MMOG charts updated, WoW keeps its huge lead
by Mike Schramm 
Feb 14th 2008 at 7:30AM
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, News items
Bruce Sterling Woodcock has updated his MMOGcharts.com website with the latest research into MMO populations, and as you can see above, WoW (the green line shooting towards the sky with no hint of slowing down) is continuing its rule of the roost. In fact, Blizzard's game is in a category all by itself-- no one else even breaks the 3.5 million line. And the outlook isn't good for other MMOs, either-- Lord of the Rings Online is a clear leader in the lower section, but even they aren't showing steady growth-- more like a leveling off already.
In terms of market share, WoW has its victory locked away as well, although the two Lineages and Runescape make nice showings. I am pretty surprised not to see more free-to-play MMOs on any of the lists (although these are subscription numbers so maybe that's why), but the most fascinating thing about these numbers might not be what they look like right now, but what they'll look like in December. Can any of the new MMOs coming out this year take a chunk out of Azeroth?
In terms of market share, WoW has its victory locked away as well, although the two Lineages and Runescape make nice showings. I am pretty surprised not to see more free-to-play MMOs on any of the lists (although these are subscription numbers so maybe that's why), but the most fascinating thing about these numbers might not be what they look like right now, but what they'll look like in December. Can any of the new MMOs coming out this year take a chunk out of Azeroth?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jonas said on 8:07AM 2-14-2008
Which graph shows LoTRO a clear leader? The one linked to shows LoTRO at 200,000 subscriptions, behind DOFUS (?) and Final Fantasy at 500,000. It also shows a nice steep slope, not levelling off.
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GRT said on 8:29AM 2-14-2008
"Lord of the Rings Online is a clear leader in the lower section, but even they aren't showing steady growth-- more like a leveling off already."
http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart2.html
First of all, he provides no data for LOTRO since July 07. As of that last data, LOTRO was showing, as the prior poster pointed out, a nice steep slope.
200,000 active * $15/month = $3 million US/month revenue.
Yes, I'm sure small developer Turbine is getting ready to file for Chapter 11....NOT.
These "the sky is falling" posts because no game is as big as WOW are really getting tiresome. Yes, WOW is a behemoth and Blizzard is wiping their collective arses with $100 bills (and good for them!), but that doesn't mean these other games aren't generating a healthy revenue for their companies. Nor does it mean these other games are failures.
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Woop said on 8:33AM 2-14-2008
EVE is another worth mentioning. Not the biggest but to still be showing steady growth four years in isn't bad going.
I wonder how much of an issue machine spec has on these. My feelings were that WoW was never a machine hog. Lord of the Rings for instance needs a bit more power to make it look as nice as it can (and in my opinion it really does look fantastic) and Age of Conan looks like it could be visually another leap forward but with that comes ever higher machine requirements. And of course that limits your market from day one.
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SirBruce3 said on 10:10AM 2-14-2008
Hey guys,
Thanks for the link to my charts. I'd love to answer your questions, but due to the way Massively's management has treated me in the past, I can't trust them not to edit my comments again. If you would like to discuss the charts, please feel free to come comment on my own site.
http://www.mmogchart.com
Thanks!
Bruce
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hOld Th3 pIcKle said on 12:41PM 2-14-2008
that website screams professionalism.
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appsbyaaron said on 1:31PM 2-14-2008
I posted about this on my blog yesterday. I win.
Seriously, I think WoW can't be stopped and it won't be stopped within the next 10 years...at least. I tried it for a while and I just don't get it. I think I'm one of the few MMOers that doesn't like it at all.
It would be nice to find out some numbers on other MMO's that are free-to-pay.
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Rich said on 2:32PM 2-14-2008
WoW won't be stopped world wide, but I think we'll see the tide turning in the US and Europe in the next few years. Asia will continue to dominate WoW subscriptions for years.
Nemo said on 6:05PM 2-14-2008
How come the BIGGEST MMO in the world, MAPLESTORY, gets no play in this?
They have the clear lead in this then WOW comes in as very FAAAAAAAAR second. Maplestory doesnt ever EVER get any props, its all WOW this and WOW that.
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