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PS2, Xbox Online Titles Show Record Player Numbers

Posted by simoniker on from the talking-network-smack dept.

Thanks to the QT3 forums for linking to a Yahoo-hosted press release describing Sony's SOCOM II as a 'major online success', with "more than 22,000 simultaneous players in its first 48 hours", apparently taking the "number one online console game spot." The press release also reveals that "...the original SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs supports 11,000-14,500 simultaneous players and between 50,000 and 60,000 people are playing every day at an average of three hours per session." Meanwhile, Microsoft have announced that Xbox Live enjoyed its busiest weekend ever, as: "On Sunday, November 2, no less than 83,652 players spent a total of 262,268 hours online", and the most popular title, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3, "recorded a total of 24,478 players for the day, and at one point accounted for 6,731 players simultaneously."

2 of 42 comments (clear)

  1. Why Nintendo is not smart by AvantLegion · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Percentage of installed base is entirely the wrong way to look at such things.

    The reason is that every console has a huge percentage of their installed base of people that just own a small handful of games for their console, throughout the system's lifespan.

    Everyone and their mama has a PS2, a couple of GTA games, and a couple of Madden games.

    The thing is that the small percentage (which is larger than 1%, at least for the Xbox, and is rapidly inflating for both systems) is largely a subsection of the group of gamers that buys the most games. Ever heard of the 80/20 rule? 80% of gamers buy 20% of the games, while 20% of gamers buy the other 80% of the games. You make money by selling consoles to the 80%, and selling games to the 20%.

  2. PC v. Console by superultra · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I was going to reply to one post, but I see a lot of posts generally saying the same thing: -in dainty Royal British accent - "Ah yes. Good for them. We have five gaziollion times those numbers, and have since 1981. I play nethack. Good day sir!"

    My response, to all of you, is this. Before you ride off into your cs_dust sunset your high PC Nightwind horse, keep in mind first and foremost that higher numbers for console online games only means that the competition will increase for online PC games. We're on slashdot. Competition is good around here, right? Secondly, the overall online experience for consoles is significantly more streamlined than that of a PC. Everyone has voice chat. Everyone's on broadband. Cheaters are vastly undernumbered compared to the PC. Heck, I get in game alerts on XBL. Sure, I get IMs while I'm playing BF1942, but at worst everything crashes or chugs, and at best it completely interupts my game.

    High numbers of console online players is *good* news, for everyone. Oh, and I can see all the way up your large nostriled PC l33t nose. And, um, your piss is going down your leg, not on everyone else's parade.