12 replies to this topic

[Kanatta Jing]

EVE Online was deemed a success at 200 thousand Players.

War Hammer Online was deemed a failure at 200 thousand Players.

One is still being updated and has a thriving consumer base. One is abandoned.

The closed beta version 1 is set at 10 thousand Players. The forum has a potentially inflated number of profiles of about 100 thousand.

Where do you think PGI is setting the bar of Success and do you think they'll make it?

[BenEEeees VAT GROWN BACON]

200k, 500k ...... in the end, MechWarrior is still quite a niche title.

[Insidious Johnson]

scratch that itch, grow the niche.

[trycksh0t]

200k seems to be the most viable area for MMOs, especially non-subscription based, as it should generate enough revenue to keep things going. I honestly don't see MWO hitting 500k, it is a very niche title (although I would LOVE to be surprised). I see the user count maxing around the 300k mark.

[Teralitha]

The further away from canon they take this game, the better the results will be. If all you do is cater to a niche group, all your going to get is niche players.

Edited by Teralitha, 15 June 2012 - 09:27 PM.

[pursang]

The thing is, those games you mentioned are subscription-based MMOs, while MW:O will be F2P simulator. So I would imagine it would matter less how many people actually play MW:O, and rather how many people playing are buying in-game items via microtransaction.

[BenEEeees VAT GROWN BACON]

Teralitha, on 15 June 2012 - 09:26 PM, said:

The further away from canon they take this game, the better the results will be. If all you do is cater to a niche group, all your going to get is niche players.

Eh, you stray too far from the roots and it's going to look like any bland robo-game. A culture has to evolve around a game for communities to stick, and MW already has a very strong culture and core community... take that away and this game loses it's "soul".

[Teralitha]

BenEEeees VAT GROWN BACON, on 15 June 2012 - 09:45 PM, said:

Eh, you stray too far from the roots and it's going to look like any bland robo-game. A culture has to evolve around a game for communities to stick, and MW already has a very strong culture and core community... take that away and this game loses it's "soul".

How it looks isnt nearly as important as how fun, challenging and diverse it is.



Support 360

Edited by Teralitha, 15 June 2012 - 09:48 PM.

[Cerlin]

Well after playing many online games, I feel all your numbers are seriously high. 200 k real players is a gigantic number and only games like Call of Duty even get there. I hope the game is popular but I think it can make due with 200k and Will hopefully grow more.

[trycksh0t]

Teralitha, on 15 June 2012 - 09:47 PM, said:

How it looks isnt nearly as important as how fun, challenging and diverse it is.



Support 360

I would point out that BattleTech, the original game that canon is based on, has survived for over 25 years. I think that points to it being fun, challenging, and diverse enough to stand on it's own.

[Johnny Reb]

I also think 200k is goal but if it is done right and gets praise 1 mill is totally achievable.

[Ian]

Quote

The further away from canon they take this game, the better the results will be. If all you do is cater to a niche group, all your going to get is niche players.

The further away from canon they take this game the less the fans they do have will be interested. Why then name it Mechwarrior? The target audience is the Niche group, which is I suspect larger than you think.

[DerMaulwurf]

Kanatta Jing, on 15 June 2012 - 09:08 PM, said:

EVE Online was deemed a success at 200 thousand Players.

War Hammer Online was deemed a failure at 200 thousand Players.

One is still being updated and has a thriving consumer base. One is abandoned.

The closed beta version 1 is set at 10 thousand Players. The forum has a potentially inflated number of profiles of about 100 thousand.

Where do you think PGI is setting the bar of Success and do you think they'll make it?

Warhammer Online was closed because it had lost many more players than EVE ever had. Momentum and perception play an important role in assessing things. EVE seems to be on a positive trend and the players that like EVE seem to be content with the ongoing development. Warhammer had been hemorrhaging players for a while and the remaining playerbase was quite disillusioned.

As you see raw player numbers are not everything. I don't know where MWO's break even point is. But that point plus a positive reception and development is what's needed to make it a genuine success. Raw numbers don't mean that much if you can't hold them.