Guild Wars 2 popularity - what happened ?

[Count_Satyros]

Just wait till they push the lost shores patch i tell ya!
Just like halloween all over again Population keeps rising and falling and im perfectly fine with it. After all it is not a game designed to keep you logged in to pay a sub.
Off topic: Isn't game bashing forbidden in those forums?

[fizzbob]

my nephew watches people play games and i can't understand it. i guess the best answer is, right now all the game viewers are at school because most adults had rather play a game or do anything else other than watching someone play a game.

[Fencers]

Off topic: Isn't game bashing forbidden in those forums?

Yes, game bashing is against the rules.

Asking a question about viewership of stream is fine. Typically by game bashing we mean the most egregiously low posts like 'game sux wang trololol' and the like. Not liking a game but having a good post to back it up is fine though.

[Grevie]

Sry I'm too busy playing to answer your qeustion. Oh right that's prolly because I have game forever now not for beta weekends.

Not busy at all, you replied, you answered? Btw, i got bored quickly, i'm still try sometimes but... anyway, i only logon lately
in orderto keep the game updated.

[kukui]

some people may be leaving the game, it may not have the playerbase that WoW, but guess what, the game is also less then 3 months old. GW1 stayed alive with a very good playerbase for years, and it had nothing compared to GW2.
I for one will be playing GW2 for years to come, just as I did in GW1.

PS. The people saying "theres not much PvE, and a lot of people don't like PvP"....WHY the hell are you playing a game called GUILD WARS? The game has always been about PvP, if you bought the game not knowing this then you really should consider doing 5min of research on games before buying them.

[Suikoden]

Not sure where all this crap about how everyone is leaving is coming from. GW2 isn't the type of game for someone to find fun simply by watching either.
This isn't even during peak times.

[CrimsonKing]

I don't think it matters to much given this isn't a sub based game so if people are leaving it's not that big of deal. Anyways the Halloween event had a lot of activity on my server and I'm sure the next event will have another spike in activity, and that event just happens to happen this month with another event most likely in December.

[Ravenblade]

First off...people are always hyping the next big thing, currently they are hyping ESO. People just don't learn: The bigger the hype the greater the disappointment. No MMO will miraculously do everything right from the start especially these days where the demands and thus the complexities have evolved. It's just not happening because MMOs are also more popular therefore more people are going to cry or turning the back in disappointment.

Secondly, I never believed for a second that popularity for this game will be constant thing and last for eternity, the more choices there on the market the less longer the popularity will stay with one single product especially these days where gamers are way more fickle. I am happy that the game can stand on itself without having to pander to literally everyone.

Also not everyone leaving is doing so permanently or because they hate the game and not always they are returning to MoP. Without citing anecdotal evidence for this I will just say that my clan usually has a few older MMO players as well and they tend to stick to their games, some have been playing EVE since the beginning and took a stint with GW2 but usually MMORPGs aren't their class of games so they are back to EVE. Also PS2 is coming out which draws more interest to them as the core are generally more FPS-oriented gamers who are happy that they don't have to play a substitute genre aka MMORPGs they don't like.

Lastly when I am looking at my server there's still new guilds recruiting people and older guilds since the early days are still abound. I say there's a lot anecdotal evidence here. There is a reason for why I haven't joined a guild yet. I usually wait 3 months at least until the dust has settled and most people left playing actually know whether they want to stay or leave. Did it the same way in WoW.

[Fencers]

.WHY the hell are you playing a game called GUILD WARS? The game has always been about PvP

That's not why the series is called Guild Wars and it's never been all about PVP. The sequel even less so as it has a lot more expansive PVE than the first.

I have been playing Guild Wars 1 since beta to present. And when I say present, I mean like 2-3 days ago I was still playing GW1. Never play PVP.


[The name Guild Wars comes from the series of wars between various city-states & guilds before & after The Searing of Ascalon in the human lands on the continent of Tyria, on the planet Tyria. Specifically, Kryta.]

[Mothhive]

Less stream views doesn't mean it's less popular than it was, it simply means that people who were watching them to judge whether they were going to buy it have made their decision, and others watching it for entertainment realised it's not fun to watch the same thing over and over once the newness has worn off.

The only way to judge popularity is by player activity, and on my server there is plenty of activity wherever I go in the world, and when special events are going on, the servers are absolutely rammed. I expect next weekend's Lost Shores events to increase the activity considerably.

[Fencers]

That's not really the only way to judge popularity. Things like podcasts, reddit, twitch, blogs, etc alll contribute to the culture surrounding a game. And also are pretty good indicators of the game's reach outside of a few dedicated fans. Or buzz, as it were.

This is just one the tricks World of Warcraft pulled off so well. It's as much a cultural phenomenon as a game. I'd bet dollars to donuts you wouldn't find as many 3rd part websites, blogs, viewership and so for most MMOs as for World of Warcraft.

WoW's subs tell a lot. But no less important is the culture that surround the game(s).

[kukui]

That's not why the series is called Guild Wars and it's never been all about PVP. The sequel even less so as it has a lot more expansive PVE than the first.

I have been playing Guild Wars 1 since beta to present. And when I say present, I mean like 2-3 days ago I was still playing GW1. Never play PVP.


[The name Guild Wars comes from the series of wars between various city-states & guilds before & after The Searing of Ascalon in the human lands on the continent of Tyria, on the planet Tyria. Specifically, Kryta.]

GW is, and always has been, a PvP game with PvE (yes it has a lot more PvE in GW2). The same as how WoW has, and always will be, a PvE game with PvP (the game did not have PvP when it first launched, and they put more focus into PvE content).

[Fencers]

GW is, and always has been, a PvP game with PvE

That perception is mostly personal and irrespective of facts.

[VibrantViolet]

Sure, you can barely see anyone leaving the game. I guess it's mere coincidence that my guild roster looks like this (and has looked like that for the last 1 month and a half) on a Friday evening.

That picture you posted has a total of 18 people in the guild. My guild has over 100 members, and during prime time, there are at least 20 people on. On the weekends, probably 30 or more.

[ScottsdaleHokie]

The servers are all either completely full or high population every single night.

Judging a game by the number of its twitch.tv viewers is moronic at best.

[Zeek Daniels]

If someone watches someone play a game to see if they want to play it, then dont you think they will stop watching once they either decide "yea ill buy this game" or "no i wont buy this game" Why would someone watch streams of someone playing a game your already playing or have no interest in? This isnt the same thing as competitive streaming games like LoL or SC2. PPL watch that stuff like its a sport. GW2 doesnt have a sports scene yet. When it does and if its good streams will pick back up.

[Fencers]

People watch PVE streams as well. Not just battlegrounds and MOBA matches.

And it's highly likely many own and play these games they are watching too.

To wit~

http://www.twitch.tv/sco
http://www.twitch.tv/kenzinaga
http://www.twitch.tv/affinitiibl
http://www.twitch.tv/fragnance
http://www.twitch.tv/evrelia
http://www.twitch.tv/rikhh
http://www.twitch.tv/emmid

[tlacoatl]

personally I left. Not because I think its a bad game, its not, its a bloody brilliant game.

I left because there is no groupfinder and there is no event finder. Sorry< I dont find spamming chat for groups or running round maps hoping for an event to be fun. If they add in a group finder or an event finder (like IA in rift) I'll be back, until then.....

[bt4]

i think it's cause GW2 model is different from other mmos
wow&co uses grind game mechanics (reputation, gear, ..) to keep players subbed and continue making money over sub fees
since gw2 has no sub fee there is no incentitive to keep players playing as they cost traffic without making money from it so it has less time consuming mechanics and people quit sooner

[Moralio]

It is B2P. People will flock in again when next content patch arrives.