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World of Warcraft Hits 9 Million Users
Wowzer writes "Blizzard today announced that their MMORPG World of Warcraft is now played by more than 9 million gamers around the world. From the article: 'That's half a million more than the number of monthly players WoW had back in March five months ago. — It's interesting to note that if the World of Warcraft were a nation, CIA's World Factbook says that out of 236 listed countries it would be the 90th most populated country on Earth above Haiti, but behind Sweden.'
Also revealed this week was that DC Comics are creating World of Warcraft Comic Books based on the MMORPG, with the first issue appearing on November 14th. The ongoing monthly series will be written by industry veteran Walter Simonson (Thor, Orion) and feature art by Ludo Lullabi and inker Sandra Hope."
...but what did it hit them with.
WOW is fast to hit that many people. I hope the injuries aren't serious.
Ludo Lullabi has talent. HE does he drawing. Sandra Hope just traces. She's a tracer.
How many individuals? 9 million accounts, 6 million people?
An I.T. motto in the hands of an idiot is a dangerous thing...
80% of them are farming gold for the upper 20% :) Gold farmers shouldn't count...
Cheers!
Atheist: Buddhist in a Prius
I find it fascinating that all the later, more popular mmorpg's seem to be far inferior to the "original": Ultima Online.
You could own a house, put vendors there to sell stuff, you had trade skills that were fully independent of fighting, you had an economy of "rare" artifacts with no use at all people just wanted them to have them, you could kill other players and take their gear.
And it was so much friendlier to the casual player: you could teleport to where your real-life friends were, you could play with your friends even if they played 40 hours a week and you played 2, you could macro when you were away to keep up with your friends or do things like craft armor to support a guild.
PvP made you actually have REAL friends and REAL enemies, instead of "You're an orc and he's an elf so you hate each other". It also made guilds have value, as you needed protection and could benefit from a guildmate making your armor while you made him potions.
Basically, I just can't stand that WoW is worse than UO in almost every way but has about 8.8 million more subscribers. UO was ahead of its time.
I haven't given Blizzard a dime in several months now. I'd imagine they're still counting the folks who used to play, but no longer do.
Yes, I am a smart ass; it's better than the alternative.
I haven't payed them in two years....
I wonder how many are inert accounts and alternate accounts.
80% of them are farming gold for the upper 20% :)
That just proves the realism of the game.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Is that nine million current active paid subscriptions? Nine million unique accounts (including trial accounts and accounts that aren't being played right now)? Still a darn good number, I'm sure there are lots of other gaming companies that would like the headache of supporting that many players.
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
Wow.
You could own a house, put vendors there to sell stuff, you had trade skills that were fully independent of fighting, you had an economy of "rare" artifacts with no use at all people just wanted them to have them, you could kill other players and take their gear.
...)
EQ2 has everything but 'taking their gear'. EQ PVP servers have everything but 'owning a house'. Non-PVP EQ didn't have the gear stealing.
And it was so much friendlier to the casual player: you could teleport to where your real-life friends were, you could play with your friends even if they played 40 hours a week and you played 2, you could macro when you were away to keep up with your friends or do things like craft armor to support a guild. EQ has a cool system called shrouding, where a high-level player can 'shroud' into a different form and descend to a lower level; and change classes even. Its nice to play with friends leveling alts or, as you say, friends that aren't as hardcore.
Never played UO, I got sucked into EQ, just wanted to agree with you that WoW really is a dumbing down of the oldschool MMO's but that EQ offers basically everything UO offered, and is still alive and kicking (new expansion in a few months, baby! I think its #14 now
Since the article doesn't seem to have it (from the actual blizzard press release, http://www.blizzard.com/press/070724.shtml):
World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition:
World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules.
ONE OF US ONE OF US
Each issue of the WoW comic's gripping storyline will be interrupted by the characters running around shouting misspelled racist and homophobic epithets at the reader for two solid pages.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
I knew WoW was a HUGE MMORPG and that's about it but if my calculations are correct 9M Active Accounts * $10/monthly subscription fees(that's my guess, I don't know the actual figure) * 12 Months = $1.08 Billion a year! Holy Cow, that's insane!
How did they measure this number? Is this number of accounts created or number of current active accounts? I'm guessing its the former, where someone like myself (who hasn't played in months) would be included.
I get amused by the people that claim WoW is "inferior" because of its friendly environment and no-penalty PvP. Well it's not, that is actually what makes it superior to most people, and is the reason they have 9 million players. Most people aren't hardcore, they don't want a game that punishes them for failure, they don't want to have to deal with keeping up with those who make a game in to a life and so on.
If you want games like that, they are available. I'm made to understand EVE is such a game. Extremely hardcore, real loss, etc, etc. That's great if that's what you like, but don't pretend like it is "superior". One of the reasons WoW is so great is it treats things more like a single player game. When I die in a SP game I don't lose anything but time, I am set back to whatever my last save point was and must replay from there. The nearest MMORPG experience, since you can't reload, is to just have you have to wait a bit as you head back to your body. No loss of anything but time.
That's what has kept me interested in WoW. It is the 5th MMORPG I've tried (EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot, EVE, Starwars Galaxies) and the only one that has lasted more than 6-9 months or so. All the rest got boring fast for various reasons. For example in EQ the problem was it felt like they hated you. The game was setup to punish you severely for failure, and to be very unhelpful.
WoW gets it right for me, and for many others because it is extremely easy to get in to (I've never seen a more friendly start than WoW's newbie quests), doesn't punish you, and has lots to do for whatever it is you like doing. I realise that's not for everyone, but you need to realise that if a more hardcore experience is your preference that is a different preference, not a superior one. There is nothing wrong with wanting an easier, more friendly experience. After all, the whole point of games is to be entertaining. They are not for proving or accomplishing something, they are there to make you happy and let you have fun. Whatever it is that does that, that's what you should play. For 9 million of us (and counting) WoW is that kind of game.
...on McDonalds or WoW? ;)
... and mankind has hit a new low.
There are only 9 million players but 11 million night elf hunters. Go figure.
They mean they have 9 million accounts that are either active subscriptions (for countries that pay monthly like the US) or accounts that have paid to play recently (for countries that pay for play time like China). Translated in to dollars that's somewhere in the 1-1.5 billion dollars in terms of revenues (the precise amount depends on the breakdown of accounts since they don't all cost the same).
Every time there's a topic like this, people say that, and it's just wrong. Blizzard explicitly state in all of their press releases that anyone whose subscription has ended or been canceled is not counted.
are any indication, I think PC will soon be pulling ahead of the Wii and 360 and PS3!
Am I out of touch, what is this World of Warcraft thing?
Does that include every user created using those $2 trial disks that in reality you can get for free? ...Because if so I've got 9 million bridges to sell you.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
I'd say it is more like 3 Million actual people either playing casually or full-time to play the game then 6 Million Asian gold farmers, power levelers and bots.
And its crafting system, which required a ton of grinding out the same crap over and over again for a .1 skill gain (I GMed blacksmithing, bowcrafting and tailoring on several characters over there.) And you still couldn't create an item that was as good as various world drops you could find.
And the constant griefing, from the flock of pickpockets at the bank before the Trammel split to the flock of PKers who kept a stranglehold on the dungeons on the PvP side where the best items dropped.
And the game balance, which was fine right up until EA threw it out the window with the new loot system and artifacts.
Other than that Ultima Online was a pretty good game though.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I recall the same thing said about space invaders. Before that, it was probably tv.
One man's pastime is another's OCD.
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
The humanity just lost 9 million people who could help improve the life on real Earth, vote for Net Neutrality, fight MAFIAA, invent new gadgets, fight diseases...
Now those people are lost in the virtual world, bringing money to the super-rich game industry. What a shame!
Count me in too...
I would wager that this number is highly inflated...
Personally, I own and maintain 3 accounts and my girlfriend has her own as well, so 2 players, 4 accounts... If you take a look at my guild of 50+ active members you will find an impressive roster of well over 200 characters many of which are on seperate accounts. I know I have at least 15 players with more than one account, and our biggest account holder is sitting around 8.
Take a look at Dual Boxing and evaluate how many multi-account users there are out there... Many claim (and have video proof) of 5, 10, and even 50 boxes running at a time... with one of the contributors to the community boasting over 200 wow accounts on one server...
I figure that without even counting farmers, we have made a significant notch in the 9 million number...
Zanthor
It's interesting to note that if the World of Warcraft were a nation, CIA's World Factbook says that out of 236 listed countries it would be the 90th most populated country on Earth above Haiti, but behind Sweden. i pasted this to a friend who pointed out that while the taxes are much lower the death rate is significantly higher...
The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.
-Oscar Wilde
...like that one. "If it were a country...it would be the ____ biggest country...."
If those 9 million people formed a country, there would be 9 million less people out there to be part of those other countries. So not only is the comparison ridiculous/pointless/ludicrous/silly, it's also very possibly simply wrong.
It's not 9 Million players.... it 1 Million players with 9 accounts each...
The Department of Education reports 9M new drop-outs.
Ludo Lullabi art site
Too manga for me, though I suppose it suits the WoW style. I'd like to see a darker Todd McFarlane or Art Adams approach (not even sure if either of them draw anymore).
Anyone know what the estimated GDP for the WoW economy is? I bet it's more than some poor countries!
WOW!
Since the article doesn't seem to have it (from the actual blizzard press release, http://www.blizzard.com/press/070724.shtml [blizzard.com]):
World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition:
World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules.
...half of them are Chinese gold farmers!
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -Mahatma Ghandi
De är ikapp oss! Börja kopulera för guds skull!
Particles, stuff that matters.
That only 25,000 people exist per realm.
There is a ton of room for competition in the MMRPG market. The virtual worlds can be so much better still. More interactive environments, better graphics etc. Gonna be fun for a lotta folks for the next couple of years trying to figure out who can make the best game.
Does anyone know why in the world this article is tagged 'poopsock'? I don't understand
The 9 million might actually be a very accurate number. While there are many individuals with multiple accounts as you suggest, there are likely just as many accounts with multiple individuals. My wife and I own one account each, but our daughters play on each of our accounts, so we're two accounts but four users. We know of several online friends who are siblings or spouses that share an account. I don't personally know of anyone who has multiple accounts.
This is true. My son and I share an account, and live on five servers (two are RP servers), with at least one or two characters from each of us on the server - two maxed out. We made a deal and split the cost of the account, so we'd get the cheap rate.
Since I'm less of a grinder than he is, but would rather do silly things like create guilds like Cult of Foamy and Care Bear or participate in Blood Pact, it works out fine - sometimes I send him rings or enchant items for him, sometimes he sends me silver ore or magic armor he just made for XP.
So, even given the Gold Farmer effect, it is quite possible there are a number of family accounts.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
i pasted this to a friend who pointed out that while the taxes are much lower the death rate is significantly higher...
Well, at least until you complete your level 10 paladin quest.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
English only in general. Reported
Reported? Are you serious?
Anyway, in Swedish: "They have caught up with us! Start copulating for god's sake!"
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
Do they have a lot of subscribers? Yes Do they really have 9 million Current? I don't buy it personally.
I think it's more that the average old lady could kick the ass of the average WoW addict.
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
We get bored, I think, so that we won't end up in situations like the WoW addicts, endlessly repeating a few short actions. We get bored so that we won't get stuck. It's a protective instinct. However it's done, MMORPGs are excellent at short-circuiting that. You have a quick succession of rewards at the beginning, and an endless series of ever more time-consuming tasks to be performed to achieve the same high that was at first so simple and so easy. I'm sure most addicts didn't start out intending to play for ninety hours a week, just like no one starts drinking with the intent of being an alcoholic.
I liked Warcraft III, and I enjoyed playing it all the way through. But it had an ending. It could be completed, finished, done with. WoW has no ending, and that's why I won't go near it, no matter how much fun it looks like--it's similar to the reason I didn't start smoking when I was younger: loads of cautionary examples walking around hating themselves for their habit.
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
Are you sure you don't have the battery plugged in backwards there? Isn't watching the circle of your life contract until it only contains you and your addiction pretty depressing in and of itself? (It sure sounds depressing.) Which came first? Does this apply to sex, gambling, or other addictions? Why do you feel that the nature of chemical addiction is different from other kinds of addiction, especially when both have been shown to cause similar effects on brain chemistry?
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
Bedpans have been selling in record numbers, despite orders from hospitals and hospices declining over recent years.
*Mom! Bathroom, bathroom!*
...they should thank Cartman, Kenny, Stan and Kyle.
| (ceci n'est pas une pipe)
I was expecting to get some over-defensive crap, maybe some Internet Tough Guy talking about how he could kick my ass, but that was actually pretty interesting. Do you know the relationship between the set of people who play WoW and the subset who play it addictively? Do you think that the obsessive-geeky stereotype is more likely to develop a gaming problem, or does it seem to hit people more or less randomly once they start playing?
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
poopsock tag
In a Related Story, South Korea's GNP Productivity sharply declines...
Eat shit, nine million flies can't be wrong.
It's probably more like 9 million accounts and 3 million users.
Apparently there's this fad called "dual boxing". This guy has 50 computers on WoW at a time between him and his gf.
And you thought your buddy was addicted with his ONE measly account.
Deltron 3030 - Virus (music video)
... how many blog posts can you dig up about them?
t nG=Google+Search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=golf+widow&b
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
I also tried getting back to it, putting in a few hours a week. Unfortunately once you get past a certain point, a few hours a week won't get you anywhere and I think that's the biggest fallacy in WoW. Games shouldn't turn into full time jobs just to keep up, and if you're a fresh player you're gonna have to put in that kind of time. On the other hand, CounterStrike is a game that you can play 30 minutes a day and get your fix. Heck, I'd recommend Diablo II any day of the year over WoW. It only gets time consuming on Act 5 the third time around...
The accounts not users thing is significant. I still have two accounts because I can't bear to abandon the time I invested in them--but I haven't been able to bring myself to log in since 2.0 . I never even played BC (although I have two copies of it.) I can't stand the dumbed down UIs. Half the fun for me was the modding scene, and blizzard destroyed it with their "secured" interface in 2.0 . Decursive, rangehelp, Discord frames & bars, etc were non-negotiable for me.
And the remaining 5.991 Billion people *still* don't give a fuck.
Ahh, perspective...
Thank you for pointing that out. I hate seeing bogus statistics like this get spread around
Informing people about the scams, shams, and bunk that assault them on a daily basis. http://www.jeremyduffy.com
8 million Gold Farmers!!
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
I think that many of you complaining that the number is off seem to forget that this game is played in other countries and there are specific servers for those countries, as well.
While there are many gold farmers with accounts in this game, some of those gold farmers are Americans of a non-Asian ethnicity. You may also forget there are many many GIRLS that play WoW also. That will help boost those numbers. I being one of them. This game has appealed to more people within the world due to it's design as being for people of (almost)all ages. Granted most would be within the 14-25 range there can be found many players outside of this range. My husband and I fit that mold, both of us are above the age of 35.
Blizzard doesn't need to buff their numbers, why would they need too. The popularity of the game has far surpassed even their expectations.
Regardless of your opinions on the quality of the game, they have been very successful in the marketing strategy of this game, They've made it addictive and fun for people of wide ranges. They've allowed mod to influence the future changes / improvements of the game. They are constantly updating and improving the game. They work with in-game user to help resolve matters in the game that creep up. They provide forums for people to discuss, complain, compliment the game. They offer some measure of control on jerk who want to ruin it. They Perma-ban accounts for those who constantly abuse the rules that the customers accept with every patch.
Blizzard has done more for the gaming community than most others. Consider that.
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
I wonder how many active users they have.
My account has been dead for 8 months now.
pvp ... ganked ... tank ... respec ... nerf ... buff
You know, it's a defining aspect of cults that they use their own language among members.
WoW is still not as casual friendly as it should be. I should not have to set an appointment in my calendar just to "play" the game (RAID SCHEDULE, in other terms). I put up with that crap for two years before I finally quit. This is the big reason I never got into EQ. "Schedule a time to have fun", basically. If you want the best gear, you have to literally schedule it into your life. It's suppose to be a game, not work. The Arena/Gladiator system was a move in the right direction, at least.
/rant, my 2 cents
"Sorry, I can't make the family picnic, I have Karazhan at 2" -- Words from my Nephew a few weeks ago.
You should be able to PUG or solo 95% (or better) of the games "content", anytime you want. In WoW, it's more like 50%-60%.
I can honestly say ive never played this game... am i missing much ?? :)
PS. i was kidding about never hearing of it of course :P
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