MMOG Subscription Chart Updated

Thanks to the folks at GameGirlAdvance for pointing to Bruce Sterling Woodcock's newest update of his MMOG subscription chart. This update has newer subscription numbers for many of the MMOG leaders, and has added games such as EverQuest: OA, Shadowbane, EVE Online, and Star Wars Galaxies to the chart, commenting that the recent market shows "...the market competition is fierce and the cannibalization of subscribers is now clearly evident... [but] there is still possibility for large success, as the more recent launches of Ragnarok Online in Japan and Star Wars Galaxies have shown."

Comments

Cannibilization?

[xenocide2]

If you actually take the time to look at the charts, you won't see any "cannibilization." No game takes its subscribers from another game. Instead you'll find that a game grows logarithmically; fast at first but then towards a plateau. If you look at the total subscribership, you'll notice that its growing, not stabilizing. And the market itself is growing, as each new game takes off faster and faster. Its still too early to tell, but SWG may or may not beat Ragnorok in growth speed.

Both have grown very very rapidly, perhaps because of extensive betas. Once you have an investment in the game it can be hard to leave it. You know the game, and you know the people around it. In fact, as a beta tester you've probably got some reputation in line when the full release comes out. This investment in bits on a remote computer mentality is what keeps subscribers around even after new people show up en masse, even after new games have shown up en masse.