Romier S Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Here is something I think will interest the large group of MMO players we have on LCVG. This is a chart provided by mmogchart.com. It tracks the userbase/marketshare of the top MMO's available on the market. Take a look: (Last updated on Feb. 5, 2005) I never realized Final Fantasy XI had gained so much marketshare or was as popular as what the chart above indicated. WoW comes in at a cozy second place with EQ2 only slightly behind. Stars Wars Galaxies continues to do well as does Dark Age of Camelot. City of Heroes ranks lower than I would have expected it too to be honest. Nonetheless you can mull over these numbers as well as a bunch of other figures including total subscribers etc. by going here . This is an independant site and the work and research is done by the gentleman running the site. If you have any questions concerning how it's gathered you can take a look at the FAQ available. EDIT: As an aside I took a look at a few of the names not immediately recognizable and this one stuck out to me. Really interesting concept for a game: http://secondlife.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelley Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 I saw this the other day and was shocked to see Final Fantasy XI as the most played MMO, but then again with it being on both PS2 and PC it should have a high number. I'd like to say a personal woot for WWIIOnline coming in at a whopping 0.4%! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted February 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 It's amazing that Ultima Online still holds a steady 5% hold on the market given it's age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 I knew FFXI was big , and WOW was second. However I didnt think COH was that low. capt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelley Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 I knew FFXI was big ' date=' and WOW was second. However I didnt think COH was that low. capt[/quote'] I read that CoH lost over 40,000 subscribers from September through November. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Thanks, Romier - I've always wondered what these numbers were. One of the things that fascinates / confounds me about online gaming is the fact that these communities persist over time despite the existence of new games. The servers continue to run, and the people playing them continue to come back. To think that there are still people running around in SOCOM is similar to the notion that people still live in the neighborhood in which I grew up. That's the only way I can describe it. People still palying Everquest - what keeps them there? The communities they've forged? The fact that they spend a couple years building up that character and don't want to leave it behind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exile Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 I read that CoH lost over 40,000 subscribers from September through November It's called Eq2 and WoW. People still palying Everquest - what keeps them there? The communities they've forged? The fact that they spend a couple years building up that character and don't want to leave it behind? That is part of the reason. Others include: They can't play the newest games so this one will do. The game itself has yet another expansion coming and players are staying for that. The newest graphics etc won't pull them away from their friends. Now the uber guilds are pretty much rare and there is ALOT more oppurtunity for smaller guilds to get things done. No more competition for mobs especially with PoP where you had lots of bottlenecks. That and I know alot of those players were not impressed with EQ2 or WoW enough to leave or CoH for that matter. I'm not suprised at the size of FF given the fanboyism that movie and its fans share for it. It's amazing that Ultima Online still holds a steady 5% hold on the market given it's age And the Pk'ing unless they fixed that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted February 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 And the Pk'ing unless they fixed that? They went through huge changes a long time ago to correct that from happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 People still palying Everquest - what keeps them there? The communities they've forged? Fundamentally, yes. [added] To expand on that point, it's why new MMORPGs without an obvious hook or big name attached has such a hard time gaining market share. Essentially, a large percentage of the people on MMORPGs have loyalty to the people they play with not the game they play. To gain share, you need to appeal to the hardcore of the market that wanders from new game to new game as they spread word of mouth and at the same time, try to tempt a chunk of people from other games in the hope they bring over their friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted June 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 I wanted to resurrect this thread with the latest chart to show how dynamic the MMOG market is in general and how quickly user base can shift. Here is the chart for post-E3 May 2005. As you can see Lineage and Lineage II completely decimate the competition (this chart excludes Raganarok Online which is another HUGE MMOG in Korea and the US): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquility Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Wow that's a huge percentage for the 2 Lineage games, despite the fact that the second one wasn't such a critical success. Any idea where Guild Wars stands now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Any idea where Guild Wars stands now? Does that really count as it has no ongoing fee? I imagine that's why he doesn't include it in the chart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted June 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Wow that's a huge percentage for the 2 Lineage games Keep in mind that this chart more than likely takes into account all MMOG markets including Korea. Korea is absolutely huge in the MMO world and Lineage remains the single most popular MMORPG in that country accounting for a great deal of the market share it has. What's really interesting is games like Anarchy Online, WWII Online etc. have all but fallen off of the map. In the case of Anarchy, it's a bit sad since it's seriously one of the most deep and enjoyable MMO's out there IMHO.(been thinking of reupping and grabbing the new expansion pack in fact) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoisonJam Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 From the website, on Guild Wars: Guild Wars developers say in their own FAQ that they do not consider their game a MMOG; in addition, it doesn?t charge a monthly fee (see below). Please don?t email me trying to insist otherwise; I?m not likely to be convinced. Too bad, I'd like to see how the numbers stack up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoisonJam Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Further information about the Lineage numbers: Lineage uses substantially different metrics for ?counting? players. They may have close to 4 million ?players?, but most of these players did not buy a box at the local software store and then pay a monthly subscription fee like traditional MMOGs. Instead, they play in ?PC baangs?, Internet cybercafes in Korea that buy Lineage access from the company and then sell it at hourly rates to customers. This, combined with the unusual Korean dynamic of rapid deployment of broadband and the fact that imports of Japanese console platforms were restricted, made Lineage unusually popular. Still, 4 million people is 4 million people no matter how they access the game. Makes me wonder why more MMO makers don't specifically target this obviously lucrative market? In other words, why aren't we flush with Korean MMOs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted June 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 In other words, why aren't we flush with Korean MMOs? Developers are starting to target the Korean market Dave. The problem is breaking through the wall that is Lineage. Domestically, Everquest and Ultima Online were considered the heavywieghts of the genre until games like Dark Age broke down that wall and opened up the floodgates. Korea hasn't seen a game that has been able to nip at Lineage until now. Blizzard launched World of Warcraft in Korea a bit ago which made quite the impact. Which is no wonder why WoW is number three in market share. The game was a great success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelley Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 What's really interesting is games like Anarchy Online, WWII Online etc. have all but fallen off of the map. WWII has a re-release coming up soon, maybe that will get some people back playing the game. I know for me its about time for my yearly WWIIOnline binge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquility Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Developers are starting to target the Korean market Dave. The problem is breaking through the wall that is Lineage. Domestically, Everquest and Ultima Online were considered the heavywieghts of the genre until games like Dark Age broke down that wall and opened up the floodgates. Korea hasn't seen a game that has been able to nip at Lineage until now. Blizzard launched World of Warcraft in Korea a bit ago which made quite the impact. Which is no wonder why WoW is number three in market share. The game was a great success. Particularly since Blizzard enjoys a really legendary status there after Starcraft, which sort of became a part of Korean pop culture. At some point they even had potato chips with Starcraft characters on the packages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 What's really interesting is games like Anarchy Online, WWII Online etc. have all but fallen off of the map. They haven't really. They had only a tiny percentage in the first graph without the Lineage games in the picture. When you throw in two games that occupy almost 50% of the chart, their slice of the pie is going to be even smaller, and not worth even showing. What is interesting is how WOW has an even higher percentage now, even with Lineage factored in, then it did in the first chart. That's pretty impressive and puts it in good position to potentially overtake all the others. The fact that Blizzard games continue to sell well years after release and the it has such a strong presence in Korea will certainly help it. What really surprised me though was The Realm Online still showing up. That game is OLD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted June 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 and not worth even showing. Exactly what I meant by "fallen off the map", ie not worth showing anymore. This new chart just consolidates many of the smaller games into one percentage. What's most suprising for me really, especially in the case of Anarchy, is that Funcom offered the base client without expansions free for a full year. I would have imagined thier slice of the pie would have grown a bit (at least enough to get them shown) considering the demographic of players that refuse to try the genre due to monthly fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickle Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Do they have stats by country? I imagine the charts would be radically different it it was of U.S. subscribers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChoiceStriker Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Wow that's a huge percentage for the 2 Lineage games, despite the fact that the second one wasn't such a critical success.I have a feeling that features like the one in the screenshot below don't hurt Lineage's popularity. (clickable thumbnail ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted June 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 You think World of Warcraft has become popular in Korea? Read this nonsense: http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/06/20/news_6127866.html In a story out of Korea which is just now surfacing in the Western press, a couple in Incheon, South Korea, were arrested last week when their four-month-old daughter died after being left alone by the couple for hours. The mother and father reportedly had gone to a nearby Internet cafe, lost themselves in playing Blizzard's massively multiplayer online PC game World of Warcraft, and returned to their home only to find the infant dead from suffocation. "We booked the pair on criminal charges, judging that when you consider the situation, they were responsible for their daughter's death," a policeman told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. The couple reportedly told police, "We were thinking of playing for just an hour or two and returning home like usual, but the game took longer that day." The infant was the couple's only child. How utterly fucking riduculous is that? Both should be removed from existence if you ask me. Especially when a game "took longer that day" over taking care of your damn child. :wtf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 How in Hell, do you leave your infant alone for even a hour or so. People on this planet become more screwed up all the time capt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 This reminds me of the story of the guy that killed another guy over a dispute over an in-game weapon. I don't think that got a lot of mention here on the forums (and I'm really too lazy to go looking), but I was in Australia at the time it happened and it got a ton of press over there. Here's a link to an article about it: Online gamer killed over cybertheft Edit - Oh, and I didn't find a newer link, but I seem to recall he got convicted on some degree of murder charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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