Guild Wars 2

I really don’t see the difference. Twitch viewer population for gw2 is similar as to before it become f2p. Thus people who forced anet to declare the game to be f2p must need to keep quite and slience lol

It was very cheap to get a full version of GW2 before, so I am not suprised. If you wanted to try GW2 by now you probably were willing to shell out the 10€ or US$

Pretty sure the president did not seem to convey a feeling of being forced to do anything.

And, considering ArenaNet has become its own publisher, I’m not sure who these ‘forceful people’ would be.

I started lvlup my wife’s ele few weeks ago and we almost never saw anyone but since GW2 became F2P we often meet low-lvl players. So I guess they are among us^^.
Maybe not a lot of them, but we’ve felt the difference since the game went F2P.

People who watch Twitch streams are likely not among the majority population of any game. So, I don’t see how you can base the number of people who actually PLAY the game on the number of people who watch GW2 streams on Twitch.

Does Twitch viewership really have any significant relevance to the number of active players/accounts? I don’t know anyone who follows Twitch, among the folks I know playing.

synk.6907:

Does Twitch viewership really have any significant relevance to the number of active players/accounts? I don’t know anyone who follows Twitch, among the folks I know playing.

yes!

Check
http://www.twitch.tv/directory

online.1278:

synk.6907:

Does Twitch viewership really have any significant relevance to the number of active players/accounts? I don’t know anyone who follows Twitch, among the folks I know playing.

yes!

Check
http://www.twitch.tv/directory

Again, that’s Twitch views. That’s not an amount of GW2 accounts.

RoseofGilead.8907:

online.1278:

synk.6907:

Does Twitch viewership really have any significant relevance to the number of active players/accounts? I don’t know anyone who follows Twitch, among the folks I know playing.

yes!

Check
http://www.twitch.tv/directory

Again, that’s Twitch views. That’s not an amount of GW2 accounts.

measuring with gw2 total accout number doesn’t make sense cuz that includes inactive users.

Does the OP actually think anyone/everyone that plays GW2 watches any/all/official Twitch streams? Or is it something else he/she is trying to say?

online.1278:

RoseofGilead.8907:

online.1278:

synk.6907:

Does Twitch viewership really have any significant relevance to the number of active players/accounts? I don’t know anyone who follows Twitch, among the folks I know playing.

yes!

Check
http://www.twitch.tv/directory

Again, that’s Twitch views. That’s not an amount of GW2 accounts.

measuring with gw2 total accout number doesn’t make sense cuz that includes inactive users.

It makes a hell of a lot more sense than basing it on Twitch viewers.

Yea its like baseing the players on how many use raptr it dont end close to the truth at all.

synk.6907:

Does Twitch viewership really have any significant relevance to the number of active players/accounts? I don’t know anyone who follows Twitch, among the folks I know playing.

I don’t think so. I play a lot and I’m usually not home when GW2 is live streaming, nor do I follow any streamers on Twith or elsewhere.

Yeah, I don’t think Twitch views mean diddly about anything when it comes to the number of people who are playing GW2. I also know a ton of people who play GW2 and none of them watch Twitch for this game.

My key runner is seeing new people in the starter instance each time now. Before this, for many months, I would be all alone in there, or at most one other person. Now there are several running around in the first part of it when I run past them and 3-5 at the boss fight with me. I’m going to take that as an indication that there are new people constantly streaming in now.

measuring with twitch viewer number makes best sense than any other thing
just go
http://www.twitch.tv/directory
and see which game is on top.

League of Legends
100,464 viewers

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
96,224 viewers

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
75,030 viewers

World of Warcraft
40,400 viewers

Dota 2

see? who would claim that many people dont play those games?

I play many game over many years. I do not watch other people play game on twitch or any other. That is boring to watch other play game when I can play my self. I think watch other people play a game I can play my self is a waste of time. I do not care about twitch people and never will.

Twitch viewers ? I don’t know anyone who watches GW2 streams (at least regularly). I don’t think you can make any conclusions based on that number.

OP. Make a new char and go stand in the starter instance for a while. See if you see any new chars in there.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

My key runner is seeing new people in the starter instance each time now. Before this, for many months, I would be all alone in there, or at most one other person. Now there are several running around in the first part of it when I run past them and 3-5 at the boss fight with me. I’m going to take that as an indication that there are new people constantly streaming in now.

That might have to do with the fact that the Tutorial instances were brought into the MegaServer about a month or so ago.

My key-runners were almost always alone before that, as well, but now there are usually others there.

online.1278:

measuring with twitch viewer number makes best sense than any other thing
just go
http://www.twitch.tv/directory
and see which game is on top.

League of Legends
100,464 viewers

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
96,224 viewers

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
75,030 viewers

World of Warcraft
40,400 viewers

Dota 2

see? who would claim that many people dont play those games?

I don’t play any of those but I might occasionally watch someo, especially the MOBAs. After 3 years I’ve just started to watch GW2 ones. That’s the problem with trying to use a proxy to measure something else. I’ve seen analysts use web traffic to gauge if a new game or expansion is going to succeed, and that is as accurate as throwing runes.

I have no doubt the type of people who would watch a twitch stream of the game are people who would have already bought the game sometime ago. I doubt the kind of people who want to play GW2 as a F2P game would be in the demographic of people who would watch Twitch streams of this game.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

My key runner is seeing new people in the starter instance each time now. Before this, for many months, I would be all alone in there, or at most one other person. Now there are several running around in the first part of it when I run past them and 3-5 at the boss fight with me. I’m going to take that as an indication that there are new people constantly streaming in now.

That might have to do with the fact that the Tutorial instances were brought into the MegaServer about a month or so ago.

My key-runners were almost always alone before that, as well, but now there are usually others there.

Yah. I thought of that. However a lot of the people I’m seeing in there and outside in the Human area don’t have guild tags. That’s often an indication that’s a new person. Vets often have fancy outfits or even armor even at low levels as well as showing a guild tag. In addition, the numbers jumped dramatically, that I could see, after the f2p arrived. Before it might be one or two with Megaservered instances. Now it’s much more. I made a key runner the same day as the f2p started. I stood there at the spawn point for a while and watched one after another appear.

online.1278:

measuring with twitch viewer number makes best sense than any other thing
just go
http://www.twitch.tv/directory
and see which game is on top.

League of Legends
100,464 viewers

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
96,224 viewers

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
75,030 viewers

World of Warcraft
40,400 viewers

Dota 2

see? who would claim that many people dont play those games?

So Op you just proved your first post false then becouse who would say any of those games have a low player count indeed.

I feel like I’ve seen a load more new players (F2P) recently.

My checklist goes something like this:
-Are they low level/not downscaled?
-Do they have a title on?
-Are they using armour and weapons that look like starter skins/mob drop skins?
-Are they using a mini-pet, outfit or some other kind of cosmetic item?
-Are they representing a guild?

Of course, it isn’t fool-proof, but I think it’s a pretty good indicator. Heck, you could even add them as a friend to check their AP if you really want to check.

Linken.6345:

online.1278:

measuring with twitch viewer number makes best sense than any other thing
just go
http://www.twitch.tv/directory
and see which game is on top.

League of Legends
100,464 viewers

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
96,224 viewers

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
75,030 viewers

World of Warcraft
40,400 viewers

Dota 2

see? who would claim that many people dont play those games?

So Op you just proved your first post false then becouse who would say any of those games have a low player count indeed.

nope. those games are purely best at population of active players as well. you really can’t talk in that way.

The title of the thread ought to be “Twitch population for gw2 hasn’t changed much since play-for-free went live.” Twitch itself is not the best indicator of how many people play GW2.

Why would anyone want to watch a stranger play an MMORPG? Yeah, those numbers mean nothing, sorry.

I agree that Twitch is not the best reference to measure population increase/decrease. For instance, many of those new players still don’t watch Twitch. Also, I play gw2 since release and don’t watch Twitch frequently.
In pve I haven’t noticed much difference in population growth, but I have seen lots of new players in pvp (it can be just my first impression)

Twitch isn’t the greatest metric when comparing games. GW2 isn’t the most entertaining thing to play let alone watch, really any MMORPG would be boring to watch.

This new generation of gamers (or rather streamers) base the success of things in a whole other way than most people. Lots of “followers” = success. Lots of “viewers” = success. Lots of “Likes” = success, etc. Even companies fall for this way of rating success. Lets be frank, it’s not.

I mean, I zap through 100 channels on TV, does that mean all those channels have really successful programs? Are all those channels successful because of it? Nope. I’m on their channel for a minute, then move on to another, maybe go to the kitchen for a while or turn it off.

If I press the “follow” button for a channel because someone said “you can WIN STUFF if you follow. Thank you for following, really appreciate it, thank you for following really appreciate it, thank you for following really app…” (ad nauseam) , and never return to it, ever again. And 5.000.000 others does the same. Does that mean the channel is really really successful?

If I am the channel owner and I buy 100.000 followers (and yes, you can do that, I know companies who buy likes on Facebook without blinking), does that mean the channel is really successful?

If I scroll through my Facebook feed and press “Like” on a random number of various posts, maybe a few “Like and share this post to have a chance to WIN STUFF”, are those companies and/or persons who posted those successful?

If kids start to call things “salty” for two weeks (then the fad is over and they’ve all moved on to the next “thing”, they’ve still pressed that Follow button once, mind) does that mean the guy blurting out obscenities and calling things “salty” is successful?

Iv’e been checking AP’s often and do find a lot of new accounts. Though I’m guessing many of the new F2P accounts are being used by veteran players seeking that “new” feeling again. When I see an D/D Ele in a starter zone doing a good rotation, I pretty much know it’s not a brand new player I’m guessing the Dev’s correlate data to determine the actual player base form the multiple accounts many of us have now.

Using twitch numbers to figure out if there is a change in in game numbers is one of the silliest things I have ever heard. That metric makes NO sense. A lot of people watch twitch streams that don’t even play and a lot of players have never watched a twitch stream. It’s reaching at best to say that the numbers mean anything.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Does the OP actually think anyone/everyone that plays GW2 watches any/all/official Twitch streams? Or is it something else he/she is trying to say?

Never heard of statistics?

Meh? I have never really saw the appeal of watching other people play games. There was a certain appeal to it back when I was a kid and I couldn’t just go and buy my own games but things have changed for the better! Also in the case of Twitch its video player has always sucked for me so even if I did want to watch it doesn’t actually work. I’ve see similar complaints about it from other people so it doesn’t seem like I am alone in that situation either.

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Does the OP actually think anyone/everyone that plays GW2 watches any/all/official Twitch streams? Or is it something else he/she is trying to say?

I don’t use twitch.

Been back about a week. Last played around the time just after the first beta test for HoT, the one where you got the invite farming in Silverwastes.

Certainly before F2P, I haven’t noticed much of a difference if anything, it seems slightly higher in the numbers playing.

Just a general note you can’t go by accounts in this game in relation to who is playing as all purchased accounts are always active unless they’ve been closed by Anet for misdoings.

Marketing Strategy Failed. There’s no activity for the solicitation. The Moderm attack was the worst activity I’ve done since the GW2 first beta.

I see plenty of new players in every starter zone.

I just started with F2P so I cant compare it to before, but thereis certainly a large population in those areas.

Remember, F2P players have only been playing for at most 2 weeks, and if they havent upgraded to a full paid game then they are playing with some severe restrictions so they probably aren’t leveling all that fast.

Lord Kuru.3685:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

Does the OP actually think anyone/everyone that plays GW2 watches any/all/official Twitch streams? Or is it something else he/she is trying to say?

Never heard of statistics?

Statistics are really only good for random populations or for 2 populations where the two are similar. Twitch is a self selecting, non random population of viewers. You would have to show that the people who watch twitch to watch other people play a video game are representative of Guild Wars 2 players as a whole to make the argument that the numbers are statistically relevant. Most likely twitch watchers of other people playing games are younger. It’s also quite possible this game has a sizable older population that isn’t watching twitch for this. In that case, the number of twitch watchers is not statistically reflective of this game.

It’s not surprising. There’s still too many restrictions on F2P, especially when you compare it to other MMOs that are F2P also. The let you use map chat and don’t restrict you from going to their cities until a certain lvl. The worst is 2 player slots though. How do you expect them to stick around when they are forced to delete their characters just to try another class.

I’m not sure how many people watch twitch streams, but using them as a statistical correlation for the number of new accounts is silly. Many people play the game and don’t watch twitch streams. There probably are twitch watchers who DON’T play the game, but enjoy seeing it played. For instance, I don’t play League of Legends, but I enjoy watching others play it. I may just be in the minority though.

Only Anet really knows how many people are playing and we can only speculate. From my personal experience, it feels like there are many more people in game and some are asking pretty basic questions, even on higher level maps.

As far as restrictions go, I made a free account to see how they are, so I could recommend this to friends, as we had some bad experiences before. The only major restriction that I have an issue with is map chat being disabled and restrictions on whispering, as it limits player communication. Two character slots is not terrible and they can always just make a new account.

twitch is irrelevant to player accounts…. what are you going on about????

WoW peaks around 20k viewers (usually around 5k on avg)…. WoW has MILLIONS of players…..

Twitch is for FUN GAMES TO WATCH PEOPLE PLAY.

GW2 (and MMORPGS in general) are NOT FUN TO WATCH (hence, low # of viewers)

There’s nothing to watch outside some PvP streams.

You want to know how many ppl are actively playing in GW2? than anet has to release a stat counter that measures CONCURRENT ACTIVE PLAYERS LOGGED IN.

Like how Steam has a stat page for all their games and it shows like 600k people are currently playing dota2….

Twitch is absolutely meaningless in terms of how many active players there are in a game.

Yeah Twitch is a pretty useless metric to gauge whether or not F2P is helping GW2 for popularity

To me it makes about as much sense as it does for people on the LFG to demand AP requirements for dungeons lmao.

Zephic.3075:

As far as restrictions go, I made a free account to see how they are, so I could recommend this to friends, as we had some bad experiences before. The only major restriction that I have an issue with is map chat being disabled and restrictions on whispering, as it limits player communication. Two character slots is not terrible and they can always just make a new account.

In the 3+? years of playing GW2 I can’t remember a time when there was a need to be whispering to 2+ simultaneously for anything. When do you actually need that?

“Twitch” – Never heard of her.

I’m leveling some alts and I’ve seen tons of folks in the lower level zones that I’m used to thinking of as empty. Purely anecdotal, but my impression is there’s quite a bit more non-boss open world activity going on.

I’m still running keyruns. I can see no change in new player activity between now and pre f2p. But for sure there where alot of new player after HoT was available for pre-purchase!

So I don’t think f2p got a lot of real new player ingame, probably it gave us more bots and people that play “some weeks” and then leave forever. I just hope the f2p impact won’t stay this bad as it seems right now, because gw2 really could use some more (or returning) real players that bought the whole game.