Guild Wars 2

NCsoft published today the new earnings report for 2Q 16. With 15.9 bln Korean won the sales of GW2 marked a new all-time-low.

Some details from the conference call:

• They are working on the 2nd expansion.

• They are trying to shorten the time between expansions.

• Two thirds of sales in former quarters were generated by gems and one third by key sales.

Longer version:

„GW2 was 15.9 bln Won with the effects of the expansion pack launch in last October fading.“

„North America and Europe sales decreased because of the decline of Blade & Soul and GW2.“

„ To answer the question about GW2 (Analysts asked for possible reason for the weak quarterly perfermance). If you look at the revenues before the launch of the expansion pack it was in the range of around 20 bln Won. So what you have said is the situation we face right now. After the launch of the expansion pack we did see a revenue increase. If you see where the revenue drivers were in terms of the increase itself, actually around three quaters or maybe two thirds of the revenue came from our ingame item sales or our gem sales. And then the remaining revenue was actually driven by the actual box sales that we had. However as the effect of the new expansion pack launch faded the revenue that was generated by the box sales itself has weakened. And therefrore that has been the result against the weak that we have seen this quarter.

What we are planning to do going forward is that we are going to shorten the span for the next launch of the expansion pack. So right now we are in the phase for preparing for the 2nd expansion pack we ae going to shorten the launch timing between the different boxes that we launch to create more momentum. "

Conference call: http://www.calltogether.co.kr:8080/down/down_ncsoft.jsp

Earnings report: http://global.ncsoft.com/global/ir/prfile.aspx?ID=3452C3A5-CCF3-468C-AE5D-1BC06B4313FF

I’ve tried to get many people I know into the game but haven’t had any takers. Many don’t want to because it’s not on a console. I think ANet complicating things in the game isn’t helping. People usually want a simple distraction from real life not something that is more like work. The complicated crafting and open world meta events requiring LFG isn’t helping. The game doesn’t even allow single players to claim a homestead to mod and build in.

This is what happens when you continuously short-change your playerbase. If they had been producing content instead of fixing everything they broke with the release of HoT, they might still have players left to actually buy gems. They can pump out outfit after outfit, but vanity items don’t keep the game alive. Content keeps the game alive.

I will gladly go back to supporting the gem store once the legendaries I already paid for are released. That’s assuming they ditch the 2000gem cash-grab bundles and put the items I want to buy for sale. I’m looking at you, soul river glider I never got to buy.

I’m not surprised, the game’s getting older, which tends to hurt sales. There’s been nothing new to compensate for this.
And there’s been no new content in the game for a long time which probably reduced player numbers which in turn should lead to reduced sales for the cash shop/RMT business.

I have been waiting for this.
Now continue to say the game is not dying.

Even those sales short before the end of 2Q 2016, didn’t change anything.
As it is now, this game won’t last long as worthy.

But you know Fan will say: The game is doing fine. That I laugh.

Seyiwaji.4082:

I have been waiting for this.
Now continue to say the game is not dying.

Even those sales short before the end of 2Q 2016, didn’t change anything.
As it is now, this game won’t last long as worthy.

But you know Fan will say: The game is doing fine. That I laugh.

It if was dying , then they would stop having these public economy conference , just like WoW (where from now on they will link how many boxxes they sold and not how much revenue they make in each quarter)

And if GW2 is dying , then there will be grimm era for the mmos (what would WoW copy-paste then to keep their population?)
/popcorn

Revenue dipped significantly below what it was pre-HoT… that’s not good. Looks like HoT actually did drive away a large portion of players.

Well Bloodstone Fen and recent patches are promising, if it goes on like that, this will probably just be remembered as a little stumbling stone in GW history, who knows.

kurfu.5623:

Revenue dipped significantly below what it was pre-HoT… that’s not good. Looks like HoT actually did drive away a large portion of players.

I doubt HoT drove people away, more likely the content drought post HoT caused that.

Killthehealersffs.8940:

Seyiwaji.4082:

I have been waiting for this.
Now continue to say the game is not dying.

Even those sales short before the end of 2Q 2016, didn’t change anything.
As it is now, this game won’t last long as worthy.

But you know Fan will say: The game is doing fine. That I laugh.

It if was dying , then they would stop having these public economy conference , just like WoW (where from now on they will link how many boxxes they sold and not how much revenue they make in each quarter)

And if GW2 is dying , then there will be grimm era for the mmos (what would WoW copy-paste then to keep their population?)
/popcorn

numbers speak for themselves, what you are saying is ridiculous.
This game is only 4 years old.
If you see a bright Future for it, be happy with your Illusions.
Come on even Aion made more money, Seriously?

Real question: How is Wildstar doing so well? Or Why?

Seyiwaji.4082:

numbers speak for themselves, what you are saying is ridiculous.
This game is only 4 years old.
If you see a bright Future for it, be happy with your Illusions.
Come on even Aion made more money, Seriously?

And Aion catter in the Western or the Asian audience ?
What is their mentality and what kind of things they will open their wallets and buy from the gemstore ?
Even Overwatch had 120.000 viewers on launch and 3 months laters its on 30.000 on twitch*** .Does this means its dying ?

Killthehealersffs.8940:

Seyiwaji.4082:

I have been waiting for this.
Now continue to say the game is not dying.

Even those sales short before the end of 2Q 2016, didn’t change anything.
As it is now, this game won’t last long as worthy.

But you know Fan will say: The game is doing fine. That I laugh.

It if was dying , then they would stop having these public economy conference , just like WoW (where from now on they will link how many boxxes they sold and not how much revenue they make in each quarter)

And if GW2 is dying , then there will be grimm era for the mmos (what would WoW copy-paste then to keep their population?)
/popcorn

Well, to be fair, Anet can’t carry a staff of 200 while only generating around 15 million per quarter.

Anet is having a difficult time producing content and making substantial improvements to every part of the game with the amount of staff it has currently, so what do you think it will look like if staff “restructuring”, aka layoffs, start to happen?

I like Anet and gw2, Ive pumped a lot of cash into this game, but they drop the ball a lot…

This game needs 1 xpac per year. A profession and profession role and combat systems revamp because these areas have been severely under developed. Make even more kick kitten open world content because open world stuff is where this game shines. An rvr/wvw experience to rival CU. Revamps to professions will greatly improve the wvw and spvp experiences. QoL features that should be in every modern AAA mmo…

Seyiwaji.4082:

I have been waiting for this.
Now continue to say the game is not dying.

Even those sales short before the end of 2Q 2016, didn’t change anything.
As it is now, this game won’t last long as worthy.

But you know Fan will say: The game is doing fine. That I laugh.

Do you know what a trend is? What will you say if you come back next quarter and the sales are higher?

Compare the sales of Wildstar and Guild Wars 2. Wildstar had a slight bump and it’s on steam now. That’s a dying game. This game is definitely not a dying game.

It is, however, a game under pressure to do better. If it continues to lose revenue, it could very well die.

However, having been involved in many businesses that had bad quarters, only to recover the next quarter or the quarter after, calling this game dying isn’t just premature.

It’s incorrect. This game would need to do a lot worse to be dying. But it’s definitely slumping.

A long content draught with nothing but raids will do that to you.

I think many people confuse “a game is dying” with “a game is dying for me” almost all the time when they make statements like that

Seyiwaji.4082:

I have been waiting for this.
Now continue to say the game is not dying.

Even those sales short before the end of 2Q 2016, didn’t change anything.
As it is now, this game won’t last long as worthy.

But you know Fan will say: The game is doing fine. That I laugh.

Its not dying. The PvE and WvW maps are still somewhat full with a steady audience. I think this is more an issue with ANet not putting a whole lot on the gem store to drive sales.

They’re in a tough spot, because any major development project, such as new armor (not outfits), maps, and legendaries – the stuff that fans want – takes forever to build, and with very little profit to ANet. So i’m hoping that they continue to build these things in the xpacs. If so, then the xpacs will always be worth buying. On the hand, a constant string of gem store items (that are actually good), might be of interest.

I’m not a fanboy, either. There are times were i have to quit the game for a few months, because “ANet”, but things are great right now, and the game is really fun atm.

Ubik.8315:

kurfu.5623:

Revenue dipped significantly below what it was pre-HoT… that’s not good. Looks like HoT actually did drive away a large portion of players.

I doubt HoT drove people away, more likely the content drought post HoT caused that.

More precise statement might be that HoT did not introduce anything to help with the player retention. We might argue about whether specific features did or did not drive players away, but on the whole the picture is clear – what was supplied was not what the community as a whole (instead of just small subgroups of that community) wanted.

Vayne.8563:

This game would need to do a lot worse to be dying. But it’s definitely slumping.

Agreed. It’s not dying yet, but at that moment this “yet” is becoming more and more a danger that devs should worry about.

Vayne.8563:

A long content draught with nothing but raids will do that to you.

Especially when it’s arguable whether raids even helped here, or whether they added to the other problems.

I actually pre-ordered HoT because FF14 turned into a pile of rubbish with actual content droughts and really only fillers. Even in the forums there is much more negativity out there.

Maybe some of you are just stuck in a weird mindset. I am having a blast with HoT and appreciate it to the fullest.

Tekoneiric.6817:

I’ve tried to get many people I know into the game but haven’t had any takers. Many don’t want to because it’s not on a console. I think ANet complicating things in the game isn’t helping. People usually want a simple distraction from real life not something that is more like work. The complicated crafting and open world meta events requiring LFG isn’t helping. The game doesn’t even allow single players to claim a homestead to mod and build in.

And I hope it stays this way. This audience is the last we need. If they want “distraction” of their life (which sounds like they are not quite in a good shape mentally), they can play some tablet games or on their phones. Same with consoles where nobody responds because they do not have keyboards/connected their keyboards (source: FF14).

If this game turns down the difficulty to cater the “console and tablet mini gamers” then I am out for sure.

Swagger.1459:

Anet is having a difficult time producing content and making substantial improvements to every part of the game with the amount of staff it has currently, so what do you think it will look like if staff “restructuring”, aka layoffs, start to happen?

They started ’’outsourcing’’ (not official hiring) to small studios to do their tasks , when the game launched .
GW2 just like WoW , had 350 employers 1-2 years ago , but curently both they have 270 and with not a single offcial layoff , but let their contract to expire

I wonder what happend in Everquest Next ?
Because their core members where 25-30 pll and their aimed for low cost to maintained vs big revenue (like Minecraft)
+ you couldnt build ingame houses-items (you had to use the pre launch mod) , they had to cancell it ?

Or let the MMO scene to stagnart iteself , and w8 3-4 years to ‘’take it by suprize’’ as the next big hit ?

Ubik.8315:

kurfu.5623:

Revenue dipped significantly below what it was pre-HoT… that’s not good. Looks like HoT actually did drive away a large portion of players.

I doubt HoT drove people away, more likely the content drought post HoT caused that.

HoT drove away a massive number of people. They gutted WvW and dungeon communities by killing the game modes, and the extreme grind drove away casual players.

Elyssa.8307:

HoT drove away a massive number of people. They gutted WvW and dungeon communities by killing the game modes, and the extreme grind drove away casual players.

Are you hired for the Nielsen company or do you just make these claims because of some angry reddit posts and close friends? As someone who joined just 1 year ago to me it seems people like you waited for something that did not happen and now you’re here to cause mad beef. If there are many other games that apparently are so good and not dying, why aren’t you trying those meanwhile? I am pretty sure you come back soon – or stay there (for good).

Not suprised considering how long the content draughts are and the huge amount of mistakes Anet has been doing.

Killthehealersffs.8940:

Swagger.1459:

Anet is having a difficult time producing content and making substantial improvements to every part of the game with the amount of staff it has currently, so what do you think it will look like if staff “restructuring”, aka layoffs, start to happen?

They started ’’outsourcing’’ (not official hiring) to small studios to do their tasks , when the game launched .
GW2 just like WoW , had 350 employers 1-2 years ago , but curently both they have 270 and with not a single offcial layoff , but let their contract to expire

I wonder what happend in Everquest Next ?
Because their core members where 25-30 pll and their aimed for low cost to maintained vs big revenue (like Minecraft)
+ you couldnt build ingame houses-items (you had to use the pre launch mod) , they had to cancell it ?

Or let the MMO scene to stagnart iteself , and w8 3-4 years to ‘’take it by suprize’’ as the next big hit ?

I’d love to see a source on those numbers. Because I haven’t found anything like that. Not about Guild Wars 2 anyway. Haven’t tried looking into WoW.

Belenwyn.8674:

• They are trying to shorten the time between expansions.

I don’t see how they can accomplish that unless they hire new employees (very unlikely) or they remove some workers from current projects to allocate them to the expansion development team.

The kitten considering HoT and the people who had bought the Core game didn’t help.

Pay for Expac, but we’re adding the game free of charge with no discount for people who already bought it! – I know that put me off until I found HoT for really cheap on a keysite and bought it there. I hope they DON’T do that for the next Xpac. Cause you’ll just kitten even MORE people off. I won’t come back a second time if your gona play the same tricks.

Then there was the cancellation of Legendaries, why I don’t know.

Then there was the lack of any content what so ever baring raids.

Then there was the whole thing with the WvW maps and lack of population.

Over the past few months is seems they are trying to fix this. I like that we are at least getting SOME LS stuff over the months before the next set of instanced missions. But they should of been adding ANYTHING to keep people interested. No Queens Gaunlet, No festivals of any kind, only really the PvP seasons which they decided that a weighted MM would be the best way to annoy cough entertain people.

Then the whole “We’re not adding armours to the Gemstore only outfits” and the 1001 different glider skins and god know how many Packs where you only really want 1 or 2 items from. Constant addition of BL Skins that they could easily add to something to do in the world but would rather make money off rather then give something for people to do.

They really need to give something for people to do rather then screaming “SPEND MORE MONEY”. All it does it want me to spend less.

Elyssa.8307:

Ubik.8315:

kurfu.5623:

Revenue dipped significantly below what it was pre-HoT… that’s not good. Looks like HoT actually did drive away a large portion of players.

I doubt HoT drove people away, more likely the content drought post HoT caused that.

HoT drove away a massive number of people. They gutted WvW and dungeon communities by killing the game modes, and the extreme grind drove away casual players.

im curious what you consider to be casual. because gw2 is the most casual mmo ive ever seen. the grind to get ascended items is very small. the “grind” to get exotics to do basically all content in the game is not even there.

You mean 9 month content droughts and failing to deliver 50% of an expansion people paid for aren’t good for a game? huh… who would have thought…

slamfunction.7462:

Seyiwaji.4082:

I have been waiting for this.
Now continue to say the game is not dying.

Even those sales short before the end of 2Q 2016, didn’t change anything.
As it is now, this game won’t last long as worthy.

But you know Fan will say: The game is doing fine. That I laugh.

Its not dying. The PvE and WvW maps are still somewhat full with a steady audience. I think this is more an issue with ANet not putting a whole lot on the gem store to drive sales.

They’re in a tough spot, because any major development project, such as new armor (not outfits), maps, and legendaries – the stuff that fans want – takes forever to build, and with very little profit to ANet. So i’m hoping that they continue to build these things in the xpacs. If so, then the xpacs will always be worth buying. On the hand, a constant string of gem store items (that are actually good), might be of interest.

I’m not a fanboy, either. There are times were i have to quit the game for a few months, because “ANet”, but things are great right now, and the game is really fun atm.

Actually, Anet used to put out less gem store items before HoT. After HoT they started adding gem store items in a more rapid pace, while also having sales all the time. The reason why people aren’t paying up simply has to do with the content. If people play less, they will buy less.

Also, at this point I don’t think anyone is excited for black lion weapon skin releases anymore. This is what happens when you saturate the gem store with lots of items of a similar category at a very quick rate. If they actually released less black lion skins and put more skins in the game, black lion skins would be more special, while the game would have more content.

Can’t say i’m particularly surprised. Devs focused their attention for months unto raids, but they’re essentially niche content. And the maps from the expansion being an handful didn’t help either. Sure, they’ve got replayable events, but even those can get boring after a month or two. Many people likely found themselves without something fun to do and just stopped playing, or did that after getting shunned in raid (be it due to their class or something else). And people that don’t play also don’t pay.
Sure, they could try to churn some expansion in a relatively short time, but given what happened with the last one (especially due to the missing legendaries) i doubt that many people will trust them again.

Blanche Neige.7241:

Belenwyn.8674:

• They are trying to shorten the time between expansions.

I don’t see how they can accomplish that unless they hire new employees (very unlikely) or they remove some workers from current projects to allocate them to the expansion development team.

They can just have to shift devs from live game to expansion team now its what 60 live 30 both and 60 expansion. Poof 25 live 5 both and 120 expansion.

ZudetGambeous.9573:

You mean 9 month content droughts and failing to deliver 50% of an expansion people paid for aren’t good for a game? huh… who would have thought…

Really? 50%? By what counting?

They failed to deliver on some of the legendary weapons and the legendary armor so far. The rest of the stuff they did deliver on, even if they changed how that delivery works, as in the case of WvW.

What else haven’t they delivered on besides legendary weapons (and they did give us four of those) and legendary armor?

Morte de Angelis.7986:

The kitten considering HoT and the people who had bought the Core game didn’t help.

Pay for Expac, but we’re adding the game free of charge with no discount for people who already bought it! – I know that put me off until I found HoT for really cheap on a keysite and bought it there. I hope they DON’T do that for the next Xpac. Cause you’ll just kitten even MORE people off. I won’t come back a second time if your gona play the same tricks.

You do realize they gave the people who owned the original game and preordered a free character slot right? With the game being so old, and some sales taking it down to $10 at times, that seemed like a fair deal.

And yes, they said that whenever and expac comes out, the previous becomes free. They don’t want to become like WoW where you’ll need $100 just to play the game and be caught up to everyone.

Rushing out a new expansion is the last thing they need to do right now. It may inject some short term capital into the game, but it would likely result in losses long term as more people are caught behind a wall they don’t pay for and fall out of the game.

What they need to do is work on keeping the game engaging for the masses more consistently. Push out meaningful open world and large group (guild and WvW) content that gives people a reason to log in day to day. Then tie gem store items into what is taking place in game. Gem store sales are down because people don’t have a compelling reason to log in or an emotional attachment to the lives of their characters/the story the way they did toward the end of season one or throughout season two.

Additionally, I’m worried that, given the cadence of living story, they will try to split season three with the expansion. In my opinion, they need to deliver a full chapter before even announcing the next expansion. That means content depth and quality comparable to the past two seasons. They have delivered, at best, 1/10th of that so far.

Finally, there are several game modes that have still gone unsupported in terms of new content – the biggest being guild missions. There needs to be a significant amount of new content in these areas as well before a new expansion is even considered.

It’s just too early to be talking expansion.

I have to say I am not surprised. The core game supported casual play and benefited greatly. Now with HoT it is a boring grind, and we all have our multiple sets of Ascended or Legendary gear, so any loot in the new maps are wothless. It’s hard to maintain a video game on 15million a quarter when a casual game like Pokemon Go makes 10 million a day…

DGraves.3720:

Real question: How is Wildstar doing so well? Or Why?

Steam release.
It helps that the leveling experience is actually really fun and enganing and the game mechanics solid. Overall an incredibly polished game. Tried it out a few weeks ago and have to say it would be in a much better situation, had they not botched the launch by catering to hardcores like they did.

Vayne.8563:

ZudetGambeous.9573:

You mean 9 month content droughts and failing to deliver 50% of an expansion people paid for aren’t good for a game? huh… who would have thought…

Really? 50%? By what counting?

They failed to deliver on some of the legendary weapons and the legendary armor so far. The rest of the stuff they did deliver on, even if they changed how that delivery works, as in the case of WvW.

What else haven’t they delivered on besides legendary weapons (and they did give us four of those) and legendary armor?

It definitely isn’t 50% of what was promised by any stretch of the imagination. However, the expansion did release with plenty of problems regarding WvW, fractals and even OWPvE. It also had less zones than what one would expect from an expansion, and the amount of armor sets was especially horrendous. The story was obviously rushed as well.

The biggest killer though was the content drought. It took 9 months to get LW3. LW3 part 1 has more content than LW2 episodes in my opinion, but we still had to wait so long that you would expect more. At least they started adding some unique rewards to current events, because when they started they were nothing but a new source of AP.

Seyiwaji.4082:

I have been waiting for this.
Now continue to say the game is not dying.

Even those sales short before the end of 2Q 2016, didn’t change anything.
As it is now, this game won’t last long as worthy.

But you know Fan will say: The game is doing fine. That I laugh.

Profit is profit. So long as they make enough to pay their employees and all costs to run the game and work on future content, while the community remains active, then the game is not dying nor in any kind of trouble.

Companies can’t make an ever-increasing profit year after year except in unusual circumstances. It isn’t sustainable. Even if that’s how the shareholders would like it to be, and what the CEO is charged with doing. Also, given that the decline in monies made is attributed to an understandable/predictable decline in box sales (the expansion has been out for long enough that the initial peak of buying it has passed), there’s really not much in this report to worry about.

When GW2 starts running in the red, that’s when it’s time to worry. There’s nothing in this report that forshadows that future at all.

The people who cry that the game is dying are the same kinds of people who stand on street corners holding up signs saying, “repent, the end is nigh.”

~EW

There hasn’t been much of a reason to buy anything in the gem store besides a few glider skins or transmutation stones. Even most f2p players try to go as long as possible without having to pay for anything.

At this point, if you don’t have the expansion you’re either f2p, or your still on the fence about buying it and haven’t given it much thought.

So basically without the players purchasing gems they have little income, but then if they focus on the gem store they lose more players because of things like terrible class balance, lack of GvG and neglected WvW. It’s a vicious circle and they need to choose: content people really care about, or more skins?

I’m confused about the comments regarding ‘Wildstar doing so well’. It’s bringing in ~1/10 of what Guild Wars 2 does, and it’s been stated Guild Wars 2 is doing terribly now.

Belenwyn.8674:

“What we are planning to do going forward is that we are going to shorten the span for the next launch of the expansion pack. So right now we are in the phase for preparing for the 2nd expansion pack we ae going to shorten the launch timing between the different boxes that we launch to create more momentum. "

Rushing another expansion? How, given the way Anet’s staffing has been described, can they deliver a complete, content-rich, expansion if they rush it? Another HoT-level incomplete, content-poor, expansion and they’re going to prove the “the game is dying” folks right.

I don’t know….does ‘shorten the span’ mean less than 3 years (which is the span between launch and the first expansion)? I mean, we haven’t had any other spans.

DGraves.3720:

Real question: How is Wildstar doing so well? Or Why?

Wildstar is doing horribly. What people forget about wildstar is it had development cost which were around 60-70million. When you are barely breaking even or operating at a loss it is grim. At this point they are just milking the remaining loyal fans until they announce the shut down

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

I don’t know….does ‘shorten the span’ mean less than 3 years (which is the span between launch and the first expansion)? I mean, we haven’t had any other spans.

‘Shorten the span’ most likely refers to their business plan to how they intend to release expansions, which we’re not privy to… not what we’ve perceived on the outside from the only example we’ve experienced.

~EW

This is what happens when you put a game out in such a competitive environment and then spend much development time fixing the mistakes you made in the game. Time needs to be invested in game development instead of fixing mistakes or canceling on promises. I believe that since gw2 has finally created a blueprint to their game, that these issue will greatly diminish. What they do need a blue print for now is on making single player content which can be recreate per new content that is dished out. Which means that now they need a blueprint for single player content. I believe the next expac will be way better than the first. Everyone learns from mistakes, and if they want to make it anywhere then they better write down all the rights and never repeat the wrongs.

Fun. More cramming to get expansions out.

Wonder if Mike will post and say that Legendary Armor has been “postponed indefinitely”, or if they are going to follow through on it regardless.

I worry about a new expansion now. The only choices are to wipe the slate clean and come up with something else besides Masteries or to expand on the much maligned Hot…

Zedek.8932:

Elyssa.8307:

HoT drove away a massive number of people. They gutted WvW and dungeon communities by killing the game modes, and the extreme grind drove away casual players.

Are you hired for the Nielsen company or do you just make these claims because of some angry reddit posts and close friends? As someone who joined just 1 year ago to me it seems people like you waited for something that did not happen and now you’re here to cause mad beef. If there are many other games that apparently are so good and not dying, why aren’t you trying those meanwhile? I am pretty sure you come back soon – or stay there (for good).

As a ’ 1 year’ player you really do not have the history to make those accusations. The game is going to be 4 years old soon. Many have been playing since that long (and longer if they played the beta and add to that GW1 for some). You have no idea what the game was like. The dungeon nerfs, lack of content, nerfs for PvP that affect PvE, concentration on Raid, times gates, ruining small guides , charging full price for Hot if you already owned the core, changing their manifesto when suited them,etc. If you joined with HoT you can’t really appreciate what the game was. That being said, there has been good things as well.

Blude.6812:

Zedek.8932:

Are you hired for the Nielsen company or do you just make these claims because of some angry reddit posts and close friends? As someone who joined just 1 year ago to me it seems people like you waited for something that did not happen and now you’re here to cause mad beef. If there are many other games that apparently are so good and not dying, why aren’t you trying those meanwhile? I am pretty sure you come back soon – or stay there (for good).

As a ’ 1 year’ player you really do not have the history to make those accusations. The game is going to be 4 years old soon. Many have been playing since that long (and longer if they played the beta and add to that GW1 for some). You have no idea what the game was like. The dungeon nerfs, lack of content, nerfs for PvP that affect PvE, concentration on Raid, times gates, ruining small guides etc. If you joined with HoT you can’t really appreciate what the game was.

Zedek isn’t suffering nostalgia and past grievances that cloud his/her perception of what the game currently has to offer. In that, Zedek has a clearer perspective than many of the longer-stayed players.

~EW

Seyiwaji.4082:

I have been waiting for this.
Now continue to say the game is not dying.

Even those sales short before the end of 2Q 2016, didn’t change anything.
As it is now, this game won’t last long as worthy.

But you know Fan will say: The game is doing fine. That I laugh.

“Dying” is not the same as “drastically decreased box sales”. A single quarter is generally not enough to establish a trend. It also doesn’t address how many people are playing.

NCSOFT should certainly be concerned. ANet should be worried. But that’s a far cry from “this game is dying” or that it won’t last long.