expected to get a bigger initial playerbase with the launch... just because it has the EQ name.
There are many people out there that will highly, highly, highly enjoy SOE's downfall, if it comes, in the MMOG arena, at least. I don't know if they make money anywhere other than MMOGs. But in any case, there's one thing that they're the very best at, and that is generating hate, which is aimed at themselves, from their players.
They make bad decisions, they completely misunderstand what makes games worth playing, and they treat their players like dog crap. Bunch of worthless douches. When they go down, if they do, it'll be "Burn baby burn", all the way.
And on another note, I have never, in 22 years of computer gaming, seen a company that has had so many players so vilely hate it before. And they earned every ounce of it.
Originally posted by Thinman And on another note, I have never, in 22 years of computer gaming, seen a company that has had so many players so vilely hate it before. And they earned every ounce of it.
Microsoft
This place is full of tree-huggers and tofu fartn' faeries...
It's also important to note that SOE is strongly suspected to be fudging the population numbers on all of thier games. They claimed for some time that SWG still had the pop numbers that it had at peak, even months after the game had been hemmoraging players around the time after the initial launch.
Anybody who believes that EQ still has the numbers that it had at its peak needs to get their head out of the sand.
This is one of the oldest, and most desperate arguements SOE wanna-be bashers fall back on. That SOE is just plainly, and blatantly lying about all the numbers of accounts for their games. This has been shot down again and again:
1. If you suspect SOE is lying about all their accounts, then why not all other games too? DAoC, EvE, WoW, and all future games? See, this lame arguement can be used against itself.
2. SOE is not the only one publishing their numbers. Out of all the gaming companies, SOE has the least chance to lie. Their numbers have been backed by major gaming sites, major news media. And... one of the most anal retentave companies in existance - LucasArts. If SOE is lying, then so is LucasArts, as well as all other major media.
- No one at SOE has claimed that EQ still has over 440k accounts. You are mixing your info up with what some of the posters at this site have been posting. I could post WoW has 80 million accounts. Someone else could post WoW has 1.2 million accounts. Who is right? YOU would have to stop being lazy, and make the effort to go to WoW's main site and see what WoW has to say. As for SWG, they have never ever never claimed the same peak numbers months after reaching it. If you would take the time to re-read so that you would not miss things.... you would notice that SWG has always posted the DATE that it's most recent account information has been gathered. The date that both SOE and LucasArts posted on each of their individuale sites, show that the peak numbers for SWG was back in November (for 330k accounts.) And every time SOE and/or LucasArts post new info about SWG's accounts, they always post the date.
Anybody who still puts even the smallest amount of trust in this company is fooling themselves, and needs to wake up.. either that, or I know of some land in west texas that I'll sell you cheap, only $20k an acre.
I can help you find the phone number for RIFF. In case you do not know what it is, it is a super-famous infomercial about a program to become a better reader. BTW I will take that land in Texas for 20k and acre. Seen me a personal message where it is located, and when I can meet you to buy it.
SOE has it's population numbers looked at by major game sites, as well as major news media, as well as major buisness magazines (like Buisness 2.0 Magazine ). And in addition, SOE has to answer on its knees to the mighty LucasArts. No other mmropg game company has to get on its knees to answer to such a major perfectionist company such as LucasArts.
This is one of the oldest, and most desperate arguements SOE wanna-be bashers fall back on. That SOE is just plainly, and blatantly lying about all the numbers of accounts for their games. This has been shot down again and again:
For you to call this argument desperate shows just how desperate you are.
1. If you suspect SOE is lying about all their accounts, then why not all other games too? DAoC, EvE, WoW, and all future games? See, this lame arguement can be used against itself.
What does this have to do with anything? Did you actually expect to make a point with this statement? To say that other companies may do it nullifies the argument? Tell me how this nullifies my argument.
2. SOE is not the only one publishing their numbers. Out of all the gaming companies, SOE has the least chance to lie. Their numbers have been backed by major gaming sites, major news media. And... one of the most anal retentave companies in existance - LucasArts. If SOE is lying, then so is LucasArts, as well as all other major media.
Scenario: SOE/Lucasarts reports whatever numbers they report. News media takes their word for it and reports the same. This is what's happening.
Gee, a news agency delving into how many numbers SOE has in their games. Now that's hard hitting media.
- No one at SOE has claimed that EQ still has over 440k accounts. You are mixing your info up with what some of the posters at this site have been posting. I could post WoW has 80 million accounts. Someone else could post WoW has 1.2 million accounts. Who is right? YOU would have to stop being lazy, and make the effort to go to WoW's main site and see what WoW has to say. As for SWG, they have never ever never claimed the same peak numbers months after reaching it. If you would take the time to re-read so that you would not miss things.... you would notice that SWG has always posted the DATE that it's most recent account information has been gathered. The date that both SOE and LucasArts posted on each of their individuale sites, show that the peak numbers for SWG was back in November (for 330k accounts.) And every time SOE and/or LucasArts post new info about SWG's accounts, they always post the date.
Actually, I remember a time, about 4 months after SWG release, when they claimed I think it was either 275k or 375k account registered, even after they'd been hemmoraging accounts, and they said like 250k or 350k about a month before.
Call me lazy all you want, but I have something called a memory, which I am capable of using.
Oh, and that's a good idea, when I'm calling a company's honesty into question, to go to THEIR site and see what they say about things. Real smart.
Anybody who still puts even the smallest amount of trust in this company is fooling themselves, and needs to wake up.. either that, or I know of some land in west texas that I'll sell you cheap, only $20k an acre.
I can help you find the phone number for RIFF. In case you do not know what it is, it is a super-famous infomercial about a program to become a better reader.
I have no idea where this insult came from, but it's entirely off-base and foolish. Good for you, you can insult people, based on nothing. You must feel proud.
BTW I will take that land in Texas for 20k and acre. Seen me a personal message where it is located, and when I can meet you to buy it.
That was a joke, but let me fill you in: There is land in west texas that can't sustain ANYTHING. It isn't worth 1k an acre. But you can go ahead and build a shack and go live out on land that can't even sustain grass, and where there is no water for miles around.. I'm sure it will do you some good.
SOE has it's population numbers looked at by major game sites, as well as major news media, as well as major buisness magazines (like Buisness 2.0 Magazine ). And in addition, SOE has to answer on its knees to the mighty LucasArts. No other mmropg game company has to get on its knees to answer to such a major perfectionist company such as LucasArts.[/b][/quote]
Show me a recent study by an impartial site or company in which the express purpose was to find the true population numbers of their games, without any weight being put in what SOE says their numbers are. Just show me a link. It's my turn to say you're lazy if you don't. That's all I ask.
Not a site or article which asked SOE what their numbers were, nothing that gets thier info from SOE in any way.
And I'm not going to get into a big debate in which people just fling words at each other with closed minds, and don't try to come to any type of conclusion. I don't find that kind of thing stimulating, or fun. It just makes me unhappy.
If it comes to that, I'm out. If we can keep this civil and try to come to the actual answer, I'm all for it.
If not, I've got my opinion, you've got yours, and debating will get us nowhere.
soe acts like a typical monolpoly in a market, they have finally realised, with the release of WoW, that other gamers are better, cheaper than those produced by them.
Originally posted by Thinman And on another note, I have never, in 22 years of computer gaming, seen a company that has had so many players so vilely hate it before. And they earned every ounce of it.
So SOE deserves every ounce of hate eh? The company that pretty much elevated the gerne, made it worth while. Yet everyone hates um. SOE> other mmorpgs devlopers. Although Blizzard is good.
For you to call this argument desperate shows just how desperate you are.
Your arguement is desperate because you are not the first one to say the exact same thing about SOE. Simply review the SWG section at this site. From page 2-20 tons of SWG bashers and SOE bashers said the exact same thing you are claiming right now - that SONY is lying about the number of EQ, PS, EQ2, and SWG players.
What does this have to do with anything? Did you actually expect to make a point with this statement? To say that other companies may do it nullifies the argument? Tell me how this nullifies my argument.
You come on here claiming SOE is blatantly lying about the number of players they have. What is your proof? Any links? Names of magazine articles? Newspaper articles? Anything? Just your personal opinion is your "proof" and "fact" you are using to back up your information aka missinformation that you are attempting to spread on purpose.
According to you, because YOU say SOE is lying, then it is true! If this is the case, then I, and anyone else here can say Blizzard is lying about the number of WoW players (WoW really has 300 players playing! ), or the number of players in any other MMORPG.... because we say so.
Scenario: SOE/Lucasarts reports whatever numbers they report. News media takes their word for it and reports the same. This is what's happening.
Gee, a news agency delving into how many numbers SOE has in their games. Now that's hard hitting media.
The news media, magazines, newspapers, all have a guy or lady called the editor. It is the editor's job to double check the sources of the news story. Now you are saying the news media are all lying along with SOE LOL!
I will tell you what - you go ahead and believe SOE is lying, and thus failing. Come back 1 year from now and explain why all of SOE's games are still up and running. Come back 2 years from now and explain why all of SOE's games are still up and running. Actually, I remember a time, about 4 months after SWG release, when they claimed I think it was either 275k or 375k account registered, even after they'd been hemmoraging accounts, and they said like 250k or 350k about a month before.
4 Months after SWG's release is roughly around the time that SWG reached 330k accounts. The FACT that SWG kept opening more and more brand new servers is proof enough to destroy your "memory" and your proof. If SWG was "hemmoraging accounts" left and right, then why the heck was SWG almost doubling the number of its servers? 1 year after release SWG was still opening brand new servers.
Call me lazy all you want, but I have something called a memory, which I am capable of using.
Thank you sooo much for proving my point. Even if you do not get it, all the other posters here, and lurkers here definatly do.
Oh, and that's a good idea, when I'm calling a company's honesty into question, to go to THEIR site and see what they say about things. Real smart.
Corret. Go to a company's site and see what they actually say. Instead of going by what you think you heard, or what you think you remember. A company's site is an irrefutable "paper trail" of proof. Like I said, no where has SONY ever claimed EQ currently has 500k accounts.
I have no idea where this insult came from, but it's entirely off-base and foolish. Good for you, you can insult people, based on nothing. You must feel proud.
I appologize for the insult. Now will you please go and read up on information about SONY? Will you please list all your sources for your claims?
Show me a recent study by an impartial site or company in which the express purpose was to find the true population numbers of their games, without any weight being put in what SOE says their numbers are. Just show me a link. It's my turn to say you're lazy if you don't. That's all I ask.
Not a site or article which asked SOE what their numbers were, nothing that gets thier info from SOE in any way.
Do that, and you win, hands down. We're waiting.
1. LucasArts is an impartial company. See, if SOE lies to LucasArts, then LucasArts will be expecting more $$$$$$$$$. When SOE is unable to deliver the increased $$$$$$$ then SOE gets caught in their lie to LucasArts. This is of course IF SOE were lying to LucasArts.
2. Buisness 2.0 Magazine is an impartial news group. They investigate every major fortune 500 company.
3. Computer Gaming Magazine is an impartial company. IF you think they are lying then by default you think Blizzard is lying, DAoC is lying, and all other MMORPG companies are lying! Because CGM in the same issue they analyzed SWG, they also analyzed all other MMORPGs in existance. Interviewed the game DEVs from all other major MMROPGs... including Blizzard, and many more.
4. Wired Magazine. They did a big interview and story on SWG and WoW, along with Lineage 2.
5. And of course everyone's favorite impartial guy SirBruce! I would give you a link to his site, charts, and studies, showing all the number of players for all MMORPGs. But... anyone who is a serious MMORPGer should already know about him, his site, and have his links.
So SOE has no games on the top seven ranked listed here? What the hell is your point and why should I care? Guildwars is ranked at the top of the list, and that just screams out to me that the ranking system here is not to be trusted on what is good and what isn't, it just lets me know what the masses like right now (which a lot of the time do not coincide).
It would be nice if people would stop being such tools and draw their own conclusions instead.
I find it stunning that anyone considers the 'ratings' on this site worth bothering with. It's eminently provable that over half of the reviews for any given game on this site are from people who have never played the game and are trying to artificially pump THEIR game of choice to the top of the list.
It is also a fact that a good portion of the reviews for any given game are from people who got mad about a change (or lack thereof) that they wanted to be made and gave the game an unfair negative rating because they're ticked at the devs.
Fact: Every single one of SOE's games have over 200,000 subs except PlanetSide which is a very niche market game.
Fact: Any MMO that has over 50,000 subs is considered very successful.
Someone here made the inane comment that EQ2 only has 250k subs compared to EQ's 400k
In it's first YEAR EQ only had around 100-150k subscribers. I don't remember the exact number. It took a couple years for it to reach it's peak of 500k or so. Also: EQ, EQ2, SWG and PlanetSide only have US serves. The Asia market is completely untapped on those games, unlike WOW, Lineage and Lineage II (a mistake by SOE, imo).
Another FACT: 3 of the Top 10 MMORPG's by population are: SWG, EQ, & EQ2
This, despite the fact that none of these titles have an Asia presence, which would increase their numbers drastically.
NOTE: I'm not what you'd call an SOE "Fan". I think the company has tons of issues and needs to work on improving it's products. I quit EQ over a year ago and don't really like EQ2 much either. But to claim a company that's doing as well as they are "sucks" at making MMO's is just foolish. They have 3 of the top 10 MMO's on the market (By market share).
By GENRE they are doing even better:
They have the #1 and #3 Sci-Fi MMORPG's on the market. (Yes, SWG blows away EVE's subscriber base) They have the #5 and #7 Fantasy MMORPG's on the market.
Lastly: Someone here is trying to say that MMO's are "becoming a niche market"???? How on earth can you even try to claim this? In the past 8 years that they've been a mainstream market their share of the gaming industry has grown by over 400%. Currently 4.2 million people play one MMO or another. That's not a "Niche" market even by the strictest of standards...
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online. Sig image Pending Still in: A couple Betas
Comments
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"MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol"
http://purepwnage.com
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"Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
I'd have to agree that probably is their plan.. but I have a feeling that they expected to get a bigger initial playerbase with the launch... just because it has the EQ name.
There are many people out there that will highly, highly, highly enjoy SOE's downfall, if it comes, in the MMOG arena, at least. I don't know if they make money anywhere other than MMOGs. But in any case, there's one thing that they're the very best at, and that is generating hate, which is aimed at themselves, from their players.
They make bad decisions, they completely misunderstand what makes games worth playing, and they treat their players like dog crap. Bunch of worthless douches. When they go down, if they do, it'll be "Burn baby burn", all the way.
_______________________________________________________________________
Looking forward (cautiously) to: Age of Conan, Dark Solstice, Armada Online.
Will soon try: Guild Wars
Overall: Amazed and bewhildered at the current sad state of the artform of gaming.
And on another note, I have never, in 22 years of computer gaming, seen a company that has had so many players so vilely hate it before. And they earned every ounce of it.
_______________________________________________________________________
Looking forward (cautiously) to: Age of Conan, Dark Solstice, Armada Online.
Will soon try: Guild Wars
Overall: Amazed and bewhildered at the current sad state of the artform of gaming.
This place is full of tree-huggers and tofu fartn' faeries...
I can help you find the phone number for RIFF. In case you do not know what it is, it is a super-famous infomercial about a program to become a better reader.
SOE has it's population numbers looked at by major game sites, as well as major news media, as well as major buisness magazines (like Buisness 2.0 Magazine ). And in addition, SOE has to answer on its knees to the mighty LucasArts. No other mmropg game company has to get on its knees to answer to such a major perfectionist company such as LucasArts.
[quote]Originally posted by xplororor
This is one of the oldest, and most desperate arguements SOE wanna-be bashers fall back on. That SOE is just plainly, and blatantly lying about all the numbers of accounts for their games. This has been shot down again and again:
For you to call this argument desperate shows just how desperate you are.
1. If you suspect SOE is lying about all their accounts, then why not all other games too? DAoC, EvE, WoW, and all future games? See, this lame arguement can be used against itself.
What does this have to do with anything? Did you actually expect to make a point with this statement? To say that other companies may do it nullifies the argument? Tell me how this nullifies my argument.
2. SOE is not the only one publishing their numbers. Out of all the gaming companies, SOE has the least chance to lie. Their numbers have been backed by major gaming sites, major news media. And... one of the most anal retentave companies in existance - LucasArts. If SOE is lying, then so is LucasArts, as well as all other major media.
Scenario: SOE/Lucasarts reports whatever numbers they report. News media takes their word for it and reports the same. This is what's happening.
Gee, a news agency delving into how many numbers SOE has in their games. Now that's hard hitting media.
- No one at SOE has claimed that EQ still has over 440k accounts. You are mixing your info up with what some of the posters at this site have been posting. I could post WoW has 80 million accounts. Someone else could post WoW has 1.2 million accounts. Who is right? YOU would have to stop being lazy, and make the effort to go to WoW's main site and see what WoW has to say. As for SWG, they have never ever never claimed the same peak numbers months after reaching it. If you would take the time to re-read so that you would not miss things.... you would notice that SWG has always posted the DATE that it's most recent account information has been gathered. The date that both SOE and LucasArts posted on each of their individuale sites, show that the peak numbers for SWG was back in November (for 330k accounts.) And every time SOE and/or LucasArts post new info about SWG's accounts, they always post the date.
Actually, I remember a time, about 4 months after SWG release, when they claimed I think it was either 275k or 375k account registered, even after they'd been hemmoraging accounts, and they said like 250k or 350k about a month before.
Call me lazy all you want, but I have something called a memory, which I am capable of using.
Oh, and that's a good idea, when I'm calling a company's honesty into question, to go to THEIR site and see what they say about things. Real smart.
Anybody who still puts even the smallest amount of trust in this company is fooling themselves, and needs to wake up.. either that, or I know of some land in west texas that I'll sell you cheap, only $20k an acre.
I can help you find the phone number for RIFF. In case you do not know what it is, it is a super-famous infomercial about a program to become a better reader.
I have no idea where this insult came from, but it's entirely off-base and foolish. Good for you, you can insult people, based on nothing. You must feel proud.
BTW I will take that land in Texas for 20k and acre. Seen me a personal message where it is located, and when I can meet you to buy it.
That was a joke, but let me fill you in: There is land in west texas that can't sustain ANYTHING. It isn't worth 1k an acre. But you can go ahead and build a shack and go live out on land that can't even sustain grass, and where there is no water for miles around.. I'm sure it will do you some good.
SOE has it's population numbers looked at by major game sites, as well as major news media, as well as major buisness magazines (like Buisness 2.0 Magazine ). And in addition, SOE has to answer on its knees to the mighty LucasArts. No other mmropg game company has to get on its knees to answer to such a major perfectionist company such as LucasArts.[/b][/quote]
Show me a recent study by an impartial site or company in which the express purpose was to find the true population numbers of their games, without any weight being put in what SOE says their numbers are. Just show me a link. It's my turn to say you're lazy if you don't. That's all I ask.
Not a site or article which asked SOE what their numbers were, nothing that gets thier info from SOE in any way.
Do that, and you win, hands down. We're waiting.
_______________________________________________________________________
Looking forward (cautiously) to: Age of Conan, Dark Solstice, Armada Online.
Will soon try: Guild Wars
Overall: Amazed and bewhildered at the current sad state of the artform of gaming.
And I'm not going to get into a big debate in which people just fling words at each other with closed minds, and don't try to come to any type of conclusion. I don't find that kind of thing stimulating, or fun. It just makes me unhappy.
If it comes to that, I'm out. If we can keep this civil and try to come to the actual answer, I'm all for it.
If not, I've got my opinion, you've got yours, and debating will get us nowhere.
_______________________________________________________________________
Looking forward (cautiously) to: Age of Conan, Dark Solstice, Armada Online.
Will soon try: Guild Wars
Overall: Amazed and bewhildered at the current sad state of the artform of gaming.
soe acts like a typical monolpoly in a market, they have finally realised, with the release of WoW, that other gamers are better, cheaper than those produced by them.
SOE game = Crap
Not Crap if they lower prices...
1. LucasArts is an impartial company. See, if SOE lies to LucasArts, then LucasArts will be expecting more $$$$$$$$$. When SOE is unable to deliver the increased $$$$$$$ then SOE gets caught in their lie to LucasArts. This is of course IF SOE were lying to LucasArts.
2. Buisness 2.0 Magazine is an impartial news group. They investigate every major fortune 500 company.
3. Computer Gaming Magazine is an impartial company. IF you think they are lying then by default you think Blizzard is lying, DAoC is lying, and all other MMORPG companies are lying! Because CGM in the same issue they analyzed SWG, they also analyzed all other MMORPGs in existance. Interviewed the game DEVs from all other major MMROPGs... including Blizzard, and many more.
4. Wired Magazine. They did a big interview and story on SWG and WoW, along with Lineage 2.
5. And of course everyone's favorite impartial guy Sir Bruce! I would give you a link to his site, charts, and studies, showing all the number of players for all MMORPGs. But... anyone who is a serious MMORPGer should already know about him, his site, and have his links.
So SOE has no games on the top seven ranked listed here? What the hell is your point and why should I care? Guildwars is ranked at the top of the list, and that just screams out to me that the ranking system here is not to be trusted on what is good and what isn't, it just lets me know what the masses like right now (which a lot of the time do not coincide).
It would be nice if people would stop being such tools and draw their own conclusions instead.
I find it stunning that anyone considers the 'ratings' on this site worth bothering with. It's eminently provable that over half of the reviews for any given game on this site are from people who have never played the game and are trying to artificially pump THEIR game of choice to the top of the list.
It is also a fact that a good portion of the reviews for any given game are from people who got mad about a change (or lack thereof) that they wanted to be made and gave the game an unfair negative rating because they're ticked at the devs.
Fact: Every single one of SOE's games have over 200,000 subs except PlanetSide which is a very niche market game.
Fact: Any MMO that has over 50,000 subs is considered very successful.
Someone here made the inane comment that EQ2 only has 250k subs compared to EQ's 400k
In it's first YEAR EQ only had around 100-150k subscribers. I don't remember the exact number. It took a couple years for it to reach it's peak of 500k or so. Also: EQ, EQ2, SWG and PlanetSide only have US serves. The Asia market is completely untapped on those games, unlike WOW, Lineage and Lineage II (a mistake by SOE, imo).
Another FACT:
3 of the Top 10 MMORPG's by population are:
SWG, EQ, & EQ2
This, despite the fact that none of these titles have an Asia presence, which would increase their numbers drastically.
By GENRE they are doing even better:
Lastly: Someone here is trying to say that MMO's are "becoming a niche market"???? How on earth can you even try to claim this? In the past 8 years that they've been a mainstream market their share of the gaming industry has grown by over 400%. Currently 4.2 million people play one MMO or another. That's not a "Niche" market even by the strictest of standards...
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas