Stardock

[Cory]

Brad has released the Stardock Customer Report 2009. Read it here:

http://www.impulsedriven.com/news/14...er_Report_2009

Very interesting stuff, and goes into a bit more detail about the challenge that Steamworks presents to Stardock/Impulse.

Pre-loading is coming in Phase 5 too!

[Tyjenks]

Didn't they do this last year too? Good stuff.

I think it is a challenge to NOT like Stardock with all that it does in attempting to be transparent in addition to serving their customers well.

[kerzain]

The report talks about several programs I've never tried and don't own, but there are a couple interesting snippets here and there about programs I own. here's a couple::

For Stardock, the more significant shock of Demigod has been the discovery of the low number of PC gamers who play strategy games online. Demigod’s single player experience, while decent, did not get anywhere near the care that the Internet multiplayer experience did. Despite this, only 23% of people who have purchased Demigod have ever even attempted to logon to play Internet multiplayer.

This surprised me, but not too much. I didn't realize it was so entirely multi-player centric until after I purchased too.

At the time of this writing, approximately 2,000 users did return Demigod to us. Approximately 60% of those users purchased at retail. Nearly 90% of all users who returned Demigod subsequently re-purchased the game once the network issue had been resolved.

Ahh the benefits of tracking user registrations. Big Brother knows when you're back on his side.

How do you purchase software?
Today:
34% in a box ( last year 58% in a box)
61% digitally (last year 42% digitally)

I can't help but wonder how skewed these numbers are since it's a survey sent to users of a digital distributor. But the rapid increase in downloaders doesn't surprise me.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by kerzain

I can't help but wonder how skewed these numbers are since it's a survey sent to users of a digital distributor. But the rapid increase in downloaders doesn't surprise me.

Well, the survey was sent to the same audience last year, so the change in buying habits should be pretty accurate.

[Matthew Gallant]

Originally Posted by Tyjenks

I think it is a challenge to NOT like Stardock

I'm up to the challenge.

[kerzain]

Raise your hand if you're surprised.

[Tyjenks]

Originally Posted by Matthew Gallant

I'm up to the challenge.

Well, I thought about putting in, "Regardless of your feelings on Impulse or, um, Other"

[Lux]

Originally Posted by kerzain

I can't help but wonder how skewed these numbers are since it's a survey sent to users of a digital distributor. But the rapid increase in downloaders doesn't surprise me.

Well, it's kind of like asking why everyone on the steam hardware survey had a rig that could play counter strike.

[Shadarr]

For Stardock, the more significant shock of Demigod has been the discovery of the low number of PC gamers who play strategy games online.

I'm surprised at their surprise. If anything, I'm surprised the number is that high.

[scotthal]

Customers don't like PDFs.

[Tman]

Originally Posted by Stardock

For Stardock, the more significant shock of Demigod has been the discovery of the low number of PC gamers who play strategy games online. Demigod’s single player experience, while decent, did not get anywhere near the care that the Internet multiplayer experience did. Despite this, only 23% of people who have purchased Demigod have ever even attempted to logon to play Internet multiplayer.

Maybe they'll fix the SP tournament someday eh? (meaning have some difficulty level between Normal, which is way too easy and Hard which is way harder than nightmare on skirmish.

[Tman]

Originally Posted by scotthal

Customers don't like PDFs.

ya, I'm quoting he who can not be quoted and I'm assuming what he had in there is right b/c I can't open up the document...Error ... Acrobat 7 must be too old for the version eh?

[kerzain]

Quote me all you want, I don't mind.

[checkers]

Originally Posted by Shadarr

I'm surprised at their surprise. If anything, I'm surprised the number is that high.

Well, it's true that SOASE came out many months before (a year?) and had even fewer people playing online, but the aim with Demigod was to become like DotA. Given that 100% of DotA players play online(!) I can see why expectations didn't match post-launch reality.

[Chris Nahr]

Originally Posted by Brad Wardell

Our conclusion is that strategy games that we make and publish in the future will support multiplayer but will not sacrifice the single player experience to do so.

Not unexpected but still welcome!

[LMN8R]

Very interesting to read, particularly about Demigod:

Originally Posted by Stardock

For Stardock, the more significant shock of Demigod has been the discovery of the low number of PC gamers who play strategy games online. Demigod’s single player experience, while decent, did not get anywhere near the care that the Internet multiplayer experience did. Despite this, only 23% of people who have purchased Demigod have ever even attempted to logon to play Internet multiplayer.

Demigod continues to sell thousands of copies weekly – enough to remain at retail during the Christmas season despite it coming out last Spring – but the number of people available to play online is typically less than 2,000 at a given time. This is in stark contrast to MMORPGs and FPS’s which tend to have very large online communities.

Our conclusion is that strategy games that we make and publish in the future will support multiplayer but will not sacrifice the single player experience to do so.

Originally Posted by Stardock

In Stardock’s case, we had the opportunity to put our money where our collective mouth was with the problematic network performance of Demigod when it was first released. Players who were unable to play the game online were allowed to return the game to Stardock for a full refund even if they purchased it at retail (which effectively meant we ate the difference between wholesale price and retail).

At the time of this writing, approximately 2,000 users did return Demigod to us. Approximately 60% of those users purchased at retail. Nearly 90% of all users who returned Demigod subsequently re-purchased the game once the network issue had been resolved.

Though I'm wondering if Demigod has really been a financial success for them at all, even breaking even, despite those ongoing thousands of sales per week...hopefully Sins wasn't an anomaly for them.

[intruder]

I purchased Demigod (actually pre-ordered it back in Beta when it was cheaper) and I haven't even installed it yet.
I was of the impression it would be a cool single-player experience with HUGE monster units etc. (based on first previews I read).
I'm not buying games based on their multiplayer capabilities since I'm surrounded the whole day by enough retards here so that I don't need them at night in my off-time.

WoW and UT are the only multiplayer-games I play(ed) regularly. I dipped my toes into MW2 multiplayer this week and I'm already disgusted by a lot of players there.

Seems I'm not the only one that loath multiplayer based on that report.

[Therlun]

Originally Posted by Chris Nahr

Not unexpected but still welcome!

Isn't that like a self fueling cycle though?
Especially considering that both Sins and Demigod are excellent MP games gameplay-wise, but suffer(ed) from big technical annoyances and missing comfort in actually starting and playing MP.

The huge number of players that didn't even try to connect with Demigod somewhat surprise me... but is it really reason enough to conclude that an MP focused game like Demigod should have an SP focus too? I'd like to believe that those never trying to connect just bought it, played it an hour or two and never started it again.

[Chris Nahr]

But why would they do that unless they were disappointed with the single-player game?

[Therlun]

Originally Posted by Chris Nahr

But why would they do that unless they were disappointed with the single-player game?

That's what I was suggesting.
A bad singleplayer experience might have prevent them from even trying MP.

Does that really mean that you have to forcefully include an extensive singleplayer part into a DotA inspired game like Demigod though?
I guess once those other "full" DotA-games had some time there might be some more data to judge this.

[ImaTarget]

I am really gald they are going to focus more on the SP portion of their games. There once was a time I spend alot Online playing nothing else. But I am just not big into multiplayer anymore. Maybe we get another Sins with a great SP campaign down the line.

[ckessel]

Originally Posted by Therlun

I'd like to believe that those never trying to connect just bought DemiGod, played it an hour or two and never started it again.

You'd believe wrong, at least as far as Stardock's customers are concerned. I'm in the camp that believe MP is the cry of a vocal minority of gamers. Demigod's stats back that up, though obviously it's way to small a sample set. There was also a thread here on Qt3 not too long ago with hordes of people noting they're only single player gamers.

Stardock's customer base may be part of that as well as it's predominantly male (96% or some such) and appears to skew older, though it didn't list the % of folks like me over 40 or folks under 20. Older, male, strategy gamers are going to tend to be less MP focused than today's teens.

[Foxstab]

Originally Posted by checkers

Well, it's true that SOASE came out many months before (a year?) and had even fewer people playing online, but the aim with Demigod was to become like DotA. Given that 100% of DotA players play online(!) I can see why expectations didn't match post-launch reality.

In that case, I'd say that either marketing hasn't reached its target audience or that the game simply did not appeal.

[thinkingork]

Originally Posted by Foxstab

In that case, I'd say that either marketing hasn't reached its target audience or that the game simply did not appeal.

Word.

[Telefrog]

Originally Posted by Foxstab

In that case, I'd say that either marketing hasn't reached its target audience or that the game simply did not appeal.

Or, if you really want to compete with an online-only game, you should make your game online-only as well. I imagine that would've really cramped Demigod's total sales however. The DotA genre is still pretty rabidly hardcore and insular. I know I certainly wouldn't have given Demigod a second look if there was no skirmish or SP mode.

[Mark Asher]

Originally Posted by Telefrog

Or, if you really want to compete with an online-only game, you should make your game online-only as well. I imagine that would've really cramped Demigod's total sales however. The DotA genre is still pretty rabidly hardcore and insular. I know I certainly wouldn't have given Demigod a second look if there was no skirmish or SP mode.

It might have cramped the sales, but it might have been cheaper to make.

OTOH, it's it a bit more difficult to learn a game in a multiplayer setting. You play your first game and get your ass handed to you, you may not want to play a second game.

[stusser]

Not game related, but I found the windowblinds section to be both particularly candid and thoughtful. He's absolutely dead-on, and while I still won't be buying windowblinds7 due to the value not being present, with the direction change it's at least not an absurd concept.

[Tim James]

I wonder if Stardock is publishing those Demigod numbers to justify their desire to get away from multiplayer again. Not quite a "see, we told you so" but a confirmation of their original game design model?

[rei]

I hate the different Impulse/Stardock forums.

[scharmers]

The document did include a reference to Fences, which I knew nothing about, which ended up with said free software installed happily on my computer.

As for everything else -- I fire up GC2 every once in a while, get my ass owned, then go do something else. Is Impulse like Brad's Steam or something?