Slashdot Mirror

If you look at the graphs over at MMOGChart.com, most of the lines that aren't WoW seem to be heading downwards. The little engine that could, though, is personified by the Icelandic dynamo EVE Online. FiringSquad has an interview with CCP Senior Producer Nathan Richardsson. He discusses the popularity of EVE right now, and goes into some of the company's plans for making sure the game stays that way in the future. From the article: "This iterative process is based largely on our crazy future views of how EVE should be and a lot on player feedback. We then want to do some revolutionary stuff to the EVE universe and then evolution comes and bites us in the ass, reminding us that it's not cool to always throw new stuff in, the current game needs to be constantly maintained and evolved. In the end, we're never happy and I guess this is part of what is fuelling our continued passion for EVE."

SirBruce wrote to mention that the 21st update to MMOGChart.com is now available. From the site: "This version has updated subscriber numbers for several games, most notably World of Warcraft, several of SOE's titles, and the recently launched Auto Assault. I've also expanded the mid-range chart a bit; eventually I'm going to have to implement a dynamic graphing system." The most dramatic information can be seen on the mid-range chart. The cyan, triangled line that represents Everquest made my jaw drop.

SirBruce writes "Mmogchart.com has been updated to Version 20.0! This is a major update, with updated numbers for many games, most notably World of Warcraft, Eve Online, RuneScape, and most of NCSoft's titles. I've also added three new MMOGs to the tracking data: Tibia, The Matrix Online, and Dungeons & Dragons Online. I've also removed the old subscriber data for Ragnarok Online in Japan, and unified the various total subscriptions charts. Also new to this update is preliminary market data for Asian MMOGs (including Ragnarok Online) that are commonly reported in terms of Peak Concurrent Users and Average Concurrent Users. Given the differences in pricing models, many of these games are not subscription-based, so a direct comparison with subscription MMOGs cannot be made. My thanks to everyone who helped with this update, and thanks to those of you who waited patiently for this update!"

SirBruce writes "Mmogchart.com has been updated to Version 20.0! This is a major update, with updated numbers for many games, most notably World of Warcraft, Eve Online, RuneScape, and most of NCSoft's titles. I've also added three new MMOGs to the tracking data: Tibia, The Matrix Online, and Dungeons & Dragons Online. I've also removed the old subscriber data for Ragnarok Online in Japan, and unified the various total subscriptions charts. Also new to this update is preliminary market data for Asian MMOGs (including Ragnarok Online) that are commonly reported in terms of Peak Concurrent Users and Average Concurrent Users. Given the differences in pricing models, many of these games are not subscription-based, so a direct comparison with subscription MMOGs cannot be made. My thanks to everyone who helped with this update, and thanks to those of you who waited patiently for this update!"

SirBruce, of MMOGChart, took a good hard look at what the massive games of tomorrow will look like at E3. He has impressions of every game due to be released in the next year or so, with commentary on most. From the article, about Vanguard: "This title is highly anticipated by some of the MMOG hardcore, as it comes from ex-EverQuest developers Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler, but aside from the graphics and the promise of in-game voice chat it does not seem to be very innovative over the original EQ1 design. The game is designed to be group-focused and highly challenging, which may mean it's too much of a time investment for the more casual MMOG player. If the game were coming out this year, I would have higher hopes for it, but I feel it may get lost behind the mass of other fantasy-themed MMORPG titles."

Alarash writes "Blizzard just announced that its latest video game (and first MMO), World of Warcraft reached 1.5 millions of subscribers world-wide. Blizzard is now second only to NCSoft (over 5 millions users spread on Lineage, Lineage II and City of Heroes) according to the MMOG Chart."

A good week for MMOG gamers, as Star Wars Galaxies Patch 13.0 goes into effect, revamping the Galactic Civil War and making way for the Combat Upgrade. World of Warcraft players, likewise, should be happy to learn about future game developments in upcoming patches. There are a lot of folks in that last category, as Blizzard stated this week that they've sold more than 800,000 copies of WoW, making Warcraft the largest U.S. based MMOG. If you're interested in learning more about MMOG stats, SirBruce's mmogchart.com has recently been updated with new information. Speaking of learning, registration will begin soon for the academically inclined Games+Learning+Society conference to be held in Madison, Wisconsin. If the concept intrigues you there are only 200 passes to go around, so you'd best sign up early. Gamespot's weekly Rumor Control article certainly intrigues, and this week states that Half-Life 2's Alyx is likely to be a playable character in an upcoming expansion to the hit game. A female protagonist would be a nice change of pace. Women in games in general are a good thing, and GameGirlAdvance has a lengthy survey for women gamers and women in the games industry to fill out.

GameGirlAdvance has a look at the litigation between NCSoft and Marvel, examining exactly how infringy the character creator can let you be. The Square/Enix people are starting a roving FFXI party, to kick off later this month in CA. f13.net has an interview with Scott Brown, a developer on the upcoming car-based Auto Assault MMOG. The staple MMOG stats resource, MMOGChart.com, has been updated again by Sir Bruce. He's added several more games but doesn't have new subscription numbers for WoW or EQII.

SirBruce writes "Mmogchart.com has been updated, and Version 13.0 is now online. The charts now include more data for World of Warcraft and EverQuest II. Please keep in mind that this data is still very preliminary and could still change. It is widely believed that many other games have shown a decline in subscriptions as a result of the impact of WoW and EQII, but I have no quantifiable numbers yet for the current subscribers for games such as EverQuest I, Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot, and City of Heroes. The full effect of WoW and EQII is not yet visible and probably will not be until February or March."

SirBruce writes "Mmogchart.com has been updated, and Version 13.0 is now online. The charts now include more data for World of Warcraft and EverQuest II. Please keep in mind that this data is still very preliminary and could still change. It is widely believed that many other games have shown a decline in subscriptions as a result of the impact of WoW and EQII, but I have no quantifiable numbers yet for the current subscribers for games such as EverQuest I, Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot, and City of Heroes. The full effect of WoW and EQII is not yet visible and probably will not be until February or March."

SirBruce writes "Okay, this time I'm tooting my own horn before someone else does. I've released version 12.0 of my venerable work An Analysis of MMOG Subscription Growth. I've added several new charts along with new analysis, including initial subscription figures for EverQuest II and World of Warcraft. However, and perhaps most importantly, with the help of generous donations from viewers like you I have moved the report to a new web page, with a new URL (http://www.mmogchart.com/), a new design, and a new server that should be able to handle my frequent slashdotting. So, enjoy!" Boy, that was quick. Go Bruce.

SirBruce writes "Okay, this time I'm tooting my own horn before someone else does. I've released version 12.0 of my venerable work An Analysis of MMOG Subscription Growth. I've added several new charts along with new analysis, including initial subscription figures for EverQuest II and World of Warcraft. However, and perhaps most importantly, with the help of generous donations from viewers like you I have moved the report to a new web page, with a new URL (http://www.mmogchart.com/), a new design, and a new server that should be able to handle my frequent slashdotting. So, enjoy!" Boy, that was quick. Go Bruce.

SirBruce writes "Okay, this time I'm tooting my own horn before someone else does. I've released version 12.0 of my venerable work An Analysis of MMOG Subscription Growth. I've added several new charts along with new analysis, including initial subscription figures for EverQuest II and World of Warcraft. However, and perhaps most importantly, with the help of generous donations from viewers like you I have moved the report to a new web page, with a new URL (http://www.mmogchart.com/), a new design, and a new server that should be able to handle my frequent slashdotting. So, enjoy!" Boy, that was quick. Go Bruce.