World Of Warcraft .. 4 Million Players

[DigiQ8]

and it reached 1 million player in North America
Blizzard = $$$$

It seems that most often when a massively multiplayer online role-playing game makes headlines, the news is bad. Last week, Turbine Entertainment announced that Asheron's Call 2 was being taken offline. Last month, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment sold off the Matrix Online to Sony Online Entertainment following lackluster sales. (SOE has since cut the number of servers supporting the game by two thirds.)

However, for one MMORPG, World of Warcraft, the news is good--very good. Today, the company's developer and publisher, VU Games-owned Blizzard Entertainment, announced that the best-selling fantasy title has reached even greater heights of popularity. According to the company, there are now four million "paying customers" who log onto the MMORPG worldwide--one million in the US and Canada alone.

But just what are "paying customers"? Blizzard defines the term as being someone who has "paid a subscription fee or purchased a pre-paid card to play World of Warcraft" or someone who has "has purchased the installation box bundled with one free month access." The company also counted "Internet Game Room players [who have] accessed the game over the last seven days" as paying customers.

Blizzard has not been shy about trumpeting World of Warcraft's runaway success, and today claimed it was "the largest MMORPG in the world." In a statement Mike Morhaime, Blizzard's co-founder and president, thanked his company's collaborators. "With the continued support of our retail partners, World of Warcraft has reached more than 1 million paying customers in North America well before its one-year anniversary in November," he said. "We would like to express our appreciation to both the players and our retail and license partners for helping us make World of Warcraft one of the most popular online games in the world."

 

[Reginald]

I just joined thanks to PCGamer UK Maybe I am player 4 million and 1?

 

[Seppo]

That. Is. Insane!

 

[jimbo118]

4 million, jesus!!!

thats half of ireland(approx.)....

 

[DigiQ8]

the biggest MMO ever

 

[DreadLord]

the biggest MMO ever

Final Fantasy XI Online had more than this shortly after release, we'll see if WoW beats it.

 

[DigiQ8]

Final Fantasy XI Online had more than this shortly after release, we'll see if WoW beats it.

oh
how many players play FFXI ?

 

[Cerpin]

That`s Norway, and then some! Very impressive.

 

[Dekstar]

****ing XTREME!!

 

[Evo]

that wayyyyy more than the population of Wales! OMG Warcraft is gonna take over teh world!

 

[DreadLord]

I didn't realize all your countries were that small, it's about 1.4% of the US...

 

[<RJMC>]

I remenber that some months ago it was 2.5 millions
wow so many people playing that game
imaginate something like a war game whit so many players
and I think blizzard deserve it

 

[The Mullinator]

heh heh, the WoW community is quite terrible (yes im part of it). You guys thought the whining about Valve used to be bad? You havn't experienced anything until you visit the official WoW forums.

If you were to visit those forums you would find it incredible that Blizzard could even be making any money with the constant whines and threads made by people claiming that themselves along with their entire guild are quitting the game. Announcements like this really let me laugh in the faces of those idiots.

 

[Fliko]

heh heh, the WoW community is quite terrible (yes im part of it). You guys thought the whining about Valve used to be bad? You havn't experienced anything until you visit the official WoW forums.

If you were to visit those forums you would find it incredible that Blizzard could even be making any money with the constant whines and threads made by people claiming that themselves along with their entire guild are quitting the game. Announcements like this really let me laugh in the faces of those idiots.

You know, whenever I visit the WoW boards, I feel like taking a shotgun and killing everyone within a 5 meters of me.

I'll give you an example.

The paladins had a skill called "Seal of the Crusader" (I believe it was called this). It would decrease attack power but increase attack speed, but it was bugged. It would increase attack power and attack speed. Well, Blizzard finally fixed this bug, the forums were spammed with "OMFGFGFG!!onee111one, Blizzard nerfed paladins though f***ers".

People also gathered up and crashed a server. I can't remember the reason, but I believe it was because warriors were nerfed, and they weren't happy.

EDIT: I like EQ2 better, it has more variety of spells. Lots of updated content, though Blizzard is extremely good. They just don't add a lot of skills, and fix talent trees.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Meh, MMORPGS are dumb anyway.

 

[Sulkdodds]

At least 4 million people (including me) disgree. :E

 

[Reginald]

*jaw drops*

I have been playing for about 6 hours non-stop and I'm still raring to go back. I do have a few questions I feel I may as well incorporate into this thread for neatness' sake however.

1) How can you get a pet, and is it obtainable within a two week period?
2) For the druid class, when do you gain the ability to turn into a bear...etc?
3) Is there an easy way to find the training person in each village?

 

[Sulkdodds]

1) I don't know, I've never been a hunter. But you get one a quite a low level, I assume.
2) You get a letter at about level 10, which starts a quest to get bear form. I did it at level 12.
3) No. Thottbot might help actually, but there are trainers in all the main cities and you can find them by asking a guard.

 

[OmegaX]

They need to cut the monthly fees. Then i'd buy the game. I'm sure many other people feel the same way i do. Then the player amount would be even larger.

 

[DreadLord]

They need to cut the monthly fees. Then i'd buy the game. I'm sure many other people feel the same way i do. Then the player amount would be even larger.

Possibly, but I'd much rather pay a monthly fee than not. The death of Guild Wars was its lack of monthly fee. Every 10 year old in the world can play Guild Wars without their mommy's credit card, and you get an influx of noobs who completely ruin the game. I'd rather pay $15 a month and avoid this.

 

[Reginald]

1) I don't know, I've never been a hunter. But you get one a quite a low level, I assume.
2) You get a letter at about level 10, which starts a quest to get bear form. I did it at level 12.
3) No. Thottbot might help actually, but there are trainers in all the main cities and you can find them by asking a guard.

You can only get a pet if you are a Hunter?

 

[Unfocused]

Possibly, but I'd much rather pay a monthly fee than not. The death of Guild Wars was its lack of monthly fee. Every 10 year old in the world can play Guild Wars without their mommy's credit card, and you get an influx of noobs who completely ruin the game. I'd rather pay $15 a month and avoid this.

I didn't know Guild Wars died.

 

[Absinthe]

I'm currently waiting on the phone with Blizzard's billing support. Have been for the past 20 minutes or so.

God damn account creation issues...

 

[Zeus]

Meh, MMORPGS are dumb anyway.

I agree with you...I dont like them anymore (too addictive and theyre massive time sinks).

 

[ricera10]

I didn't know Guild Wars died.

Maybe it died in his section of the world, it's still pretty popular where I lived.

Or he could've meant its "death" was there being too many noobs to have fun.

 

[DreadLord]

I didn't know Guild Wars died.

Yes it did, all the original players are gone and have been replaced by the next wave of noobs. All the old guilds are pretty much empty now because it gets boring after about a month of play. Guild Wars was beating CSS and WoW on xfire 2 months ago, and look at it now.

 

[Sui]

WoW ftw.

I own guild wars- I got to level 9 and stopped playing. I think the game is too group-based... you seriosuly can't go solo, or esle it becomes either incredibly hard or incredibly boring. Even though I was in a great guild (with loads of HL2.netters), I just found the game incredibly isolating.

 

[Alig]

They need to cut the monthly fees. Then i'd buy the game. I'm sure many other people feel the same way i do. Then the player amount would be even larger.

Obviously they don't need to cut nothing..the games doing just fine. 4'000'000 x £8 a month (even though its more, but its less for people with 3/6 month subcriptions) = £32'000'000 a month..i think Blizzard are fine with there being a monthly fee and so am i for the very reason DreadLord said.

 

[KagePrototype]

You can only get a pet if you are a Hunter?

Anyone can buy a small pet (like a cat or cockroach or something, depending on your location) that can follow you around, but to have a pet that you can tame and have fight alongside you, you need to be a hunter. Warlocks can also summon demons as "pets" (though technically they're "minions", since you're basically enslaving them rather than earning their trust). Hunters are able to start taming pets after a quest at level 10, and Warlocks are able to summon an imp at level 5 after another quest.

 

[OCybrManO]

Engineers can make pet-like devices... but they're expensive, only useable by enginners with high enough skill, have HUGE recharging times, only last for like two minutes, and are practically worthless even when you do get to use them. Well, the mechanical squirrel doesn't have those restrictions... but it doesn't actually do anything.

 

[Asus]

4 million...nice! Wonder just how far it will keep going up.

1) How can you get a pet, and is it obtainable within a two week period?
2) For the druid class, when do you gain the ability to turn into a bear...etc?
3) Is there an easy way to find the training person in each village?

A lot of stuff happens at lvl10. You can start using talent points at level 10 to branch out into different skills. Just ask the guards in the big cities and they should direct you to trainers and everything else. Small towns really don't have trainers. Also, I'd recommend get started on professions right away so you can level it up as you level.

I was way behind on blacksmithing for one character and the armor I made was never better than what I already got from quests. But on the other hand I was ahead with Alchemy on my warlock and I maxed it out in my 40's. Was making a lot of gold by putting potions on the Auction house and I have more than enough for my epic mount at lvl57.

For warlocks you can get the imp at lvl 1 if you have help but the mob you have to beat to complete the quest is lvl 3 or 4 and in a cave. I got my Imp (Quzbis) at lvl3.

 

[DeusExMachina]

I was gonna buy the game to get a panda as a pet. Cause lets face it, pandas are the cutest litte things on the planet <3.

 

[The Dark Elf]

Possibly, but I'd much rather pay a monthly fee than not. The death of Guild Wars was its lack of monthly fee. Every 10 year old in the world can play Guild Wars without their mommy's credit card, and you get an influx of noobs who completely ruin the game. I'd rather pay $15 a month and avoid this.

And cause you said it, it must be true?


I don't get the impression you've even played it. Or World of Warcraft come to that.

You ARE aware that anyone can play WoW right? You don't need a credit card, you just head into your local Game store and buy one of those vouchers.

Also you may be surprised to know that there are many many MANY idiots playing EQ2, Lineage2 etc. and so on. They all have to pay, infact the idiots on EQ2 are some of the worst, taking things far too seriously to the point of being a danger to themselves and anyone who listens to them. So really you need to quit assuming that the younger someone is, the worst he's going to be. I've seen plenty of so called grown ups acting far more imature than some young kids.


Guild Wars dying..... heh No, its just those with short attention spans, the "noobs" as you call them, have got bored and stopped playing. Strangely enough - to go play WoW instead. Let those people run through Lornar's Pass to get the top of the line armor, let them buy money and items on ebay, they'll be bored far quicker and leave the decent players to it.

I think, assuming you have played GW, briefly. You didn't play properly or you would have realised quite easily that GW allows you to play the entire game without even once running into annoying players out to cause trouble.

A few tips on avoiding them

Turn off local chat

Don't join PuG's excepting them to all be elite players.

Don't join the first guild that invites you

Don't join the first random team that invites you

When setting up a team, take your time. The longer you take, the more planning you do, the more likely the annoying players will lose interest long before you even enter the mission or set off on a quest.

Don't randomly invite anyone you see in the area and get upset when they don't turn out the way you'd hoped.

Don't assume every monk is a brilliant Healer. Or even a healer come to that.

Remember the henchies. With a skilled team the henchmen work just fine. Atleast the henchie monks don't charge you for their services.

Look at people's names too, chances are those with childish names are no better themselves.


Honestly. If you know what your doing you can avoid all the problem players, YOUR in control over who plays with your team, not them. The area's are instanced and if some guy isn't in your team, he can't follow you and cause you grief. If he is in your team, you've only got yourself to blame, for either adding him if its your team, or for staying with the group when you knew there would be trouble.

Granted you can't avoid every single bad event, go stick with single player games if you want that, but really - if you think your gonna have a better time in WoW then your in for a nasty surprise.

Not only that but WoW is forever down being fixed and updated. GW streams it and has rarely if ever been offline for more than a minute or so, the longest being a couple of days after it first went live.

We're also getting tons of free content in a few days. Then a very large expansion towards the beginning of next year. Followed by many more extra's, most of which entirely free.


As for people leaving, well that happens in everything, just because 4 million are playing WoW today, doesn't mean the same 4 million will be playing in a years time. People move on, have lives.

And above everything else. With GW you play cause you want to, not cause you feel you have to after paying for two more months gametime.

 

[Jintor]

Yeah, well, Counter-Strike servers use the same amount of data over the internet as Italy. Or possibly Larger!

I'm not gonna play WoW. I know of about 20 or more people who's entire love affair with it end the second they hit 60. Although admittedtly the Penny-Arcade (Knights of Arcadia, Fancy Lads, Annarchy and a couple more guilds i can't be bothered to remember) and PvP (Panda Attack!) guild war on Dark Iron looks plenty fun, but also plenty laggy.

 

[Sloth]

All i'd want to see with WoW is a full scale battle between maybe 20 guilds, in the ruins of Hyral (World Tree) Horde vs Alliance.
I just don't have the money or the time to play WoW.

 

[DreadLord]

And cause you said it, it must be true?

Umm nope...

I don't get the impression you've even played it.

I have over 500 hours logged in Guild Wars, and I got it the day it was released. Even my Xfire has over 320 hours logged, which you can view here since you want to argue.

You ARE aware that anyone can play WoW right? You don't need a credit card, you just head into your local Game store and buy one of those vouchers.

It was an example calm down, the point is the parents can buy GW and that's the end of it, no more fees. Whether it be by credit card or in store, all the little noobs have to pay for WoW.

Also you may be surprised to know that there are many many MANY idiots playing EQ2, Lineage2 etc. and so on. They all have to pay, infact the idiots on EQ2 are some of the worst, taking things far too seriously to the point of being a danger to themselves and anyone who listens to them. So really you need to quit assuming that the younger someone is, the worst he's going to be. I've seen plenty of so called grown ups acting far more imature than some young kids.

Right, every game has idiots, thanks for informing us. Unfortunately Guild Wars is so saturated in complete idiots and noobs that it ruins the experience for a lot of people. Idiots will always show up in no matter what game you play, the people who teamflash in CS, the people who dive in front of your humvee in BF2, etc.. My point is, GW is far more packed with noobs than any other game I've played. And no I don't need to stop assuming that younger people are more immature, because guess what, an immature adult over a child is the exception, not the rule.

Guild Wars dying..... heh No, its just those with short attention spans, the "noobs" as you call them, have got bored and stopped playing. Strangely enough - to go play WoW instead. Let those people run through Lornar's Pass to get the top of the line armor, let them buy money and items on ebay, they'll be bored far quicker and leave the decent players to it.

No, Guild Wars died. Look at any game rankings site, look at the amount of players via xfire, it's on its way out until an expansion pack or huge update comes out. The game was good, then they nuked farming, made everything noob friendly, etc.. Whether it's your definition of noob or not that is leaving the game, guess what they're leaving the game, and eventually you'll be standing alone. It's not people with short attention spans that leave the game, it's people who want more of an experience, not a 20 hour storyline and repetitive PvP. There are tons of people on these boards who have stopped playing for similar reasons. Now if you continue to play GW I obviously have nothing against you, as I should hope you play what you like not what other people like, but it seems a bit stupid to think it isn't dead.

I think, assuming you have played GW, briefly. You didn't play properly or you would have realised quite easily that GW allows you to play the entire game without even once running into annoying players out to cause trouble.

A few tips on avoiding them

Turn off local chat

Don't join PuG's excepting them to all be elite players.

Don't join the first guild that invites you

Don't join the first random team that invites you

When setting up a team, take your time. The longer you take, the more planning you do, the more likely the annoying players will lose interest long before you even enter the mission or set off on a quest.

Don't randomly invite anyone you see in the area and get upset when they don't turn out the way you'd hoped.

Don't assume every monk is a brilliant Healer. Or even a healer come to that.

Remember the henchies. With a skilled team the henchmen work just fine. Atleast the henchie monks don't charge you for their services.

Look at people's names too, chances are those with childish names are no better themselves.

Should it really have to come to this? You can avoid noobs in CS by banning their asses when they come in, but that hardly seems necessary. Sure you've described perfect ways to avoid noobs, but guess what sometimes you don't want to take two hours forming a group for Ring of Fire, sometimes you'd like to remember it's a game and just get going with the fun. Completely avoiding the general population of Guild Wars seems impossible to me. On my fourth time through the game I was a monk, I unlocked all the elites and got fissure armor, just because I loved playing the class so much. As a monk you deal with probably the biggest amount of noobs because they all freak out and invite you when you enter an area. I find it completely disheartening that any monk could charge for their services, when any skilled party doesnt even need a monk, and its a class just like any of the others. Who's going to take the hits without a warrior? What kind of damage could you possibly do with no elementalist? Who's going to set traps and pull in the underworld, without a ranger? The list goes on..

The rest of your post...

Don't feel that you need to win me over on the GW vs WoW debate. I hated WoW from the minute I got it. It's completely buggy, and only generates a player base on its simplicity and hype. I liked GW for the time I played it, but it got ruined in updates, and got completely covered in idiots.

Oh, and welcome back I guess? Haven't seen you in ages.

 

[KoreBolteR]

jesus, thats higher than wales' population..

 

[Evo]

that wayyyyy more than the population of Wales! OMG Warcraft is gonna take over teh world!

Sorry Kore, beat you to it! :E

 

[The Dark Elf]

snippy snip snip

Not one person I've played with on GW uses this xfire, so I'd not use that as any kind of judge of playing figures. That would be like using AIM to work out how many people are using the internet

But FYI, more people play GW than HL2 (and if you want to check that, go visit all the outposts in Europe, US and Asia, including all the districts then find out how many are outside).. I don't see anyone claiming HL2 is dead though (though it may as well be, I mean how long does it take to make one map??) I came back thinking you'd all be off playing lost coast with your HDR, but I guess not

Granted GW might get boring quickly for some people. But there is still plenty to do in it, away from any of the troublemakers. And even with the idiots it can still be fun. Your saying you didn't enjoy giving a rushing warrior a telling off infront of everyone while using vengence on him until he learnt his lesson and behaved? Everyone likes doing that to them And often I'll just join random PuG's for the fun of not knowing how things will turn out, and being the one who often is left to res everyone, its fun to know the W/Mo who thought he knew it all and couldn't be killed has to thank you while pretending he doesn't have -60%DP

As for PvP.. well thats basically Counterstrike with magic, and just as dull and pointless as CS always was. So I'd be quite happy for PvP to die a death, wont miss it one bit. It's the PvP aspect that attracts the "noobs" many of which admit to having been CS players heh.

Also don't forget GW is still very young. It's just going to keep getting bigger and better. The patches and updates haven't been so bad, granted it seemed like the recent spirit nerf would have been a bad thing but turned out it barely made a difference.

Not only that, but a lot of players who appear to leave, are simply going to the US servers, the PvP players are doing it because its easier for them to get wins rather than vs the US. The PvE players are moving over to get to UW/FoW, but will move back when they realise it was better in the European servers, or get stuck playing on distant servers they can't help but lag on.

It's far from dead though. It's simply the initial rush of "ooh whats this" people moved on, the core gamers will stay. Others will leave, others will come back, new players will turn up, people will rush to Droknar's Forge, other people will play properly. Some will never want to change characters, some will go through all of them and the new ones. All the while we're getting fixes and improvements, new items and new area's to explore. ANET also offer a much better customer service than Blizzard.. and for free too.

It's definately not dead. If it was, most of the servers would have been shut down to conserve money, and that hasn't happened, infact they are about ready to release the different looking Chinese/Jap version, and considering the number of people over there wanting to play it, ANET must know the costs involved and be in a position to set up all the servers for those. Hardly the behavior of a company with a dead fish on its hands I would have thought.

Just my 2g hehe.

 

[KoreBolteR]

Sorry Kore, beat you to it! :E

darn you :dozey: lol