WoW's Subscribers Drop To 5 Millions

[PrinceMarth]

Like those 5 million players is going to hurt alot they probaly got enough cash left on wath they earned.

$10-$15 ea month saved it up from like not sure 10-15 million players dang alot of money.

To make an account $14-$20 expansion packs $20 and $34 +- prices like that i guesse they got enough money to keep the servers running?

Also did somebody notice that the Lich king looks like the Witch king from lotr ?

It's not hurting them too much. The money the make is from buying the game, China only had to pay around 6 cents per hour, since they paid on a play to play basis and not a monthly fee.

 

[The Great JT]

I don't get it. There is so much beef with wow. Why is it because it's successful? Is this "I'm gonna be cool and hate something is popular because it makes me cool?" I hate the, "It's so easy and casual" answer too. You can make it as challenging as you want. Hence the tons of achievements they put in the game. I have yet to see a reason for the hate that is well thought out.

No, that's pretty much the nail on the head. These internet hatemongers hate WoW because of its larger player base. Yeah, it doesn't sound impressive because 11,000,000 people in a planet of 8.2 billion is, in all actuality, not even 1% of the world's population. But really, the only reason I can think of why people don't like WoW is because they just deliberately look for things to hate, and WoW looks like a good target.

 

[Minimike3636]

I would beg to differ on all fronts, as someone who's played the game off and on for years. There's nothing inherently soul-stealing about the game, and they've taken steps to make it far more casual than it's ever been.

It only steals your life if you let it

Touché.

I have a friend who is also a frequent player of WoW, and it has slowly dragged him away from all that he has once loved. He continues to pay an Xbox LIVE subscription, though he almost always plays WoW. He cancelled his Gamefly subscription, simply because he wanted to play WoW. And if that wasn't enough, he tried to get me to play WoW as well. It's like a disease... A disease that you willingly accept.

In other words, I agree with your last statement.

 

[karloss01]

They still hold most of the market and the word and genre that is MMOG will be forever attached to the name World of Warcraft. So they 5 million players but the name will echo forever in gaming history.

actually they now have as many players as guild wars does as about march NCsoft announced that they reached 6 million players.

 

[Nox13last]

If I wanted to shell over 6¢ an hour, I'd sit in front of the computer and push the coins up my intestinal tract while watching a PowerPoint presentation of my four-year old cousin's pastel drawings. I'd get all the experience of World of Warcraft I need to form an opinion, and it'll discourage me from turning that into a habit.

Translation: I've seen World of Warcraft and the graphics are "poor". And I'd prefer nickel sodomy to affiliating myself with that game for the MMORPG-player stereotype I fear I will become.

 

[tehweave]

Hmm... Maybe I shouldn't have quit last month...

 

[Hyper-space]

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2009/07/wow-subscriptions-down-to-5-million.html

WoW looses over half of its subscribers, as month ago they had to close Chinese servers due to problems with law.

I guess that Aion will be the new big MMO after all.

ive heard that Aion is pretty generic and even more of a grind fest than wow.

but i guess with all the gold farmers gone the in-game economy would improve.

 

[andrat]

Well SW:The Old Republic may have a chance now

 

[John Funk]

I would beg to differ on all fronts, as someone who's played the game off and on for years. There's nothing inherently soul-stealing about the game, and they've taken steps to make it far more casual than it's ever been.

It only steals your life if you let it

Touché.

I have a friend who is also a frequent player of WoW, and it has slowly dragged him away from all that he has once loved. He continues to pay an Xbox LIVE subscription, though he almost always plays WoW. He cancelled his Gamefly subscription, simply because he wanted to play WoW. And if that wasn't enough, he tried to get me to play WoW as well. It's like a disease... A disease that you willingly accept.

In other words, I agree with your last statement.

And he's finding just as much enjoyment off of one game as he might off of a bunch of other games. If he's genuinely having fun with the game - and not buying a new one every other month - what's wrong with that? Why would sitting on the couch playing CoD4 via Xbox LIVE be any inherently better or inherently worse than playing WoW?

As long as it isn't inhibiting your real life duties, there's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying WoW, or any other MMORPG.

 

[Schlorgan]

this is the best piece of news since jack thompson was disbarred

 

[John Funk]

...and this is why in actual news posts, we have actual sources

 

[Kuliani]

So wait. Your source is "some guy's blog?" Some guy estimating on his blog?

It's true that the Chinese servers are offline right now, but A.) that doesn't mean all the subscribers aren't coming back, and B.) many have started playing on Taiwanese servers (see the Chinese guild "Stars" that achieved Yogg-Saron w/ no keepers just the other day).

I take it there's still a topic in here amongst all the trendy WoW-bashing...

Anyway, in the time I did spend playing WoW, it's not like I could tell if I was running into any chinese players/gold farmers but if this means there are less bots running around the Elemental Plateau, then that would still make me happy. I've known the frustration.

This wouldn't affect any chinese players playing on US servers at all. Only Chinese player playing on Chinese servers.

Yep! The Chinese players that want to play on Chinese servers are just AFK till the Chinese government gives the "ok"; they aren't quitting. If anything, the AFK simply puts them into suspension PREVENTING them from quitting. 11 million, holding strong.

Also, buff shadowpriests.

 

[Destal]

I don't understand what all the hate in wow is about, I mean if you don't like the game you don't have to play it. It's not like it existing is affecting your life at all if you don't play it. I personally don't play because I have no desire to, but I certainly don't resent its existance, nor do I understand people who do.

Overall, I would like to see a much more reliable source than a blog. If it is true, hopefully this doesn't cause them to rush their projects in queue due to a need for a quick cash cow. I'd hate to see them release something unfinished.

 

[Minimike3636]

And he's finding just as much enjoyment off of one game as he might off of a bunch of other games. If he's genuinely having fun with the game - and not buying a new one every other month - what's wrong with that? Why would sitting on the couch playing CoD4 via Xbox LIVE be any inherently better or inherently worse than playing WoW?

As long as it isn't inhibiting your real life duties, there's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying WoW, or any other MMORPG.

But that's what I'm saying. All he's doing is WoW. There's not much variety in an MMORPG. Kill things here, or kill things there. Xbox, being a system and not a solitary game, provides variety and online gameplay.

I refuse to play WoW, seeing what it does to people. It could be an awesome game, for all I know, and it probably is. But as long as I live, not a single cent will fall out of my pocket and into Blizzard's greedy hands. You're paying $15 a month not for exclusive updates, not for any special benefits, but just so you can play the game, WHICH YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR. Four months of WoW = One Xbox game at this point in time, but you can play that Xbox game whenever you want, whether it be in 2 days or 2 years, and you never have to worry about paying for it again.

 

[Nox13last]

I refuse to play WoW, seeing what it does to people. It could be an awesome game, for all I know, and it probably is. But as long as I live, not a single cent will fall out of my pocket and into Blizzard's greedy hands. You're paying $15 a month not for exclusive updates, not for any special benefits, but just so you can play the game, WHICH YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR. Four months of WoW = One Xbox game at this point in time, but you can play that Xbox game whenever you want, whether it be in 2 days or 2 years, and you never have to worry about paying for it again.

My stance exactly. I play Guild Wars, it's a hint of taste of World of Warcraft. But seeing as I've already purchased it, I'll keep playing and not feel like I'm wasting money.

Which is all the sweeter, because I rarely play THAT anymore.

 

[PrinceMarth]

Also, buff shadowpriests.

AMEN!

 

[Minimike3636]

My stance exactly. I play Guild Wars, it's a hint of taste of World of Warcraft. But seeing as I've already purchased it, I'll keep playing and not feel like I'm wasting money.

Which is all the sweeter, because I rarely play THAT anymore.

I have Guild Wars as well, and yes, I do find a lot of comfort in the fact that I can return to the game whenever I feel like it, without having to pay when I am not using it. It allows me to go on a lengthy hiatus without the fear of losing the game altogether. It's too bad that game is pretty much crap though... or maybe my hatred for the game stems from my excessively laggy computer. Oh well. I tend to avoid PC MMOs now.

By the way, this is the second thread we have quoted each other on.

 

[PrinceMarth]

I refuse to play WoW, seeing what it does to people. It could be an awesome game, for all I know, and it probably is. But as long as I live, not a single cent will fall out of my pocket and into Blizzard's greedy hands. You're paying $15 a month not for exclusive updates, not for any special benefits, but just so you can play the game, WHICH YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR. Four months of WoW = One Xbox game at this point in time, but you can play that Xbox game whenever you want, whether it be in 2 days or 2 years, and you never have to worry about paying for it again.

I used to have the same stance. But after seeing the work that blizzard puts into each patch I'm more than willing to pay them my $13 a month (I have the 3 months per payment option). I simply find wow more exciting than playing the same xbox game again and again. Mostly because I can find new people each time I play. The game changes only so often but the people in the game are always changing.

 

[John Funk]

And he's finding just as much enjoyment off of one game as he might off of a bunch of other games. If he's genuinely having fun with the game - and not buying a new one every other month - what's wrong with that? Why would sitting on the couch playing CoD4 via Xbox LIVE be any inherently better or inherently worse than playing WoW?

As long as it isn't inhibiting your real life duties, there's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying WoW, or any other MMORPG.

But that's what I'm saying. All he's doing is WoW. There's not much variety in an MMORPG. Kill things here, or kill things there. Xbox, being a system and not a solitary game, provides variety and online gameplay.

I refuse to play WoW, seeing what it does to people. It could be an awesome game, for all I know, and it probably is. But as long as I live, not a single cent will fall out of my pocket and into Blizzard's greedy hands. You're paying $15 a month not for exclusive updates, not for any special benefits, but just so you can play the game, WHICH YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR. Four months of WoW = One Xbox game at this point in time, but you can play that Xbox game whenever you want, whether it be in 2 days or 2 years, and you never have to worry about paying for it again.

Yes, you are paying for exclusive content - more content that no other game has. You're paying for a continuously evolving game, you're paying for live customer support, you're paying because MMOGs are notoriously expensive to run. And I have to disagree that there's no variety I remember reading that two years ago, before Burning Crusade, that Blizzard's maintenance costs - server upgrades and repairs, bandwidth, etc. - were upwards of $200 million dollars. That's more than entire game budgets, and that was half the population of the game now.

 

[Nox13last]

By the way, this is the second thread we have quoted each other on.

Forgive my atrocious memory. In which other thread have we crossed paths and posts?