World of Warcraft Subscriptions Continue to Slide

[Wharrgarble]

A lot of people are leaving because their friends are leaving. For many, the community is a big part of what keeps them interested and involved. Without that addition/distraction, people might not be having as much fun. It's an older game, and it shows.

 

[Vrach]

So they're down to 11.1 million, which is actually the number counting free accounts (you know, those things people don't pay for?). I wonder how far they're down for real. Cause this ain't LOTRO where those free accounts are paying microtransactions or some shit like that, it's just a trial account.

Good to see it losing it's stranglehold - it'll make way for the new and better MMOs that are coming in '11/'12

 

[Sonicmixer]

Inb4 the WoW haters show up shouting victory for X mmo as dethroning the giant.

I think the problem might be that there are veteran players who just got burnt out with the game. Hell I know at the end of Wrath I was so burnt out I let my subscription lapse and haven't really felt like going back. It's another expansion which means another year or two of grinding to the top of content only to have the board reset again with the next one. After going through vanilla, BC, and Wrath I just didn't feel like doing it anymore.

Despite the big revamps in Cataclysm it's still the same game, and the players who've been around for a long time are probably getting bored with the same old grind of content patterns.

-EDIT-

I don't know, I'm a six year veteran of WoW and for some reason Cataclysm just isn't "doing it" for me. I don't know what it is exactly but there just feels like something is missing. I know a lot of guild members are saying the same thing. We can't put our finger on it but something that was there in the previous three chapters just isn't there any longer.

I think what's missing is that their big bad guy isn't one with lots of rep outside of novels. Though I'm not sure how well that stands up, Illdian got lots of his back story from the War of the Ancients novels. (at least the parts that made him into more of a tragic figure than he already was)

Another thing could be that Arthas was a pretty big and epic target for us to kill. I mean we have to face it, Deathwing just doesn't measure up in the depth/badass department of Arthas, he's just kind of a "bleh", flat villain.

I totally agree KeyMaster,

I don't think its a coincidence that the interest has started to decline after the last bit of content that was directly related to the other Warcraft games was used. I remember the announcement of Cataclysm and my first question was "Who the heck is Deathwing?" It took me awhile to figure out he actually was in Warcraft II, and it took reading the novels to finally feel up to date with what was going on. I was emotionally attached to the stories of Illidan and Arthas, but Deathwing (and perhaps anything else they come up with) just isn't cutting it. If I'm not emotionally attached then all the flaws start to show and it becomes just old hat.

Now SW:TOR has the oppertunity to totally suck me in because of how much of an impact KOTOR and KOTOR II had on me. I want to find out what happened to Revan and all the other characters I meet, and re-experience that wonderful feeling of playing KOTOR without knowing whats coming next.

 

[skullduggery]

rift sees to have everything wow has and more. the only thing rift doesnt have is the 11 million subscribers.

i wouldnt be surprised if in 2 - 5 years time rift is the big dog mmo

I haven't heard THAT one before...

Hyborian Age...
Warhammer...
Perfect World...
LOTR...
Galaxies...
Everquest 2...
FF-whatever...
DC Universe...
City of Morally Ambiguous Ubermen...
EVE Online...
Guildwars...

All of these have been set up as these great WoW killers and ultimately fail. Because WoW is a good game. All these fanboys coming in and saying WoW is collapsing don't know what they're talking about. It pulls in a billion in revenue each year. If WoW dies it's not going to be for another 10 years or so.

 

[Sonicmixer]

rift sees to have everything wow has and more. the only thing rift doesnt have is the 11 million subscribers.

i wouldnt be surprised if in 2 - 5 years time rift is the big dog mmo

You MIGHT be right, but I don't think Rift has the pedigree. I'd put my money on SW:TOR. So far I've heard so many things that they are trying to do with that game that I've never heard of another MMO pulling off, and if they do...well the only words that comes to mind are ... Unstoppable Juggernaught!

 

[Zing]

Not surprising. The lack of content in WoW is really surprising now. Cataclysm only brought 5 new zones. The revamping of the old zones does nothing for existing players, except making leveling an alt slightly more interesting. PvP balance is the worst it's ever been, and it takes them months to make any changes. There's been zero new arena maps, and they still can't fix the one arena they added from the last expansion.

I see no reason for me to keep playing when Diablo 3 and SWTOR come around.

 

[Alorxico]

I had a subscription to WOW, but times are tough and given the choice between playing WOW or being able to buy groceries, Food wins.

Two ideas that, if Blizzard implemented in the game, would get me to come back.

1.) Lower the monthly fee. It doesn't have to be drastic, but until the economy turns around, that might be a good idea to keep players and gain new players.
2.) Find away to herd all the players who care more about Gear-Score and damage numbers onto their own server so those players who just want to have fun don't feel unwelcome and cancel their subscriptions.

 

[RA92]

It would be an interesting day when WoW's servers are shut down. Will there be mass mourning, celebration, or apathy?

 

[kingcat1]

No we left because its too easy , and your making us pay for mounts

 

[Omnific One]

Maybe you should start thinking about a WoW2. Well, more like focusing on a WoW2, because I'm guessing WoW is showing its age.

 

[TheSkaAssassin]

It's a down economy. As a college student, I can buy a weeks worth of groceries for $15 and I'd rather have the groceries. Once the market picks back up, people will be able to afford to play.

 

[Cormitt]

How about instead of solely catering to the 'end-game' crowd. We actually have a content patch that has something for the little guy whose still levelling?

Cataclysm in my eyes is one of the best expansions so far if only because it gave me new things to do while I levelled.

Now, it's fucking boring again because I've seen it all... Again.

Wow that sums up exactly why I've cancelled my WoW account for the last time.

Why not spend some time slowly re-working content from previous expansions?
I'm not saying reboot it all entirely, maybe just have a look at some of the quests and re-work them to more fit the style you've currently got?

You're not but I think a reboot is probably a good idea.. although probably completely not feasible.

The bottom line here is that WoW relies heavily on a repeatable model of character development and that model is only fun for a finite period of time. Eventually, even new content can't help the fact that the model is boring as hell.

One other thought. I think someone needs to take into consideration the casual gamer more. Sure there's a huge element of hardcore incredibly social people who do nothing but raid the end game content but the casual gamer feels excluded from this because they don't have the time to devote to getting there. I've had I don't know how many of my friends start the game then quit because they can never really experience the end game content properly. Personally, it was one of the reasons I quit the first time.

 

[EvilMaggot]

Perhaps it's time to create an entirely new MMO, Blizzard.

they are working on "Titan"...remember ?

 

[DaMullet]

Finally! People are realizing what I've known all along. WoW sucks.

There's not going to be anything there and will die as soon as people's friends start playing other games.

Here's a glimse into the future;
Bob: Do you still play WoW?
Jim: No, because I don't know anyone that still does.
Bob: What MMO are you playing?
Jim: The one that my friends play.

This loss of players will increase Exponentially.

 

[Chris Barber]

I played from classic to Cataclysm and quit in February, I think it was. Partly because my friends started to quit and that hurt my motivation to play what is (for me) a social game without friends. But the final nail in the coffin was when they removed the 25 man bracket for Rated Battlegrounds. I went from enjoying regular PVP play with newly made friends to suddenly not having a party slot anymore when Rated BGs became exclusively 10 player. So after going through all the trouble to make new friends Blizzard removes my capacity to actually play with them.

When my favorite game mode is removed from the game I can't justify playing it anymore. And so I let my account expire and took up NEStalgia as my new MMO hobby. And so far I'm loving it and think the game has a good future ahead of it.

I don't at all regret my time in WoW. But I'd never return to it.

 

[Sartan0]

Here's a glimse into the future;
Bob: Do you still play WoW?
Jim: No, because I don't know anyone that still does.
Bob: What MMO are you playing?
Jim: The one that my friends play.

This loss of players will increase Exponentially.

You got it right there. While Blizzard is working on a new MMO I don't think WoW will keep it together long enough for them to bridge the gap cleanly. That gives another game a chance to become the new top dog. At least for awhile.