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How big is WOW these days really?

cybertruckercybertrucker Member UncommonPosts: 1,117

Not counting all the gold seller accounts or the old Asian accounts that are in all honesty not played but still counted, but only counting real players that actually truly are still playing the game. How big of a population do you think is really I WOW these days?

i mean are they starting to merge servers. I went to a friends a few weeks ago, he still plays and the undead city seemed empty while he was running around in it. He says he mainly plays dungeons off queues with people who aren't even on his server or with guildies if any are on. 

So really how big is the real player population these days.

Comments

  • ArclanArclan Member UncommonPosts: 1,550

    No numbers here, but I will say that WoW has been sustained primarily by viral growth. Brilliant marketing pitch. Very strong out of the gate; give the game away for free to millions. Advertise everywhere and constantly. Reap the rewards. Congrats to Blizzard.

    Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon.
    In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit

  • BeansnBreadBeansnBread Member EpicPosts: 7,254
    Still really fucking big.
  • Squeak69Squeak69 Member UncommonPosts: 959
    more then half the servers are full on regular, and they got what? a hundred two hundred, im not really sure to be honest.

    F2P may be the way of the future, but ya know they dont make them like they used toimage
    Proper Grammer & spelling are extra, corrections will be LOL at.

  • TheHavokTheHavok Member UncommonPosts: 2,423

    I stopped playing MOP a few months ago but I had characters on various servers, from low, medium, high, and full.

    The low servers feel like ghost towns but they actually have a good amount of people on them that still log in, its just everybody is off doing their own thing so the main cities feel empty.  If you join a low server, you will still find people to group up with and raid.  Finding dedicated PvPers, not so much.

    Medium servers, you get a little bit of everything.  Same with high.  There are always people on and the cities always have people around.

    The ultra high servers that also go 'Full' during primetime are jam-packed.  These are the Tichondrius and Mal'ganis type servers. 

    A lot of people are still playing - but I don't have exact numbers.

  • AerowynAerowyn Member Posts: 7,928
    my supercomputer calculated everything based on years, recent trends, sales of expansion, xfire, and all the latest data.. answer is 42

    I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg

  • SerenesSerenes Member UncommonPosts: 351
    Originally posted by Robokapp
    Originally posted by cybertrucker

     

    i mean are they starting to merge servers. 

    are you asking us? they are not.

    are you telling us? because they are not.

     

    how big? maybe 9-10 million.

     

    no wait. this is mmorpg. my guess would be 50 players. maybe 75 with promotions. 

    I was thinking this same thing. I love how people love to spread misinformation.

    Also I know this has been said a million times but Blizzard defines "Subscriber" to investors.

     

    "World of Warcraft’s Subscriber Definition
    World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules."

     

    So I would say whatever Blizzard says it is, is pretty accuracte to how many people play, this does include gold sellers but I doubt that is a large % of players.

  • strangiato2112strangiato2112 Member CommonPosts: 1,538

    soemwhere between 3-4million western subs, down from 5ish million at peak seems likely.

    MoP was a quality expansion overall, but its the content pace that has been impressive.  I expect the next expansion early 2014, with an outside chance of late 2013.  Which will really turn some heads I think.

     

    Blizzard can do two things to get the game back to 5 million:

    1.  reintroduce some kind of talent system with interesting choice

    2.  another burning legion expansion

  • korent1991korent1991 Member UncommonPosts: 1,364

    well, certanly not as big as it was on its highest glory days but it's still huge...

    I'd say they're quite lower than 10 mill now, maybe closer to 8 mill than 9 mill but it's still a huge number!

     

    "Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life."
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  • cybertruckercybertrucker Member UncommonPosts: 1,117
    How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?
  • AxehiltAxehilt Member RarePosts: 10,504
    Originally posted by Arclan

    No numbers here, but I will say that WoW has been sustained primarily by viral growth. Brilliant marketing pitch. Very strong out of the gate; give the game away for free to millions. Advertise everywhere and constantly. Reap the rewards. Congrats to Blizzard.

    So all I need (primarily) to create a sustainable 12 million player subscriber base for a decade is advertising?

    That's a rather, er...unique theory.

    "What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver

  • VengeSunsoarVengeSunsoar Member EpicPosts: 6,601

    No information is available about the gold sellers, however the asian market is completely legitimate.

    Approximately 9-10 million people have paid something in the last 30 days. 

    Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
  • niceguy3978niceguy3978 Member UncommonPosts: 2,047
    Originally posted by cybertrucker

    Not counting all the gold seller accounts or the old Asian accounts that are in all honesty not played but still counted, but only counting real players that actually truly are still playing the game. How big of a population do you think is really I WOW these days?

    i mean are they starting to merge servers. I went to a friends a few weeks ago, he still plays and the undead city seemed empty while he was running around in it. He says he mainly plays dungeons off queues with people who aren't even on his server or with guildies if any are on. 

    So really how big is the real player population these days.

    Asian Accoounts are only counted if someone has logged in within the last 30 days.  As far as I know they haven't destinguished between Eastern and Western subs in a few years, so there's no way to know.  Really the only thing we can go by are the quarterly reports when we can see how much wow has earned that quarter.  Of course there are other variables going into those reports such as mount sales, transfers, etc.  And even then they don't break down between regions as far as their income or sub numbers.  As far as server mergers, none that I have read about.

  • VengeSunsoarVengeSunsoar Member EpicPosts: 6,601
    Originally posted by Robokapp
    Originally posted by VengeSunsoar

    No information is available about the gold sellers, however the asian market is completely legitimate.

    Approximately 9-10 million people have paid something in the last 30 days. 

    gold sellers also pay their subscription so does it matter ?

     

    do we also cut out twinks and gear collectors ? why not. 

    I didn't cut out the gold seller, I said no information is available on them.

    I can't comment on how many there are. 

    I can't comment on something there is no credible information on. 

    Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
  • pmilespmiles Member Posts: 383

    Lets for arguments sake say they still have 9 million active subscriptions.

     

    You log into the game, create a new character.  You will likely be all alone unless they are instancing the servers together to make it appear as though you are not the only one on your server leveling a Orc.

     

    Once you hit max level, if you venture too far away from the AH or leave the current expansion zones (Pandaria), it will become as desolate as when you created that level 1 Orc... only the difference being that they will not likely instance you together with another server.  If you are the only level 90 sitting in Teldrasil on your server, you're not going to be accompanied by other level 90s from other servers... no need to sell the idea of a server being populated to a level 90... they already know where all the population is and rarely venture away from it.

     

    Since everything is instanced with queues... it doesn't matter if only 2 people reside on your server or not... they will pull the populations from entire battlegroups into one when you queue up for dungeons, battlegrounds, arenas, and the like.  Instantly you end up with imaginary friends from servers afar.  So long as you never leave them, the game is busy and bustling.  Sort of like heading to the city versus the country.  Cram a lot of people in a small space and it appears huge... much harder to do that in a larger space.

     

    It's all perception.  If the instance servers were to ever go down... mind you this has nothing to do with your ability to roam about the world and do dailies, kill things, do quests, craft, what have you... your once bustling city will become what it truly is... if only 2 of you are online, there's only 2 of you.

  • VengeSunsoarVengeSunsoar Member EpicPosts: 6,601
    Actually there are tons of people in low areas.  Last month I made 2 new night elves.  There were dozens of people levelling there and then later in dark shore.
    Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
  • AxehiltAxehilt Member RarePosts: 10,504
    Originally posted by pmiles

    Lets for arguments sake say they still have 9 million active subscriptions.

     You log into the game, create a new character.  You will likely be all alone unless they are instancing the servers together to make it appear as though you are not the only one on your server leveling a Orc. 

    Once you hit max level, if you venture too far away from the AH or leave the current expansion zones (Pandaria), it will become as desolate as when you created that level 1 Orc... only the difference being that they will not likely instance you together with another server.  If you are the only level 90 sitting in Teldrasil on your server, you're not going to be accompanied by other level 90s from other servers... no need to sell the idea of a server being populated to a level 90... they already know where all the population is and rarely venture away from it. 

    Since everything is instanced with queues... it doesn't matter if only 2 people reside on your server or not... they will pull the populations from entire battlegroups into one when you queue up for dungeons, battlegrounds, arenas, and the like.  Instantly you end up with imaginary friends from servers afar.  So long as you never leave them, the game is busy and bustling.  Sort of like heading to the city versus the country.  Cram a lot of people in a small space and it appears huge... much harder to do that in a larger space. 

    It's all perception.  If the instance servers were to ever go down... mind you this has nothing to do with your ability to roam about the world and do dailies, kill things, do quests, craft, what have you... your once bustling city will become what it truly is... if only 2 of you are online, there's only 2 of you.

    Don't make a bunch of bad guesses as to how the game plays if you haven't played recently (and you haven't, based on your descriptions.)

    This is more what it's like:

    1. Leveling areas are sparse, with 2-3 other players spotted every 10 minutes.
    2. At level 10 (?) you can join a guild and always have players to socialize with, as well as capitalizing on some useful buffs like an increase to all XP earned.
    3. At level 15+ grouping can be done either continuously (tank/healer) or every 20-40 minutes (DPS)
    4. At level 85, Pandaria leveling is about twice as dense as early areas (maybe 4-6 players spotted every 10 mins)
    5. At level 90, daily quests are literally full of players.  You will see 20+ players easily.
    6. Main city hubs are always full of players with 20+ players chatting away or posing in lines with dragon mounts.
    So basically after you hit the grouping game you can be surrounded by other players almost constantly, or solo, whichever you prefer.  With 9 million players feeling lonely isn't a problem unless you really want to be alone (in which case you can be.)

    "What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver

  • SerenesSerenes Member UncommonPosts: 351
  • equinoxsolarequinoxsolar Member Posts: 18

    Hi op,

    I've just came back from a long break of 4 years

    To answer your questions

     

    Yes there are lors of people playing still. From what I can see the population is still far larger than other mmo's.

    Everyday on my server Stormwind has at least 100 people at peak times ....most of the people are in pandaria so you'll meet loads out there too.

     

    Even at 1am-4am there is still at least 20 there.

     

    ironforge has a few players there too. From the few scouts ive done thunder bluff seems to be the new capital of the horde. orgimmar has far less people there than TB

     

    All in all the play experience is good and due to the cross realm play..it actually feels more poulated than 2008

     

     

  • FdzzaiglFdzzaigl Member UncommonPosts: 2,433

    It's still very populated man.

    Tons upon tons of servers, not all of them are still healthy, but with the new cross-realm zones you'll see players in every zone. I see no difference between now and 3 years back.

     

    Originally posted by equinoxsolar

    ironforge has a few players there too. From the few scouts ive done thunder bluff seems to be the new capital of the horde. orgimmar has far less people there than TB

    I don't know which server you're playing on. But this is definitely not the case on my battlegroup.

    Thunder Bluff usually has people because the Alliance tries to raid it now and then and it's fun to occasionally have some wPvP. It's also cool to get away from the lag in Org sometimes.

    Can't really see why it would ever be the new capital, because usually portals in the new zones connect to Orgrimmar first and foremost.

    Feel free to use my referral link for SW:TOR if you want to test out the game. You'll get some special unlocks!

  • equinoxsolarequinoxsolar Member Posts: 18
    Originally posted by Fdzzaigl

    It's still very populated man.

    Tons upon tons of servers, not all of them are still healthy, but with the new cross-realm zones you'll see players in every zone. I see no difference between now and 3 years back.

     

    Originally posted by equinoxsolar

    ironforge has a few players there too. From the few scouts ive done thunder bluff seems to be the new capital of the horde. orgimmar has far less people there than TB

    I don't know which server you're playing on. But this is definitely not the case on my battlegroup.

    Thunder Bluff usually has people because the Alliance tries to raid it now and then and it's fun to occasionally have some wPvP. It's also cool to get away from the lag in Org sometimes.

    Can't really see why it would ever be the new capital, because usually portals in the new zones connect to Orgrimmar first and foremost.

    That's what suprised me.. TBH i being an ex horde player I was kinda saddened to see Orgimmar deserted. Maybe it was just the time of the day..who knows

  • IcewhiteIcewhite Member Posts: 6,403
    Originally posted by Aerowyn
    my supercomputer calculated everything based on years, recent trends, sales of expansion, xfire, and all the latest data.. answer is 42

    That's odd...my animal entrails said 86. One of us needs to calibrate our scrying device more accurately.

    Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.

  • equinoxsolarequinoxsolar Member Posts: 18

    Hi Op, 

     

    Here are a few Screenies to show you what its like in Stormwind  on my server that I took a few moments ago.  Bear in mind these were  taken at 1pm GMT

    Its usally alot busier beyond 4pm. I got the tags wrong

    First is trade district AH, second Dwarfen district AH.

    P.S yes i know I'm a clicker

    imageimageimageimage

     

     

     

  • sportsfansportsfan Member Posts: 431

    An awesome number for a game with a paid subscription ...

    As this industry went for 99% free to play, that's ...incredible really.

    I don't play for the moment but I'll be back some day, probably around the end of June...

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