I guess it's time

[Thayos]

Thanks for posting that, Zojha.

Wow, look at that. Everything I said was totally correct!

And that's why I prefer actual data rather than guessing. I enjoy being right.

[RobbieH]

More precisely: Critera same as the last time, must be above level 21. Any changes to HP/mount/minion/gear counts character as active.
From an older survey of the same person: https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...y_730k_active/

If anyone can speak japanese, feel free to compare other numbers o.o

Even at level 21 is still not accurate, even if it was lvl49 or 59 is not accurate, people can get there and quit, those active numbers don't represent much simply because people can quit, meaning those players might have been active for X amount of time and then quit for good, meanwhile people who cleared story are proof they kept active.

Also, there's bots of lvl50 and lvl60, so again lvl21 limit doesn't mean anything.

Thanks for posting that, Zojha.

Wow, look at that. Everything I said was totally correct!

And that's why I prefer actual data rather than guessing. I enjoy being right.

You're not right, read my post above.

The reddit link says that it doesn't include any players under level 20, so some weeding out has been done, & it is April 20th which was 2 full months after 3.2 dropped.

Again I'm aware the playerbase isn't huge as they try to lead on but it is bigger than you give it credit for & is the second highest subbed paid mmo behind WoW according to the internetz. If it didn't have a good playerbase then why is Yoshi okay with never changing? Clearly it's making them money the way they do it now.

Bots lvl50 and 60, never seen them? I'm sure you have, do you really think gold spammers make gil just out of low lvl bots? I could farm low level mobs and make no gil, they're leveling them up. -.-

[Zojha]

Wow, look at that. Everything I said was totally correct!

Not quite: It's still active "characters", not players. Alts are counted, if they had a change in gear/mounts etc. Of course, legitimate new players that stick aren't counted as well, if they're below 20. Who knows if it evens out?

Overall, it doesn't seem too much has changed. I find the disconnect between 800k clear for 2.0 and 200k clear for 2.5 a tad large and it puts the ~300k for 3.0 and up into perspective.

Now...I am kinda curious how it looks for other subscription based MMOs. But those aren't exactly common and rather stingy with data...

[RLofOBFL]

Now...I am kinda curious how it looks for other subscription based MMOs. But those aren't exactly common and rather stingy with data...

I know it isn't active but with 5 million life time subs in 3 years, FF14 is the second most subbed paid mmo.

[zosia]

I know it isn't active but with 5 million life time subs in 3 years, FF14 is the second most subbed paid mmo.

It's second because there is no good competition. If you actually look at what second means and contrast it to the first most subbed MMO, FFXIV success has been rather poor. Wow Averaged somewhere around 100 million + registered accounts over 11 years. That's a little under 5 million new registered users per year of the game's existence.

This game has had 5 million over subs since launch in 2010. It's 2016 now and that means this game gains new registered accounts at a rate of little under 1 million per year.

By the best comparison we have, This game is barely 1/5th as successful as wow at obtaining new registered accounts. This game has a problem retaining players. That 'second place spot' you pointed out is a very poor second place.

You can keep telling yourself that this game is just fine, just wait until the expansion when there are noticeably less players returning. Every content patch is full of cheap hooks and people begun wising up.

Legion is going to decimate this game and I cannot wait!

[Melorie]

Wow Averaged somewhere around 100 million + registered accounts over 11 years. That's a little under 5 million new registered users per year of the game's existence.

But FFXIV was born in a completely different context and era from WoW. You can't just grab numbers and compare them, WoW history and success has to do with timing, too. MMO market today is not the same from 5, 10 years ago.

Also, why have such grudge for a game? To the point that you want to see it decimated. That's nonsense and blind hate.

[zosia]

But FFXIV was born in a completely different context and era from WoW. You can't just grab numbers and compare them, WoW history and success has to do with timing, too. And I don't see why you would want to see the game "decimate" or anything like that. Why have such grudge for a game? To the point that you want to see it decimated. lol

Then people should not act like this game is second to wow, because it's not. They are not even in the same league of success. As your points are valid about the different climates, I was not the person who initially brought wow into the convo.

If people want to act like this game can even stand in wow's shadow, then I think it's right to contrast what ever data people might want to bring up about this game, such as being the second most subbed to mmo.

As to my grudge, I have supported this game from 1.0 until now only to get spat upon by the dev team and casual players. I found a better raiding environment in a different game, so I am more than happy to delight in the misfortune in a game that did not care for players of my ilk or myself included.

[Melorie]

snip

It is. Like it or not. When you think about successful sub-based mmos that are alive till today, it's normal to people say FFXIV and WoW (maybe EVE too) and there's nothing wrong with that. You don't even have to like FFXIV to acknowledge that it is successful, being a sub-based and themepark mmo in a time that this isn't a very popular route for MMO genre. If you love WoW and find it a better game okay, it's your opinion, but please stop acting like some kind of fanboy that insists in making comparisons without some context. I'm sure that if WoW was released in 2013 being a remake of a financial-failure game it would not have the same sales today, not because the game is bad, but because of the timing.

Alas, I don't even know why people are so surprised. I mean, it's not like FFXIV 2.0 was hardcore from the start, was it?
And still, you want the game to decimate just because it's a more casual-inclined game, seriously? So everything that doesn't caters around your interests should fail? Please, step out of your bubble. The world does not round around you nor should a game. To be honest, if you didn't care about the game you wouldn't be here discussing in this thread and if you're but still don't care, then please go make some tea, relax, find something to do because that kind of hate for a game is just sick.

[Mwynn]

Snip

This is mainly because WoW had those "Insane" Graphics and Gameplay Elements back in 2005 / 2006. It got hyped pretty much which lead to the number of Players. Nowadays if you want a successfull MMORPG you mostly need CryEngine or some TOP Engine just to have a Chance in the Market.

WoW is going to have it's end, sooner or later, that's just simple the nature of MMORPG's, outdated Features or Visuals are a huge factor in that.

[KitingGenbu]

This is mainly because WoW had those "Insane" Graphics and Gameplay Elements back in 2005 / 2006. It got hyped pretty much which lead to the number of Players. Nowadays if you want a successfull MMORPG you mostly need CryEngine or some TOP Engine just to have a Chance in the Market.

WoW is going to have it's end, sooner or later, that's just simple the nature of MMORPG's, outdated Features or Visuals are a huge factor in that.

WoW's success honestly had nothing to do with its graphics and more so its marketing. You had celebrities supporting the game, the game was in television shows, constant commercials. SE hardly marketed XI or XIV which greatly hurt its success in the long run. Now with all these f2p games up and around, too many people are against paying for much really when they can get something similar for free entertainment wise.