Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[World of Warcraft holding steady at 10.2 million subscribers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/09/world-of-warcraft-holding-steady-at-10-2-million-subscribers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/09/world-of-warcraft-holding-steady-at-10-2-million-subscribers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/09/world-of-warcraft-holding-steady-at-10-2-million-subscribers/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Attack of the corporate logo!
World of Warcraft's subscriber numbers had been falling at the end of last year, but they appear to have stabilized once again. According to president Michael Morhaime, the game continues to remain steady at 10.2 million subscribers through the end of March, the same as the number seen in February during the previous conference call for Activision Blizzard. Morhaime went on to confirm that the agreement with NetEase regarding World of Warcraft in China has been renewed, with the companies planning to continue their agreement for another three years at least.

The studio is also seeing definite success with Diablo III; although the game has yet to release, it's currently surpassed all of the studio's previous high-water marks regarding pre-orders. This includes units sold as part of the Annual Pass promotion, which saw 1.2 million copies purchased in total. While WoW may not have reached its previous peak, it's certainly holding on to a stalwart base for the time being.

MassivelyWorld of Warcraft holding steady at 10.2 million subscribers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 May 2012 17:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>action-rpgactivisionbattlenetblizzardblizzard-entertainmentbreakingcash-shopd3diablodiablo-2diablo-3diablo-iidiablo-iiifantasygothic-fantasymichael-morhaimemike-morhaimemultiplayeronline-multiplayerroguelikerpgsubscriber-numberssubscriberswarcraftworld-of-warcraftwowWed, 09 May 2012 17:23:00 EST<![CDATA[Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription numbers stabilize at 1.7 million]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/star-wars-the-old-republic-subscription-numbers-stabilize-at-1/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/star-wars-the-old-republic-subscription-numbers-stabilize-at-1/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/star-wars-the-old-republic-subscription-numbers-stabilize-at-1/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

SWTOR
It's shaping up to be one hell of a good month for BioWare. If you consider the amount of money made by the launch of Mass Effect 3 and by the continued success of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the entire studio must be swimming in pools of gold coins a la Scrooge McDuck by now. At any rate, it would appear that Star Wars: The Old Republic's subscriber numbers have stabilized at about 1.7 million active subscribers.

It's also worth noting that, according to EA's John Riccitello, the "vast majority" of these active subscribers have already used their 30-day trials, which means most of those 1.7 million subscribers are shelling out $15 per month to play the game. It'll be interesting to see how these numbers change (or don't) in the coming months, but for the time being The Old Republic seems to be doing BioWare proud.

MassivelyStar Wars: The Old Republic subscription numbers stabilize at 1.7 million originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biowareeaelectronic-artsindustryJohn-riccitiellolucasartsmmo-industrysci-fistar-warsstar-wars-the-old-republicsubsubscribersubscriber-numberssubscriberssubscription-feeswtorthe-old-republictorFri, 09 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Ask Massively: Continuing dental nightmare edition]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/16/ask-massively-continuing-dental-nightmare-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/16/ask-massively-continuing-dental-nightmare-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/16/ask-massively-continuing-dental-nightmare-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Given the option, I would have my teeth replaced with mechanical versions capable of shooting lasers.
Back in December, I went in with a toothache and was informed that I had two options: Either the tooth could be yanked, or it could be saved via a root canal. I picked the latter option, which has provided me with a variety of new and interesting experiences, among them getting red-hot filler shoved into my jaw, having a nerve directly squirted with numbing agent, and getting a tooth shaved down to a nub while a sharp suction device jabbed at my gums. The whole process is almost over at long last, and I am relatively certain the last step will involve throwing a rabid weasel at me.

In other news, it's time for this week's installment of Ask Massively, covering our column procedure and the continuing saga of World of Warcraft's subscriber losses. As always, questions for future installments may be submitted via mail to ask@massively.com or left in the comments. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity.

Continue reading Ask Massively: Continuing dental nightmare edition

MassivelyAsk Massively: Continuing dental nightmare edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ask-massivelycolumncolumn-procedurecolumnsfeaturedmassively-metaopinionsubscriber-numberssubscribersworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 16 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Subscriber numbers lead to a new hope for Electronic Arts stock]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/02/subscriber-numbers-lead-to-a-new-hope-for-electronic-arts-stock/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/02/subscriber-numbers-lead-to-a-new-hope-for-electronic-arts-stock/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/02/subscriber-numbers-lead-to-a-new-hope-for-electronic-arts-stock/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Okay, it's more of a continuation of an existing hope. You can live with the play on words, Justin does them all the time.
It's official: As of yesterday, Star Wars: The Old Republic has 1.7 million active subscribers and has sold 2 million copies. That's good news for fans of the game, but it's also good news for both BioWare and Electronic Arts. Apparently, it's seen as very good news for Electronic Arts, as the company's stock has gone up by 6.1% in the announcement's wake. The stock closed on Wednesday at $18.44 a share and closed today at $19.56, an appreciable gain for the company and a sign of good health.

This is sharp contrast to some of the early analyst responses before subscriber numbers were released, as well as some suspicions that the game was falling after a few first-patch fumbles. Whether the game will rise further or stabilize where it is remains to be seen, but it's certainly making a strong showing out of the gate, and the financial sector is taking note.

[Thanks to Robert for the tip!]

MassivelySubscriber numbers lead to a new hope for Electronic Arts stock originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biowarebioware-mythiceaea-biowareelectronic-artsfinanciallegalmmo-industrystar-wars-the-old-republicstock-marketstockssubscriber-numberssubscribersswtorThu, 02 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Age of Conan: Unchained conquers 300,000 new players, doubles revenue in a month]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/11/age-of-conan-unchained-conquers-300-000-new-players-doubles-re/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/11/age-of-conan-unchained-conquers-300-000-new-players-doubles-re/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/11/age-of-conan-unchained-conquers-300-000-new-players-doubles-re/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Age of Conan
The secret is out and the jig is up: MMO studios have solid evidence that adding a free-to-play option on top of a subscription model is the way to bring in hordes of new players. Age of Conan: Unchained proved this today as Funcom announced the addition of over 300,000 players to its bloody family in the first month of service.

Apparently the servers are packed full and Funcom is raking in the moolah, too. The studio announced that servers have quadrupled activity during this time period, and revenues have more then doubled. This is certainly good news for the 2008 title, which is now being supported by a mix of subscription and cash shop options.

Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas is pleased as (a) punch: "The launch of the hybrid business model has been very successful so far. The activity levels on the servers are booming with a fourfold increase in players during July, we more than doubled the revenue generated from the game, and we have experienced a positive development in subscriber numbers. This definitely gives us great hope for the game's future."

Age of Conan is set to release a movie tie-in update later this month called Savage Coast of Turan to take advantage of the Conan the Barbarian movie coming to theaters on the 18th.

MassivelyAge of Conan: Unchained conquers 300,000 new players, doubles revenue in a month originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adventure-package-of-conanage-of-conan-unchainedaocconanconan-the-barbariancraig-morrisonf2pfree-to-playfuncommovie-tie-innew-playersrevenuesavage-coast-of-turansubscriber-numberssubscriberstrond-arne-aasunchainedThu, 11 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[World of Warcraft subscriptions continue a downward trend]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/03/world-of-warcraft-subscriptions-continue-a-downward-trend/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/03/world-of-warcraft-subscriptions-continue-a-downward-trend/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/03/world-of-warcraft-subscriptions-continue-a-downward-trend/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

"No king rules forever, my son." Those words were a big part of the capstone event for World of Warcraft's last expansion, but they may be equally appropriate for the game itself. According to reports from the company, WoW's subscription numbers have continued to drop in the quarter ending June 30th, with the game now holding approximately 11 million subscribers worldwide. It's a slower rate than the game had been bleeding players, but it's still a definite decrease.

According to president Mike Morhaime, the reason for the drop can be traced back to the time since the last expansion release, but even Morhaime admits that this is the fastest drop the game has seen during its run. There are obviously rumors that the next expansion is not so far away, but as it stands, WoW's longstanding grip on the MMO market is no longer quite as strong as it once was.

MassivelyWorld of Warcraft subscriptions continue a downward trend originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionactivision-blizzardblizzardblizzard-entertainmentbusinessindustrymike-morhaimemmo-industrysubscriber-numberssubscribersworld-of-warcraftwowWed, 03 Aug 2011 20:30:00 EST<![CDATA[RIFT approaching the one million sell-through mark]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/07/rift-approaching-the-one-million-sell-through-mark/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/07/rift-approaching-the-one-million-sell-through-mark/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/07/rift-approaching-the-one-million-sell-through-mark/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

For some, success is measured in how fun a game is and how much it accomplishes that which it promised. For others, success is all about the cold, hard numbers -- subscribers, units sold, accounts created, concurrent players. Today, Trion Worlds considers RIFT a success on the latter front as well as the former, as it announced that the company is nearing the million sell-through mark for the game.

A unit sold-through means that a copy of RIFT -- physical or digital -- has been sold to a customer, not merely shipped to retail. In an interview with Gamasutra, Trion's David Reid says that the company's $50 million title is doing well with direct competition against established fantasy MMOs like World of Warcraft.

"We're really pleased with what we're seeing. And beyond that, it was a pleasure to see in the latest Activision Blizzard earnings call that RIFT was inquired about when Blizzard announced their subscriber numbers went from 12 million to 11.4 million," Reid said. "You can do some math... we know very well where those 600,000 people are."

Trion is becoming well-known for its aggressive marketing push behind RIFT, which Reid thinks is paying off handsomely: "We know we have a very stick game, we know we are getting a lot of success right now... If in fact the 600,000 players [Blizzard] lost came to RIFT, I don't think they'll be getting those 600,000 people back as quick as they did from Aion, Conan, Warhammer and the like."

MassivelyRIFT approaching the one million sell-through mark originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activision-blizzardage-of-conanaionblizzardblizzard-entertainmentdavid-reidgamasutrainterviewriftrift-planes-of-telarasell-throughsubscriber-numberstriontrion-worldsunitsunits-sold-throughwarhammer-onlineworld-of-warcraftTue, 07 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Soapbox: Don't hate the game, hate the copy]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/12/the-soapbox-dont-hate-the-game-hate-the-copy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/12/the-soapbox-dont-hate-the-game-hate-the-copy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/12/the-soapbox-dont-hate-the-game-hate-the-copy/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Disclaimer: This editorial column is 100% the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect that of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

If you ask a remarkably high number of players, World of Warcraft is a negative influence on the face of MMOs. Not necessarily for the reasons that many players, current and former, will claim; the complaints of this group have nothing to do with content or overarching design philosophy. No, World of Warcraft has ruined things just by virtue of its very existence.

It's WoW's fault that we've seen a flood of games that are, essentially, the same game with a slight twist (WoW in space, WoW with more PvP, WoW in the mind of Derek Smart, and so forth). It's WoW's fault that these games have failed, and it's even more WoW's fault when other games fail. And despite everything, these claims aren't seen as ridiculous. They're often taken very seriously. But really, WoW isn't to blame for its clones or the failures of other games. The fault for those lies exactly where logic would imply.

Continue reading The Soapbox: Don't hate the game, hate the copy

MassivelyThe Soapbox: Don't hate the game, hate the copy originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>balanceBlizzardBlizzard-Entertainmentbusinessbusiness-modelsderek-smartfailurefeaturedgame-designlarge-numbersopinionperspectivesoapboxsubscriber-numberssuccesssurprise-hitsworld-of-warcraftwowTue, 12 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[THQ says Warhammer 40K MMO doesn't need a million subscribers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/06/thq-says-warhammer-40k-mmo-doesnt-need-a-million-subscribers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/06/thq-says-warhammer-40k-mmo-doesnt-need-a-million-subscribers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/06/thq-says-warhammer-40k-mmo-doesnt-need-a-million-subscribers/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

We all know game developers love to announce big numbers. A million of this, ten million of that, forty million of the other. No thanks, says THQ -- our Warhammer 40K MMO will be just fine without all that.

The Warhammer 40k team is small and very experienced, so they have the advantage of skipping a lot of expensive trial-and-error, moving straight to building the game right.

In a recent conference call, THQ's CEO Brian Farrell pointed to the relatively low investment cost of the Warhammer 40k MMO as the reason that they don't need to aim for huge numbers: "We don't need the kind of subscriber levels that people throw around, like a million subscribers, to make a lot of money on this title. If we get anywhere near that level, we'll be making a lot of money."

Given the enthusiasm shown by fans of the title, they just might hit those numbers anyway.

MassivelyTHQ says Warhammer 40K MMO doesn't need a million subscribers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 May 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Brian-Farrellsubscriber-numberswarhammer-40kwarhammer-40k-mmoWarhammer40kThu, 06 May 2010 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Star Trek Online reaches one million accounts]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/07/star-trek-online-reaches-one-million-accounts/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/07/star-trek-online-reaches-one-million-accounts/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/07/star-trek-online-reaches-one-million-accounts/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

If it's not too dated, you can feel free to do the Dr. Evil voice as you read the announcement in your head. Star Trek Online has reached one million registered accounts, an impressive milestone for any game. The announcement follows in the vein of Cryptic's announcement that players had created over one million characters in Champions Online, which was also an impressive milestone... well, until you started to do the math and ask why they were counting the number of characters created rather than players.

There are similar questions to be asked about the latest Star Trek Online announcement, if you're the suspicious type. In short, we don't know the criteria that is being used to get the figure being thrown around. One million accounts could refer to open beta and head start accounts, or it could refer to everyone registered on the forums, even if they've long since stopped posting. It's an odd metric to use.

Still, it's a sign of how strong the IP of Star Trek still is after all these years, and as one of the few major launches planned for the year it's bound to attract quite a bit of attention. Congratulations to Cryptic, and here's hoping that those million accounts stick with the game after a few months.

Enter the Star Trek universe with Cryptic Studios' Star Trek Online. From hands on reviews of the early levels and space combat, through noob questions and developer interviews, we've got everything you need to know about the game trekkies are dying for. Check out Massively's Star Trek Online page for the latest!

MassivelyStar Trek Online reaches one million accounts originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>champions-onlinecocrypticcryptic-star-trekcryptic-studiosmillionst-onlinestar-trek-mmostar-trek-onlinestosubscriber-numberstrek-onlineSun, 07 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST