The X-Fire Game: A "Tear" in the Stats

This week, even though I have some initial stats, they are not truly complete. Like a "rip" in the fabric of the statistics plane of existence.

X-Fire finally fixed their tracking bug for Rift...to an extent. It seems there are still TOO MANY missing clients from their database. Using Raptr as a source...Raptr feeds data into X-Fire. Yet, Raptrs numbers are almost TRIPLE what X-Fire is.

That is not right.

So, I want to be able to keep track until X-Fire picks up more clients. So, just note this weeks #'s will be off for them. Raptr looks good though.

Lets get this started. (Note, the comparison numbers are from two weeks ago from Rift OB time. This will be a good comparison to see how purchase is viewed versus an open beta).

1. Lord of the Rings Online - 2108 ( 2493 ↓ )
2. EvE Online -  2073 ( 2263 ↓ )
3. Aion - 2047 ( 2339 ↓ )
4. Rift - (Launch 1150 (OB 3962))
5. Star Trek Online -  427 ( 450 ↓ )
6. Champions Online -  424 ( 722 ↓ )
7. Dungeons & Dragons Online - 448 ( 443 ↑ )
8. Age of Conan -  253 ( 292 ↓ )
9. DC Universe - 141 ( 265 ↓ )
10. Warhammer Online - 163 ( 168 ↓ )
11. Final Fantasy XIV - 129 ( 139 ↓ )

Need we say more. A veritable across the board loss for most games. Several took it on the chin harder than I thought...while others just languished. And one major surprise.

Lets start with the Rift discrepancy. First off, how can the numbers be half? Like I stated previously, the clients location had been changed for launch. But, then you ask (or foolishly say)..."Well, that is all that bought the game"...where I reply "NO!"

There are more servers for one. there are more FULL servers than Open Beta also. Even this Sunday, my personal server which has not had a queue, had a queue on Sunday.

So, needless to say, those numbers are bogus until the client recognition is fixed.

Now, look at LOTRO and Aion as two games who got hit hard. Now, gaze upon those numbers knowing that the "previous" numbers were Rift Open Beta weekend numbers. Double ouch. Lets go back in time to the weekend after the Super Bowl (SOURCE). LOTRO had 2597 players and Aion had 2458. Now, we can see just how extreme these two MMO's were hit.

EvE also took it down a notch...just not as bad.

But, wow, look at Champions Online. As the Free to Play phenom starts to die down, the numbers are getting lower. Are they still going to drop?

One shocker is that WAR hardly moved. It is down, but not by much. Same for AoC.

This weeks winner is definitely DDO. They seem to be weathering the Rift effect. Congrats to Turbine as always.

Overall, this is a really good comparison to see how most MMO's were hurt after Rift "launched". Trion has to be happy with the purchase mania!

...

1. Rift - 3856 (365 ↑ )
2. EvE Online -  1006 ( 1219 ↓ ) players
3. Lord of the Rings Online -  993 ( 995 ↓ )
4. Aion - 508 ( 606 ↓ )
5. Champions Online -  485 ( 539 ↓ )
6. DC Universe -  338 ( 630 ↓ )
7. Dungeons & Dragons Online -  285 ( 337 ↓ )
8. Final Fantasy XIV -  178 ( 160 ↑ )
9. Star Trek Online - 171 ( 157 ↑  )
10. Age of Conan -   84 ( 140 ↓ )
11. Warhammer Online -   65 ( 95 ↓ )

Raptr's tracking is working much better in this situation. Rift is recognized and some of their data feeds to X-Fire.

As continues to be the case...Raptr always has some oddballs when it comes to play time being up versus down. But, we can definitely see the Rift effect now.

While X-Fire was tracking high for Open Beta and Rift, Raptr always had very low numbers. Not this go round. Each weekend has been pumping out almost 4000 players in Raptr. Rift has become number one with a bullet here. Tripling on our previous #1...Rift is rocking.

Can it hold up?

Oddities abound here. Like DDO taking a big dive here...opposite of X-Fire. FFXIV is actually up during this time.

And look at DC Universe, who is finally feeling the 30 day crunch. Talk about falling down hard. Age of Conan also took it down quite a bit here. And as always (and with much lower numbers to boot), WAR tails.

...

There we have it. The Rift effect is being felt still. But, time will tell.

I will say this much. I expect Rift to hold up after the thirty day window, as the game is good. Not anything "new" per se, but offers something we have not seen in years. A great launch with a game that has no major game breaking bugs. Content is stable, and people are taking their time and enjoying the view.

Enjoy the numbers and cheers.

UPDATE: By special request, we will be watching numbers on X-Fire for World of Warcraft for a couple of weeks to see if the Rift effect is causing any concerns. So, this weeks SPECIAL game is...

WoW = Xfire (36972 players)

CYA next week.