Quote Originally Posted by Striker44 View Post
I see little informed honesty from the OP. First, just because one game came after another doesn't mean it should automatically be able to do every single thing the first game does the same or better. Different games focus on different things, and that will naturally result in different capabilities for each game. I'm perfectly fine with FFXIV not magically managing to do exactly what every single other MMO ever created can do; it does the specific things that make me really enjoy a game very well, and that's all that matters. (For me, that's a good story, engaging characters, lots of side content, and a fun community.)

This part takes the cake, though:



"The absolutely baseless figures I gave must be good, because that data I just called completely useless says so."



Not at all. Data that's 2 years old is ancient history. Look at where WoW was in December 2020 compared to now...
The figures weren't baseless.

We know that LOTRO had 100,000 MAU in December 2020.

We know that LOTRO hit its peak player count (for 10 years) in April/May 2022 (on Steam).

Therefore, it stands to reason that there is zero chance there was a 50% player drop-off between December 2020 and now, especially since the current Steam count is roughly the same as it was during the 10-year peak.