Mists of Pandaria Opening Sales Stumble

[sethisjimmy]

This is less "WoW stumbles" and more "shitty market analysts are shitty".

It's 2012, how the fuck can they exclude digital sales and call that a good estimate?

 

[Doc Theta Sigma]

I'm just annoyed that all that people try to focus on seems to be that Pandaren were originally an April's Fools joke.

It's hard not to, when the trailers are showing off kung fu pandas completely straight-faced.

Despite the Pandaren existing as a concept for years before that movie was even released. I was doubtful about Mists of Pandaria myself but I have to give Blizzard credit, it works. They've put a hell of a lot of work into this expansion. The new zones are absolutely stunning and hugely detailed, the quests are fun and the dungeons have mechanics beyond tanking and spanking. I've been converted.

 

[Waaghpowa]

Neglect digital sales

Ignorant haters comment on the game failing.

I bought the digital copy of the game, and these days there's no point of buying the box anyway. The game is always patched with the next expansions content weeks in advance. Buying the box only serves to give the player their code to upgrade there account. It's more cost and time efficient to get the game digital unless you want the collectors.

You don't actually install the expansion from the disc anymore.

Edit: Also, why the hell is the fact that there are kung fu pandas such a problem? Is it because the game is no longer serious to you? The game was NEVER intended to be taken seriously. Blizz puts a lot of humour into their games, doesn't detract from them in the slightest. I don't remember anyone making a fuss over the Tauren marines in Starcraft 2, and they were stupid and silly. Just drop the whole thing for fuck sakes. Either enjoy the game or shut up.

 

[Oskuro]

Edit: Thunder stolen by previous poster

Why is people suddenly claiming that Pandaren are not serious enough for WoW? Since when has Warcraft's lore been remotely serious?

Heck, I have no interest in the game, but the Pandaren trailer I liked because it was funny for once (human giving orc the spear: priceless), instead of all the over dramatic grim-dark from the previous expansions.


As for the subscription decline, not surprising. But Blizzard have been seeing this coming for a while now (Project "Titan" anyone?).

 

[Daystar Clarion]

The cracks are growing larger. The beast doesn't have much longer to live by my calculations.

Hell, people go on about 'WoW killers', WoW will kill itself eventually.

 

[Fappy]

The cracks are growing larger. The beast doesn't have much longer to live by my calculations.

Hell, people go on about 'WoW killers', WoW will kill itself eventually.

I've felt that way since way back when Warhammer Online was coming out. You can only stuff so much shit into an old game before it implodes like the big Yellow energy absorption guy from early on in the Buu saga who Goku beat by making him absorb too much energy... wait... where was I going with this?

 

[Fappy]

The cracks are growing larger. The beast doesn't have much longer to live by my calculations.

Hell, people go on about 'WoW killers', WoW will kill itself eventually.

I've felt that way since way back when Warhammer Online was coming out. You can only stuff so much shit into an old game before it implodes like the big Yellow energy absorption guy from early on in the Buu saga who Goku beat by making him absorb too much energy... wait... where was I going with this?

Then explain Everquest. It is bloated and yet it still has a devoted following. WoW will continue to decline, but I highly doubt it will "die out". It will go the way of Ultima Online or Everquest (the first one, not the second).

Captcha: how about that?

When I say die out I really mean lose it's monopoly. WoW has one of the biggest followings in the industry's history, so of course there will always be a niche for it. I wouldn't doubt Blizzard will likely keep the servers alive for another 15 or 20 years if enough people are still playing. DII servers are still up.

 

[Sixcess]

I've felt that way since way back when Warhammer Online was coming out. You can only stuff so much shit into an old game before it implodes like the big Yellow energy absorption guy from early on in the Buu saga who Goku beat by making him absorb too much energy... wait... where was I going with this?

I think the problem with WoW is more like the reverse. Instead of using their huge name, fame and financial power to broaden and deepen the game, and in doing so advance the entire genre, they're becoming narrower and narrower in focus - drowning the levelling experience in gimmicky minigames and sucking the life out of anything that isn't the most recent 5 levels and the dead horse gear grind of the endgame.

With all the dumbing down streamlining of the game these past few years it feels like there's less to WoW than there used to be, not more.

 

[Fappy]

I've felt that way since way back when Warhammer Online was coming out. You can only stuff so much shit into an old game before it implodes like the big Yellow energy absorption guy from early on in the Buu saga who Goku beat by making him absorb too much energy... wait... where was I going with this?

I think the problem with WoW is more like the reverse. Instead of using their huge name, fame and financial power to broaden and deepen the game, and in doing so advance the entire genre, they're becoming narrower and narrower in focus - drowning the levelling experience in gimmicky minigames and sucking the life out of anything that isn't the most recent 5 levels and the dead horse gear grind of the endgame.

With all the dumbing down streamlining of the game these past few years it feels like there's less to WoW than there used to be, not more.

I was going with the whole abundance of expansions and high level cap angle. A lot of people have left the game for the reasons you listed above, but it is hard for them to replenish their numbers because newcomers are intimidated by what appears to be an incredibly large and difficult game to "catch up" in.

 

[kortin]

This entire article is rendered useless simply because they didn't put any effort into finding how many digital copies sold.

 

[Tumedus]

Some musings:

Its funny, Pandaren were cool when everyone loved Blizz and they were included in WCIII. But now that hating on Blizz is cool, Pandas are lame.

Somehow I feel D3 did more to hurt sales of MoP than WoW itself.

Any analysis should include digital sales, even if it is an estimation based on recent purchasing data.

Looking at the Acti-Blizz earnings report, its hard to imagine that they get more than 50% of their sales digitally. Online channels account for 32% of revenue 20% of which is subscription fees leaving 12% maximum in digital sales if we pretend that no revenue is made from DLC type content. If we factor in the 26% platform percentage for PC sales, which all Blizz games are, then 46% is about the maximum that could be attributed to digital delivery.

Granted its possible, being an x-pac for an online game, that the percentages are higher for MoP.

Its also possible that, being early and not having slept much that I completely borked some simple math or am overlooking something in the earnings report.

 

[Sixcess]

I was going with the whole abundance of expansions and high level cap angle. A lot of people have left the game for the reasons you listed above, but it is hard for them to replenish their numbers because newcomers are intimidated by what appears to be an incredibly large and difficult game to "catch up" in.

True.

I think the MMO market has changed, or the target audience has, or both. Instead of pitching it as "hundreds of hours of content in this huge and deep world" it's become "lots of 'old stuff to slog through before you get to the 'good' bit at the endgame." It's a change of expectations, from the old days where people would commit to an MMO for months or years, to now, when it's all about instant gratification.

Blizzard aren't the only ones doing this, more's the pity, but they're probably the most extreme example.

 

[Skeleon]

"Only"? That's an "only"-type of number to them?
Maybe they have to stumble in order to get some reasonable perspective back.
The game they're releasing this for is ancient by now.

 

[Chiave]

Would love to play this, but I can't afford WoW anymore.

 

[Clarste]

I don't doubt that WoW's in decline, and has been for years, but excluding the digital sales is completely nonsensical. As far as Blizzard is concerned, they're not even selling a game, they're selling an "account upgrade". The simplest and most convenient way for a player to do this is through their account page. They don't even link to the store if you visit the Blizzard website and click the big "buy now" button in front.

 

[Vaccine]

Why this is completely useless news that tells us nothing:
Everyone bought digital because it applied the upgrade before Mists was released, unlike physical copies, aka, you can login directly on release.

It's very easy to see who bought digital because you got an achievement before the release if you bought collectors digital edition, which I saw endlessly from guildies and people in town getting.

 

[RoBi3.0]

Lets extrapolate a conclusion based on woefully insufficient data! Thank god you guys are video game journalists and game industry analysts and not something actually important like a rocket scientists or Nuclear Engineers.


:-S

 

[Folji]

There is a significant hole in the Lazard estimates, as they don't include digital sales. Things have changed considerably in the digital space since 2010, and digital is bound to be a larger proportion of overall Pandaria sales than they would have been for Cataclysm.

"Significant" is just underestimating it. At this point, boxed copies probably make up but a fraction of anything Blizzard sells.

 

[Lunar Templar]

It'll recover those numbers as soon as people start coming back from Guild Wars 2.

They always come back.

not sure that holds as true any more. sure SOME might go back, but i highly doubt WoW, at this stage can pull all its lost subs back cause they added Po as a playable race

 

[orangeapples]

incomplete data is incomplete.

Why aren't digital numbers included in these stats? Get with the times people.