The Ten Most Profitable MMOGs

[Keane Ng]

The Ten Most Profitable MMOGs

No big surprise: World of Warcraft takes the top spot. As for some of the other entries on this list, you may have never even heard of them. That is, unless you're six years old.

According to a report [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7960785.stm] by analysts Screen Digest, MMOGs are still big money, and World of Warcraft is sitting at the top of the cash pile. In 2008, the MMOG market in Europe and North America grew by 22% and is estimated to keep on keeping on as gamers attempt to satisfy their unquenchable desire for phat lewts and tedious grinding.

While WoW's dominance is no surprise here, Screen Digest's findings for the rest of the MMOG market revealed a number of surprising results. When gauging the most popular MMOGs, the analysts used revenue made from subscription fees as opposed to the commonly cited player/subscriber population numbers. So, even though most of us would imagine games like EverQuest II and Age of Conan as virtual ghost towns, apparently they're still turning enough of a profit to make it into the top ten most money making MMOGs.

Sitting just behind WoW at second place is Club Penguin [http://www.clubpenguin.com/], a Disney-owned kid-oriented MMOG where users create avatars that are - you guessed it - penguins and play all sorts of fun minigames in a Flash-built virtual world. In third place behind Club Penguin is another game built for the PG-13-and-under crowd, RuneScape. Both Club Penguin and RuneScape offers paid premium accounts in addition to free basic accounts, evidently an extremely profitable business model. Guess lots of kids really want to dress up their penguins in silly hats and are able to convince their parents to fork over the Visa cards.

In the mid-tier of profitability are Eve Online, Final Fantasy XI, The Lord of the Rings Online and Dofus [http://www.dofus.com/en/], which is apparently all the rage in France. Rounding out the bottom of the list are the aforementioned Age of Conan, City of Heroes and EverQuest II. Warhammer Online didn't make the list as it was released too late to be included in the study.

[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun [http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/03/24/goldfarmers-of-the-world-unite-the-most-profitable-mmos/]]


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[mattttherman3]

WOO runescape at number 3! Gonna get back into that soon, seeing as there is nothing good comming out over the summer.

 

[KaZZaP]

I can't believe Club Penguin has gotten so big. That shit was started in my town, I went to their workplace a few years ago in a tour for the school I'm going to.

 

[oliveira8]

Club Penguin....Is the 2nd most profitable MMOG...What the hell? Didnt even know it existed...

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

My brother and his friends loved Club Penguin. I could never see what the appeal was.

 

[Internet Kraken]

Even Runescape is better than Turbines LOTRO

 

[fix-the-spade]

Interesting the Final Fantasy 11 is still up there.
I realise that it is a very good (and huge, huge) MMO. But after seven years you would think it would have tailed off by now. I wonder where Warhammer Online fits (or would have fitted had it been eligable) in to the list and where Star Wars Galaxies would have been if it had never had the major gameplay update.

Hats off to CCP though, being up there and maintaining their unique take on MMO's and customer service is really impressive.

 

[Mr.Bubbles43]

Yay for eve, but I don't see how anyone can stand to play runescape.

 

[Johnn Johnston]

Club Penguin. Now, there's something that I hoped would die. I heard about it when it was still new, and I'm thoroughly annoyed that it hasn't spluttered and died on a heap on the floor.

As you may be able to tell, I do not care for it.

 

[Marble Dragon]

Sheesh, I didn't know that Club Penguin was right behind WoW. That sounds like a punchline for a really sad, awful joke. I tried it out, and it sucked. It was boring, there was nothing to do, and it was all directed at five year olds, plus there was almost no level of character customization, especially if you don't want to spend ten bucks a month to buy ties for your penguin.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

remember my RuneScape years. They were full of quests goblins and mining for coal.

 

[runtheplacered]

Even Runescape is better than Turbines LOTRO

Where did you read that Runescape is better then LOTRO? These are games that are most profitable. This isn't a ranking of games that are "better" then other games. All that shows is how well the paid premium account business model works.

Talk about reading into things..

 

[Internet Kraken]

Even Runescape is better than Turbines LOTRO

Where did you read that Runescape is better then LOTRO? These are games that are most profitable. This isn't a ranking of games that are "better" then other games. All that shows is how well the paid premium account business model works.

Talk about reading into things..

I wasn't being serious. If I thought something was better just because it was more profitable then WoW would be the best game ever.

 

[Moormur]

Wow, people. Bitter much? I have never played nor will I ever play Club Penguin. But this isn't the list of the top 10 Best MMOs, just the top 10 most profitable. Almost all MMOs have some sort of feature that differentiates itself from the others or else it will sink to the bottom and fail. All this means is that Club Penguin makes the most moolah. Things can still be crap and make a lot of money. Look all around you to find examples.

And Internet Kraken...Turbine has been flamed enough already in the March Mayhem torney. If you would like to continue, please do it there and leave the rest of the forums untouched. I joined Escapist because I found out about the forums through Turbine for the MM tourney (I knew about the videos, though, and have watched them when they come out) and have tried to convince myself that this is a positive environment by avoiding the MM forums like the plague. Please don't prove me wrong...

 

[Internet Kraken]

Wow, people. Bitter much? I have never played nor will I ever play Club Penguin. But this isn't the list of the top 10 Best MMOs, just the top 10 most profitable. Almost all MMOs have some sort of feature that differentiates itself from the others or else it will sink to the bottom and fail. All this means is that Club Penguin makes the most moolah. Things can still be crap and make a lot of money. Look all around you to find examples.

And Internet Kraken...Turbine has been flamed enough already in the March Mayhem torney. If you would like to continue, please do it there and leave the rest of the forums untouched. I joined Escapist because I found out about the forums through Turbine for the MM tourney (I knew about the videos, though, and have watched them when they come out) and have tried to convince myself that this is a positive environment by avoiding the MM forums like the plague. Please don't prove me wrong...

Good for you. I already said it was a joke.

 

[asinann]

I don't think this is a very accurate study.
These are supposed to be the most PROFITABLE?
Free MMO's are 2 of the top 3 and 5 of the top 10?
I think they just got subscription totals and multiplied by $15, subtracted average overhead costs and called it a day.

 

[Escapefromwhatever]

Interesting the Final Fantasy 11 is still up there.
I realise that it is a very good (and huge, huge) MMO. But after seven years you would think it would have tailed off by now. I wonder where Warhammer Online fits (or would have fitted had it been eligable) in to the list and where Star Wars Galaxies would have been if it had never had the major gameplay update.

Hats off to CCP though, being up there and maintaining their unique take on MMO's and customer service is really impressive.

I used to play SWG, not only was it a nice impletmentation of Star Wars, but it was incredibly deep and innovative. I dealt with the Combat Upgrade, hell I even liked it in some areas, but after the NGE...I moved to World of Warcraft (though I did give the NGE a fair shot, but it was horrible). And after that I stopped playing MMOs, because I don't like how they play anymore, playing an MMO too much takes variety away from one's entertainment time, and I had a tendency to get addicted, even though I was apparently less addicted then others, who kept pushing me to get to the highest level at a faster pace.

But when I did play SWG, those were good times. And when I finishes my grinding in order to become a Bounty Hunter (plus other classes), it made it really easy not to get addicted. Log on, take out a few Jedi, maybe help fight the Empire a little, and log off.

 

[Spinwhiz]

Who would have thought I was playing the 10th game on the list. Amazing!

 

[Sir Ollie]

what the hell is club penguin sounds scary! never even heard of it untill today damn you Escapist for filling my head with penguins now

 

[Keane Ng]

what the hell is club penguin sounds scary! never even heard of it untill today damn you Escapist for filling my head with penguins now

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