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....
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.
First, I haven't bought the game yet, I'm doing what I promised myself after the last disappointment; waiting to see if they fix some issues quickly (chat, grouping etc). So I am not defending Sony or the game at all.
My point is only that it's normal to see xfire numbers drop after the first month, and it's still early enough in the games life that Sony can make it as successful as they want. If they want to do that. They haven't had a disappointing / late update yet, etc.
If they decide instead to just coast by on the DC name or whatever instead, you'll see those xfire numbers and forum posts show major decline further, as those giving them a chance will abandon ship too.
So I think Sony still has a window to make the game great if they want to.
I think the x-fire numbers are pretty accurate. Its the exploits, they're absolutely unbearable at this point & since the patch thats supposed to fix them is coming on tuesday theres even more people out there exploiting trying to get their last pieces of pvp gear before they go back to sucking.
I sent in 11 in game support tickets all showing videos of people exploiting. I don't mean maybe they were exploiting & I'm unsure of game mechanics, I mean blatantly exploiting -my combat log full of red spam all from 1 person- unable to move or block- type of blatant exploiting. Eleven!! 11 friggin tickets, I currently spend more time frapsing & reporting players than I do actually playing & this is the type of response I get when I send in a ticket-
-I would like to thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I would like to inform you that most of the exploitable Game Mechanics will be fixed with the upcoming patch, that was announced on the forums. I do sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause you in the meantime. If you have any future issues please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
GM Seavio-
It's nice to know that they're fixing the problems but when I read this it says to me "Oh dont worry bro, its all getting fixed on tuesday so dont stress out about it & those players won't be able to sploit anymore". That's great but how about punishing them?
The exploits have gone unchecked for so long (either through a fix of posting something official that exploiters will be banned) that more and more people are engaging in them for a variety of justifications. Whatever the excuse it is to wide spread at this point to take action against those who are doing it at the same time most free months are ending. The damage is already done.
It should have been addressed weeks ago one way or another, but at this point the damage is to great to take action against players doing it or to implement a fix to prevent it from becoming a widespread problem.
At best the patch fixes the problem and this chapter in the games history is buried and forgotten. Things never get this out of hand again and players give the dev team a second chance to keep up to date on these types of issues.
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.
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.
Wow, no kidding! It's not just DCUO either mate, it's company wide with SoE.
There are only 39,404 warcraft players. I thought they had 12 million! Is WoW on it's last legs?
No one claimed the number of X-fire users were the same as the number of players. The OP isnt even talking about the number of DCUO x-fire users. He's talking about the decline in % in time played. Take a look at WoW's stats and you'll see a fairly consistent stat. The OP's point is that DCUO's stat is decreasing rather than remaining consistent or increasing.
There are only 39,404 warcraft players. I thought they had 12 million! Is WoW on it's last legs?
No one claimed the number of X-fire users were the same as the number of players. The OP isnt even talking about the number of DCUO x-fire users. He's talking about the decline in % in time played. Take a look at WoW's stats and you'll see a fairly consistent stat. The OP's point is that DCUO's stat is decreasing rather than remaining consistent or increasing.
Steam's numbers confirm the decline as well and vgcharts doesn't even list this game any longer. Combine these trends with calls on the o-boards for "server mergers" just a week past the 30 day mark and it just doesn't boad well for DCUO. While none of these numbers give us a true number of players actually "playing", they indicate a sharp drop in sales and a drastic decline in players who ARE tracked.
Will it improve? Possibly. But these numbers must be troubling for any MMO. Launch figures DO matter. I don't expect DCUO to go APB on us, but like STO, I think it may have a hard time ever recovering.
XFire huh? Suprized there are still some people out there using it. A lot of people switched to Raptr since the past 2 current owners that bought it dont update games and support it as it should be.
Raptr is made by the original Xfire creators and is that and more. Raptr updates any game to your profile , never have to wait for a game to be added to the list, the client you can log into Xfire, Raptr, AIM, MSN, Xbox Live, PSN, and more, and way better support.
Xfire lost over 5million users since Raptr opened.
There are only 39,404 warcraft players. I thought they had 12 million! Is WoW on it's last legs?
No one claimed the number of X-fire users were the same as the number of players. The OP isnt even talking about the number of DCUO x-fire users. He's talking about the decline in % in time played. Take a look at WoW's stats and you'll see a fairly consistent stat. The OP's point is that DCUO's stat is decreasing rather than remaining consistent or increasing.
Steam's numbers confirm the decline as well and vgcharts doesn't even list this game any longer. Combine these trends with calls on the o-boards for "server mergers" just a week past the 30 day mark and it just doesn't boad well for DCUO. While none of these numbers give us a true number of players actually "playing", they indicate a sharp drop in sales and a drastic decline in players who ARE tracked.
Will it improve? Possibly. But these numbers must be troubling for any MMO. Launch figures DO matter. I don't expect DCUO to go APB on us, but like STO, I think it may have a hard time ever recovering.
Looks like we'll find out Tuesday. The patch will make or break it. I know a large number of players stopped playing temporarily until there is confirmation they've fixed these issues.
The planned patch sounds almost like a miracle patch with the amount of things they are fixing, plus the other items they are adding. I'm looking forward to logging into a much shinier DCUO.
Unfortunately you will have some players who do not return at all, but I think many that were frustrated by the issues the game experienced would likely give it another shot at some point.
More importantly though, I see numbers declining and surging every few months. You won't find players sticking with DCUO with a recurring sub yearly. I know I'll be in and out depending on the new content they provide.
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.
Totally agree that DCUO was more of a console game than a PC game, so it's not surprising the # of PC players are dropping. Most people saw this coming, only the hardcore fans didn't. Twitch gameplay does not fit well with MMORPG genre, and SOE with their infinite wisdom decides to charge the game a monthly subscription like a MMO. That was their naive mistake #1.
I too would like to see the stats on the console. That's a more telling story, as if the console stats see decline as well, then SOE should worry.
But if you think about it, the first MMO you ever played... probably wasnt a brand new MMO either.
My first was City of Heroes which already had 3/4 expansions by the time I started when they did the EU release. That meant there was plenty of content, polish and bug free (not completly, but relativly)
Now, by the time I had exausghsted the content of CoH more expansions were released.. so I kept on going with that game for a long time. so of course with a new mmo your going to exaughst all its content within the first month, and subs will drop off.
Problem is once you STOP playing an MMO, any addiction you had with it quickly disapates, you never quite enjoy it again and most probably wont ever sub again.
But if you think about it, the first MMO you ever played... probably wasnt a brand new MMO either.
My first was City of Heroes which already had 3/4 expansions by the time I started when they did the EU release. That meant there was plenty of content, polish and bug free (not completly, but relativly)
Now, by the time I had exausghsted the content of CoH more expansions were released.. so I kept on going with that game for a long time. so of course with a new mmo your going to exaughst all its content within the first month, and subs will drop off.
Problem is once you STOP playing an MMO, any addiction you had with it quickly disapates, you never quite enjoy it again and most probably wont ever sub again.
I agree with almost everything you've said, except for the part about exhausting all a new games content in the 1st month.
That may be the current trend with games like STO and DCUO, but it is most certainly not the 'norm', nor should we EVER accept it as such. Launching without enough content in an MMO is, and should be, a death blow! I hope EVERY game that launches thin on content (quests, sandbox, non-combat stuff) dies a horrible and quick death.
Your bottom comment is the key! Once you move away from an MMO, little can bring you back. Any company that doesn't deliver enough up front, doesn't deserve to keep it's customers. MMO's aren't about CL1-CLcap, they're about LIVING in that virtual world every day and having some sense of feeling 'needed' every day - maybe it's for your crafting, or maybe it's to collect some resource, or to save some NPC city, or to participate in some raid, or pay upkeep on your housing...whatever the reason, you need to feel like you matter in your virtual world.
Now, by the time I had exausghsted the content of CoH more expansions were released.. so I kept on going with that game for a long time. so of course with a new mmo your going to exaughst all its content within the first month, and subs will drop off.
That may be the current trend with games like STO and DCUO, but it is most certainly not the 'norm', nor should we EVER accept it as such. Launching without enough content in an MMO is, and should be, a death blow! I hope EVERY game that launches thin on content (quests, sandbox, non-combat stuff) dies a horrible and quick death.
Yes, and I suppose it does depend on your own time availability.
But Im going to assume that most people who buy an MMO on the day it launched have pre-orderd it and intend to speed through as fast as they can.
With MMO;s like Aion and AoC, I didnt actually consume all the content and get bored. What I got bored of was the lack of 'anything else to do' for want of a better term!
It just seems that all brand-spanking-new MMO's have a real lack of variety, I wouldnt actually care too much that there isnt much content (like isntances and low level cap) Just so long as I had plenty of other things to do.
You look at games that have been out for years now, WoW, LOTRO, ddo, Eve, they all have a vast array of different things you can get on with and I love them (well, not wow *spit*)
So I'm a huge preacher of 'not buying mmo's on release' DCUO and STO both could be fantastic games in a few years time. I look forward to playing them then.
I think those games you mention are not the norm of what developers aim to have in their games at release, but are a result of what developers are capable of getting done before running out of time.
Lack of content isn't a goal. It is the result of a problem in leadership/ability.
as long as theres someone for me to kill on the ps3...i'll still be playing..its more than alive and well on the ps3 and still haveing loads of fun..rankings mean nothing if YOU like the game..play it!
Like I said before, I'm giving DCUO a year to mature before I spend any money on it. That will insure 3 things: the game itself will be cheaper to buy, the Green Lantern expansion will be out, and there will be a year's worth of content that has been added since launch, which should keep me busy for a while. Waiting is a win/win for me.
Comments
First, I haven't bought the game yet, I'm doing what I promised myself after the last disappointment; waiting to see if they fix some issues quickly (chat, grouping etc). So I am not defending Sony or the game at all.
My point is only that it's normal to see xfire numbers drop after the first month, and it's still early enough in the games life that Sony can make it as successful as they want. If they want to do that. They haven't had a disappointing / late update yet, etc.
If they decide instead to just coast by on the DC name or whatever instead, you'll see those xfire numbers and forum posts show major decline further, as those giving them a chance will abandon ship too.
So I think Sony still has a window to make the game great if they want to.
I think the x-fire numbers are pretty accurate. Its the exploits, they're absolutely unbearable at this point & since the patch thats supposed to fix them is coming on tuesday theres even more people out there exploiting trying to get their last pieces of pvp gear before they go back to sucking.
I sent in 11 in game support tickets all showing videos of people exploiting. I don't mean maybe they were exploiting & I'm unsure of game mechanics, I mean blatantly exploiting -my combat log full of red spam all from 1 person- unable to move or block- type of blatant exploiting. Eleven!! 11 friggin tickets, I currently spend more time frapsing & reporting players than I do actually playing & this is the type of response I get when I send in a ticket-
-I would like to thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I would like to inform you that most of the exploitable Game Mechanics will be fixed with the upcoming patch, that was announced on the forums. I do sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause you in the meantime. If you have any future issues please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
GM Seavio-
It's nice to know that they're fixing the problems but when I read this it says to me "Oh dont worry bro, its all getting fixed on tuesday so dont stress out about it & those players won't be able to sploit anymore". That's great but how about punishing them?
At this point it is a catch 22 for soe.
The exploits have gone unchecked for so long (either through a fix of posting something official that exploiters will be banned) that more and more people are engaging in them for a variety of justifications. Whatever the excuse it is to wide spread at this point to take action against those who are doing it at the same time most free months are ending. The damage is already done.
It should have been addressed weeks ago one way or another, but at this point the damage is to great to take action against players doing it or to implement a fix to prevent it from becoming a widespread problem.
At best the patch fixes the problem and this chapter in the games history is buried and forgotten. Things never get this out of hand again and players give the dev team a second chance to keep up to date on these types of issues.
Wow, no kidding! It's not just DCUO either mate, it's company wide with SoE.
No one claimed the number of X-fire users were the same as the number of players. The OP isnt even talking about the number of DCUO x-fire users. He's talking about the decline in % in time played. Take a look at WoW's stats and you'll see a fairly consistent stat. The OP's point is that DCUO's stat is decreasing rather than remaining consistent or increasing.
Steam's numbers confirm the decline as well and vgcharts doesn't even list this game any longer. Combine these trends with calls on the o-boards for "server mergers" just a week past the 30 day mark and it just doesn't boad well for DCUO. While none of these numbers give us a true number of players actually "playing", they indicate a sharp drop in sales and a drastic decline in players who ARE tracked.
Will it improve? Possibly. But these numbers must be troubling for any MMO. Launch figures DO matter. I don't expect DCUO to go APB on us, but like STO, I think it may have a hard time ever recovering.
XFire huh? Suprized there are still some people out there using it. A lot of people switched to Raptr since the past 2 current owners that bought it dont update games and support it as it should be.
Raptr is made by the original Xfire creators and is that and more. Raptr updates any game to your profile , never have to wait for a game to be added to the list, the client you can log into Xfire, Raptr, AIM, MSN, Xbox Live, PSN, and more, and way better support.
Xfire lost over 5million users since Raptr opened.
Looks like we'll find out Tuesday. The patch will make or break it. I know a large number of players stopped playing temporarily until there is confirmation they've fixed these issues.
The planned patch sounds almost like a miracle patch with the amount of things they are fixing, plus the other items they are adding. I'm looking forward to logging into a much shinier DCUO.
Unfortunately you will have some players who do not return at all, but I think many that were frustrated by the issues the game experienced would likely give it another shot at some point.
More importantly though, I see numbers declining and surging every few months. You won't find players sticking with DCUO with a recurring sub yearly. I know I'll be in and out depending on the new content they provide.
Totally agree that DCUO was more of a console game than a PC game, so it's not surprising the # of PC players are dropping. Most people saw this coming, only the hardcore fans didn't. Twitch gameplay does not fit well with MMORPG genre, and SOE with their infinite wisdom decides to charge the game a monthly subscription like a MMO. That was their naive mistake #1.
I too would like to see the stats on the console. That's a more telling story, as if the console stats see decline as well, then SOE should worry.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
SOE? Smedley? Console? No Thanks...
But if you think about it, the first MMO you ever played... probably wasnt a brand new MMO either.
My first was City of Heroes which already had 3/4 expansions by the time I started when they did the EU release. That meant there was plenty of content, polish and bug free (not completly, but relativly)
Now, by the time I had exausghsted the content of CoH more expansions were released.. so I kept on going with that game for a long time. so of course with a new mmo your going to exaughst all its content within the first month, and subs will drop off.
Problem is once you STOP playing an MMO, any addiction you had with it quickly disapates, you never quite enjoy it again and most probably wont ever sub again.
I agree with almost everything you've said, except for the part about exhausting all a new games content in the 1st month.
That may be the current trend with games like STO and DCUO, but it is most certainly not the 'norm', nor should we EVER accept it as such. Launching without enough content in an MMO is, and should be, a death blow! I hope EVERY game that launches thin on content (quests, sandbox, non-combat stuff) dies a horrible and quick death.
Your bottom comment is the key! Once you move away from an MMO, little can bring you back. Any company that doesn't deliver enough up front, doesn't deserve to keep it's customers. MMO's aren't about CL1-CLcap, they're about LIVING in that virtual world every day and having some sense of feeling 'needed' every day - maybe it's for your crafting, or maybe it's to collect some resource, or to save some NPC city, or to participate in some raid, or pay upkeep on your housing...whatever the reason, you need to feel like you matter in your virtual world.
Yes, and I suppose it does depend on your own time availability.
But Im going to assume that most people who buy an MMO on the day it launched have pre-orderd it and intend to speed through as fast as they can.
With MMO;s like Aion and AoC, I didnt actually consume all the content and get bored. What I got bored of was the lack of 'anything else to do' for want of a better term!
It just seems that all brand-spanking-new MMO's have a real lack of variety, I wouldnt actually care too much that there isnt much content (like isntances and low level cap) Just so long as I had plenty of other things to do.
You look at games that have been out for years now, WoW, LOTRO, ddo, Eve, they all have a vast array of different things you can get on with and I love them (well, not wow *spit*)
So I'm a huge preacher of 'not buying mmo's on release' DCUO and STO both could be fantastic games in a few years time. I look forward to playing them then.
I think those games you mention are not the norm of what developers aim to have in their games at release, but are a result of what developers are capable of getting done before running out of time.
Lack of content isn't a goal. It is the result of a problem in leadership/ability.
as long as theres someone for me to kill on the ps3...i'll still be playing..its more than alive and well on the ps3 and still haveing loads of fun..rankings mean nothing if YOU like the game..play it!
Like I said before, I'm giving DCUO a year to mature before I spend any money on it. That will insure 3 things: the game itself will be cheaper to buy, the Green Lantern expansion will be out, and there will be a year's worth of content that has been added since launch, which should keep me busy for a while. Waiting is a win/win for me.