General Discussion

Turbine will be holding a welcome back weekend from May 8th to 12th, where former players of Lord of the Rings Online can return to the game and play for free.

Have friends who used to play LOTRO, but haven't been on in a while? Let them know that this weekend, from May 8-12, the doors are opening to former players to come back and experience all of the new areas, content, and fun that LOTRO has added over the past year! For more information, and to download the most recent version of the client, check out our Welcome Back Weekend page!

Read more here.

Thought about it...

But, I am having too much fun in Age of Conan...

May load it up though and say Hi! to all my friends from the LOTRO forums here...

Hi! guys!

This is proof to me that the game is NOT as popular as many claim it to be.  You'd only do something like this if there was a lot of turnover and you desperately want to get those free monthers back.

Originally posted by Vrazule

This is proof to me that the game is NOT as popular as many claim it to be.  You'd only do something like this if there was a lot of turnover and you desperately want to get those free monthers back.

I guess some people don't know what marketing is and that there's always room for more people and more money. Heck, even Blizzard is holding that PvP tournament and are making people pay for it... do you see people moaning about how low those numbers are? But it's obvious that they NEED that money desperately because the can't make money through normal subscriptions.

I know a bunch of people who have come back to try it because of the cheaper pricing plans they are holding (lifetime or 9.99/mo). The game didn't hold their intrest before but now they say how so much has changed and they are excited to play agin.

Good move on Turbine's part.

Originally posted by streea

 

Originally posted by Vrazule

This is proof to me that the game is NOT as popular as many claim it to be.  You'd only do something like this if there was a lot of turnover and you desperately want to get those free monthers back.

Yes, and free trials are also a sign of the coming apocalypse.

 

I guess some people don't know what marketing is and that there's always room for more people and more money. Heck, even Blizzard is holding that PvP tournament and are making people pay for it... do you see people moaning about how low those numbers are? But it's obvious that they NEED that money desperately because the can't make money through normal subscriptions.

WoW  is an aging game and like all aging games, they start suffering from a higher turnover rate, so yes, it makes sense for them to try and entice people back despite their current sub numbers.  No company likes a high turnover rate, it's a huge loss in revenue that can sometimes be easily fixed.  LOTRO isn't old enough to be suffering from this syndrome unless it lacks appeal to a lot of players who quit after the first month or so.  LOTRO hasn't even achieved the numbers EverQuest had in it's heyday and I'm quite sure that Turbine is very worried about Age of Conan and Warhammer taking even more of their base.

P.S.  2 million plus people tried EverQuest and they never retained more than 450,000 subs at any given time, that is horrific turnover.  I'm curious what LOTRO's numbers are in that regard.

Originally posted by Vrazule

This is proof to me that the game is NOT as popular as many claim it to be.  You'd only do something like this if there was a lot of turnover and you desperately want to get those free monthers back.

LoTRO is extremely polished vs AoC as it should be since its been out for a year.    AoC is going to get a lot of sales early on and I think from a marketing stand point, I would want my game on peoples minds as an alternative if players are not satisfied by what AoC has to offer. 

Originally posted by Vrazule

 

Originally posted by streea

 

Originally posted by Vrazule

This is proof to me that the game is NOT as popular as many claim it to be.  You'd only do something like this if there was a lot of turnover and you desperately want to get those free monthers back.

Yes, and free trials are also a sign of the coming apocalypse.

 

I guess some people don't know what marketing is and that there's always room for more people and more money. Heck, even Blizzard is holding that PvP tournament and are making people pay for it... do you see people moaning about how low those numbers are? But it's obvious that they NEED that money desperately because the can't make money through normal subscriptions.

 

WoW  is an aging game and like all aging games, they start suffering from a higher turnover rate, so yes, it makes sense for them to try and entice people back despite their current sub numbers.  No company likes a high turnover rate, it's a huge loss in revenue that can sometimes be easily fixed.  LOTRO isn't old enough to be suffering from this syndrome unless it lacks appeal to a lot of players who quit after the first month or so.  LOTRO hasn't even achieved the numbers EverQuest had in it's heyday and I'm quite sure that Turbine is very worried about Age of Conan and Warhammer taking even more of their base.

 

P.S.  2 million plus people tried EverQuest and they never retained more than 450,000 subs at any given time, that is horrific turnover.  I'm curious what LOTRO's numbers are in that regard.

They shouldn't be concerned over Conan or Warhammer as quite franklly they are very different games.

If you are the type of person who really likes the gameplay that LOTRO offers then why are you going to suddenly "jump ship" to go to another game that offers completely different gameplay unless of course you were just "killing time"? If you are kiliing time then woudln't you be in a game that offers similiar gameplay?

Regardless of popularity, LOTRO has a group of die hard fans who will play it. Just like my other game, Lineage 2, it doesn't have nearly as highy a population as many games but it goes on just fine.

Also, as the Tolkien Estate has given them rights for development for many years to come, I think they are probably bringing in sufficient numbers.

But having said that, it very well could be that LOTRO is a niche game. I can easily see that. I must say that the additions they have added since I started in closed beta as well as what it coming up (and how they are going to implement it) have greatly increased my interest in the game and my interest in keeping my subscription. But as the game is now, I don't really think that it would appeal to the average gamer. And quite frankly I'm satisfied with that as long as they can keep up the required revenue to keep it all going.

My wife and I decided to give LoTRO another look having been disappointed with it during beta and just after launch. We are certainly glad we did, as the game has made some great strides since. Well done Turbine, this game is on it's way. Keep it up.