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DCUO Falls Out of XFire "Top 100"
Rohn
Member UncommonPosts: 3,730
They've only been tracking it there for a little over 2 weeks, but in that short time DCUO has dropped from #65 to #111.
http://www.xfire.com/games/dcuo/DC_Universe_Online/
Is XFire the end all, be all of information? No it isn't. And, this really only captures information on the PC version.
Still, XFire has been pretty accurate regarding player activity trends of a specific PC game. DCUO player activity went down significantly at the end of the first "free" month, and continues to fall.
RAPTR also confirms this sharp downward trend.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
Comments
Once the update drops (has it yet?) the pop will surge again for a bit. It won't get back to the release numbers but that's normal.
Way to early to be digging a grave for DCUO, Sony can make this game into a big player in the genre if they want. It's still up to them at this point. I think if they go hard addressing issues and adding content the game will be pretty popular in a year still.
If they start getting lazy....
Xfire? Serioulsy? Not exactly the most scientific method of measuring a games popularity or population. I don't think I know of one person that actually uses Xfire. Maybe Xfire should be worried.
Let's party like it is 1863!
The only thing X-fire is good for is directionality, and that really depends on how large the population is. Ranking means nothing.
As stated in the original post, XFire isn't perfect at measuring population, but it has been pretty much spot on with accurately depicting trends in the player activity of the games it records.
On 10 Feb, number of players reported was 353, and number of minutes played was 75,848. As of today, number of players reported was 249, with 52,656 minutes played.
The downward trend in XFire is backed up by a similar trend apparent on RAPTR. On 10 Feb, 736 reporting players, with 1091 hours played. One week later (17 Feb), it was down to 478 players and 745 hours played.
These are statistical tools, which is why it doesn't matter whether or not you use XFire, or know anyone that does. I doubt you have a Nielson box, or know anyone that does, though the multi-billion dollar per year TV advertising industry is heavily influenced by it.
This is further backed up by growing anecdotal evidence of thinning servers, as people are increasingly requesting cross-server queues and server merges.
Does this mean DCUO is a bad game? Not at all. It does appear to indicate that player activity may be reducing significantly just a short time after launch.
If, however, you have more reliable proof that the PC player activity for DCUO is remaining the same, or growing, please offer it.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
There are only 39,404 warcraft players. I thought they had 12 million! Is WoW on it's last legs?
Lol
@OP: thanks for the raptr link, I didnt know they had hour statistics too like Xfire. Moving to below the 100-list that fast is a bit surprising. Maybe it is because a lot of the subs are played on console while Xfire's base is PC?
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Are you trying to defend SOE for releasing yet another unfinished game with a clunky UI that is chock full of bugs and exploits? Instead of saying they can fix it if they want, why don't you suggest reasons that they didn't have it all ready in the first place.
Raptr also registers Xbox time, and PS3 too (?). You can also add your Steam and xFire game time statistics to your Raptr account, so I really don't think it's an issue with consoles vs. PC.
I don't either
but seriously, to measure a ps3 centric mmo with xfire is like measuring the volume of a swimming pool by taking comparisons with the kids pool which is measured by a teaspoon. not accurate at all.
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW?
As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
Oh great here we go with the X-Fire posts. I don't even play DCUO but people will pull this crap every time a new game is out. It's a horrendous way of trying to measure a games popularity or population as its a very TINY number of people that use while playing a MMO. It's best to just ignore these posts and let them die and burn.
Yes, but look at the registered time for DCUO on the PC and on the console. For the console it only measures a tiny fraction of the hours on the PC, while the number of DCUO games sold on console were 2-3 times those of the PC.
If the raptr figures compare with the Xfire ones, then it'd mean that hardly any DCUO console player uses raptr or Xfire, while that's the platform for which most of the DCUO games were sold.
NB: personally, I think you can only use it to see trends within a game, but that it's too inaccurate to compare between games.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Really? You know thats kinda sad you took the time to post that. Thanks for the amazingly useful bit of info :P
x-fire didn't support the game when it was first released so the magic ability of x-fire to correlate to users might be a bit skewed.
It's hard not to agree with Xfire on this one, the game just doesn't offer enough 'out of the gate' stuff to sustain itself beyond the first week or so, and then the rest of that free month will only be spent playing simply because it's techically free time. At the end of that you find yourself finished and worn out with everything it has to offer, new content doesn't even redeem itself from that for me.
Yet, many of those that had successfully "correlated" with XFire have stopped playing, causing the drop in activity we're talking about.
Independent of XFire, RAPTR similarly shows a dramatic decrease in player activity.
Both XFire and RAPTR indicate significant drops in player activity that correspond to the end of the first month of playtime included with the purchase price of the game.
Players have started complaining on the official DCUO PC forum about increased queue times, and a general reduction in active players. They've started asking for cross-server queues and server merges.
Is all of this a coincidence? A conspiracy?
I've yet to see a refutation based on anything other than gut-level instinct.
For those so casually dismissive of XFire numbers - numbers that are reinforced by RAPTR no less - allow me to ask this: When was the last time that trends of player loss based on XFire indicators were proven demonstrably wrong? AoC? WAR? CO? STO? FFXIV?
What does this mean? Does declining player activity certify that DCUO is a "bad game"? Many, many forum warriors have certainly used that argument in villifying the objects of their scorn. So, is it true? Or, is it not so black and white? Is there more to be considered than just the numbers?
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
DCUO is still in Steam's top 100, peaking at 2,500 players online today.
What does this mean? I don't know, you tell me.
* edit *
XFire is kind of like comparing the global number of active pirates to Global Warming.
http://atheistblogger.com/2008/04/05/proof-of-pastafarianism/
It sure looks like pirates mitigate global warming...but we know they don't.
If someone bothered to take the time to look at XFire's numbers and find 1 instance where XFire's numbers trended down, but actual participation in a game trended up, it would pretty much throw all the numbers XFire puts out into question.
Let's say there's no visible instance of this happening. XFire is still a dubious source because we are not privy to the inner workings of what it does (we are left to assume because we only see the results) and game publishers (especially mmorpg publishers) rarely give us verifiable active subscriptions. We are simply left to assume a result based on XFire's numbers.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Ooo! Ooo! Pick me, teacher! *waves hand back and forth frantically*
I have been all over various DC forums and the official fanboi reason is:
"No MMO is perfect at release."
Which preceeds the question they demand you answer (which they just know you cannot) of:
"Name me ONE MMO that was bug-free at release! Go on! Name ONE!"
Enablers gotta enable.
RIFT - You're not in Azeroth anymore. Oh hey, would you mind throwing this net on 10 of those squirrels over there? (Yes, that is an actual quest).
RIFT!
Rift has been released and is on live servers? Crap, I need to get out my cave!
Yes, all three probably show a decline - Steam, Raptr, Xfire.
Anyway I have no idea why the heck anyone wouldn't expect that, or even try to use that as proof of some "this game/developer sucks" arguments. It is what happens with MMOs, or any kind of game for that matter, in this case there's a subscription too, that while for some $15 might be worth it even if there's like only 15 monthly hours expected, for many many others nope, and for another considerable part it isn't even about a subscription fee but simply moving on to another game.
Anyway developing a MMO based on servers nowadays is a huge mistake in this regard, especially on a popular IP, you end up with an inflated initial player count and then you inevitably need a lot of servers to cope with that amount, including the opening of new servers. Then, when the numbers fall considerably, there is an additional effect of players noticing this reduction in active players, which results in that domino effect of doom and gloom and potential long-term players getting their feelings skewed by this movement.
While I am sure every developer wants as many players at release as possible, they should have plans for this since the drawing board, this extra thinking could save dozens of jobs when they start downsizing the development team thanks to the extra long-term players.
How would this be possible? A single-server zone architecture, a cross-server "dungeon finder" (does not solve the problem for open areas), something even more ambitious, cross-server areas (though it would make the lines pretty blurry) or hey, someone could come up with an even better plan, I don't even have a job in this industry to back up a single word I posted as a legitimate or viable concern.
You people that don't like DCUO sure spend lots of time writing about it.
Personally I enjoy DC. It is a welcomed change to WoW clones.
Released a broken game? DC was one of the smoothest launches I have seen with any MMO. The game is very polished. Sure chat sucks, but really people....cry more about a chat system. If you play a MMO to sit there and chat go play second life.
Stop waisting your time trying to defame a solid game with a very good crew of devs. Run along back to WoW or whatever hole you crawled out of.
DCUO seems very populated on the servers I play on. You people claiming it's dead are totally full of it.
Exploits? Whoopty doo animation canceling which has already been addressed....MUCH BETTER then other MMO's which I wont name names that STILL HAVE animation canceling.
The sky is not falling...run along..
As far as Rift goes.....I revert back to my WoW clone statement. No thanks to WoW clone #7356467
Name me ONE MMO that has had as many exploits get addressed so quickly! NAME ONE!
Anyway, I thought the broken chat was actually one of the best features, as it kept the asshats (which we all know are there) from blathering at the mouth all night long. WoW Trade chat is coming, oh yes.
I refer more to things like the alt-tab lockups that certain hardware setups seem to get every single time, the lack of tooltips on abilities, certain abilities having 2 different names depending on what screen you're in, inconsistent use of scroll bars and other UI elements, the inability to drop quests you plan to never complete, the inability to delete certain mail, failing to get loot/marks in instances, being put into a group instance by yourself, having your solo instance reset if you do happen to dc or crash (forcing you to start it all over), voiceovers that skip or abruptly change to another person's voice altogether, the fiasco that is targeting, the obnoxiously-aggresive spawn rates in certain areas, a bug that caused psychic blades to make a mob forget about everyone else and attack you only, waiting 45 minutes or longer to do "legends" PvP on PvE servers, the acrobat movement style sticking you to nearby walls/lampposts if you happen to jump too close to one, having to push the left mouse button 10 times in a row to trigger certain attacks (by design), trying to navigate the gigantic ratmaze of the JLAW where everything looks the same, pets getting stuck in walls and refusing to help you (for pet classes), NPCs getting stuck in objects or disappearing and leaving you to fight the boss they were supposed to help you with by yourself, you know... minor issues like that. And of course, everyone's favorite... the devs remaining all-but-silent on nearly every single one of those issues and much more on the forums, leaving the hapless citizens of the game to wonder if they even understood their concerns. But they did come out with a giant Valentine's Day annoucement. That was neat.
You will notice that I don't even hit them on the "lack of content," because I never made it to the level cap. But that's a huuuuuge issue for a lot of people that did, and what they get in response... "well, did you grind out every single collectable and gear style in the game yet, and roll every class to 30 yet?? HUH?? WELL THEN YOU'RE NOT DONE!" Teehee grinding is fun! *nom nom nom*
Of course some of those are nitpicks, but I still attribute The Decline to others also being irritated by stuff like that. I'm glad you're having a blast with it. We know you're not alone. Just let us know if you're still playing in 6 months or a year
RIFT - You're not in Azeroth anymore. Oh hey, would you mind throwing this net on 10 of those squirrels over there? (Yes, that is an actual quest).
Rif's six day open beta testing ends February 21, 2011 at 10:00 am PST. Pre-orders will be able to play at the headstart Launch February 24th and the regular launch will be March 1st. Yes, the game is quite polished already. Trion promotes quality and has great communication with the players - two major areas where $OE fails in.
That Roman picture fits well with that statement.
But lets be honest, DCU is more a PS3 game than a PC game and it probably do a lot better on it. That it doesn't go as well on PC was waited, I think SOE choosed to release on both becuse it didn't cost so much more and it always give them a few extra bucks.
But I am more interested on how it goes for it with the consoles. And of course I wouldn't really use X-Fire to compare different games with eachothers anyways, but if a game drops a lot it probably lost some players.
SOE has stated the game sales have been roughly even for PC vs PS3 in the first week or two. I think there are also the exact same number of ps3 servers as PC. PS3 sales look to have rapidly declined on amazon (#61), vgcharts (dropped off the list completely), etc while PC sales remain in the top ten of a few sites (amazon, d2d), but dropped off others (steam). In my opinion, the PC side looks to be stronger than the PS3.
I agree with you that these tools are really only good to show trends and they have been very accurate at doing so with previous games. Espeically games with pvp elements. Regardless of how many valid arguments are presented how these tools are unscientifc, which they are. They have been scary accurate about a games ability to retain players in the first few months.