Multiple accounts - How many people actually play UO?

[TitusPullo]

I've found the recent posts where people are complaining about issues with the new billing system interesting. Specifically to the point of people who have 10+ accounts.

MMO Data has the UO account base at 100,000, last recorded before 2010. Who knows how accurate that is. I'd be willing to bet it's dropped a fair amount since then.

Reading about so many people who have multiple accounts, how many UNIQUE players do you guys think actually play this game?

Also.. What the heck would someone need 10+ accounts for? Are people still making good money on RMT in UO? I remember many years ago, I knew lots of people who had multiple accounts that macro mined almost 24/7. Does that sort of activity still occur on a massive scale?

 

[Petra Fyde]

No, and the people with multiple accounts here aren't among the ones that do. Most were just sort of accumulated - friends quitting and giving their accounts away. We have 2 'gifted' accounts, one was our eldest son's. We'd have a lot more if we hadn't refused them because we couldn't afford the extra subs. Some are 'house holder' accounts, some are for gift claiming, Xmas, easter etc.

 

[Hunters' Moon]

I remember many years ago, I knew lots of people who had multiple accounts that macro mined almost 24/7. Does that sort of activity still occur on a massive scale?

Script mining died off,for the most part, when the Dev's made ore spawns random. I still see the random miner now and then but they seem to be a rarity now.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

I've found the recent posts where people are complaining about issues with the new billing system interesting. Specifically to the point of people who have 10+ accounts.

MMO Data has the UO account base at 100,000, last recorded before 2010. Who knows how accurate that is. I'd be willing to bet it's dropped a fair amount since then.

Reading about so many people who have multiple accounts, how many UNIQUE players do you guys think actually play this game?

Also.. What the heck would someone need 10+ accounts for? Are people still making good money on RMT in UO? I remember many years ago, I knew lots of people who had multiple accounts that macro mined almost 24/7. Does that sort of activity still occur on a massive scale?

heh! you are apparently unaware ... that the "debate" went to deadhorse state ... quite awhile ago.

at that time, within the last ... lets say year ... a year plus or minus three months ... to be statistically "median"
(+ or minus 25%. a 50% wide spread) <<point in time

a High max of 60k active accounts (>paid< subscriptions)
against a reasonable 20k >players< ... humans that >might< sign in (1player @ an avg 3 accounts)
those are the "high end max" guestimations from 9 to 15 months ago.

Ya can "whittle down" from there.

Old wisdom held that: at some number of subs, EA puts a notice here
effectivaly "killing" shutting down UO.
>I< (and a few others) had had "that sum number of active accounts (>paid< subscriptions)" as being approx~ 50k (16k players)

below that maybe .... *click* out go the lights.\simple?

New hypothosis:
EA >may never need< to flip the switch, just enough auto accounts, and EA >could< cover the costs of empty shards "active"
active as in "Available to play" ... just no-one logging in ... that could be rated as a neutral cost possibility (0.0 profit)
It >would still< have a positive value for EA ... prestige; oldest, longest continually available Running MMORPG.

And as a "possibility" {neutral cost possibility (0.0 profit)} >being< lesser-than OR equal TO one (less-thanOR equal to zero, no possibility )
Quite easy to extrapolate as to HOW a negative cost possibility, could also occur and maintain >>especially with No One logging in<<
No forgotten auto accounts OR active subscribers OR players at all ...
get to keep the prestige, won't cost much to keep the (lets say a High of Five) Blade servers "hot and online" (cloud probably)
No players = no need for GM-EM-CS staff on duty, seems like that now to some, but ... could put a "call forwarding" link in the game "help button"
Want to "re-certify" the active status to Guiness? *grins* pop a trial account on 'em ... let them walk around in the empty museum diorama

oldest, longest continually available Running MMORPG, empty and deserted ... yeah so?
guiness would certify it ... so ...

Could even keep it running as a training device/>platform< for designers ... a back to basics historical course ... and thats when it was realized ... *grins*

THAT maybe what MotherBioMythic (*sucks up* a good foster mother at that) ... THAT maybe what MotherBioMythic considers Games(menu drop)Legacy ...

dead, but kickable ...

 

[iamSnippa]

Script mining died off,for the most part, when the Dev's made ore spawns random. I still see the random miner now and then but they seem to be a rarity now.

The script miners I am 90% sure are all over on World of Warcaft now mining with something that lets them fly around invisible and mine ore from under the ground. Blizzard claims they do sweeps to ban all those miners, but I spent hours upon hours each day for months having to deal with those idiots. Reported every single one I encountered. (there was a way you could target them while they were mining) Even killed those I could.

 

[HD2300]

How Many?

There was recently 32,138 Veteran (non-guilded) Characters which was obtained from myuo. Players can have up to 7 characters per shard per account. Divide 32,138 by the average number of veteran (non-guilded) characters per account and you have the number of active accounts.

EA's CEO saying that the number of active accounts is in the 10s of thousands.

We also know ~9000 accounts participated in the Magincia raffle event.

I would estimate 20,000 to 40,000 paying accounts.

 

[Ludes]

It's not hard really to end up with a lot of accounts..

I have three of my own.. just inherited one from a friend who went into the marines.

That makes four for me.. Add in the seven that are my kids's, and my ex wifes.

Thats 12.

I can definitely see how some people could end up with a lot of accounts.

 

[Triberius]

I've found the recent posts where people are complaining about issues with the new billing system interesting. Specifically to the point of people who have 10+ accounts.

MMO Data has the UO account base at 100,000, last recorded before 2010. Who knows how accurate that is. I'd be willing to bet it's dropped a fair amount since then.

Reading about so many people who have multiple accounts, how many UNIQUE players do you guys think actually play this game?

MMO Data isn't a good source anymore, no real figures have been spit out by EA "officially" in years.

If you ruled out multiple accounts and looked just at individual people, I'd guess we're probably sitting closer to 50,000 individuals or less rather than 100,000 (which based on estimated subs not individuals). Almost everyone I know that plays maintains at least 2 accounts though the average is probably closer to 3 when you factor all of them in.

 

[Raptor85]

Script mining died off,for the most part, when the Dev's made ore spawns random. I still see the random miner now and then but they seem to be a rarity now.

What shard are you looking on? they hide in different places on different shards but I 100% assure you they're still around, and still make pretty decent $$ off of it. With the randomization they changed tactics though, now instead of continually recalling to the valorite spots and frostwood trees (which, btw, was a great way to kill them, since you knew where they were going) they hide in off corners in fel where few people look. (Exception siege, where they like to hide up in the mines in malas, northeast of luna). A favored place for wood seems to be skara brae in fel, in the corner of the guardzone at the far left of the city, for ore they like to use the little rocks sticking out of the ground away from everything now, since there's no benefit to using the mines anymore.

Some of them are pretty ballsy too, like there's one on ATL that half the time is recalling around right near minoc gate in fel endlessly cutting wood.

Many people you see on stratics with multiple accounts though, are not the scripters, few of them I would guess even bother to post here, most here are ones that simply gained accounts over time, or made multiple to hold extra houses/storage. I wouldn't be surprised though if the average number of accounts for a UO player was 3-4.

 

[MalagAste]

Most all of my spare accounts have been gifted...

Left to me by friends long gone... or given to me...

But I haven't actually "mined" without the purpose of working mining in ages... same goes for Lumberjacking... boring...

Mostly I work skills.... build templates and a variety of RP characters.

From Beggars to Thieves... and Knights to Necromancers...

6 or more tamers... 6 or more crafters of various skill...

Even a couple fishers... and a pirate or two.

Most of what I enjoy is also Design and Deco... so I enjoy having several homes to "play" with.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

MMO Data isn't a good source anymore, no real figures have been spit out by EA "officially" in years.

If you ruled out multiple accounts and looked just at individual people, I'd guess we're probably sitting closer to 50,000 individuals or less rather than 100,000 (which based on estimated subs not individuals). Almost everyone I know that plays maintains at least 2 accounts though the average is probably closer to 3 when you factor all of them in.

Ea does not have that information at this time ...
>Migration<

Dos Equis

​

 

[Ludes]

Most all of my spare accounts have been gifted...

Left to me by friends long gone... or given to me...

But I haven't actually "mined" without the purpose of working mining in ages... same goes for Lumberjacking... boring...

Mostly I work skills.... build templates and a variety of RP characters.

From Beggars to Thieves... and Knights to Necromancers...

6 or more tamers... 6 or more crafters of various skill...

Even a couple fishers... and a pirate or two.

Most of what I enjoy is also Design and Deco... so I enjoy having several homes to "play" with.

MalagAste you wouldnt by any chance play on Catskills as well would you?
I've been looking for a few things for my house and you sound like the guy that could help me get em..

 

[THP]

ive got over 100 accounts... think this is pretty normal... just add freebie 30 dayers trials and free codes from 1 dollar box sets....they soon add up

 

[Lady Storm]

I am dead serious about this.
With all this hoopla over accounts held I have been talking to my son and nephew to cut them down from the 47 to under 20. This means to stop playing alot of shards but if this will make it easer till UO dies, I am willing to do it. If I quit UO tomorrow I can tell you this much.
I'd let everything decay on a house floor till they all disapeared to the pixel oblivion then drop the house. Be it rare or a common bag I wont let anyone get what I earned. Its not your choice if i want to "keep" it.

 

[Xalan Dementia]

dont really understand this but are people actually complaining that they cant link all their inactive unused accounts to one ID? If ya have more than 9 active accounts grow up and make a secondary ID for the leftovers. Do people think their unlinked/inactive accounts will be deleted or something?
I run 2 accounts active and have maybe 15 old junk accounts that are inactive. When the welcome back thing goes on i check out the old accounts for any old items that may have become rare/valuable. Other than that what use do your old unaged accounts have?

 

[popps]

Are people still making good money on RMT in UO?

I have no idea. I never had interest in using Ultima Online to make money and honestly, I always had doubts of time spent in a computer game being able to provide more money than a real life job......

I mean, even a minimum wage job now secures like what, 6 or 7 bucks an hour ? That makes it some 50-60 dollars for about 8 hours of work. Steadily, every day. And that is minimal wage. There is lots of jobs that bring home much more than that per hour of work....

And not only that, working in real life brings also the added bonus of building up one's own curriculum vitae which, when finding a new job, helps having it more filled rather than thinner....

Personally, I never found a computer game as appealing as a real life job to earn real money.

 

[Sevin0oo0]

even a minimum wage job now secures like what, 6 or 7 bucks an hour ?

At least on LS, many old timers will remember the #1 house seller (the naked guy). I talked to him personally in Vegas - he was making about $35K@yr, only selling houses - good thing he didn't quit his real job - because this was just before the Great House Nurf. Not even sure he kept playing much longer after that.

 

[Shiznit Bo'Bourbon]

I heard it's just one guy in Japan with 50,000 accounts.

 

[Raptor85]

I have no idea. I never had interest in using Ultima Online to make money and honestly, I always had doubts of time spent in a computer game being able to provide more money than a real life job......

I mean, even a minimum wage job now secures like what, 6 or 7 bucks an hour ? That makes it some 50-60 dollars for about 8 hours of work. Steadily, every day. And that is minimal wage. There is lots of jobs that bring home much more than that per hour of work....

And not only that, working in real life brings also the added bonus of building up one's own curriculum vitae which, when finding a new job, helps having it more filled rather than thinner....

Personally, I never found a computer game as appealing as a real life job to earn real money.

Not to further derail the thread, but quite a few of the original goldsellers and such from UO were making upwards of 6 figure incomes off of it, a few were pulling down 25k+ a month. They still make quite a bit, but not like the old days (they make more of a normal salary now) Don't underestimate how many players UO has had that would rather spend money than play the game themselves (Even EA is trying to get a piece of that themselves the past few years, look at the codes store)

And the ones doing it in UO can't even compare to what some people made off of WOW...though blizzard fought back far harder than Origin/EA ever did, that was only after some had literally pulled in millions.