From the post above:

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm was simultaneously released in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Europe, Russia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand on December 7, and became available in Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on December 9.

 

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Because like most people you don't actually know what that 12 million number actually means. Every time Blizzard has used this number, they say "12 million people HAVE PLAYED WoW" or something to that effect. This means that over it's 6+ year life, they've had that many people create an account.

This does not mean that 12 million people are playing right now.

At no point has blizzard ever stated that they have 12 million concurrent subscribers, even 10 million.

 

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WORLD OF WARCRAFT® SUBSCRIBER BASE REACHES 12 MILLION WORLDWIDE

PARIS, France – October 7, 2010 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that the subscriber base for World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), now exceeds 12 million players worldwide. This milestone was reached in the wake of the mainland Chinese launch of World of Warcraft’s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King®, and also as global anticipation continues to mount for the December 7 release of the game's third expansion, Cataclysmâ„¢.

“The support and enthusiasm that gamers across the world continue to show for World of Warcraft reaffirms our belief that it offers one of the best entertainment values available today,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We are as committed as ever to taking the game to new heights, and we look forward to demonstrating that with Cataclysm in December.”

Since debuting in North America on November 23, 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular subscription-based MMORPG around the world. It was the bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006 worldwide, and finished behind only World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade®, the first expansion pack for the game, in 2007. For 2008, the World of Warcraft series represented three of the top five bestselling PC games, with Wrath of the Lich King finishing the year at #1, and in 2009, World of Warcraft titles claimed three of the top six spots.*

World of Warcraft is currently available in eight languages and is played in North America, Europe, mainland China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Chile, Argentina, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on career opportunities available at Blizzard Entertainment can be found at eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/careers/.

For further information on World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and Cataclysm, please visit the official website at www.wow-europe.com.

World of Warcraft’s Subscriber Definition
World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules.

http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/press/pressreleases.html?101007

You don't read much do you?

 

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Owned.

Damn you Gutter you beat me to it.


I went through all that trouble of googling the press release, reading through it to make sure that I was correct, finding that copying the definition of subscriber;


World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules.


took me all of.. 4 minutes, but you were still quicker. If only everyone would actually check the 'facts' they decide to share with the community before just posting false information, like you and I.

 

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I would note that in that press release it DOES NOT say that they have 12 million subscribers. It says they have a "subscriber base of over 12 million".

If they had 12 million subscribers, why not say that directly? It's legal speak and their hoping people like you will make the assumption they currently have 12 million or so people playing.

 

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WORLD OF WARCRAFT® SUBSCRIBER BASE REACHES 12 MILLION WORLDWIDE

World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers.

Guess the title was too much for you, Spacelord?

 

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They say multiple times before saying 'players' that they are refering to the subcriber base which would fall under the definition of subscriber. Nice try though.

 

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Now, back to the topic,

Since only 39% of the "subscribers" purchased the expac...I really do not see it as an overwhelming success.

Specifically since these were already Blizzard customers.


Perhaps the numbers will double next month...perhaps they won't. All I am saying is that 39% is bleh, at best.

Edit: If the other 61% do not upgrade, will they quit? Time will tell that as well.

 

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I did a ninja edit up above after thinking a little more...


I would note that in that press release it DOES NOT say that they have 12 million subscribers. It says they have a "subscriber base of over 12 million".

If they had 12 million subscribers, why not say that directly? It's legal speak and their hoping people like you will make the assumption they currently have 12 million or so people playing.

This is how Blizzard has been consistently able to report increasing subscribers over the years, because they are not counting concurrent players, but rather unique games sold and accounts created.

 

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