Slashdot Mirror
Linux Users More Likely To Pay For Games?
Teppy writes "I noticed something unexpected the other day when reviewing the subscriber counts for our MMORPG, A Tale In The Desert. Of everyone who tries our game, Linux users are definitely more inclined to pay money to subscribe. In fact, overall, about 15.6% of Windows users who do the free trial will subscribe, while among Linux users the number is 19.3%. Furthermore, Linux users tend to remain subscribers for a longer time. Are we the only game company noticing this?" Is this down to loyalty, choice, or other mysterious factors?
Perhaps the higher subscription rate among the Linux crowd is because we're game starved. There are far more game choices when it comes to the Windows game market, thus more to draw away customers.
I dti'r na ndall is ri' fear na leathshu'ile.
You have to consider the fact that Linux users are usually far more technically minded, and probably have more money and be more willing to give their support, regardless of their wealth. That user base is still far less than the Windows user base, so while your numbers are probably correct, they fail to consider the number of users for each OS.
C:\>
Your numbers are so close that i dont think you can easily pick a winner. Without having margin of error, or a total sample size how can we realisticly calculate whom is more likely to pay for your software.
Their are other factors to take into consideration as well. What is the target audience for your game? If you are advertising mostly on linux blogs or sites, then your going to have an audience that is more steeped in linux.
I think that the numbers show that on average 20% of your audience will pay for the game. This says only one thing to me, that your game is not very good. Instead of looking as to why linux users are approximatly 4% more willing to purchase the sofware; instead look at why 80% of your users wont. Solve that, and you have accomplished something.
"Once upon a time men were lions and machines were mice, but since it was so long ago, now its twice upon a time."
i'd think it'd be due to the fact that linux geeks are more likely to be part of the hard-core segment.
no offense to the poster, but their fairly good massmog is still fairly obscure. that's mostly due to independents having a hell of a time with marketing - and combines with no retail box on the shelf.
no box in best buy limits your exposure to the mass MS PC market, and all that's left is hardcore gamers who find most of their games through word of mouth or surfing.
then there's the gameplay. Atitd is really skewed toward the player-created-content segment (which is great) which one would expect is a natural fit for the linux/hacker mentality.
of course, given all that, i'm surprised the linux adoption rate isn't higher - though i'd bet that has more to do with the monthly price.
which imo, still intending no offense to the poster, is still a bit steep for anyone with only casual-gamer levels of free-time. linux fans being hardcore hackers - they could generally be expected to code just as much in their free time as play games. and then its all a matter of personal economics.
(naturally i know nothing of the actual economics of massmog production, so the price may be absolutely necessary. i do recognize that the price is on par with other massmogs, and combined with the no up-front box cost the game comes out dramatically cheaper - so its certainly reasonable.
but i do however know my personal economics. and $13/mo for ~20-30 hours of play isn't in the budget. of course, that's why no massmog is in my budget, but i digress)
// "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
That was my first thought too. But I thought about it a second and realized that ever since I started using Linux, the number of items of software I've pirated has declined. Granted, I still buy nothing. But I'd rather look for the GNU free and legal solution than the illegal pirated solution.
When I ran Windows predominantly, it was always a pirated copy. If my entire OS is pirated what's a few more small programs?
You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!