toontown,

is made/run by disney for younger kids crowd (like 8-10)

get them addicted early I guess, One of my nephews plays it, he is 11, only why I can discrib it would be like Sims Online without all the adult langauge/situations.

What the hell is Dofus?

Dofus is a flash-based MMO combining tactical video gaming with an interactive cartoon.
DOFUS :: MMORPG - Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game

Aimed on Asiatic market for youngers..

I was going to ask why World of Warcraft isn't on that chart then I realized that it caps out at 700,000 so there's not enough room on there for WoW

To us colour blind folk that looks like a weird explosion

Anyone noticed the trend of free online games? They may not offer as much as subscription games but theres a few good ones out there. Maybe thats where everyone is going?(thats where I am)

Yeah but they are really not free,

most of these free games are based on micro-transactions. Which you need to buy this herb or that potion or this armor/weapon to really max out your character.

While the prices are really small, people tend to buy more each month than with a flat fee game. People just do not see it, they get in game and then they see well crud I used all of my potion x and I need them, they are only .50 cents a pop, I will just hop into the shop quick and buy a few. Then this happens every few days and pesto you are spending more than a monthly few, though you never realized it.

Aye some are micro-transactions. But theres alot of free online games out there too.

Im hoping that free online games with optional extras, which the customer buys, is the future of online gaming.

There are games for example, which are free to play but if you want certain options enabled or if you want to buy certain items, you have to pay a small amount.

Im talking $5 a time for example.

There are some games that are browser games so no need to have a client on your PC- all your game info is stored on the game server.

Anyone else play these games?

Think about what you just said

$5 dollars at a time. How many times a month will you do this? This is what the companies are counting on.

That you say "oh well, its only $5"

Except you end up saying that 4 or 5 times a month, guess what you are spending more each month and you really do not realize it. Because it is just $5 at a time. And they constantly add new items you just "must" have for your character.

Me, I would rather pay a flat fee. And pay for expansions periodically.

Have you ever payed one of these micro-transaction games? I have tried several. And I found myself saying heck its just $5, then when I get my credit card bill there like 30/40 dollars charged up that I just did not realize, cause it was not all in one shot. just my 2 cents though.

Not spent a penny myself (far too tight fisted)- but the option is there if you feel that way

Ok,

so you do not buy. Where would the game be if everyone was like you? IE no sales? Guessing it would not last very long. And is it really an option if the items really boost your character over other characters who do not buy?

Every computer game I have ever played (mmo, fps, battlenet, single player, rts, etc) I try to get the best items/skills possible for my characters. I think most people do. Most people like to win/be the best/greatest/strongest/whatever as a way to live through their characters for enterainment/diversion from real life issues/problems.

This need/want to excel is what these companies are banking on. Like I said before that is why I like the flat rate. I was paying more for these so called "free" games, per month than I ever spent on any mmorpg flat rate game. Because it was just $2 a item/skill/etc or $1.99 or $5.

Browser games I have not really tried seems to easy to slip something into your computer if they wanted too, at least to me. I like a disk but thats just me.

Would be interesting to see if the asian shards also are losing players same as the western shards.
The number seems about right though would have guessed uo still at about 100.000 accounts and as half the playerbase is in asia it would leave 37.000 - 50.000 USA and european players.

And especially UO would be THE perfect game for microtransactions to keep it alive. They actually use it anyway, they just don't call it so