ARR has 600k subscribers

[Amberion]

You always lose a lot of people after a launch's free trials end. ARR's retention rate is actually pretty high. Also, XI's peak was 500k, im not aware of it ever being 750k.

While it is higher then XI. 500k subscribers back in 2003 is a lot better then 600-800k now. Still, have to say that 600k+ is good for a game that already failed once.

[amnie]

While it is higher then XI. 500k subscribers back in 2003 is a lot better then 600-800k now. Still, have to say that 600k+ is good for a game that already failed once.

how so? FFXI came out when the internet boom had just started and there were not nearly as many MMOs out as there are today. EVERY new MMO released struggles because people either stick to the established games with years of content OR they turn into MMO hoppers. 600k, especially for a game everyone claimed would be horrible until a week before the first wave of general beta invites (phase 2), is amazing. keep in mind we're talking about a game that had already have an extreeemly bad release and nobody expected it to recover from this except for a handful of playeres that never stopped trusting in SE.

so no, 600k in 2003 is indeed not a lot better than it is today. (and it didn't have the 600k in 2003, anyway)

[Doo]

Didn't SWTOR and RIFT started out with higher subs and went f2p? Seems like it's harder to retain customers these days since there's more competition. Also this game lacks fun end game content already that I'm not sure if it will be able to keep players playing for very long.

[Reslin]

Kind of whats happening here...

We had over 500,000 people subscribe and unsubscribe? Please. Tell me more. Considering we've gone up in subscribers and profits are currently raising and we had 500,000 more people buy the game last month alone.

[amnie]

Didn't SWTOR and RIFT started out with higher subs and went f2p? Seems like it's harder to retain customers these days since there's more competition. Also this game lacks fun end game content already that I'm not sure if it will be able to keep players playing for very long.

as far as I know both games are still subscription based and added a f2p option, but I'll bite the bullet anyway

IT'S A TRAP

(hey buddy, arr is far ahead of their expectations, it won't 'go f2p' any time soon. not that it matters one bit)

[Doo]

(hey buddy, arr is far ahead of their expectations, it won't 'go f2p' any time soon. not that it matters one bit)

I'm sure that's what the other two mmo companies thought as well. Seems like these days everyone is hopping to the next big mmo so the numbers start out high but dwindle down when the next big one hits. That's why FFXI was way more impressive because it was at an era most ff fans didn't even give it a chance because it was an mmo.

[Amberion]

how so? FFXI came out when the internet boom had just started and there were not nearly as many MMOs out as there are today. EVERY new MMO released struggles because people either stick to the established games with years of content OR they turn into MMO hoppers. 600k, especially for a game everyone claimed would be horrible until a week before the first wave of general beta invites (phase 2), is amazing. keep in mind we're talking about a game that had already have an extreeemly bad release and nobody expected it to recover from this except for a handful of playeres that never stopped trusting in SE.

so no, 600k in 2003 is indeed not a lot better than it is today. (and it didn't have the 600k in 2003, anyway)

I did not say it had 600k in 2003, but 500k. While there where less MMOs out, there where also a lot less MMO players then. 500k of the MMORPG player base, was a big % back then.

[Reslin]

I did not say it had 600k in 2003, but 500k. While there where less MMOs out, there where also a lot less MMO players then. 500k of the MMORPG player base, was a big % back then.

600k is still big in this time. Most mmo's don't even breach 500k. FF14 has gained more subscribers than it's lost since launch. Most mmo's by now only lose active subscribers. WoW is an anomaly. Not the norm 500k only isn't impressive if it's normal for mmo's to have 500k or more. It isn't.

[Itazura]

I did not say it had 600k in 2003, but 500k. While there where less MMOs out, there where also a lot less MMO players then. 500k of the MMORPG player base, was a big % back then.

Still a little off; FF11 didn't break 500k until almost two years after launch, April of of 2004.

http://web.archive.org/web/200406072...vey/index.html

* * *

While FF14 ARR's launch surpasses FF11's subscription gain both in speed and number, there were some pretty big differences in circumstances.
- FF14 AAR could draw from existing and past FF11 and FF14 customers, while FF11 had much less certain target market.
- FF11 was originally only released in Japan. (PS2 only wasn't an issue; there were nearly a PS2 in every Japanese household, not so much for PCs.) FF14 ARR, of course, hit Japan, Europe, and North America simultaneously at start.

[Amberion]

Still a little off; FF11 didn't break 500k until almost two years after launch, April of of 2004.

Ahh me bad. Used the image on the first page... And read it a bit wrong, eyes not working as they should this early.