demographics
Latest
Second Life November metrics: Nothing gained
November metrics for Linden Lab's virtual environment, Second Life are available for examination. September and October were relatively poor months, and November's results don't look great at all. In fact every one of Linden Lab's key metrics fell in November. Land size, user-hours, transactions, PMLF. The only gain is an infinitesimal increase in the Linden Dollar exchange rate of 0.3%.
Second Life October metrics: More falls
October metrics for Linden Lab's virtual environment, Second Life are not yet formally available, but Lab CFO John Zdanowski wound up giving out a link to the information in advance, so we have the figures to work with. September was not a good month by these metrics, and we were interested to see how October panned out. Your key takeaways for October are a continuing plunge in premium accounts, and a reduction in overall economic activity. User hours, however were up. A more detailed summary follows after the jump.
Second Life September metrics: Mostly falls
The published, key metrics for Second Life for the month of September are now available as both an Open Document Spreadsheet and in Excel format. Your key takeaways this month are an increasing fall in total premium accounts, a fall in total user hours, zero mainland (Linden owned estate) growth (but a 7% increase in privately owned estates), and a reduction in economic activity. A more detailed summary follows after the jump.
Bartle, gender, and the demographics of WoW's classes
A little while back the gamerDNA blog did a nice breakdown of how WAR classes correlate with how gamers do on the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology, a widely used test that can break down exactly what type of player you are (Achiever, Explorer, Socializer, or Killer). It was such an interesting writeup that I hoped they'd do it with WoW classes, and apparently I wasn't the only one -- they've got a new post up now examining which classes in Azeroth align with which types of players.They throw gender into the mix as well -- turns out that while the classes have generally the same percentage of players (not surprising, given that gameplay dictates the classes should be fairly balanced), things start to break up when you add gender to the mix. Priests and Warriors seem to have the biggest separation: according to their data (obtained via the profiles on their site), most Priests are played by females, and most Warriors are played by men. Paladins as well tend to be male, though not as much as Warriors, and Druids tend to be female, though not as much as Priests. Women also tend to prefer the elven races (Blood and Night), while guys apparently prefer Orcs and Dwarves (which helps my -- sexist, I admit -- theory from way back on the WoW Insider Show that the Dwarven starting area appeals to guys more than women).The Bartle breakdown is interesting, too -- Killers prefer Rogues (duh), Warriors tend to be Achievers, and Hunters have the slight Explorer edge, but in general, the classes have a fairly even distribution across the board. All of the different roles can be filled by all the classes, which speaks to the way Blizzard has built the classes -- you can really solo, PvP, or group up with any of them. WAR's differences were distinct, but in WoW, Blizzard has done their best to make it so that whatever Bartle type you are, you can log in with any class and do what you want. gamerDNA promises more research here (including a Horde and Alliance breakdown), and we can't wait to see it.
Daedalus Project updated
Nick Yee's excellent MMORPG survey and data site, the Daedalus Project, has been updated with new survey results on the following topics: Guild demographics: What influences players to choose certain guilds, how attached they become, the likelihood of their knowing guildies in real life, and how long they stay. What I find fascinating here is the graph displayed above -- 26% of surveyed players have been with their guild 2 years or more. Alex Ziebart mentioned the other day that his guild has been together so long across multiple games that guild chat's gone from talk of teenage dates to coaching expectant parents through morning sickness. I get the feeling that this is only going to become more common in long-haul games like Second Life and WoW. Character creation: How players choose characters, the elements of character selection they consider most important, and whether classes and races tend to be researched extensively before they're picked, or chosen based on impulse. Character class seems to matter to the most people; starting area the least.
Second Life August metrics: No significant growth
First, apologies that we don't have more detailed breakdowns of the monthly Second Life statistics. Linden Lab just don't publish detailed monthly information anymore. It's mostly just numbers-for-the-numb by the look of the subset of statistics now produced. Out of the figures we do have available, we can sum up the changes for August compared to the July figures fairly quickly: User hours showing little or no real growth, only 120 million square metres of new private simulators (no growth in mainland), Accounts with positive monthly flow down, L$/US$ exchange rate stable, Lindex currency exchange activity down, premium accounts continuing to fall. So, those bullets aren't really the kind that look great on slide presentations. Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
UC Irvine studies differences between Chinese and US players
Our good friends at the OC (don't call it that) Register have an article up about how the University of California at Irvine has received a grant to study the differences between US and Chinese players of World of Warcraft. And the differences are fairly interesting: apparently US players use many more UI mods and addons than Chinese players do. Additionally, more Chinese players play the "more challenging version of the game" (seems like they mean PvP servers to us, though that may change with yesterday's big news), and Chinese players, say the researcher, tend to talk more about color schemes and architecture than American players. Finally, the demographics are fairly different -- here in the states, women make up 20 percent of the playing audience, and in China that number is almost halved. And while people here may play with parents or even grandparents, in China, the older generation isn't interested in the game at all.These observations seem more to be based on anecdotal evidence of Chinese players in cafes more than anything else, but the study is just getting started, so maybe with some more research they can come up with some more solid numbers (or even more reasons) showing why this is the case. But it's interesting that inspecting how people play this game in two different countries can reveal something about the cultural differences between each.
Research profiles the typical fantasy MMO player
Researcher Dmitri Williams and his team have been doing some very hardcore MMO-related research. Thanks to Raph Koster, they were given free reign with the whole of SOE's EverQuest II-related user statistics. They've produced the first of many papers, this one called "Who plays, how much, and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile," which is completely and freely available online.There are a bunch of interesting things about EverQuest II player demographics in there, some of which is surprising. For example, older players play more than younger players, and EQ2 players in general are physically healthier than the general population. There's a shocker! Of course, EQ2 arguably has a different sort of playerbase than something like EVE Online, or even other dikus like World of Warcraft. It's too bad we can't see the differences.More studies are coming, though (but all of them from EQ2 data). Williams and his international team of researchers are planning to uncover information about gender differences and more in future papers.[Via Raph Koster]
Widget shows character name statistics
If you've ever been fascinated by the MMORPG statistics provided at sites like the Daedalus Project, here's something right up your alley; the WoW Armory Character Distribution widget, programmed to comb both the U.S. and E.U. Armories and capture data on the popularity of character names across race, class, faction, and sex. The project is still in the testing stage, and it's a bit finicky about how you enter character names. Make sure you're always hitting the submit button and not using your enter key, as otherwise the widget will keep searching for the last name you looked for instead of your new query. Its creator, Emilis, also wrote to warn that it uses live information from both armories and will occasionally be slow as a result. I imagine it might also be inaccurate if either Armory is having problems.The widget is tremendously fun to play with and has yielded some rather interesting results even with the completely random names I keep trying. "John" and "Mary," as you might expect, are overwhelmingly Human toons, whereas the greater share of people playing a "Sergei" and "Yekaterina" are Draenei. 3 people with a "Brutus" are actually playing female characters, and 1 person with a "Laura" is playing a male character (Emilis notes that gender-bending names are surprisingly common, although from what I can tell so far this seems to be a lot more true of male names for female toons than the other way around). Most people with a "Killer" are playing a Hunter, Rogue, or Warrior. Characters named "Bank" are mostly Human Warriors, but "Banktoon(s)" are mostly Orcs. And, yes, most of the people playing a toon named Legolas are Night Elf Hunters. Are you really that surprised?Thanks to Emilis for writing in!
POLL: Age-o-meter
Some of the best and worst times I've had in WoW have come from playing with people who were not anywhere near my own age. My very first WoW friend was 20 years younger than me and we had a blast. In fact, I ended up playing with her sister and her parents too. But just yesterday I was reminded that sometimes age does matter when I pugged with a bunch of, well, real doofuses (doofii?) whose every other comment was a poop joke. I have never before logged in mid-air while between flight paths, but that's how much they annoyed me. I'm sure that some of my comments that start with "Dude..." or contain the phrase "teh awesome" are just as annoying to other people. So, anyway, it got me to wondering about the game's age ranges. I think everyone assumes that most people who play the game fall into their own age group so I thought it might be fun to find out how the ranges really do break down -- at least for folks who read WoW Insider. So spill it! No one will know what you answered, but it should be interesting to see the results.%Poll-16694%
TRA to license, sell TiVo demographic data
We have to admit that in the current ad-happy climate we didn't think it would take some six months for an enterprising company to market TiVo's rich data mine. TRA will be licensing and marketing the info coming from TiVo customers, and the combination of viewing, demographic and purchasing data seems like a marketer's dream come true. Add in the growing trend towards targeted content, and you can guess what advertisers have in mind -- making accurate correlations between ad exposure and buying behavior. Sure, it sounds really creepy, but rest assured that the data is anonymous, so marketers will know how someone exactly like you behaves without knowing it's explicitly you. If you're still uneasy, we'd recommend getting off the grid entirely, because this sort of advertisement looks like it's here to stay.
New study compares 360, PS3 consumers
A new study released by the Experian Group compares the consumers of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The findings cover age breakdowns, leisurely activities, and personal philosophies about recycling (seriously).Most interesting amongst the somewhat sparse research points was the age breakdown of console owners. Experian pegs Xbox 360 owners at being within the average age range of 35-44, while placing PS3 users as being over 44 on average. Other than age, the report shows that both 360 and PS3 owners share similar interests (board games, go-carting), and both reportedly watch less television than non-gamers polled (um, probably because they're playing games instead).Dramantic findings, indeed! The full report is available for viewing online.
PS3 most appealing to those over 44 years old
A new study out today by Experian Consumer Research concluded there are differences between consumers who purchased the PS3 and those who purchased the Xbox 360. The biggest difference being that while the Xbox 360 appeals the most to gamers who are 35-44, the PS3 appeals to the more senior demographic of 45 and up. The study also finds that youngsters ages 18-24 prefer the Nintendo Wii. Finally, the study uses "new media respondents" as a control group, defined as those who spend more than one hour online per week. This study doesn't tell us anything we don't already know; they don't state any specific numbers in their press release and the presentation you can download basically concludes that there are no differences between PS3 owners and 360 owners except for age. After seeing a sample of their rudimentary research, if we were a company looking for statistics to help us market to gamers, we'd stay away from them.
Daedalus Project presents new findings
The Daedalus Project has gotten Massively coverage previously, but it's worth revisiting, as Nick Yee continues to gather information on virtual spaces. In the most recent issue, you can peruse such topics as how changing game mechanics changes social interactions within those games; what do players want to see in MMOs; and thoughts from parents who are gamers on how to manage a child's MMO time.Additionally, there is always a survey in progress to which you may contribute. Your opinions are valid, O Learned Audience. If you're tired of demographic results that don't accurately represent the way you feel about our industry, now's your chance to have your say![Thanks, Nick!]
Nielsen: PS3 unpopular with kids, and adults [Update]
Update: Nielsen Games corrected their figures. The usage for PS3/360 was switched for the "above 26" crowd.Nielsen Games recently conducted a study to see how two different age groups used their home consoles. Surveyed people were split into two groups: those 10-26 years old and those above 26. The younger group (10-26) resonated most with Microsoft's Xbox 360, with the console being played 63% of the time. PS3, in comparison, was only played 12%.The older crowd, those above the age of 26, was Sony's strongest demographic. Instead of being the least used console, it becomes the most. PS3 is used 52% of the time, while Xbox 360 is used only 20%. Amongst the older crowd, PS3 is still the least used console, with only 20% of those surveyed using the system. The Xbox 360, in comparison, has 52%.In light of these updated figures, it looks like Sony may have something to worry about. The older crowd may play PS3 more than the younger crowd, but it looks like Sony has a real fight on their hands for the rest of this generation.[Via GameDaily]
Nielsen & Charter track second-by-second viewing, know you love Hannah Montana
Not content to let Tivo and TNS have all the second-by-second viewer tracking fun, Nielsen has teamed up with Charter Communications to track every moment of viewing from 320,000 households in LA. Nielsen is the most famous rating system, but so far its lagged behind the competition in pulling data directly from set-top's, although even that doesn't tell the whole story. Without its traditional system, there's no way to tell what people really watched, or if they just walked away ten minutes into the Knight Rider remake (We watched all the way through cuz we love The Hoff that much). As far as the viewers tracked (consent is not considered necessary), we just hope they're watching HD.[Via BlogRunner]
Peering inside: The party's just starting
A curious thing happens when you chart Second Life concurrency as a percentage of the total signups. Across the last two years, there's been an irregular, but steady decline, which is what you would expect. With retention of signups to 90 days running at about 10%, and concurrency being a function of both active users and session lengths (among other things), a continuing decline in the curve is the most obvious result. About six months ago, however, that suddenly changed, and something very interesting has been taking place since.
The Daedalus Project tracks MUD
Actually, it tracks MMOs, but what a clever title, huh? The Daedalus Project is the demographic/analysis website created and maintained by Nick Yee, a graduate student of Stanford University in the field of Communications who now works at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Nick's site is noteworthy both for the online surveys of MMO players that are open to anyone who wants to participate, and also for the conclusions he draws based on those survey results.This statistical data has been used by Washington Post, CBS, TechWeek, CNET, the Associated Press, Nature.com, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, among other publications. Nick always has a survey or two running, so if you're interested in contributing your experiences and thoughts to the collective (and growing) body of knowledge concerning MMOs, you can do so at the 'Current Surveys' section of his site.For those of us interested in metadata, The Daedalus Project is a genuine boon, and we hope he continues his necessary and groundbreaking work well into the future. [Thanks, Nick!]
NY Times examines changes in the gamer market
The New York Times has taken a look at the NPD's list of top ten selling games in 2007, which shows mass-market games mixed in with games designed for the "young-male audience." As the industry matures and becomes more popular, the "hard-core gamers" and "old-school critics" are becoming just one small part of a very large $18 billion pie.The NY Times makes its case by observing the absence of critically hailed single-player experiences (like BioShock or Mass Effect) from the top ten, now filled with accessible multiplayer games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. In fact, nine out of the top ten games actually have a multiplayer component (Assassin's Creed is the black sheep). The NYT concludes that people want "human contact in their entertainment" and gaming's mass acceptance comes from being able to have others join in the fun.A reasonable conclusion, albeit one that oversimplifies matters. While the social elements of most of these games certainly form part of the appeal, the top-selling games also offered compelling solo components. Why choose between single and social gaming when you can have both?[Thanks, Farseer]
DirecTV and TNS partner up to analyze "second-by-second" viewing habits
Listen up, DirecTV users -- select TiVo customers aren't the only ones having their viewing habits inspected with a microscope. Apparently, your satellite provider has just teamed up with TNS Media Research to find a willing audience (read: opt-in participants only) of 100,000 folks that will allow the two to closely analyze exactly what they do when camped in front of the tube. More specifically, TNS is hoping to launch DIRECTView later this year, which will measure "the total viewing [of the aforementioned group], including the live and time-shifted (DVR) viewing of programs and commercials at a second-by-second interval." According to Eric Shanks, EVP of DirecTV Entertainment, the goal here "is to develop a panel capability that will provide important insights across its advertising platform," which will "in turn provide its advertisers and programming partners [with] an unparalleled level of measurement accuracy and accountability." It's also pretty creepy, but unfortunately, not at all surprising.
