Conkerkid11
Member
The Wrath of the Burning Cataclysm
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World of Warcraft at 5.6 million subs (was 7.1M, 10M), Diablo 3 has sold 30+M copies
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
They won't, pretty much ever now that smaller team groups can produce big sales like Hearthstone/HotS. add to the fact that they're clearly gunning for the burgeoning eSports market (which MMOs are NOTORIOUSLY hard to break into that market) and you've got their plans for the future.
Q
Queen of Hunting
Unconfirmed Member
Token system is killing the subs
AnathemicOne
Banned
Didn't help that WoD was hyped up so much and sucked ass overall
Tokens are included in this number.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Hopefully this will be a wake up call because Warlords was not a very good xpac.
Mitch
Banned
Wait, are you saying that Diablo 3 is a "soulless husk of a game?"
This is what happens when you release a barebones expansion without any notable new feature that are good and you only release 2 updates.
They've been claiming to have more people than ever working on WoW and yet none of that actually shows in the amount of content they're putting out.
They've been claiming to have more people than ever working on WoW and yet none of that actually shows in the amount of content they're putting out.
Seems like a bit of a stretch when they've still been pushing for yearly expansion releases while also pushing their F2P entries with Hearthstone and HotS, while they're also developing Overwatch and Starcraft 2 EP2 and presumably doing something with Diablo because that's actually pushing units.
I'm just not seeing where they'd manage to rummage up the manpower to develop an entirely new MMO with all these other projects and IPs in development already.
Not Spaceghost
Spaceghost
If people are saying ONLY 5.6 million then they are really failing to see that this is indicative of a drop that isn't going to stop.
The expansion will bring the numbers back to like 8 or so mil momentarily much like how WoD brought the numbers up to 10million but then saw the SHARPEST decline the game has ever seen.
WoW is currently lower in subscription count than it was at the end of it's original release.
The expansion will bring the numbers back to like 8 or so mil momentarily much like how WoD brought the numbers up to 10million but then saw the SHARPEST decline the game has ever seen.
WoW is currently lower in subscription count than it was at the end of it's original release.
Yeah, you really fucked it up, Blizzard. A ten year old game had 10 million people paying a monthly subscription for it.
Please while your at it fuck up my finances, too.
He did said that clearly he did not play when Reaper of Souls launched and still thinks the game is the same as it was a few years ago. But he also doesn't know how to have fun.
A lot of people (anecdotally) are purchasing the WoW Token with gold, which somebody else has to purchase for $20.
I imagine that is boosting some of the money made.
Kenzodielocke
Banned
I never understood those numbers anyway, the latest expansion had a lot less sales than they had subscribers.
Like Addon X has sold 5 million, but 9 million subscribers.
Like Addon X has sold 5 million, but 9 million subscribers.
Wow is just stale and there are way too many great pc games these days. I think the new expansion will bring some back but they will quit a few months in like usual.
I am pretty sure they are at like a Million or so the 4-5 million were registered accounts.
I am pretty sure they are at like a Million or so the 4-5 million were registered accounts.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
That was 5 million subscribers overall, not 5 million active iirc
Shining Sunshine
Banned
There are just so many f2p MMOs that the sub model is really dying off.
Like FF14 has like half a million from what I remember reading, but they would make a shitton of money going f2p with ONLY visual microtransaction because the game looks so freaking good that playing dress up is going to be so worth it.
And if they do a bit of scumbag microtransaction, they'll make even more money.
I expect WoW will figure out a way to go towards this model with their next expansion.
Like FF14 has like half a million from what I remember reading, but they would make a shitton of money going f2p with ONLY visual microtransaction because the game looks so freaking good that playing dress up is going to be so worth it.
And if they do a bit of scumbag microtransaction, they'll make even more money.
I expect WoW will figure out a way to go towards this model with their next expansion.
They've noted in fiscal calls they're trying to (and successfully) making up revenue with games like Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm. Overwatch is part of that too.
At some point, once they feel comfortable with the income from their other games, they might just pull the trigger and make WoW f2p as well.
Mitch
Banned
I'm assuming that's the case. Blizzard turned the game around for sure. Especially with RoS. After reading up on patch 2.3, I'll definitely be jumping back in when it comes out.
Palette Swap
Member
Great news for Diablo, although I'm part of the problem and bought it three times: first on release, it got old pretty quickly and I didn't really like the economy of the game. Then on PS3 to get that local coop goodness. Then on PS4 for the expansion and because we were looking for an excuse to couch coop it again.
The amazing thing about this game is that between all three versions - or their PC equivalents - it felt like a new, better game each time.
So yeah, I wouldn't mind another expansion or a new entry that picks up where Reaper left, designwise.
The amazing thing about this game is that between all three versions - or their PC equivalents - it felt like a new, better game each time.
So yeah, I wouldn't mind another expansion or a new entry that picks up where Reaper left, designwise.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
New WoW xpac announcement is the 6th, not today, I think
1: It's an old game, and there's only so much you can do by putting a new coat of paint on it.
2: The gaps between content patches in WoW are too long, and are often deliberately held back and released on dates when competing MMO's and their expansions launch. Content droughts are never a good thing, and costs subscribers.
3: The Gold/Token system may have changed the way people played the game. If so a dramatic change in subscriber numbers one way or the other may be the result. Hard to say without knowing exactly how many players use the Gold/Token system.
4: Being too reliant on expansions for content updates may be a bad business model, even if they do shorten the gap between expansions.
I can bet you everyone at Blizzard doesn't share your devil may care attitude over losing almost five million subs over the course of the smallest xpack they've done.
bearythebear
Member
People moved on to Dota/LoL for their PC time sink
Gentleman Jack
Member
What makes you say this? The tokens are keeping more people subscribed since they can burn off their piles of gold rather than spend actual money while others convert their time into a new, more expensive month-to-month subscription plan. Doesn't sound like a scheme that would send the existing playerbase fleeing more than any other contributing factors (i.e. WoD's general content crumminess).
Ascenion
Member
Correct- Weds morning is HOTS stuff, Thursday is WoW.
Afaik it wasn't even a million copies
StereoVsn
Member
Oh well. Somebody is bound to produce a decent and at least a bit of an original MMO at some point.
DeadlyParasite
Member
Cataclysm and the changes it brought to both classes, the old world design, and gameplay effectively brought about the end of my interest in the game. Wrath of the Lich King/Burning Crusade was the peak.
Not surprised by these dropping numbers.
Not surprised by these dropping numbers.
Staying over 5 million is still pretty impressive, considering the amount of virtrol and "wow is dead" bullshit going on....
Is WoD crap, that's subjective, it's not amazing,but it's certainly better than say Cata was...which was the first misstep by Blizzard over a lifetime of pretty good steps overall.
Can't wait to see what's next, yeah it's closer to the end than the beginning, but it's still a fun ride for now....
Is WoD crap, that's subjective, it's not amazing,but it's certainly better than say Cata was...which was the first misstep by Blizzard over a lifetime of pretty good steps overall.
Can't wait to see what's next, yeah it's closer to the end than the beginning, but it's still a fun ride for now....
Diablo 3's turnaround has been tremendous and I hope we get Necromancers and true summon based builds being viable at high level G-rifts at some point. Although I still dislike how Diablo 3 pretty much only has set items that truly define builds. Skill's being tied solely to weapon damage is also overly simplistic and boring, and skill runes in general are pretty bland. Honestly I would rather have synergies and skill trees at this point, but even with those complaints I'm actually pretty positive on the state of the game. Having a belief that the people at the top are competent is a huge part of that. Diablo 2: LOD is my favorite game ever, so seeing Diablo 3 sell this well is a bit surreal. I get to enjoy more of the game with tons of potential for more content for a long, long time. (Although Diablo 4 would be awesome as well, one more expansion would make sense).
Go play Rift, its been better then WoW for years.
meanspartan
Member
As big of a drop as that is, it has to come with the usual positive asterisk.
That World of Wacraft, now approaching 11 years old, is at it's low point of 5.6 million (not counting first couple years) larger than any other paid MMO ever.
That World of Wacraft, now approaching 11 years old, is at it's low point of 5.6 million (not counting first couple years) larger than any other paid MMO ever.
AnathemicOne
Banned
Garrisons was a horrible idea