Now, of course there's a huge caveat lector, and etc and etc, but I think the information there is interesting in order to compare how different MMORPGs are doing, even if the numbers are not 100% correct.
The graphic for MMORPGs which have or had more than one million subscribers is actually interesting:
Spoiler
Of course WoW is on top (although it's interesting to see how many users they lost temporarily due to the issue with China last year). I think it's interesting that the second pay to play MMORPG is actually Aion; as far as I know, it's doing rather bad in the West, so it's somewhat surprising that it has so many players. The other three games there (both Lineages and Runescape) are, as far as I know, far bigger on Asian than anywhere else in the world; it does appear that the East market is really one of the main sources of MMORPG players.
(Nice to see that, between Aion and both Lineage games, it's no wonder that NCSoft can afford to pay Arena Net while they develop GW2.)
The graphic for MMORPGs with a peak of subscribers between 150 thousand and one million is a lot more polluted:
Spoiler
...Dofus? Riiiiight. Interesting to see how bad Age of Conan and Warhammer Online are doing; they have even less subscribers than the now free to play Lord of the Rings Online had. Final Fantasy XI and Eve Online are doing surprisingly well, although I wish the graphic had information about Final Fantasy XIV.
The graphic for MMORPGs with a peak of subscribers between 50 thousand and 50 thousand becomes a bit sad:
Spoiler
I wonder, among the games from that list which are still working, which one will be the next to die. Star Trek Online is doing rather poorly, it appears.
And there's the RIP graphic with games that had at most 50.000 subscribers. Funny to see that a game still exists with one thousand subscribers only.
Erasculio|||Too bad you can't track GW against those charts.|||A Tale in the Desert is actually pretty interesting. Subscription based and time intensive so I never really got into it, but still.|||Kinda interesting that EVE has been consistently growing at a steady pace since launch. No leaps no dips. It did not even have the surge at lauch that almost every other MMO has/had.|||If I read it correctly, then one can claim that DDO's decision to go free was wise. And agreed that neither GW nor Silk Road are tracked; I don't know if that's oversight or a lack of members.|||Poor Asheron's Call. It was a fun game back in 1999-2001. The idea of a massive online world was mind-blowing to my high schooler brain. Making a sequel 3-ish years later ('03) was such a bonehead decision, too, as AC2 bombed quickly. They tried to make a world with no NPCs, which didn't work out. (nobody but bots want to sit around and vend) I suppose those are the things developers learned in the first generation of MMORPGs.
The Matrix Online might not have bombed so badly if it had come out in 2003, not 2005. The sequels were releasing then with much hype and promotion. 2001 would've been ideal to match Matrix interest, or at least mine, but that wouldn't have been feasible.
At least AC is still up and running, however old and sparsely populated it may be. It's ridiculous, but that game holds an enormous nostalgic grip on me. I did a few searches, found the forums for my old Thistledown server, and a tiny part of me wanted to play again. An unrealistic part of me, since I realize it would be a huge waste of time, but still. The places and people you "knew" while playing stick with you.
It's pathetically geeky, but you never forget your first MMORPG.|||It's lack of subscription model.
Without a subscription model, it's harder to tell if people left the game.|||Quote:
It's lack of subscription model.
Without a subscription model, it's harder to tell if people left the game.
they could always ask anet how many people log on monthly, but like anet are releasing those stats :P|||Quote:
If I read it correctly, then one can claim that DDO's decision to go free was wise. And agreed that neither GW nor Silk Road are tracked; I don't know if that's oversight or a lack of members.
Like Alaris said, sub numbers make charting P2P MMOs much easier than B2P.|||We have no idea where the data comes from, but I doubt it's from the publishers/companies directly.
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