Companies confuse me.Follow

Blizzard releases open beta, and has to close registration after only a day because they have 500,000 people signed up already, and they wonder how they could have possibly sold 250,000 retail copies so quickly? I just don't get it...

Ok...another point, then. Why would a company who has had a million seller with every single other game they've ever released, within weeks, only release 250,000 copies?

Also, they had 500,000 people in ONE DAY...before they cut off the new subscribers. They think less than half the people trying it (who were so anxious to get it, they signed up the first day) would pay for a copy?

Edited, Thu Nov 25 18:39:46 2004 by WrathMage

Wrathmage, two reasons:

1. As earlier stated, Free > Not Free. A lot of people downloaded the beta just to give WoW a try. Not all of them would have gone on to decide to play at retail. Most of us, I think, saw the open beta as a "shareware" period rather than an actual beta-testing period.

2. MMORPGs usually aren't as popular as single-player or LAN-multiplayer games. The MMORPG (or just MMOG) market is widely considered to be nearing or already at saturation point. Notice that most current WoW players are ex-FFXI players, or ex-EQ, or ex-DAoC, or ex-SWG. WoW has the potential to lure in a lot of new MMOGamers, but the truth is that it is difficult to expect any new MMOG coming out now to be as wildly successful as any non-MMOG. The fact that WoW has done so well is truly a milestone, and every other MMO maker now has a much higher standard of competition (and hype) to deal with.

Easy when parents see that $15 a month you get what is called the 50/50 choice. 50% make some form of agreement with their kid. The other 50% say no chance.


Besides it has taken FFXI (Currently most played MMORPG I think) 2 years to get 500k accounts.

WrathMage keep in mind that the game Just came out.and as a MMORPG the company is not gonna risk to toss out 1 million copies and only sell half of em.
I bet there are tons of people who want to get intot he game but its not aval in their area anymore.

Your also forgetting once the game starts overseas more and more people will flock in.

Wait till christmas and even tax return where people will be upgrading computers to have a better exp in wow.

quote:

"2. MMORPGs usually aren't as popular as single-player or LAN-multiplayer games. The MMORPG (or just MMOG) market is widely considered to be nearing or already at saturation point. Notice that most current WoW players are ex-FFXI players, or ex-EQ, or ex-DAoC, or ex-SWG. WoW has the potential to lure in a lot of new MMOGamers, but the truth is that it is difficult to expect any new MMOG coming out now to be as wildly successful as any non-MMOG. The fact that WoW has done so well is truly a milestone, and every other MMO maker now has a much higher standard of competition (and hype) to deal with."
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I doubt that. Why because FFXi brought Console gamers to play MMOs and many are likeing the experience of what Mos have to offer.

Blizzard has a huge fanbase who prob never played a MMo before. While in OB i met tons of people Virgen to MMO's This game is easy to get into and has a huge potentual to attrack new gamers into the MMORPG world.
Also Blizzards Not dumb they KNOW places Like japan and Korea People dig MMOs big time.
To us Linage 2 sucks *** But it has More accounts than FFXI and many other games in Korea.
Blizzard is targeting those areas (including china) and thats prob the reason why they want servers to be in areas and not accesible to all. (that was Money sellers will not invade our servers as bad as other games).

Also keep in mind there will be game cards and paypal as options to pay. Not everyone who likes Blizzard games are Kids (its impossible to still be a teenager from playing starcraft and then playing wow) Lots of adults dig stratergy games and those addicted to the sieriese will come.
14.99 is easy to pay and many Teens will go out and do chores to get the money and get a gamecard. Thus Warcraft is teaching our youth to work for the things they want. This is a big plus for many parents who have been telling timmy to toss the trash and mow the lawn.