Marketing this game

[radreon]

I must say i enjoying this game. However there is one issue that bothers me a lot. Where are all the people. I am at the wrong place or is it just there are so few people that are playing this. If this low number of active players ( my opiniun) continous , how long will it survive.
Please let me know what you think regarding this matter, i am really worried.

[mattius]

I must say i enjoying this game. However there is one issue that bothers me a lot. Where are all the people. I am at the wrong place or is it just there are so few people that are playing this. If this low number of active players ( my opiniun) continous , how long will it survive.
Please let me know what you think regarding this matter, i am really worried.

Its true whenever i log on ill see a max of about 20 people in region chat, but i know there are a good number of people on the mainland as well. Up until a couple days ago i was seeing the same old faces, now there are some new peepz around....

Its difficult to tell if its a terminal problem, but i think its fair to say that the numbers arent quite what Nevrax had in mind...I think there are enough players to maintain a critical mass, to allow the game to progress for a couple months at least, but this game needs a shot in the arm bad.

Then again look at AC2, barely anybody logged on, and its still going. I think a modern MMORPG that intends on continueing its developments needs at least 30k subs....I remember ready some research about that actually but i aint got the link now..

If WoW and Eq2 werent due for release this game would have triple its current subscriber rate..so many people are just waiting

[enlil]

I think one problem is that region chat is just that. For example in the Witherings there are "Cities of Intuition" region, "Grove of Umbra" region, "Maidens Grove" region etc. Region chat is only for one of those, if you leave say MG for GoU you get a "new" region chat.

This way you wont see any real numbers of how many ppl are online. Same thing with newbie islands. In beta I remember that if you teleported to the trainers you left the local region and didnt show up on /who either.

Large part of my guild hang out in MG or GoU right now so ppl hanging out in Zora wont see us on /who or in region chat (and the other way around).

[hivewasp]

Then again look at AC2, barely anybody logged on, and its still going.

AC2 is a total marketting blunder.

From ferrago:

"Microsoft were today confessing to a rather embarrassing billing mess up, that will leave many gamer who’ve pre-ordered Asheron’s Call 2 unable to play it when it arrives.The problem has arisen as many avid RPG gamers have ordered the game through websites outside of their own nation. Unfortunately, only nine countries are currently supported by the Microsoft billing system, though a new system will support the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands from December."

My country was never allowed to play AC2 for example... and the game was not available in stores either for that reason, buying the game online was not a solution... so for a mmorpg to be set with a very few select countries is messy.

Ryzom's problem is quite different; it appeared in shops here at the same time as Final Fantasy XI + its to complements bundle for european release appeared; tons of advertisement in those shops concerned the 'new' mmorpg FFXI, while Ryzom was just put on shelves with no further comment... people had to be looking for it to find it, and then notice it was also a mmorpg.

Then you have to consider the release of the two 'giants' in a couple of months and the existing player bases on other games; a good deal of those people don't want to spend 2 months interim in a new game for which the advertisement was rather weak.

Well, I guess we just have to wait and see if it's going to really take off or end like Earth and Beyond

[cligma]

Well i tried to buy this game when it came out in England on the 24th and i was told it is exclusivly to Game - so as im working in london i went over to Games Flag ship store in Oxfrod street and was told that they have no copys .

So i waited until the 27th and then went back in to the store - there was no games on the shelf so i had to ask a member of the staff for a copy - which they got from the storeroom .

I been in the Oxford street GAME shop a few time over the last couple of weeks and i have noticed that there is not a single copy of SOR on the shelf - so if you didnt know about this game you cound not buy it..

[lazarus]

I been in the Oxford street GAME shop a few time over the last couple of weeks and i have noticed that there is not a single copy of SOR on the shelf - so if you didnt know about this game you cound not buy it..

To be fair, my local Game store and the one I visited in St Albans recently both had numerous copies both on the 'chart' section and the 'new release' section. My local store also had a display by the door for a week or so.

Having said that, aside from a couple of banner ads on GameSpy, I havn't seen much advertising...

[bullough]

Tell all who you can and we can even try and break eve onlines record

[popwm]

What the marketing of the game really lacks is the ability to download and play without purchasing the box in a store. You still end up paying the same price, but it's more easier.

The other games I've played (beside SWG), have all been downloaded: AC2 (wasn't me, so didn't buy the box), Anarchy (too few newbies) and Eve (great game, great community, but the black backgrounds are too depressing...).

I'd been interested in Ryzom for a while, but all the radio/tv shops I passed didn't carry it. It wasn't until I per chance passe a dedicated games shop that I picked up a copy.

For a small niche games like Ryzom being able to download from the net is essential! It's the only way we are going to get enough players.

[qu0zl]

you can download it from the net. Jolt hosts the download service.

[hivewasp]

you can download it from the net. Jolt hosts the download service.

Doesnt work for all the countries that'd be interested to purchase the game tho, some are dependant on the distribution channels which are normally set for those countries which are denied the download, but it's still not too easy to find the game in some parts of those countries; not everyone lives in capitol cities