EA President says UO has "100's of Thousands of Subscribers"

[Sorcon Gartius]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/spore/news.html?sid=6197060

Naive? MMO Charts are wrong? I know the guy who does MMO Charts states that he does in fact estimate frequently, but does that mean that EA is out of touch with the # of actual players, or does that mean there are just a lot of people paying for accounts they don't use?

Interesting read... He states that DAOC has 100,000 players and UO has Hundreds of Thousands.

 

[Sheridan]

I'm sure a better word than "subscribers" might have been "subscriptions" but even that seems a tad stretched.

 

[Viper09]

well, perhaps we do have that many. We just have too many shards, some with a fraction of the number and others with more?

 

[Lady_Rachel]

Don't forget to add in the Asian shards.

 

[shanshu]

Don't forget to add in the Asian shards.

If we didn't add the Asian shards it would only be tens of thousands.

 

[Sunrise]

The worlds are so big...The oceans even bigger...

Plus alot of bank sitters..

Just a small percentage post or even read startics...

just saying...there are many more people than we tend to believe are out there

 

[Nosuperiors_Damnfewequals]

The key is to make sure that your product is different from theirs and bring something fresh to the equation. [/quote]

Good idea. Quit turning UO into Diable/Wow and keep it what it is. Improve it, bug fix it, add content to it, the new client might be nice, but don't overdo the changes, killing the Ultima feel of things.

 

[Aran]

I'd love for UO to go back in time about seven years.

 

[Loqucious]

That's why he is president, he has no problem with lying.

 

[GAMBIT35]

If they had anywhere near "100's of thousands", trust me, they would let everyone know. That is something they wouldn't keep secret. It's obvious he meant to say 10's of thousands.

 

[Draxous]

The key is to make sure that your product is different from theirs and bring something fresh to the equation.

Good idea. Quit turning UO into Diable/Wow and keep it what it is. Improve it, bug fix it, add content to it, the new client might be nice, but don't overdo the changes, killing the Ultima feel of things.

BINGO

 

[Omnicron]

Im sure when World of Warcraft says they have over 7million accounts, they didnt mean they were all active and playing currently. Im sure he meant that 7 million accounts were probably created.

Im sure the same is true for subscriptions about UO.

 

[Beefybone]

No, WoW is very specific about how their numbers are derived. When they say they have 11 million subscribers, they mean they have 11 million paid and active accounts.

 

[Connor_Graham]

No, WoW is very specific about how their numbers are derived. When they say they have 11 million subscribers, they mean they have 11 million paid and active accounts.

Yeah, but they also include the 3~ million gold farming accounts too...

 

[Omnicron]

No, WoW is very specific about how their numbers are derived. When they say they have 11 million subscribers, they mean they have 11 million paid and active accounts.

Right. I doubt that is actually the case.

 

[Haddy G]

WoW counts paid accounts, gametime on the account, and accounts still under the free 30 days. IMO they will hit the 15 mil mark once the next expansion and the Russian version is released.

I don't play the game, but do have an interest in their finances. ATVI

 

[blust4]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/spore/news.html?sid=6197060

Naive? MMO Charts are wrong? I know the guy who does MMO Charts states that he does in fact estimate frequently, but does that mean that EA is out of touch with the # of actual players, or does that mean there are just a lot of people paying for accounts they don't use?

Interesting read... He states that DAOC has 100,000 players and UO has Hundreds of Thousands.

Actually he said UO has hundreds OR thousands players.

 

[AesSedai]

- Nah, he said "or" not "of".

I'm just glad he said Ultima Online; even though he did term it "old world".

 

[Arcus]

No, WoW is very specific about how their numbers are derived. When they say they have 11 million subscribers, they mean they have 11 million paid and active accounts.

Right. I doubt that is actually the case.

Use google. Its your friend. Sour grapes much?

Oh ,and just to be clear Im sure the 25k gold farming scripting accounts are in EAs numbers as well.

 

[Hemisphere]

This is quite a reassuring comment to come from the EA president tbh:

Both are highly profitable

I mean it's what most of us have suspected all along, but I don't think it's ever come quite so directly from the horses mouth, that UO is a highly efficient profit machine for EA, even if it is on a small scale compared to mega-MOs like WoW.

 

[Demonous]

it would be a good move if EA launched an official pre aos shard

 

[RoseBlue]

I'm not surprised that UO has so many subscribers : it's not like other games and i'm sure that, even if ppl don't play at all for quite a long time, they want to keep their home and possessions and they keep at least one of their accts opened, waiting for better times...!!!

And proof : have you ever seen, even nowadays, in ANY of the shards, an empty place for castle ? (Tram or Fel)
Answer : no.
(same for keeps...)

 

[Hemisphere]

I wouldn't be so quick to take this guy's word as fact though - UO was long touted as having "250,000 subscribers" from it's AoS peak, even after it had declined to 150-170,000 or less, and I don't think EA officially released the numbers in any press release at any point after that peak.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Frankly I think the EA President is exaggerating.

This figure, 100,000:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/warhammer-time

is likely more accurate.

I wouldn't go by those MMO Charts anyway. They used to be based on publicly available data, but at some point industry practices changed, and subscriptions numbers were for the most part not made publicly available.

After that, the authors of those sites supposedly relied upon industry contacts.

But remember that anyone can throw anything on the Internet any time they want.

And anyone in the industry can guess, and someone else can parrot it back, and say "it's accurate because someone in the industry told me." But what's "in the industry?" Would, say, a GM know subscription numbers? Not likely.

Bad journalists print all kinds of bad information all the time, based on bad sources. As long as they quote a source, they're fine per journalistic ethics. Sadly, though, they spread a lot of misinformation that way.

I believe the 100,000 because it was a spontaneous utterance, in a context within which there was no obvious incentive to lie. And because it "feels" right proportionate to UO's peak.

-Galen's player

 

[Demonous]

I'm not surprised that UO has so many subscribers : it's not like other games and i'm sure that, even if ppl don't play at all for quite a long time, they want to keep their home and possessions and they keep at least one of their accts opened, waiting for better times...!!!

And proof : have you ever seen, even nowadays, in ANY of the shards, an empty place for castle ? (Tram or Fel)
Answer : no.
(same for keeps...)

lake austin has opened keep spots

 

[RoseBlue]

Yes, maybe keeps (because a lot of ppl left recently), but not castles.

 

[Kratos Aurion]

This is quite a reassuring comment to come from the EA president tbh:I mean it's what most of us have suspected all along, but I don't think it's ever come quite so directly from the horses mouth, that UO is a highly efficient profit machine for EA, even if it is on a small scale compared to mega-MOs like WoW.

I suspect UO is the fuel that drives platform games

 

[Ceridwen]

Yes, maybe keeps (because a lot of ppl left recently), but not castles.

Keep spots are also sometimes open on Drachenfels and don't cost much (some went for less than 5mil).
Not castle spots, but Malas is pretty deserted if you aren't near Luna. Could probably fit a couple castles there if it were possible.

 

[Beefybone]

I suspect UO is the fuel that drives platform games

What do you mean platform games? No comprende.

Anyway, UO does not have hundreds of thousands of subscribers. It peaked at 250k years ago, and if it had shot back up I think we would have heard about it. Or noticed it in-game.

I think the dev team has finally taken advantage of the fact that nobody at EA remembers they exist and have just started making crap up.

"Hey, do we still have that Ultimate Online thingy? Yeah, how's it doing?"
"Uh, billions of subscribers sir!"
"Great, whatever. Jeeves, fetch me my clubs, it's time for a few holes."

 

[Trebr Drab]

This is quite a reassuring comment to come from the EA president tbh:

Both are highly profitable

I mean it's what most of us have suspected all along, but I don't think it's ever come quite so directly from the horses mouth, that UO is a highly efficient profit machine for EA, even if it is on a small scale compared to mega-MOs like WoW.

Enron used to talk like that too. Heh

 

[hawkeye_pike]

Actually, who cares about the number of subscribers?

Nobody knows how many of these accounts belong to people actually playing UO. Many people have multiple accounts, others are subscribed but don't play, so the number has nothing to do with the number of characters running around on a shard at the same time.

 

[jelinidas]

it would be a good move if EA launched an official pre aos shard

We have had 2 log in server crashes in less then 24 hrs. It kinda reminds me of pre aos

 

[Hemisphere]

Actually, who cares about the number of subscribers?

Nobody knows how many of these accounts belong to people actually playing UO. Many people have multiple accounts, others are subscribed but don't play, so the number has nothing to do with the number of characters running around on a shard at the same time.

I would have thought everybody would care about the number of subscribers, because the UO game world is constantly expanding whereas the number of subscribers is constantly shrinking, this leaves the game feeling increasingly empty.

It's also a little bit cheeky to describe a game as having "hundreds of thousands" of subs, when it actually has 100,000.

 

[HD2300]

"As of December 2007, UO had about 75,000 subscribers worldwide, with about 50,000 of those in Japan" Accuracy Rating: A.

 

[Doomsday Dragon]

I'm sure a better word than "subscribers" might have been "subscriptions" but even that seems a tad stretched.

Why? None of us nor any of the MMO charts can say with 100% certainty that uo has any given number of subscriptions. Only someone at EA can tell us that and they are.

The question is do you believe it is true or not?

Actually, who cares about the number of subscribers?

Nobody knows how many of these accounts belong to people actually playing UO. Many people have multiple accounts, others are subscribed but don't play, so the number has nothing to do with the number of characters running around on a shard at the same time.

Exactly what I feel. Subscription numbers mean zip because I have 2 of my own so counting me as 2 players makes no sense. I would rather see some solid statistics for number of unique active log ins per shard.

 

[THP]

No, WoW is very specific about how their numbers are derived. When they say they have 11 million subscribers, they mean they have 11 million paid and active accounts.

LOL! Iam sure WOW are very very specific about how there numbers are derived LOL!!

and Yes the previous poster was correct!! WOW as had in total including all the trials 11 million players to date... the number will always increase because they just keep adding and never take away people that have left in there droves...hell ive tried it twice and my son as tried it 3x ..so guess that 5 more to the increasing count!!!! LOL O LOL

 

[RavenWinterHawk]

Oh brother.

Another example of whats wrong in America.

Everyone thinks they know something they know nothing about.

Okay people there are somewhere between 50,000 and 500,000 subscribers.

What it is... doesnt matter. THE FACT THAT IT IS PROFITABLE IS ALL THAT MATTERS.

Get over it.
What a waste of time. But worth posting that its a waste of time.

 

[Der Rock]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/spore/news.html?sid=6197060

Naive? MMO Charts are wrong? I know the guy who does MMO Charts states that he does in fact estimate frequently, but does that mean that EA is out of touch with the # of actual players, or does that mean there are just a lot of people paying for accounts they don't use?

Interesting read... He states that DAOC has 100,000 players and UO has Hundreds of Thousands.

i imagine how this numbers can be is:

1.the day of counting is important, so last high populated day was
10th anny.
14 day free welcome back acc.
+14 day trial acc.
+regular acc.
----------------------
100k ++


2.they count together the logins every day over a month period,
so u get ure 1000 000 acc ( LOL)


I bet UO hase not more then 30k regular accounts atm active

 

[Galad]

I bet UO hase not more then 30k regular accounts atm active

That's what I figure.

 

[RedDaTeef]

And don't forget about all of the aliens and under-cover goverment opperatives who play.
They are off the charts...

 

[Der Rock]

Oh brother.

Another example of whats wrong in America.
Everyone thinks they know something they know nothing about.
Okay people there are somewhere between 50,000 and 500,000 subscribers.
What it is... doesnt matter. THE FACT THAT IT IS PROFITABLE IS ALL THAT MATTERS.
Get over it.
What a waste of time. But worth posting that its a waste of time.

It does MATTER,
the less paying subs., the smaller get the whole TEAM on it.
if the profit sinks, u have to REDUCE the costs to get the same % of income.
look at the last 12 month.
u ever heard from the " Skeleton Crew"

 

[Beefybone]

LOL! Iam sure WOW are very very specific about how there numbers are derived LOL!!

and Yes the previous poster was correct!! WOW as had in total including all the trials 11 million players to date... the number will always increase because they just keep adding and never take away people that have left in there droves...hell ive tried it twice and my son as tried it 3x ..so guess that 5 more to the increasing count!!!! LOL O LOL

Every press release Blizzard puts out concludes with their subscriber definition, which includes active accounts paid up for at least a month via credit card or gametime card, active retail accounts still in their first free month, and internet cafe clients that have been active within the past month. (That last one being a popular way to play in Asia.) It specifically disallows expired/canceled accounts and free trials.

 

[RavenWinterHawk]

It does MATTER,
the less paying subs., the smaller get the whole TEAM on it.
if the profit sinks, u have to REDUCE the costs to get the same % of income.
look at the last 12 month.
u ever heard from the " Skeleton Crew"

No rock it doesnt matter.
Because youll all pulling numbers out your arses.

Profitability matters.

If they are making money, they are making money.


Im saying all the numbers you all are dribble out of your mouths are worthless.

PROFIT.

They have 30k. If they lose 10k more, UO is done. No they have 100k. 100K x 12 is 1.2 million a month. 12 million yearly. No No they have 250k accounts but only 175k are paying. BUT WOW has 11 million with 7 million active.


GEEZ.

 

[UO Crazed]

We already have two operating MMOs. We launched a game called Ultima Online in 1997, back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and that's still in business.

I laughed at that one...back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth!

 

[THP]

Every press release Blizzard puts out concludes with their subscriber definition, which includes active accounts paid up for at least a month via credit card or gametime card, active retail accounts still in their first free month, and internet cafe clients that have been active within the past month. (That last one being a popular way to play in Asia.) It specifically disallows expired/canceled accounts and free trials.

Wake up please...I will have a wanger that figure will never go down!!! never!!
It will only keep adding....untill its gets to...

''WOW'' now as 100 million subscribers and increasing!!! ..LOL!!!!! heheh maybe u will still belive it then too!!!

 

[Dryke GL]

Wake up please...I will have a wanger that figure will never go down!!! never!!
It will only keep adding....untill its gets to...

''WOW'' now as 100 million subscribers and increasing!!! ..LOL!!!!! heheh maybe u will still belive it then too!!!

Blizzard's constant advertisement of their subscriber base is exactly that...an advertisement. They are attempting to build excitement for their product.

They are also a publicly traded company.

Both of these seemingly unrelated facts are tied together in this way: Lying to the extent that some of you seem to be implying would constitute investor fraud and false advertising. WoW is so commercially successful that they have no need to expose themselves to that kind of liability.

If EA's president made an error in his statement, it's a one time thing and would hardly constitute 'fraud' or 'false advertising'. Blizzard's constant promotion of their subscriber base is wholly different.

Conspiracy theorists really have no place here...

 

[Beefybone]

I guarantee that someone like THP never bothered to think about things like earnings statements, or investor reports, or the fact that Blizzard is part of publicly traded Vivendi. Nope, somewhere along the way he just magically decided with no evidence that 10 million subscribers for an MMO was UNPOSSABLE and that everything that proved him wrong must somehow be fake.

 

[Hemisphere]

I always have a hearty laugh when people don't believe WoW has as many subscriptions as it claims (For all the reasons stated above ).

Is it so hard to believe that one game can be so absolutely phenomenally successful? Interestingly enough I've never heard anybody so vehemently oppose the idea anywhere other than Stratics

 

[drinkbeerallday]

EA probably released subscription data for UO back in the day specifically because it was a more popular product and investors were interested in how it was doing.

Stockholders probably aren't asking about it, so no information gets released.

 

[Coppelia]

I'm not surprised that UO has so many subscribers : it's not like other games and i'm sure that, even if ppl don't play at all for quite a long time, they want to keep their home and possessions and they keep at least one of their accts opened, waiting for better times...!!!

And proof : have you ever seen, even nowadays, in ANY of the shards, an empty place for castle ? (Tram or Fel)
Answer : no.
(same for keeps...)

Yes. Even historically populated shards have big holes in their housing spaces. The surroundings of my home on Europa Trammel are empty. And I'm not talking about 7x7, even if when I started on official servers, finding a 7x7 was not an easy task and you had to buy it from another player. And it's visible in player presence, frankly. People are not suddenly hiding at home.