Gaming the Xfire - Latest Update

Wow. What a weekend. Major disturbances in the force of the charts really made me feel that we needed a post to discuss the latest movers and shakers on the Xfire charts.

I will be referencing an article I did at the end of March, thanks to a press release from Cryptic and their newest MMO, Star Trek Online - STO (SOURCE). The data was sound, and we had something to base some numbers off of. The Xfire charts hit a home run, and calculated almost precisely the number of subs STO had, compared to the statement by Cryptic.
As I make notes and do the calcs, just refer to the previous article if you have any questions in how it relates.

The reason I wanted to do the new numbers is that starting this week is, of course, the Age of Conan expansion launch; Rise of the Godslayer. I think this will have a major impact on a lot of MMO's. And as you will see, it really made some adjustments. This will also allow us to see how people are feeling about the new expansion, and how subs "could" be affected.
As well, several other news tidbits made some changes to sub counts. For example, STO had a free return for old subs and introduced a new free trial.
Warhammer Online had another blow struck against it as well, thanks to a set of court papers being filed by Games Workshop against the fan site Warhammer Alliance.GW really has nothing to do with Mythic and WAR, but it is the same IP. The issue is that so many think it DOES relate to WAR and EA/Mythic...and thus, we see what the outcome is of this latest wound. Watch them bleed...

Lets start with some OTHER surprises first.

Lord of the Rings Online

This was really interesting. Especially seeing that Codemasters was offering a "Free Return Weekend". But, it looks like other games are in the spotlight and took the stage away from this critical darling and fan favorite.

Calcs show that subs dropped a bit.  1518 x 120.05 = 182,235 subs. Previously LOTRO had 213,689. This is a considerable drop. I will keep track of this, and see if it is ongoing or just a fluke. For now, looks like age is catching up to LOTRO.

Aion

Another interesting change here. Now, mind you, Aion is STILL a top 10 game, so it does not affect it too much. But, it is also a bit of a drop.

If we do the Calcs, we get - 3662 x 120.05 = 439,623 subs. Last check we had 463,873.

Again, a sizable change. But, I also know that some numbers will be down. Why? HELLO, summer on the way, warm weather. We are bound to see these types of lower numbers. But, it is still interesting.

Age of Conan

Not so surprising. But, I am assured that Funcom has to be one happy camper right now. The numbers continue to rise. Lets take a look.

Very nice. 994 x120.05 = 119, 329 subs. This not only is above the previous articles numbers (81,274), but as well, I did a post discussing the rise May 3rd, and they had roughly 110k players (War of the Failures).

If Funcom can launch Rise of the Godslayer tomorrow, and not have any MAJOR concerns, they could be the comeback kid of 2010.

Warhammer Online

While Funcom may be the "Comeback Kid", WAR and Mythic are the kid being bullied on every corner. Talk about several weeks of pain for these guys. And this past week culminating in another hit with the Games Workshop court order against WHA (Warhammer Alliance), it looks like things are growing worse. Talk about being put on "life support".

These are actually some of the worse numbers for WAR since I started watching Xfire several years ago with Age of Conan's launch. 535 x 120.05 = 64,226. That is a drop from the previous article (74,551) and as well from last weeks post (War of the Failures, calc'd at 70k).

All I can say is if the new patch does not hit by at least next week, servers will be critically empty. Since I am still playing, I saw a weekend of a low number of scenario's being done and as well, we started some alts in the Elf region, and was able to flip the whole zone in Tier 1 to Order with just the 3 of us. Yes, 3 people took a whole zone....

Here is a prayer for ya WAR...I hardly knew ye'

Dungeons & Dragons Online

Well, this could only last so long. We see a minor drop in numbers here.

The calcs say 766 x 120.05 = 91,958. Not too bad. But, last post had DDO at 111,647. So it looks like interest is waning a bit. But, there is no doubt that Turbine still has to be enjoying some great cash flow off this title. Those kinda stats are not anything to laugh about. And having two games doing decent numbers probably doesn't hurt either.

Star Trek Online

Give something away and they will come. Free time for old subs, new free trial...all adding up to a small rise in numbers.

Mind you, this is NOT a rise from my last post, but a rise from what happened after the first 30 days. STO had fallen to close to 200 to 300 players and was in the low #100's and had even fallen at one point into the low #200's on the charts.

Todays calcs put them at 527 x 120.05 = 63,266. And as we can even see on the charting, it was at #92 previously, but shot up to #88. I expect this to rise a little bit more. But, overall, STO did not do well, and that is too bad. It looks gorgeous thanks to screenshots from @Longasc (on Twitter), but must be missing some appeal to a majority of MMO players.

Like I said, this was quite a bit of a change for a lot of titles. Not sure what is up yet, and as the summer progresses, I expect more drops. But, some titles I think are hurting (WAR, STO), but we may see a return on Age of Conan. I wish them luck tomorrow.

Ok, thats it for this week. Watch my Twitter account if you want more info.

Cheers

The Xfire Game

Last week, a small group of us had a Twitter-scussion over the validity of Xfire as a tool beyond the mere use as a glorified chat program.

Xfire has the capability to track players time in games of their choice. Though not perfect, it does give a glimpse of these players (people who load Xfire)  favorite games.
As far as MMO's are concerned, I feel it can be used to do more in respect to players and times.We can also track sub numbers for MMO's in a general capacity. This would be more in line of "paying" commercial based games, by either a large distributor or game developer.

So, a while back, I posted an article (2008) which took a noted news story about the current World of Warcraft population in the US and created a formula to help see how many players can be calculated in all other MMO's based on that formula. What happened is a pretty close and accurate picture of players in various MMO's, and since that time I still have been able to use that formula to this day. Check out the article to see a more in depth discussion of that calculation.

This really took flight when last week Cryptic noted just how many people were playing Star Trek Online. When I saw this, I thought it was time again to try the formula. What happened was a pretty scary comparison that was almost completely accurate to their posted numbers. Cryptic noted a 100k player base. I did my formula and got 96k almost 97k. This of course was based on a Wednesday reading. Sunday numbers are usually more accurate as this IS the busiest day for all MMO's. So, I thought, maybe we need to really do an in depth analysis using Sunday numbers.

Now, I never claimed that the numbers are 100%, accurate, They are a pretty close representation though of what has either been discussed by news pundits or forum goers for total subs of some MMO's. And if a company ever announces their numbers, as seen by the Cryptic count for STO, it can garner a pretty darn accurate calculation.
Since a lot of companies do not release this data, the "Xfire Game" has really become a good way to see just how well this works.

Today, I will do a run of the Sunday count for Xfire for several games being discussed lately. I pick these for the very reason we need a tool like Xfire and my calc. These companies have not, or do not release their numbers. If they do, it is rare.
As well, I will add Aion, as eventually we WILL get numbers (NCSoft does their numbers about once or twice a year), and of course STO, since we did get a report recently.

Lets see how they fare.

Star Trek Online

We will start here. As we KNOW how many are playing thanks to Cryptic's recent announcement of over 100k players, it will be a good jumping off point to see how our calc is working.



The calc rate is multiple the number of Xfire users x 120.05. Using the calc system we see - 980 x 120.05 = 117,649 subs. Over 100k. Interesting.

Aion

Next, I want to show a game that we know has a large population based on reports from NCSoft. Now, of course, most forum goers or blog gurus call this game a failure. I would beg to differ, and I believe Xfires data shows this.



Our calc system states...3864 x 120.05 = 463,873 subs. Basically almost as much as Lineage 2 had been stated to have at one point and time (over 600k in 2007). And as always since it's launch, in the top 10 on Xfire. Now, I am sorry, but this does NOT take into account how many of those subs are gold sellers...

Lord of the Rings Online

Over and over it has been stated that LOTRO is a good "200k" sub game. I for one believe it, and Xfire really corroborates this.



Calc says? 1780 x 120.05 = 213,689 subs. Still a good sub rate and steady. Wish Turbine would just come out and tell us. For me, I think a company should be proud of that many players in todays MMO market. Since I have been doing these calcs, LOTRO has consistently done this number of players...except when they release an expansion, then there is a jump.

Age of Conan

A lot of discussion has been traveling the blogosphere as well as the forums that AoC has progressed beyond the old days, and is a more stable game. Some servers look busy according to the forumites, and Funcom has been able to keep it afloat (though financials have said otherwise). How do the Xfire stats look?



677 x 120.05 = 81,274 subs.
If we read the report for Funcom in their financials, they state "stabilization". This Xfire data corroborates that. They continue to hold this area in the Xfire ratings AND have stabilized in subs if Xfire is to be trusted.

Warhammer Online

My new favorite. Recently Bioware has made comments about the Mythic division and how WAR is actually "profitable". How many subs does a profitable game need? What does Xfire say...



621 x 120.05 = 74,551 subs. Could it be possible that with 4 servers and 50k plus players, any MMO could be profitable? Seeing Age of Conan has held to this area and is still afloat, I may not doubt it now. Especially if we watch Age of Conan with the expansion and new financials report. How will these numbers increase? I will watch these two games closely. They are thought to be case studies of failures for their time. Yet, I also feel they are also the most improved games over time, unlike some others on this list.

Dungeons & Dragons Online

This is a unique case, and I want it here to show how Xfire can still help us figure out what is considered a paying customer, compared to a freebie player. Recently Turbine has stated that they have "1 Meeelllion players" (note the pinky held next to my cheek as I say this..). In so many words; Turbine. The leader of misleading statements.
If we read further into the press release this came from, we also see these words..."paid subscriber base has more than doubled"....AHA. DDO at one point...before the "Free to Play" model, was noted as either having 25k or 50k players subbing. What does Xfire say they have now?



930 x 120.05 = 111,647 subs. So, 1 million players, yes, but I still say 100k plus subscribers paying a monthly fee. Now, this also does not take into account how many people pay for extras (and are not subbed). I still will say it. This hybrid model that DDO has is truly the way other games with low subs should go. We are guaranteed that Turbine is turning some very nice profits right now.

Everquest 2

I always wish to throw this one in there. This game is hard to pigeon hole, because we hardly see or hear about this game, and I always wonder what SOE needs to keep a game afloat. I always want to include Vanguard also (to show what a real failure looks like)...but, for now, EQ2 is good, as we know they have a dedicated playerbase, but not a huge sub lot (at least based on what we know and see).



293 x 120.05 = 35,175 subs. Now, is this really profitable? Has the game been out long enough to make back it's money? I guess it does help that they force players to repurchase EVERY expansion every time they launch a new one (almost 40 bucks a box every 6-8 months). Maybe all along EQ2 has made it's money off of the two-boxers and those who purchase new expansions at launch. For now, low player rates, but dedicated players keep EQ2 afloat.

The argument I keep hearing is Xfire cannot be used as a valid tool for these numbers. I will continue to disagree, as these numbers clearly show a lot of matching data with what we know about these games. We can never be 100% sure, but if I need to know how well a game is doing, I can look at Xfire and get a rough guesstimate.
The Calc I have continues to show some interesting data to this day, and as long as we have this tool, I will continue to try and use it to help me see how well these games are doing.

If you are ever worried about if you should play a game depending on if there are enough players to group with, etc, then try Xfire and see if it is doing well there.

Cheers

The Conundrum of Free To Play

An announcement today made me think on the subject of Free To Play.

"Dungeons & Dragons Online Reaches One Million Players"


(EDIT: Seems the correct wording should be "NEW" players...surpassing 1 million actually. Check the press release here...SOURCE)


Since switching to the Free play model, DDO has had a major increase in the number of players who log in, and are playing. But, how many actually shell out cash for either a sub or the various pay items? According to this news...the money sounds good.

"Dungeons & Dragons Online Revenues Up 500 Percent"

Most of all though; does it matter?

Think on this. Each person logged in is a potential customer; is that not true? When advertisers choose to show a promo for a product on certain TV shows, are they not just basing their theory on getting the most eyes to see the product in the hopes to sell more?

Same here for DDO. More eyes in the game equals more potential customers.

Now, lets look at some of the failing games (or games with smaller sub rates than I assume the company would like to see...) and how would they look with this model?
How about Warhammer Online, Age of Conan.. Would they have more subs or at least players with a potential to sell more? What about Hellgate: London or Tabula Rasa. Would they have survived under this setup.

Overall, could certain games benefit from this model?

Funcom is no newb to this type of setup for an MMO with Anarchy Online being a free to play...but with adverts (a little more bizarre, but still in that realm). Look how long they have been running now? Age of Conan is draining the revenues and finances of Funcom like a sieve.  So, maybe for Funcom to succeed they may have to walk that fine line again and figure out a new way to make cash.

A lot of Free to play's are not looked upon very well. Games like Runes of Magic or Perfect World, etc, all have quality issues. The games are not as well made as the financial powerhouses like AoC or WAR. Thus, could these commercial flops pull away from those lower quality games by going free? Maybe even pull players from those games. Last I heard, a million people have logged in to Perfect World at some point.

Could you imagine one million eyes in Warhammer...and how that could change the overall structure of that game?

I think we need to see how other "commercial" style MMO's that are not doing well in the sub arena would fare under a Cash Shop model...no matter how much people hate it. I personally feel that if a game starts to flounder, then it is time to see how you can change your model to the free to play scheme, and see if you succeed.

Guild Wars 2 is set to be a buy once, free for life with special "purchases" later deal to pad costs. Even Star Wars The Old Republic has mentioned this method (though the audience is pushing for the monthly deal, which I still think is a detriment. SWToR poll on payment).

This much I can say. DDO has proven it can work, and quite well.

And the winner is?

Everquest 2!!

That is right. After much deliberation, the family has chosen it's "interim" game, and that is EQ2.

Originally it started as trying to decide what to even do. I had been feeling kind of down with life in general thanks to my Mothers condition, Christmas not being a grand affair this year due to going broke helping my family, I was just not in the mood AT ALL to play anything. Things started to pile up on me, where I debated about playing the Xbox 360, but my sons Xbox goes and dies. I wish for him to have the system, and I was not really in the mood yet to play it, so I handed mine over to him. (I have also been unimpressed with the RPG collection available on the 360 anyways).

I logged into various games, like WAR and DDO. Yet, they just did not grab me. But, then I was graced by a star. A ...Stargrace if you will.

Over at MMOQuests.com, I saw her post, a little piece, a simple video explaining what she liked about EQ2 compared to WoW.

Then the nostalgia hit.

Since I have been playing MMO's, only 3 have kept me occupied and happy enough to play them for extended periods. Guild Wars has kept me for years and years, but I have played it so much, it just does not call me now. Age of Conan is the longest subscription MMO for myself (and my wife), but as we have seen, Funcom just has NO clue how to run a game, and I needed to talk with my wallet for a while (I will return, but probably not until a lot happens change wise).

Then came Everquest 2. The 3rd longest game we ever played, and we had a blast. Just like any MMO, after an extended period of time, everyone needs a break, and after 8 months we had moved on.

But, now we have a difference. Our son.

So, after watching the little piece by Stargrace, I suggested it to the wife. She actually seemed interested, and we thought it may just be the two of us again. Last night, I loaded up the demo to see how it felt. During that time, my son watched and asked about the game. Since he has a growing interest in MMO's, well, we let him in. As he saw and heard all of the things we could do...decent combat, gathering and crafting (which he enjoyed doing..), housing (which he really liked) and SHINIES!!....he was sold. So were we as we watched him play. The music lulled me in to that nostalgic feel, and the game instantly became familiar to both myself and my wife (who was slightly napping, but as my son started to play, actually woke up and interjected with her own commentary and suggestions...lol)

The second selling point is what is called the "Complete" collection. You get all of the game...every expansion, every addon AND 60 days of gameplay (not just 30)...all for 20 BUCKS. WOW, what a deal.

This helped us make the next decision...start from scratch...EVERYONE.

Both myself and the wife have higher level characters. But, one thing is for sure. EQ2 was never about the race to level, but reaching the things to do AS you level. The wife has already started discussing gathering and crafting, I started discussing housing....well, you get the idea. The game is NOT just about questing and killing.

So, we should be able to enter Norrath by Monday!!

Now, who thinks I need to change the title of my blog?

Dungeons and Dragons Online..well

It is just not fun.

I have tried to enjoy my time in the game, but several issues prevent me from enjoying the free 30 days I received.

Let me list some Pro's first.

• I like the dungeons and the quests once you enter.
• The combat is fast and fun (though weak right now)
• The models look 100 times better than LOTRO
• DX10 looks good and is smooth (the launcher though is another problem all together

But, something does not feel right

• No real atmosphere (Music is far and between not to mention boring as all get up, sound effects sound like tin cans hitting each other)
• Grouping is not fun due to the veterans being all for "race through and finish quickly" attitudes. Hardly any newbs to play with.
• Populations is quite small..I only saw one major group (3 others) and two other people playing from the amount of time I logged in
• I see no real need so far to use a skill...just smack, smack, smack and with combat being so frenetic and running around, with models sliding along the floor as they fight...it is unimmersive.

That last word says it all. Immersion is non-existent in this game....period. I do not feel like I am in another world when I start playing. WoW is even more immersive thanks to it's stylized look. AoC makes me feel like I am in the desert or snow capped mountains. Even some zones in EQ2 worked (but, also was not immersive...luckily they made up for it with a fun game inside the trappings)..

Also a point that DDO fails on.

It just does not feel fun!

Uninstall for the last time I guess

On list of NEVER to load again...Vanguard, LOTRO, DDO.

Next up....I bought myself a 9.99 copy of EQ2 Shadow Odyssey, so I will go back to EQ2 as a newbie for 30 days. Also, purchased a wireless headset for Vent for raiding in AoC while I was on my trip.

And finally bought a copy of Drakensang (even though it forces me to downgrade my PC to Vista from Win7...thats another story...)

Let the games begin, so I may protect myself from the UV Cancer Rays of the Sun..

I play MMO's for 15 bucks a month

Just so I can login to their servers. Thats IT.

Really, what do they offer otherwise?

Development? Some..

Servers Upkeep? Some...

Technical Support?.......

This is the biggest issue for me.

Several issues have arisen for me in Age of Conan and now Dungeons and Dragons Online. Each of these issues I have entered tickets on. Each of these issues give me fun replies like...

"I'm afraid I do not have anything else solid I can suggest for you to try"

Great.

All of these issues I have ended up fixing myself. Thats the kicker.

For example, the LCD TV issue in Age of Conan DX10 was an ongoing problem, totally replicable on multiple LCD's here, different brands...yet, Funcom had no ideas...and even noted they could not replicate the issue.

I have even had people tell me they have the same issue, and several forum posts are out there for other games in DX10.

In Funcoms favor, it ended up being a Microsoft issue, as other games do this as well (DDO is an example), yet other games, like Devil May Cry 4 do not do this.

Stupid.

But, out of this, Turbine has proven to be the most irresponsible...complete with no email to let me know they received my ticket, my post sitting dead on the forum about the issue...and then I figure it out on my own after trying different variations of fixes..

I still have no email follow up.

So, really. I am paying a monthly fee to just login to these games.

Time for all these games to go RMT!

No MMO on my play list

Today I officially removed Tabula Rasa from my playing list. I looked at the icon this morning, and just decided a big NO to clicking it.
I just do not feel compelled. I wonder if it is the thought of it shutting down? Or was it the same over and over combat mechanics that killed it for me?

I miss Fantasy though, and that may be the issue.

Luckily I have Deadspace filling the Sci-Fi itch I get once in a great while (and of note..Deadspace is truly an AWESOME game, and I am duly impressed with the sound and controls...but more on that at another time)

So, back to the MMO issue.

I am debating starting up my DDO account I have waiting for me. I think the Hirelings are live now, and this was one of the items I wanted in effect when I played.
I also have a 10 dollar discount to Amazon, and I am debating getting a 60 day card for Age of Conan again.
I think I will wait on Conan to get DX10 first. I have a huge guild waiting on me, so getting players there for grouping is not an issue, but I really want to see the effects in their full glory. Several videos are about showing the sun rays effects and real time shadowing with blur for combat...very cool stuff.

But, I could also just not play any MMO for now, and continue on the wonderful Xbox 360 games I have. There is a ton of those..
Deadspace, Infinite Undiscovery, Prince of Persia and Star Wars: Force Unleashed.

With 2009 looking drab for the MMO genre, luckily there are several MMO's left to occupy my time. So maybe I should not rush starting a new one yet?

Anyways, back to the work grind...and if I miss it...Happy New Year.

Turbine starts the downsize

Announced today, another MMO developer takes a cut.

Turbine announced layoffs in the QA and Accounting areas of their offices. This is almost along the lines of the Funcom layoffs.

I am assured that most could see this as an issue with the recession, and this could be possible. Yet, with the recent launch of the expansion pack, sales should have been brisk, especially so late in the year.
Add to this a steady player base, it is unclear why they felt the need to do this before Christmas even.

As noted by the Turbine rep.

"As part of this transition some of our talented colleagues will not be with us going forward."

But, as another commenter noted...

"is it not counter-productive to sack your talented colleagues in order to achieve your strategic goals?"

Again, this takes me back to the SOE argument. Turbine, don't you have a dead weight MMO sitting around to shut down instead, and put your 100% focus into the one which IS doing ok?

This begs the question of what happened with the recent influx of cash Turbine received. Where did this money go? What exactly is a private company doing? The worst part is their privacy, as no one really knows what is going on behind closed doors. This can lead to frustration on a perspective customers part if they believe (based on what type of impression this layoff gives) the company may not be around for long.

We know why Funcom did their layoffs. AoC really messed them up. Yet, they only laid off their American brethren, while the European offices are doing fine.

This is quite odd at this point, and I question their motives, and of course we must ask the question "Are the games really not doing that well"? It has been noted over and over that Turbine is profitable. If so, why these layoffs?

This is really sad for the genre as a whole, and hopefully the economy starts a turn around. Otherwise, the only MMO choice will end up being WoW.

X-Fire review - trending popularity

If we were to take the scales from the X-Fire charts, we can get a pretty good idea of popularity of the various Western based MMO's, and actually create a chart.

Like, for example, we all know WoW is #1 in sales and players. But, can we guesstimate how popular the other games are using this methodolgy?

Lets take a look.

#2 - WAR - Easily the second most popular MMO.
We have heard rumors of customers leaving, yet the latest patch added in two of the missing classes, and the times being played correspond to it's place in our chart. It's popularity still places high on the list, and makes WAR the #2 most popular MMO.


#3 - LOTRO - No matter how much I do not want to admit it, based on the X-Fire chart, and thanks to a new expansion, LOTRO gets in at #3 for popularity. The return of customers who originally bought the game, and lifetimers overall add to time played.
Well done Turbine.


#4 - Age of Conan - Still charting, and being consistent, this is pretty good. There have been new issues with the merges, and some slow response on the next patch. But, there is no doubt that there is a group of people who want their game to be a little different. I still have confidence in them. Now, if they would just speed things up ..


#5 - Everquest 2 - Well, thanks to some brisk sales of their latest expansion, they have made some huge leaps on the X-Fire charts...actually up 20 spots from when I last looked upon them..
This easily drops them into the top 5 Western MMO's


Note, we did not include Guild Wars here, due to one issue. They are not subscriber based, and that is what we are looking at. If we were to include them, they are by far the second largest MMO. But, we also question the MMO connotation, so for our purposes, we will note that WoW and GW are the two most popular fantasy online games. Here is hoping Guild Wars 2 proves to be a powerhouse like it's predecessor.

Now, this makes for our top 5. I do want to include a couple here that I have discussed in the past, and wanted to follow up on.

Dungeons and Dragons Online - The game has seen an upswing, which may be due to the new module that was released. I also have noted in the past that new technologies drive players to some games. With the addition of DX10, I think this also drives new players in.
So, with the upcoming henchmen system (hirelings) and the continued support of the DX system, who knows...maybe this game could do a turnabout (I also want to note that since release, all new content and updates have been FREE, with no expansions or costs associated with this...nice move to help drive new business)


Tabula Rasa - So, what happens when you announce the closure of your game? Bye Bye customers (even though the game is not scheduled to end for another 3 months...OUCH!)



Thats it for now. I am hoping to see a couple of more titles here soon. I may look at the Asian Market and check on games like Cabal, Shin Megami and later Spellborn.

Cheers

Plans change...Do you know where your MMO is?

UGh...and Double UGH!

Thanks to Tipa, "The bearer of bad tidings" (that is an achievement badge I believe in World of Warcraft), it seems my moratorium ending MMO has tanked until January.
This is not to say that I could be one of the lucky few who get in Closed Beta scheduled to start next week...but I will not hold my breath.

So, the time has come to make sure I choose correctly for my next MMO schedule. I will go through a list of the MMO's I have an interest in, debate the pro's and con's for me, and hopefully you guys will really pipe in with some opinion....

My first choices are recent purchases, and were made for specific reasons.

Dungeons and Dragons Online - Thanks to the DX10 update, new tutorial area and hirelings (upcoming), I decided to swing for the box, which I bought for 5 bucks.

The reason I have held off though is due to hirelings not being fully implemented.
Should I at least get in, make my character and start the tutorial area to get a feel for the new update? Or wait to make sure I get to trial the hirelings?
I have not read a release date yet on these. Plus, the 30 days has to really count, so if I miss something due to taking it on too early, then I will only have myself to blame.

The main reasons I bought the game is I have sort of liked each time I played. I have had issues with animations (a trademark Turbine issue...30FPS animations in a 60FPS world is how I describe their jerky movements), but visually I like the game better than LOTRO, and has a more action style feel.

But, when I read about hirelings, I was hooked.

I feel I need to give it longer than a 7 day trial.

Tabula Rasa - This of course was purchased due to one reason...96 cents....duh.
I have given this one 30 days, but it was the end of beta.

I entered Closed Beta about two weeks before the end. I rather enjoyed myself at that time.
Then Open Beta came and they made changes to how it worked. Balance was thrown off, performance suffered, and it became...non-fun!

But, the game has had time to mature. As well, I read of a change to the game to make it FPS viewable, and that Earth was being added to the mix. I liked the idea of going back to Earth in the story.

My main cons are...Sci-Fi and....Sci-Fi. I have yet to find any Sci-Fi game to really keep me...short of an Action game or FPS (Gears of War, Halo, etc..).
But, Tabula was fun with the LOGOS system, and made it feel slightly fantasy based. The alien drop ship spawns were cool, and weapon upgrades were neat.

Visually the game is nice to look at. Performance is good also since launch (went back once for a trial). I never tried the crafting (well, a little, but it sucked), so I am up in the air.

Do I wait for Earth and FPS mode first? Or take the plunge....

Everquest 2 - Ah, good ole EQ2. I really enjoyed myself for 8 months. This game is also the only game that I played to a higher level than most.. (I think I left at level 54...have to double check).

But, things started to go awry.

The performance was really conducive to not having fun (poor shoddy gameplay on high end equipment was not cool). The constant travel to various zones with long load screens was blah.
The world felt non-cohesive (one zone would look awesome, then the next would suck).

Luckily I really enjoyed the SOGA models. Combat was actually fun. And now with the changes to performance (Dual Core support), this one could work.

The XP raise for leveling I have heard is a boon, and this could possibly make the game go by quicker. This was another argument that the drag on levels and questing just made it go slow.

Of course, I will solo a lot, maybe join some PuG's, but I just want a game that will be fun no matter how I play.

Will EQ2 keep me occupied again?

Guild Wars - Going back is always an option here thanks to the no cost start up fee, and no cost monthly...

I still have a ton of content to complete, and recently a new patch added ways to track achievements for other missions in the game.

But, I do not want to burn out on an MMO immediately, and Guild Wars was played extensively a while back. It is still fresh, and I am unsure if I want to start back up just yet.

Either an older game (EQ2 has been almost a year) or a NEW game would be better suited..

Yet, GW ALWAYS satisfies...
__________________________

These are my choices for now. Nothing else really interests me at this point.
LOTRO will never touch my hard drive again, WAR was just not any fun, Vanguard....ah, if I need to be put to sleep maybe...and a slew of many others also (WoW is also a NEVER thanks to their idiocy. Trying to charge me for game time I never played is NOT cool.)

Any input here? Fire away...

Cheers

Playing with Xfire

Well, that title really screamed to be made....

Anyways, this weekend and today I decided to review some of the games I have kept an eye on, and specifically those with changes this past week or two (or upcoming).
The charts allows us to note trends in the popular and maybe some less popular games, and come away with basic conclusions of playtimes.
A LOT of updates, expansions, content updates, etc. have been made to a majority of MMO's which are in the spotlight.

Please keep in mind, the reason we even look at these charts is they do show trends, not REAL numbers.
Make sure to keep that caveat in mind as we look at the scales.

I looked at a LOT of games, but at this point I want to note some I did not include.

Everquest 2, who DOES have an expansion coming soon (like tomorrow...lol). YET, I see no major spikes except for a huge dip last month which must have been a GU.
Due to it's niche, it seems to hold it's own in the scales and is about in the 90th-100th spot.
I will go back to them real soon as I would like to see if the new expansion causes any interest, or if the game has it's dedicated audience and is on cruise control.

Vanguard had a huge update a little while back. But, the game continues to nosedive (example from previous days it has dropped from #195 to #218...yea...pretty bad.)

I think we should probably just let it rest in peace.

Tabula Rasa. I really wanted to include this due to NCSoft's current issues, and having a minor interest in the game. As well, I could have included CoH/CoV. But, the games are low on my radar, and there has been nothing major as of this point on their games for updates.
I will note that Tabula Rasa ranks higher than Vanguard and CoH ranks higher than EQ2.
And as a side note, Lineage 2 is their best averaging subscription based MMO, resting in the 40's.

Finally, I did not include any Free to play's or Asian grinders. Our scales would look bizarre indeed. (For example, Guild Wars ranks #9, which if people accepted it as an MMO, would make it the 2nd most popular North American MMO.)

I mainly looked at current subscriber based games on the markets mind or having a real recent update and is popular. (I guess we could define this as "hyped")

WoW, WAR, LOTRO, AoC, DDO.

Most of these make sense...but, let me explain DDO being here before I continue.

Drastic changes were made to the game recently with Module 8, with the hirelings system (still kicking in) and DX10.
I am of the mind that people who are on the cutting edge of gaming are always looking at ways to see more horsepower.
DX10 games fill that bill.
The game has been a real major group focused system. Seeing the hirelings makes me wonder if this will also bring in more players who want to try and solo (/waves).

Finally the complete change to the tutorial area screams for a retrial as well.

Dungeons and Dragons (like Lord of the Rings) was a major IP boon for Turbine. Somehow the ball was dropped. If anything I would like to see a better game here. Turbine continues to disappoint me also, as LOTRO is one of the worst high profile games I have played (and note this is my opinion, so not a reflection on those who love LOTRO.)
DDO also did nothing for me, but I enjoyed it more due to better looking models and a better looking world feel to me.
But playing gave me no underlying theme. Like, no story or reason for me to be here in this big city

But, who knows what these changes hold. May just be the ticket to keep me and others around longer.
________________________________

Recently, Xfire has switched to a new display for their data. All charts now go on a weekly listing of numbers. This really helps us get a full overview of the changes depending on updates, expansions, etc.

Lets begin shall we?

World of Warcraft

The launch of Wrath of the Lich King really showed it's muscle.


As we look at the chart we can see the infamous dip for Tuesdays, and then how it scales back up for the weekend.
But, our newest chart, shows a MAJOR jump after the 13th. That is easy to guess.

WAR

The second best listing on Xfire of our titles to review.

But, we can see the major downfall from the 30 day turnover. The game had been noted to have quite a huge population...but...


Makes me wonder how much more this will continue to fall, or if this is finally reaching its set base. A lot of bloggers have corroborated this data of servers feeling empty...

The chart does state no change for 5 days though. So, this may be the spot WAR sticks to. Keeping a close eye on this.
My guess is that WAR is the #2 NA MMO right now.

Age of Conan

The chart speaks for itself. It has found a niche. I thought the change in the content from this past week would have brought it up more. But, it looks like Funcom took too long, and now has to live with the consequences.


This could change if they start to offer the free comebacks or trials. This will be interesting to watch as this and DDO are probably the most different MMO's on this list. Do people want something different if it is working well and offers a good game? Or are we stuck in an MMO rut, and all future releases will rely on WoW mechanics to make their game.

DDO

As I mentioned, quite a few changes. And we can see an upswing of time near the end of the scale...


It may take some time for their chart to grow, but the numbers are holding out ok and a little increase is a good sign.

LOTRO

This will be the one to watch. I feel their release of the expansion (just like EQ2) is a misinformed judgement. Why release it a week after WoTLK?


But we do see some upswing here as well. LOTRO does ok on the charts as we can see, and keeps a good set of subscribers...all die hard Tolkien fans for sure.

But, as an MMO, could it have had what it takes to attract players disgruntled with WoW?

I will keep an eye on this to see if Mines of Moria makes this game spike or not.
They have only ever reached number 14 on the Xfire charts, so unlike WAR or AoC who topped up at #5 and have had major sales, LOTRO never quite grabbed the players the same way.
Yet, the "dedicated" player seems to be more prominent in the LOTRO universe. Says something at least for the quality of the game for those players.

_________________________________

Like I said, I plan to review these once in a while as the Holidays close in. Will any game catch someones fancy?

Could Spellborn end up here? Will watch for that as well.

Should be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out.

Cheers

MMO's on the cheap

Two MMO's have made some real changes in their games over the last week, and now is the chance to get them CHEAP...

How cheap? Check these Amazon links below.

First up is Dungeons and Dragons Online.

With their recently released Module 8, the introduction of a new starter zone (with outside climes) and the introduction of the hour long henchmen (sure to please so many, and less expensive than the Bunny Ranch), this may just be worth a once over.

Your price? --- $4.75

Next is Tabula Rasa.

Their latest patch introduces something that should have existed since launch. FPS mode. You may view the world in First Person like most shooters. It still uses dice calculations in the background to decide hit or miss, yet feels more FPS according to the developers.

Your price? --- a whopping $0.96

I may be on break, but I would be stupid not to at least add these boxes and give them 30 days when my break is up.

If you have ever hemmed and hawed over these games, now would be the time to order.