Have players started quiting?

[Dreamcrusha]

i just bought this game and i keep on reading forums that people are starting to quit because of how boring and frustrating it is. Is the population actually decreasing?

[korialstraz]

It's difficult to tell, but I wouldn't be too surprised if they are in the minority tbh. Got nothing to back this up with though. Anyway I'm definately not quitting yet, even after well over 100 hours played, as I'm having a blast doing inferno act 1, or hell act 3/4 farming alone or with friends. ^_^

[BlueTemplar]

Assuming Xfire players are representative, people are playing it 3 times less than at it's maximum a month ago :
http://beta.xfire.com/games/d3

[SnickerSnack]

3 times less than at it's maximum

:scratchhead: Not sure what 3 times less means. Sounds like -200% to me....

I'd describe it as: current levels are at about 39% of what their apparent peak was. Then again, I don't know how this information is collected, so there's no reason to think the sample is representative.

[BlueTemplar]

3 times less = 1/3. Is that an incorrect way of saying it?
When Xfire is running in the background (it usually starts with Windows), when you start a game it has in it's database, it counts how long the game is running. For instance, here's my total : http://www.xfire.com/profile/bluetemplar85/

[raveharu]

who cares, as long as you're having fun.

I've been joining public butcher inferno runs and have not met the same person twice.

[SnickerSnack]

3 times less = 1/3. Is that an incorrect way of saying it?

Yes, but I'm a math teacher, so maybe I'm the only one who noticed.


When Xfire is running in the background (it usually starts with Windows), when you start a game it has in it's database, it counts how long the game is running. For instance, here's my total : http://www.xfire.com/profile/bluetemplar85/

Huh, that's interesting. It is a self selected sample, though.

[Risingred]

I don't know, but I will say that it's becoming painful to find a four-player game.

Here's the xfire chart:

http://beta.xfire.com/games/d3

Sample of 141k players, I'd say that's a pretty healthy sample. It's a popular service.

[SnickerSnack]

Sample of 141k players, I'd say that's a pretty healthy sample. It's a popular service.

The sample size is fine, but it's not necessarily a representative sample, so you can't really draw conclusions from it. Maybe most of the people who xfire play many different games concurrently because that's what they do, which is why they use such a service. And besides that, xfire users playing D3 spiked and then went down, which is what I'd expect. Were any other games release around that time, which those people are now playing because it's new?

[stillman]

I'm still liking the gameplay, but I hear some people are bored with the endgame.

zpZl801QJnc&feature=g-u-u

[Smips]

The game has been out for over a month now, so I'm sure a lot of people who have been pumping tons of time into it are getting a bit burned out. I know I haven't been very active playing it for the past week. Not because I think it's a bad game or that I'm bored, I just want to switch things up and do something else for a couple weeks. D3 is just like everything else, it's going to boom for a while and then go into a lull until the next big patch after a few weeks.

[Risingred]

Maybe most of the people who xfire play many different games concurrently because that's what they do, which is why they use such a service. And besides that, xfire users playing D3 spiked and then went down, which is what I'd expect. Were any other games release around that time, which those people are now playing because it's new?

lolwut?

Do you know what xfire is?

[BlueTemplar]

Originally Posted by BlueTemplar
3 times less = 1/3. Is that an incorrect way of saying it?

Yes, but I'm a math teacher, so maybe I'm the only one who noticed.
So, what is the correct way of saying it without using a fraction? "3 times fewer"?

[AnimeCraze]

You don't use 3 times, period. If you do, we will torch you.

As for the player numbers, I am not surprised about the drop. There are people who just finishes norm and then quit, the more casual players who have never head of these forums, the "invisible majority" who never really cares about end-game. I would wager that those players are the ones more responsible for the drop in player base, many times then the ones who are whining (and probably still playing) inferno.

And note, the game isn't boring, at least not until you spend like 100+ hours on it and farming end-game content. For most people and most games, 100 hours on a game is well worth its money already. I think the only other games where I spent that much times was D2 because of ladder resets, and FFXII/FFXIII for 100% completion.

[SnickerSnack]

So, what is the correct way of saying it without using a fraction? "3 times fewer"?

"One third as much." There are one third as many people playing it as at the beginning of June.


lolwut?


Do you know what xfire is?

I guess I could respond with "lolwut do you know what a representative random sample is?" If xfire is anything other than what is described in this thread, then no, I don't. I doubt that it is an internet service that gets a representative random sample of gamers.

[Eryendil]

Around 140 hours played here and even though I play a bit less then when the game was released I'm still enjoying every minute of it. I never played a single pub game. Usually playing with the 20-25 ppl in my friendslist so I don't see any reason to get bored with it yet.

[Daemonaz]

I don't really see why this is a problem? A lot of people quit Diablo II before ever clearing Nightmare. The same is happening in D3, even to a bigger extend because a lot of people bought Diablo 3 without a clue what it actually is, and then finding out that ARPGs aren't actually their thing. Furthermore, we all took breaks from Diablo 2 for months only to return again for awhile, and take a break again. The fact that the population is dropping isn't a surprise, and isn't a problem either. Diablo 3 doesn't need millions of active players like WoW.

[viljarast]

lolwut?

Do you know what xfire is?

I don't know if he meant this, but I don't find Xfire stats to be representative of the whole player base. It is an extra tool for a little more serious gamers who might be interested in such stuff. The large majority of D3 players are not interested enough to have xfire -> there is a bias in the data (over-representation of the 'more serious gamers') -> the data is not representative of the whole base.

And it does not support Macs which are increasingly popular.

[DayDream]

The game is still really alive, however there has been a noticeable difference in activity. There are some blue posts, maybe one or two, stating similar. regarding end game or gameplay. This itself should answer indirectly. You also have known players that's been promoting the game gradually questioning/quitting.

[SnickerSnack]

I don't know if he meant this, but I don't find Xfire stats to be representative of the whole player base. It is an extra tool for a little more serious gamers who might be interested in such stuff. The large majority of D3 players are not interested enough to have xfire -> there is a bias in the data (over-representation of the 'more serious gamers') -> the data is not representative of the whole base.

And it does not support Macs which are increasingly popular.

Yeah, that's what I meant. The people who use xfire are a specific and self selected group, therefore not representative.

[BlueTemplar]

Still, it's the best we have until Blizzard starts releasing statistics... It's certainly much better than a subjective guesstimate based on how many of your friends are still playing it.
I'd like to compare this peak-and-decline to other AAA titles... is there any way to look at the Xfire numbers older than a month?

[Risingred]

Yeah, that's what I meant. The people who use xfire are a specific and self selected group, therefore not representative.

I don't see what basis you have for that. It's like saying X-Box Live is a specific and self-selected group. Well, that's mostly any group outside of racial/ethnic lines. xfire is basically an advanced xbox live. These are typical pc gamers, who aren't casual players.

[jamesL]

i just bought this game and i keep on reading forums that people are starting to quit because of how boring and frustrating it is. Is the population actually decreasing?

of course people are quitting
when you posted the game was already out for 6 weeks
not many people are going to play a game longer than that
I doubt if many of the people who bought the game played it past nightmare

[acken]

I don't see what basis you have for that. It's like saying X-Box Live is a specific and self-selected group. Well, that's mostly any group outside of racial/ethnic lines. xfire is basically an advanced xbox live. These are typical pc gamers, who aren't casual players.

Thats what he means, its a specific group which not representative of everyone that play D3 (which are casuals AND gamers).

On the other hand... casual players never stick to a game for a long time so having data concerning more hardcore gamers only is imo more useful as I feel its a better indicator of the health of a game like D3 for long term. And... it doesn't look good.

[Risingred]

Thats what he means, its a specific group which not representative of everyone that play D3 (which are casuals AND gamers).

On the other hand... casual players never stick to a game for a long time so having data concerning more hardcore gamers only is imo more useful as I feel its a better indicator of the health of a game like D3 for long term. And... it doesn't look good.

Precisely. If we're talking the overall general audience for the game, like james said you'd have to expect a sharp dropoff because many gamers tend to beat a game and move onto something else. But for us it's different.
If a barometer were needed for the overall audience, the percentage of achievements earned would be just fine for that, but Blizzard doesn't release that information like Steam does.

[AnimeCraze]

On the other hand... casual players never stick to a game for a long time so having data concerning more hardcore gamers only is imo more useful as I feel its a better indicator of the health of a game like D3 for long term. And... it doesn't look good.Except it isn't so simple. Video game players aren't divided into these 2 camps, and even if they are, players can be casual for certain genres while being hardcore in some others.

[acken]

Except it isn't so simple. Video game players aren't divided into these 2 camps, and even if they are, players can be casual for certain genres while being hardcore in some others.

Said it was more useful not perfect.

[a black kid]

a little more than half of my real life friends that bought the game when it was released are no longer playing.

[SnickerSnack]

My brother hasn't played for 10 days 4 hours, and when I asked him why, he didn't answer....he was engrossed in minecraft (technic pack).

[mesafalcon]

The game has been out for over a month now, so I'm sure a lot of people who have been pumping tons of time into it are getting a bit burned out. I know I haven't been very active playing it for the past week. Not because I think it's a bad game or that I'm bored, I just want to switch things up and do something else for a couple weeks. D3 is just like everything else, it's going to boom for a while and then go into a lull until the next big patch after a few weeks.


I think this makes the most sense.

Probably many people are waiting for the next big patch and the population will go in waves. Having said that, there is an obvious decline in players, the reason isn't that relevant to me, thats whats happening.