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Do MMORPG's Cause People to Buy Less at Retail?

by Inauro, 2006-06-25 02:31:00
Grimwell Online takes a look at the effect of MMORPGs on retailing purchasing.
According to information at MMOGChart, there are over 12 million MMORPG players in the world. To put that number in perspective, games that sell a million or more copies are few and far between these days -- so 12 million players is more than a few peanuts. MMORPG's tend to retain players longer than a traditional game as people will often play a single MMORPG obsessively for months, or years in some cases! If you are the company benefitting from the monthly subscription for the game, this is a very big draw -- to the point that many MMORPG's have built in time sinks to ensure that players have reason to play for months on end.

What if you aren't the MMOG company, though? What impact is there on the bottom line of other companies in the gaming industry? Do MMORPG's benefit the industry by bringing in more actively involved gamers? Or do they bleed money away from other companies in the industry as MMORPG players spend their money on subscriptions and skip out on trying other games that hit the shelf because they already have something to go home to?

Could MMORPG's be bad for the industry?
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Source: Grimwell Online

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