WoW dominates MMO market share
by Jennie Lees 
{ Jun 1st 2006 at 8:58AM }
If you were in doubt about World of Warcraft's popularity amongst MMOs, the updated subscriber numbers over at MMOGChart will set you straight. The pie chart above shows the market share, as of May 2006, of subscription-based MMOs; the huge blue slice taking up 50.6% of the market is none other than Blizzard's behemoth.
While a number of smaller games have some slice of the pie, the MMO world is dominated by Lineage, World of Warcraft and Runescape -- the latter has been racking up subscribers recently.
In this illustration of subscriptions with time, the bright green (almost vertical) line is, unsurprisingly, World of Warcraft. Interestingly, the growth here implies that WoW's market share is caused by many new players, rather than players deserting other MMOs for it. The market share is large, but the market is being expanded by WoW.
What will happen when the next wave of MMO games hits? We didn't see anything at E3 that looked ready to snatch the crown from WoW, but the influx of players to the MMO genre means that plenty should seek out new titles to try sooner or later. Like it or not, WoW's dominance is reality, and MMO designers who want to attract players to their games will have to take it into account -- players suckered into paying a monthly fee to Blizzard won't want to pay two fees at once, for example.
[Thanks, David]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JodyAnthony @ Jun 1st 2006 9:06AM
good to see ultima online still hanging in there, even if its only barely.
i used to love that game.
Daft @ Jun 1st 2006 9:12AM
wow. And to think I used to be a part of that =/
Peter7898m @ Jun 1st 2006 9:18AM
I would like to see 'Guild Wars' (factions) included in that chart, sure you don't pay monthly for it but if the research was done, you may find that WoW will not last long enough to compete against free subscription MMO games. With guild wars you pay for the content and i can't say that game lacks quality, it is very good.
K MAN @ Jun 1st 2006 9:19AM
Wow, when I see this, it reminds me of Sierra's Imagnation Online from the 90s. The First MMO Community.
Who remembers it?
Prof-KOS @ Jun 1st 2006 9:20AM
I've never played MMO's. I've thought about giving it a go, but I'm not sure I'm not going to end up wasting my time and money. I tend to have a short attention span for different games.
For instance, if I don't beat a console game within 2 weeks, I move one and come back in a few months. I'm sure it's an undiagnosed ADD. I just don't know if I want to invest the time into creating a character and then paying the fees, and give it up a month later. I like games I can just pick up and play every once in a while.
Andir @ Jun 1st 2006 10:10AM
"WoW will not last long enough to compete against free subscription MMO games."
Yes, but with a free game comes some unsavory players. If I have to hear about someone willing to pay for a runner, someone just warp out of the party because your not going fast enough, or hear some 13 year old complain about going to bed one more time I'm going to kill. So I stopped playing.
futurebiblehero @ Jun 1st 2006 10:19AM
I can understand that "unsavory players" come with free subscription games, but I can't imagine WoW's community getting much worse than it is on a lot of the servers. I recall reading somewhere that according to polls, the average WoW player is 13 (and from ample experience with the game, I can't doubt that).
Sense @ Jun 1st 2006 10:32AM
I always preferred Diablo/Phantasy Star Online type MMO games. They don't require that time commitment. I love games, but I really don't want to reach a point in my life where I have to literally schedule my gaming time.
"Oops, I'd better get home for that 8:00 raid."
Doesn't sound fun to me. In Diablo or PSO you can just play as long as you want and quit whenever. Sure, it's still addicting as hell, but since they're broken up into sections, you have more definite stopping points.
Just my $0.02
Pip @ Jun 1st 2006 10:39AM
This is bad news to me. WoW is a great looking and solid game, but it's not enough for people who want more. And something more serious. It reminds me a lot of the Mario games. They look and play great, but they are just so overly simple and aimed at "everyone" that they miss a lot of other things people want in a game.
I really hope people dont start looking at WoW as the model to make their MMORPGs in the future. Some of us want something more. Something deeper, more detailed, and serious. Right now EQ2 is filling that void, but it still has a lot of flaws that would make me look for another game. Linked mobs, too many instances, and a terrible crafting system.
Thomas Werewolf @ Jun 1st 2006 10:46AM
I'd like to see how this chart compares to 5 years ago when EverQuest was king. Anyone have that info?
Jellodyne @ Jun 1st 2006 10:55AM
Wow, D&D Online is doing GREAT!
Methodic @ Jun 1st 2006 10:56AM
I'm happy with WoW and I think 50% of the MMORPG players are also ;-) It's a great game.. Is the MMORPG for players that don't have to much time for play an MMORPG. ;-D
I love WoW, and love Blizzard.
I am thinking to give a try on GuildWars also.. It's exactly a MMORPG, but looks very fun.
n8dogg @ Jun 1st 2006 11:10AM
I concur with numero tres.
Guild Wars is great, because I don't have to play it all the time. I just jump on in whenever the mood strikes, and never worry about having to play in proportion to how much I pay a month.
Plus, the game is beautiful, even on relatively low-end machines. Eye-candy and graphics are a HUGE factor for me in deciding what games I like.
OMAC @ Jun 1st 2006 11:24AM
"Like it or not, WoW's dominance is reality, and MMO designers who want to attract players to their games will have to take it into account -- players suckered into paying a monthly fee to Blizzard won't want to pay two fees at once, for example."
People might be willing to pay for more than one game as long as the price remains under $15.00, however Sony Online has the best bargain with their All Access Pass. But that is only a bargain if you play more than one Sony game. $22.99, soon to be $24.99, gets you EQ, EQ2, Matrix Online, Planetside, Star Wars Galaxies and Vanguard:SOH when it is released.
I think you might see more companies doing this. It's a safe bet Blizzard is already looking towards the future with WoW2 or some other Blizzard franchise.
Aaron @ Jun 1st 2006 11:26AM
"Oops, I'd better get home for that 8:00 raid."
I have friends that say EXACTLY that, and schedule their social life around a computer game. Now, I consider myself an avid gamer, both PC and console, but there is no way I'd ever dump my friends just to go home and play a game.
I like loading up a game, playing for an hour or two, and shutting it off and going to do something else. Not starting a raid at 9:30pm, ending at midnight, every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday night.
David @ Jun 1st 2006 11:32AM
Yeah and they're only .1% behind Toon Town Online, man that seriously was a well touted "WoW Killer"
ProjectGSX @ Jun 1st 2006 11:36AM
Agreed with #3. Guild Wars is one of the biggest MMOs out there behind WoW. Id like to see where they rank. Its a shame this is only a subscription statistic.
Ciaran Gallagher @ Jun 1st 2006 11:48AM
I wonder if Test Drive Unlimited will get on that chart when it is released - One of very few Massively Multiplayer Online Racing Games.. I know of one other such game, it's out on PC and it doesn't look that good.
Test Drive Unlimited on the other hand, looks fun!
p-diddy @ Jun 1st 2006 11:49AM
Re: Guild Wars. My friends and I play it and I'll say if you like Diablo, you should give GW a try. We all agree that GW is very diablo-like, there is no real emphasis on leveling and that the time "commitment" is minimal. It's just a fun game. That said, it's PvE environment can be somewhat repetitive since a lot of the missions are FedEx style, but the PvP is supposed to be awesome (my group is more into the PvE diablo-esque aspect).
I will say though that if you are considering GW, please please please, do yourself a favor and buy the original (also called "Prophecies"). I like Factions but it is way too head-first for someone just starting out with the game. Prophecies has a great tutorial-without-holding-your-hand area in pre-searing and the story is just more interesting (to me at least).
I recommend GW. It's a lot of fun and my WoW friends, while not giving up on WoW, acknowledge that GW does have some strengths over the MMO juggernaut (and correspondingly some weaknesses too, e.g., lack of auction houses)
-p-
Big Ed @ Jun 1st 2006 12:00PM
Ha Ha. D&D is losing to Toontown. RPG's aren't what they were.
slybri @ Jun 1st 2006 12:02PM
I'm shocked to see that more people are playing Star Wars Galaxies than City of Heroes/Villains. I thought Sony did everything in their power to make that game unplayable, even for Star Wars fans.
And Guild Wars is not an MMO. You can meet and form parties in the city/lobby, but the world is not persistant and all levels are instances. If you include Guild Wars you have to include all multiplayer RPGs like Diablo.
David @ Jun 1st 2006 12:14PM
You could say that Guild Wars' PvP and World Rankings/tournaments are MMO material though, I don't believe Diablo had any of that.
Lutraphobic @ Jun 1st 2006 12:23PM
If you guys don't consider Guild Wars an MMO, then neither is DDO. D&D Online works by having a world where you gather party memebers, but the actual game content lies in the instances.
I am surprised not to see Anarchy Online on this list, especially because they have a free version. Maybe they just aren't including the free players, which may explain it.
Rizzo @ Jun 1st 2006 12:24PM
Have any of you looked at the way these numbers were pieced together? If you look at the way the data was pulled from many different sources (http://mmogchart.com/Analysis.html), I don't see how you can accept his conclusion that 50.6% of MMO players are playing WOW.
I don't want to start poking holes in the entire thing, but this who study needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
lionzub @ Jun 1st 2006 12:25PM
The thing that bothers me about Guild Wars is that when you leave a town you are seperated from everyone else (unless you leave town in a party). I don't like that concept because you don't have the fear of being player killed, or have the thrill of killing another random player while travelling, or more importantly even finding someone random to hunt with.
I personally love Ragnarok Online, and EVE Online. RO is just so fun, and even though it doesn't have player killing, you always run into someone to level up with and have fun. EVE Online is so great, very micromanaging. There is so much you can do in that game and the leveling system is great.
David @ Jun 1st 2006 12:25PM
@ p-diddy
NC Soft is currently working on an auction house system for guildwars, rest assured they won't leave their customers to spaming items in districts for that much longer.
Eric @ Jun 1st 2006 12:26PM
Can anyone tell me how Lineage and Lineage II lost nearly 2 MILLION users (3.25 million if you go back to mid '03) in the span of a little over a year??
Theirs is the only user base that looks like a stock ticker showing an imminent depression.
Paul @ Jun 1st 2006 12:43PM
Guild Wars im sure is fairly close to WoW. At least a heck of a lot closer than the second place option here: Lineage.
Teco @ Jun 1st 2006 1:09PM
At 6.5million users paying $15/month subscription fees, they're raking in 97 million dollars a freaking month.
quetzal @ Jun 1st 2006 1:17PM
Hey!!! What about Guild Wars!?!?!?
Shiro @ Jun 1st 2006 1:37PM
"And Guild Wars is not an MMO. You can meet and form parties in the city/lobby, but the world is not persistant and all levels are instances. If you include Guild Wars you have to include all multiplayer RPGs like Diablo."
Wait, so Guild Wars isn't a "Massively Multiplayer Online" game? I was pretty sure that it was a game where lots of people played on the same server together via internet connection.
But heck, I don't really know much about it, so I may be wrong.
Kite @ Jun 1st 2006 1:50PM
Technically, Guild Wars is a CORPG. Competetive Online Role Playing Game.
But in my opinion, a chair is not a 'chair' if everyone would call it a 'chicken' (how silly this may sound). It would be called a chicken.
If I put this ridiculous example in the case of Guild wars - WoW, I would say that guild wars classifies as a MMO. At least it plays like one. (Played both wow and Gw, to counter anyone saying that I would not know)
And yes, I also would like to see it included in the list :)
Just my 2 cents, greets
Babylonian @ Jun 1st 2006 4:42PM
Why the hell wasn't Guild Wars on that chart? It is an MMO, period.
Probably just to melodramatize the WoW "victory".
Endejas @ Jun 1st 2006 5:14PM
People still play Galaxies? wtf is wrong with them.
Gramin - Lvl 60 Warrior - EU Earthen Ring Server @ Jun 1st 2006 6:11PM
WoW has just been one of those games that will stay in history. I am not saying all the other games are not as good, but the statistics spk for themselves. I remember starting to play, and thats it. Nothing else mattered!. I have seen other games, and they look fun, but there is always that something that makes me want to go back to it. I suggest everyone at least gives it a go, even if you do find you want more out of it... there is a lot to it! My next alt will be a mage! ;) FTW!
Premaximum @ Jun 1st 2006 7:00PM
WoW in no way deserves their top spot. Blizzard rushed headlong into the MMO world. The only reasons they're selling is because of their name and their simplicity. Good enough reasons, I suppose, but it leaves me wanting.
Blizzard's support is ridiculous, it takes them weeks to fix game-breaking bugs with certain classes, while others get hotfixed the next day. Their sense of balance is also somewhat off. If anything, they should have waited to introduce the PvP aspect. A select few classes accel while the others are left in the dust.
All-in-all, WoW could be taken off that chart, to show how the -real- MMOG's are doing...
Andir @ Jun 1st 2006 8:01PM
====================================================================
For everyone looking for Guildwars
====================================================================
http://mmogchart.com/FAQ.html
Why isn’t _______ listed?
There are four main reasons why a particular game isn’t listed in the charts:
a) The game in question isn’t really a MMOG, at least by my reckoning. Games like Diablo II and Phantasy Star Online fall into this category. Guild Wars developers say in their own FAQ that they do not consider their game a MMOG; in addition, it doesn’t charge a monthly fee (see b)
b) The game in question is free and/or doesn’t charge a regular monthly fee. Games like Furcadia, Magic: the Gathering Online, and Project Entropia are good examples; these games are normally free to play, but some players can also pay a variable amount to access additional content in the game. This makes it almost impossible to come up with a number comparable to monthly subscribers in other games.
Peter7898m @ Jun 2nd 2006 8:55AM
Andir, It dosen't really matter what type of game it is. The chart is basically showing how popular each of these MMO games are. As i said in post 3, "if the research was done" you may find that Guild Wars (faction) is more popular than WoW or any other MMO put together just beacuse GW meets demand by its free online play.
Its strange why people still pay to play runescape(2), its not graphically amazing and the gameplay aint good either...not worth it
AvidGamer @ Jul 8th 2006 2:39PM
Anyone who thinks that guildwars could possibly have more subscribers than WoW should look at the facts. On the Guildwars website, they have a press release that states that in June of 2006 they sold their 2 millionth game. That's a big milestone and I don't mean to belittle their acomplishment, but because there is no subscription we don't know how many of those purchasers are actually still playing.
On the other hand, even if all 2 million people are playing that would still be less than 1/3 of the subscribers that WoW has (6.5 million). Yes that would make it the 2nd most popular game, but like it, love it, or hate it, WoW is still the 1k pound gorilla.
Apexe27 @ Jul 29th 2006 10:10PM
"Why the hell wasn't Guild Wars on that chart? It is an MMO, period.
Probably just to melodramatize the WoW "victory"."
"as of May 2006, of subscription-based MMOs"
Guild Wars is not an subscription-based MMO, therefore was not included. Whether or not it is an MMO - to each his own, but it was rightfully not included in the survey.
MMO blog @ Aug 1st 2006 9:34PM
sad to say it, but I take strong interest in WOW due to its strong market share. That insure that it will be around for a while and that alot of people will still be playing.