World of Warcraft Subscriptions Continue to Slide

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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World of Warcraft Subscriptions Continue to Slide


World of Warcraft [http://www.amazon.com/World-Warcraft-Pc/dp/B000067FDW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1312470179&sr=8-4] still wears the crown but Blizzard revealed yesterday that for the second consecutive quarter, its subscription numbers have declined.

Don't head for the lifeboats just yet: the World of Warcraft dreadnought is still chugging along, with a whopping 11.1 million subscribers worldwide. But as impressive as that figure is, it still represents a drop of roughly 300,000 subscribers over the quarter that ended on June 30 and that's enough to have Blizzard scrambling to find ways to turn things around.

Part of the problem facing the game, CEO Mike Morhaime explained in an investors call, is that subscriber numbers "tend to be seasonal and driven by content updates," but as players become more experienced and better at the game, expansions like Cataclysm [http://www.amazon.com/World-Warcraft-Cataclysm-Pc/dp/B002I0HKIU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312470179&sr=8-1] just don't hold up like they used to.

"I think with Cataclysm [players] were able to consume the content faster than with previous expansions, but that's why we're working on developing more content," he said, which will include "major new raid and dungeon content."

"We believe that this new in-game content will keep the game fresh for current players, and provide compelling reasons for lapsed players to come back," he added.

WoW's new unlimited trial system has resulted in a "significant increase" in new accounts, Morhaime said, although it's still too early to tell what impact that will have on the actual subscriber base, and continued international expansion into countries like China, Russia and Portugal will also help reverse the trend.

And in spite of the reduced subscriber numbers, World of Warcraft revenues for the quarter are actually up year-over-year, although profit margins were down thanks to ongoing investment in what Morhaime described as projects "that haven't necessarily been announced." The game brought in $313 million this quarter, compared to $292 million over the same period in 2010. In other words, there's no need to panic just yet.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36351/World_of_Warcraft_Subscriptions_Continue_To_Decline_Though_More_Slowly.php]


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synobal

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Jun 8, 2011
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It's not just that, WoW is really starting to show it's age, and some of the more poor design choices are coming back to haunt Blizzard.

I recently started to play Rift myself and I've been very impressed with Trion, their mmo doesn't introduce a lot of new concepts but it's got enough uniqueness to not simply be called a WoW clone. That said the next expansion for Rift will be very important, especially with a big name like SWToR coming out soon.
 

Xanthious

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Dec 25, 2008
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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.
 

KeyMaster45

Gone Gonzo
Jun 16, 2008
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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-
Xanthious said:
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.
 

Ickabod

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May 29, 2008
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The game is a the same grind it was when it first came out. Was fine at the start, but now gamers want something more. Look no further than the failures of other recent MMO's. The WoW model which has been greatly successful has run it's course.

I'm not saying that WoW is a bad game, it's just the same game. It's not a matter of content needing to be added, it's that the gameplay needs to evolve from what it is. I really hope that SW:TOR will bring some new things to the table, but I don't have a lot of faith in that.

I played WoW for 5 years and for the most part enjoyed them, but as of right now because of how MMO's are today, I won't pick up another one until I see some sort of real innovation.
 

Rawne1980

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Jul 29, 2011
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The problem is WoW has been going for what 6-7 years.

Sooner or later it was bound to lose players. People sometimes just want something new. WoW was never going to last forever but it's still got 11 million players so can't exactly say it's doing badly.
 

Ickabod

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May 29, 2008
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Jyggalag said:
Perhaps it's time to create an entirely new MMO, Blizzard.
It would be nice if they announced Titan at Blizcon, but probably too soon considering the Starcraft expansion and Diablo 3 on the horizon
 

tehweave

Gaming Wildlife
Apr 5, 2009
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WoW was really fun. But like many other gamers I find myself both strapped for cash and time. I can barely afford to buy new games anymore. The last game I bought was the last expansion to "The Sims" I never played. (Still kinda fun.)

That's the thing about older games. You can go back and play them again and still enjoy them. But what about MMOs? They're kept alive through other people playing and the GMs who maintain the servers and access glitches if they come. IMO an MMO could not run by itself. If a normal game glitches out or has a game-ending bug, you go to gamefaqs or escapist or whathaveyou, look up the glitch and ask people about it. You find the solution and keep going.

MMOs are like giant boats or ships, constantly needing maintenance and constantly needing people to maintain them. They're a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that once they're over, the experience is gone with them. Enjoy it while you can, but remember that it will come to an end eventually.

Still, though. Blizzard has gotten billions from this game. They reeeeeeally should not be worried about losing a fraction of their 11 million subscribers.
 

Alphakirby

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May 22, 2009
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Honestly,I'm not surprised considering that when it was first made, WoW was the only good mmo out there,now there' BILLIONS of awesome free MMOs out that surpass WoW if just not more creative than it. Suffice to say that unless Blizzard gets on the free to play bandwagon,they are going to lose players.
 

Imper1um

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May 21, 2008
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Oh, silly Blizzard, it's not that people have been consuming your content faster, it is that your content takes an afternoon of headaches to complete.

People have realized that you simply just don't care anymore.
 

Asehujiko

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Feb 25, 2008
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Xanthious said:
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.
Maybe the missing "thing" is the fact that it took 6 years for you to get bored with the game? Which is a phenomenal achievement for Blizzard as many games drop under critical mass in less then 6 months.
 

Archemetis

Is Probably Awesome.
Aug 13, 2008
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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.

I realise it's easier to update with new, level-capped content because it's at the end, it can just be added on.

But just adding in the occasional new quest for those still on their way to 85 wouldn't hurt.

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?

I know that whenever I level a new character I dread hitting level 58 because I know I can only put off going to Outland for another 2 levels.

With some refreshed content in Outland I probably wouldn't feel like I have to slog through PuGs for ten levels...
 

Merkavar

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Aug 21, 2010
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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