When will we see new active sub numbers?

[DarthTHC]

Titan is gonna be plushy toy you win from playing a new online card game brought out by blizzard, prove me wrong.

 

There's a pink unicorn behind me defecating a rainbow and I've named him Jonny Riccitiello and he told me Titan is actually a skunkworks warp drive project for NASA. Prove me wrong.

[JediJonesJr]

There's a pink unicorn behind me defecating a rainbow and I've named him Jonny Riccitiello and he told me Titan is actually a skunkworks warp drive project for NASA. Prove me wrong.

 

if they have the same team that did d3 working on it expect major fail, if they have the sc2 team i see win all over it.

[Andryah]

prove me wrong you are saying that i am so lets see you don't know , all i know is they are working on this project and will soon see announcements..

 

Blizzard is a smart company. They won't make the same mistake Bioware/EA did and try to force a pure subscription product into a market where the consumer is demanding flexible access models and the competition is dominated by business models other then pure-subscription.

 

Common sense.

 

The only real question is will they go a freemium dual access model, or will they go buy-2-play+DLC. That's the relevant question about the Titan business model. Well.. also the product name becasue Titan is the project name... so nobody even knows if that will be the name of the final product.

[Shingara]

There's a pink unicorn behind me defecating a rainbow and I've named him Jonny Riccitiello and he told me Titan is actually a skunkworks warp drive project for NASA. Prove me wrong.

 

I love skunk works, i dont want to prove that wrong plus you must have abused that unicorn somehow to make it do that to you, they take alot to peev off.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Shingara

[JediJonesJr]

Blizzard is a smart company. They won't make the same mistake Bioware/EA did and try to force a pure subscription product into a market where the consumer is demanding flexible access models and the competition is dominated by business models other then pure-subscription.

 

Common sense.

 

The only real question is will they go a freemium dual access model, or will they go buy-2-play+DLC. That's the relevant question about the Titan business model. Well.. also the product name becasue Titan is the project name... so nobody even knows if that will be the name of the final product.

 

if they felt the way you think they did we would see f2p in wow has it stands f2p to 20 no guilds no trades no mailing to friends so i do not see them going f2p when they still have the subs they get plus the buying of the game itself not going to happen, after reading your response i can tell you know nothing about how blizzard works and handles their games...proof is in the pudding

 

f2p is pretty much people who want to have a low level twink that pvp's for free and thats about it.

Edited April 25, 2013 by JediJonesJr

[ryniloym]

People who are saying that SWTOR makes more money than WoW are dead wrong. Some people need to learn basic math.

 

nobody said that. go away.

[Andryah]

if they felt the way you think they did we would see f2p in wow has it stands f2p to 20 no guilds no trades no mailing to friends so i do not see them going f2p when they still have the subs they get plus the buying of the game itself not going to happen, after reading your response i can tell you know nothing about how blizzard works and handles their games...proof is in the pudding

 

f2p is pretty much people who want to have a low level twink that pvp's for free and thats about it.

 

WoW is a mature game with a large installed base of players invested in the game. Until that declines below some threshold (that only they know) they will stick with the subscription model. Their next step with WoW is probably to raise the level of free play above 20.... but really what would that buy them? most Free players in WoW do not convert... because there is no business model designed to encourage them to convert. So I figure... a 9 year old MMO.. they are just going to ride it as is until it collapses.

 

A new MMO entering the market..... totally different challenge. It's going to enter the market as some form of flexible access model... but there is no way to know which version of flexible access as Blizzard has not done a flexible access model yet. So we have to wait and see on how they choose to do it. I'm sure they will put their own unique spin on the model as they develop it.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Andryah

[branmakmuffin]

Someone posted a ways back in the thread something like "Who cares?" I agree. Who cares? But, if you (whoever you are) want to care, get your funk on and go for it.

[wearesunny]

Thought most wow customers in china pay daily or by the hour? Dont really care tbh never played wow and never will, Why would you like to see swtor subs for anyway? if there`s people to play with why bother .

[Arkerus]

if they felt the way you think they did we would see f2p in wow has it stands f2p to 20 no guilds no trades no mailing to friends so i do not see them going f2p when they still have the subs they get plus the buying of the game itself not going to happen, after reading your response i can tell you know nothing about how blizzard works and handles their games...proof is in the pudding

 

f2p is pretty much people who want to have a low level twink that pvp's for free and thats about it.

 

I can't even read that garble.

 

No. Blizzard already has a paying sub base for WoW, that's why WoW is sustainable on a sub model. They already have the base paying for it. Get it?

 

A new product is a totally different animal. It's extremely hard to penetrate market now if you don't have some sort of mixed access model. Heck, even WoW has a limited free trial.

 

Any new product coming out of Blizzard will be some combination of free, buy or sub. The market has changed and people want access to a product without spending a ton of cash up front. The only way a game now would survive on a sub model is if it offers something so wildly different and crazy that the market is willing to sustain it. I don't know what Titan is yet but from the rumors its another MMO. Unless its the perfect product, it won't have a pure sub model. That's my prediction anyway.

[Vandicus]

http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/29/gdc-2013-james-ohlen-on-how-f2p-saved-swtor/

 

2nd largest subscription MMO, which would presumably make EVE 3rd largest, so more than 600,000 is all we know. The main time they typically release sub numbers is in the prepared comments or press release of EA's quarterly reports.

[Levity]

WoW is a mature game with a large installed base of players invested in the game. Until that declines below some threshold (that only they know) they will stick with the subscription model. Their next step with WoW is probably to raise the level of free play above 20.... but really what would that buy them? most Free players in WoW do not convert... because there is no business model designed to encourage them to convert. So I figure... a 9 year old MMO.. they are just going to ride it as is until it collapses.

 

A new MMO entering the market..... totally different challenge. It's going to enter the market as some form of flexible access model... but there is no way to know which version of flexible access as Blizzard has not done a flexible access model yet. So we have to wait and see on how they choose to do it. I'm sure they will put their own unique spin on the model as they develop it.

 

I'm going to politely disagree on this basis:

 

Blizzard has the fanbase that stand by blizzard, not just a specific game. I play SC2, I play WoW, I play D3, I've played SC1 through 1999 till SC2 Came out as well as the original Warcraft RTS's and D1-2. Everyone who plays Blizzard games is pretty much the same way. Every one of their new games is tied together. Every friend I have on SC2 I can talk to on WoW and I can log into D3 and do the same thing there. And everyone of those friends I will see on WoW or SC2 vice versa this way, that way. Titan will be the same way.

They will have the subscription numbers just from the people who are fan of blizzards games because they have yet to produce a complete flop of a game.

I know a lot of people between those 3 game titles and they all are siked for Titan.

So no, I don't think they will launch it f2p. I can see them doing how it is in WoW, completely subscription base, with a minor cash shop that sells pets and other random junk.

[Shingara]

I'm going to politely disagree on this basis:

 

Blizzard has the fanbase that stand by blizzard, not just a specific game. I play SC2, I play WoW, I play D3, I've played SC1 through 1999 till SC2 Came out as well as the original Warcraft RTS's and D1-2. Everyone who plays Blizzard games is pretty much the same way. Every one of their new games is tied together. Every friend I have on SC2 I can talk to on WoW and I can log into D3 and do the same thing there. And everyone of those friends I will see on WoW or SC2 vice versa this way, that way. Titan will be the same way.

They will have the subscription numbers just from the people who are fan of blizzards games because they have yet to produce a complete flop of a game.

I know a lot of people between those 3 game titles and they all are siked for Titan.

So no, I don't think they will launch it f2p. I can see them doing how it is in WoW, completely subscription base, with a minor cash shop that sells pets and other random junk.

 

Im going to agree and disagree at the same time, puzzled, just stick with me a second. Bliz like most games companys have a fanbase that follow most or all of there games, bioware has the exact same thing. I would edge on saying though that between EA/Bioware and Blizzard/activision that EA/bioware has the larger more natural fanbase.

 

On titan, titan has been a rumor for so long its close to myth, who knows what titan started out as or what the trademark name was initialy for which is what started the whole titan rumor in the 1st place. A few months back everyone got all excited because a new game was coming out and everyone sprung on it with this is titan, it wasnt until they came out and said no its not and this is a bungie product that they stopped.

 

My point i suppose in this is that right now Activision blizzard could stamp anything resembling an mmo with the name titan and no one would be any the wiser. They will still proclaim it tobe the next step in wow and the new king of the mountain.

 

And least forget the wow killer term was born from the wow camp, no one else, so there is a vested yet morbid interest from a large portion of there player base who wish for a wow killer if only to make blizzard up there content within wow.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Shingara

[Andryah]

Blizzard has the fanbase that stand by blizzard, not just a specific game. I play SC2, I play WoW, I play D3, I've played SC1 through 1999 till SC2 Came out as well as the original Warcraft RTS's and D1-2. Everyone who plays Blizzard games is pretty much the same way. Every one of their new games is tied together. Every friend I have on SC2 I can talk to on WoW and I can log into D3 and do the same thing there. And everyone of those friends I will see on WoW or SC2 vice versa this way, that way. Titan will be the same way.

They will have the subscription numbers just from the people who are fan of blizzards games because they have yet to produce a complete flop of a game.

I know a lot of people between those 3 game titles and they all are siked for Titan.

So no, I don't think they will launch it f2p. I can see them doing how it is in WoW, completely subscription base, with a minor cash shop that sells pets and other random junk.

 

I understand the social interconnectedness of their properties. Yet, only one of them is subscription, and that one is 9 years old with a mature playerbase. So... why did they not pursue fee for access on the newer properties??? Why did they go buy to play with cash shop? If what you say is true... anything they drop into the market should be able to garner a subscription, right?

 

Titan won't be F2P (the term is too broad, generic, and misleading anyway). More precisely...It will either be Freemium (similar to SWTOR) or buy-2-play+DLC (similar to what Trion just did with Defiance, and TSW moved to after it's attrition run). Personally, I think they will do something similar to what SWTOR did, with some unique spins to it here and there. That said.. their history with the two newer properties suggests they will go buy-2-play+DLC+Cash_Shop.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Andryah

[Levity]

Im going to agree and disagree at the same time, puzzled, just stick with me a second. Bliz like most games companys have a fanbase that follow most or all of there games, bioware has the exact same thing. I would edge on saying though that EA/Bioware and Blizzard/activision that EA/bioware has the larger more natural fanbase.

 

On titan, titan has been a rumor for so long its close to myth, who knows what titan started out as or what the trademark nae was initialy for which is what started the whole titan rumor in the 1st place. A few months back everyone got all excited because a new game was coming out and everyone sprung on it with this is titan, it wasnt until they came out and said no its not and this is a bungie product that they stopped.

 

My point i suppose in this is that right now Activision blizzard could stamp anything resembling an mmo with the name titan and no one would be any the wiser. They will still proclaim it tobe the next step in wow and the new king of the mountain.

 

And least forget the wow killer term was born from the wow camp, no one else, so there is a vested yet morbid interest from a large portion of there player base who wish for a wow killer if only to make blizzard up there content within wow.

 

I would disagree on the larger fanbase. SC2 has become the world's largest competitive game. Some of the top pro gamers in SC2 have netted over a 100,000 dollars in earnings, and the top player of SC2 (MC- protoss player) has netted over 300,000 in earnings. When it comes to MLG, Dreamhack, big names in competitive gaming tournaments, SC2 has the best turn out by a large margin, averaging 50,000 viewers per stream. On top of the people who are part of the WoW fanbase, I doubt BW/EA even comes close. Not to mention EA has gotten voted the worst company on how it handles it's customers, so no people are not a fan of EA. BW, I love BW and that's how it is for most people. BW is small in comparison to Blizzard, and everyone hates EA.

[Shingara]

I would disagree on the larger fanbase. SC2 has become the world's largest competitive game. Some of the top pro gamers in SC2 have netted over a 100,000 dollars in earnings, and the top player of SC2 (MC- protoss player) has netted over 300,000 in earnings. When it comes to MLG, Dreamhack, big names in competitive gaming tournaments, SC2 has the best turn out by a large margin, averaging 50,000 viewers per stream. On top of the people who are part of the WoW fanbase, I doubt BW/EA even comes close. Not to mention EA has gotten voted the worst company on how it handles it's customers, so no people are not a fan of EA. BW, I love BW and that's how it is for most people. BW is small in comparison to Blizzard, and everyone hates EA.

 

2 competative games you named there, battlefield is the larger fanbase of bf and cod, you have the kotor series, the mass effect fans, the dragon age fans, ea sports titles, the sims and the list goes on. We arnt talking about which is the biggest esport we are talking about the actual fanbase of the companys games.

 

As for which is bigger between Bio and Bliz, i would say the stuff bioware has on there hands compared to bliz that bioware is bigger. And not everyone hates EA, just the small shouty people like to proclaim its the devil incarnate and stupid polls where they actualy had people voting cos they didnt like the athlete on the cover of the new nfl game. I mean seriously.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Shingara

[Levity]

I understand the social interconnectedness of their properties. Yet, only one of them is subscription, and that one is 9 years old with a mature playerbase. So... why did they not pursue fee for access on the newer properties??? Why did they go buy to play with cash shop? If what you say is true... anything they drop into the market should be able to garner a subscription, right?

 

Titan won't be F2P. It will either be Freemium (similar to SWTOR) or buy-2-play+DLC (similar to what Trion just did with Defiance, and TSW moved to after it's attrition run). Personally, I think they will do something similar to what SWTOR did, with some unique spins to it here and there. That said.. their history with the two newer properties suggests they will go buy-2-play+DLC+Cash_Shop.

 

The reason they didn't was because they followed their standard for those games. SC1 was free online, so SC2 was. D1-2 and expansion was free online, so was D3. If they are truly making a large scale MMO, which D3 and SC2 are not, then I doubt they will go f2p just because they have the background and the fanbase to provide them with security to launch it as such. If this was a new company hopping into the genre, then they would have to watch it, but that isn't the case.

[chuixupu]

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if "Titan" launched as a sub either, but I'm certain that they are in fact, discussing f2p options and hybrid options (I'm certain the game will be released in box with a price tag, initially, at least). They have the luxury of taking their time with this product, and they are going to make sure they have everything covered. They will never rush a product out, which is to their benefit. I have a feeling that the game will finally, officially be announced at Blizzcon this year (which I will be attending). I'm utterly fascinated by how it will all turn out, for better or for worse.

 

I think it's safe to say that most people here simply don't know how much SWTOR makes, how much it needs to keep making to continue to be produced, etc.. I don't care how it ranks in the grand scheme of things; as long as they have enough players and enough income to keep making content I enjoy, I will play it. I don't know if they'll announce sub numbers anymore since they've gone F2P, although I think that if there actually was an impressive jump in numbers, they would. If they don't say anything, it's because it's not worth mentioning. Sub numbers are now just one part of their income and not the majority of it.

Edited April 25, 2013 by chuixupu

[Levity]

2 competative games you named there, battlefield is the larger fanbase of bf and cod, you have the kotor series, the mass effect fans, the dragon age fans, ea sports titles, the sims and the list goes on. We arnt talking about which is the biggest esport we are talking about the actual fanbase of the companys games.

 

EA games are all over MLG and Dreamhack. That's my point. And they don't bring in as many fans. Of course you have people who just like to play the games and don't care much about the hard core side of the genre's, but you definitely can base a fanbase off of their hardcore crowd, and blizzard stomps EA in that regard.

 

This would need actual #'s since this is just speculation on my part from what I seen going to a couple MLG's and watching competitive gaming across the board (aside from SC2 being the biggest competitive game to date, which is fact).

[Shingara]

EA games are all over MLG and Dreamhack. That's my point. And they don't bring in as many fans. Of course you have people who just like to play the games and don't care much about the hard core side of the genre's, but you definitely can base a fanbase off of their hardcore crowd, and blizzard stomps EA in that regard.

 

This would need actual #'s since this is just speculation on my part from what I seen going to a couple MLG's and watching competitive gaming across the board (aside from SC2 being the biggest competitive game to date, which is fact).

 

And your still classing the fanbase on who does what in esports which is a distortade view of the bulk of the playerbase of games titles from any company.

 

Its akin to me saying skoda make the greatest cars because they hold the record for rallys.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Shingara

[Levity]

And your still classing the fanbase on who does what in esports which is a distortade view of the bulk of the playerbase of games titles from any company.

 

I don't really believe so. It's easy to see how big the fanbase is in that situation because you visually see them. The more people are playing the games the bigger the hardcore fanbase overall.

 

The bigger the fanbase, the more gamers there are, and the more likely a chance of people getting into the competitive side.

 

I get what you are saying, but they are relative.

 

Wonder if their are some numbers somewhere on this hmmm.

[Shingara]

I don't really believe so. It's easy to see how big the fanbase is in that situation because you visually see them. The more people are playing the games the bigger the hardcore fanbase overall.

 

The bigger the fanbase, the more gamers there are, and the more likely a chance of people getting into the competitive side.

 

I get what you are saying, but they are relative.

 

Wonder if their are some numbers somewhere on this hmmm.

 

No its 'easy' to see which fans of those games are interested in esports, nothing more, nothing less.

[Arkerus]

I'm going to politely disagree on this basis:

 

Blizzard has the fanbase that stand by blizzard, not just a specific game. I play SC2, I play WoW, I play D3, I've played SC1 through 1999 till SC2 Came out as well as the original Warcraft RTS's and D1-2. Everyone who plays Blizzard games is pretty much the same way. Every one of their new games is tied together. Every friend I have on SC2 I can talk to on WoW and I can log into D3 and do the same thing there. And everyone of those friends I will see on WoW or SC2 vice versa this way, that way. Titan will be the same way.

They will have the subscription numbers just from the people who are fan of blizzards games because they have yet to produce a complete flop of a game.

I know a lot of people between those 3 game titles and they all are siked for Titan.

So no, I don't think they will launch it f2p. I can see them doing how it is in WoW, completely subscription base, with a minor cash shop that sells pets and other random junk.

 

Blizzard isn't so foolish they only try to retain their fanbase. Your anecdotes mean next to nothing. Blizzard will offer different models for Titan, whatever it is.

[Levity]

Blizzard isn't so foolish they only try to retain their fanbase. Your anecdotes mean next to nothing. Blizzard will offer different models for Titan, whatever it is.

 

And your assumptions mean next to nothing as well, so let's play the next to nothing game until they come out with Titan and we can see who is right?

[Arkerus]

And your assumptions mean next to nothing as well, so let's play the next to nothing game until they come out with Titan and we can see who is right?

 

Way dont you ask your friends? My prediction is based on the market, your is your "friends". Good luck. Lol