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Also, these people have been around for a very long time. They have the right to be elite.
It's not that they have been around for a long time, it's simply because they have a lot of posts. I've been a member of this site for almost 5 years now and although I actively read and have participated in the various forums (I was one of the first posters for EQ2 and Planetside forums and tried to get them going) I try to refrain from posting unless I feel that it contributes in some way. I recognize many other posters on these forums who follow the same philosphy. When I see someone who has over 5000+ posts, the first thought that comes to mind (wether true or not) is that he or she has probably wasted a lot of space bringing their count up with one word or one sentence posts like: "Yup, I agree, Bump, Sticky, LOL, etc."
I look forward to opportunities to help other posters or to add something to a discussion or observation, but it has been difficult of late to find something that I feel any post I make would be worthwhile. Many of the posts are repeats of earlier ones, a topic that I am not overly familiar with, already answered by another poster like OldBlueDragon (who is very quick I might add
) or what I wanted to say has already been said.
I have been wondering for months now, about the population of players in Everquest 2. Does anyone know of any hard numbers of recurring subscriptions and new subscriptions for the game? My in game observations are limited to a single server and by many factors that may not reflect the reality of the game as a whole. So it may very well be that EQ2 is gaining or losing players and I wouldn't know.
OBSERVATIONS IN SUPPORT OF DIMINISHING PLAYER BASE From my gameplay experience, there seems to be less players as a whole. This is a subjective view based upon the number of players I see, in the zones that I frequent, at the times that I play. Live Update 13 (LU13) was a killer for many people. This is observable both in the number of posts across several internet forums and messages in game. On a more personal level, I have received a letter, in game, from a guildmate who said he was deleting his character (verified) and not playing anymore (not verified). Several other guildmates have yet to log on again, since shortly after LU13 and I can only assume that it is due to unsatisfactory experiences with many or some of the changes that the update brought, since they have not communicated with me directly. The hardware requirments defray many prospective players. OBSERVATIONS IN SUPPORT OF AN INCREASING PLAYER BASE New players continue to subscribe, at what rate, and wether or not it is comparable to the numbers who fail to renew their subscriptions, is unknown, but at least once during each play session I meet a player who claims to be a new player. Several of my real life friends who play other MMORPGs have expressed an interest in playing EQ2. They cite reasons such as wanting to play with real life friends, better looking graphics, more options and customization, and being bored with their current MMORPG. The only thing stopping some of them from playing right now, is the hardware requirments. One friend can play WOW fine on his laptop, but would be lucky if it ran EQ2 (we haven't tried it yet). SUMMARY At this point in time it appears that the number of new subscribers is closely balanced by the number of subscriptions that are not renewed, although I would hazard that overall, EQ2 appears to be slightly losing more players than they gain.
Some near future factors that will contribute to an overall loss is the release of Dungeons and Dragons Online and Vanguard.
Some near future factors that will help bring new subscribers, is the holiday season and an opportunity for many would be players to recieve new hardware or computers or younger players to receive the game as a gift from a family member.
The outlook is good for gamers though, as technology improves and competition encourages each developer to work harder for your subscription. In the end, the MMORPG market may more closely reflect that of cable television, where 5% viewership is considered a phenomenal success and the customer has a large selection to choose from that more closely reflects his or her tastes.