Brad has released the Stardock Customer Report 2009. Read it here:
http://www.impulsedriven.com/news/1446/Stardock_Customer_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!
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.
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.
Well, the survey was sent to the same audience last year, so the change in buying habits should be pretty accurate.
I’m up to the challenge.
Raise your hand if you’re surprised.
Well, I thought about putting in, “Regardless of your feelings on Impulse or, um, Other”
Well, it’s kind of like asking why everyone on the steam hardware survey had a rig that could play counter strike.
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.
Customers don’t like PDFs.
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.
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?
Quote me all you want, I don’t mind.
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.
Not unexpected but still welcome!
Very interesting to read, particularly about Demigod:
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.
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.
[quote=“Chris Nahr,post:15,topic:55979”]
Not unexpected but still welcome![/QUOTE]
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.
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.