wow-popularity
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What are WoW players searching for on Google?
Google is the world's largest search engine by a massive margin, enjoying a nearly 70% market share. Google processes over a billion searches every day -- searches for everything from the fate of Firefly to where to buy RPG dice to the answer to the Kirk vs. Picard debate. It even handles searches for non-geeky stuff. And of course, some percentage of those billion daily searches are WoW searches. Google has a tremendous amount of data about exactly what WoW players are looking for online -- and if there's one thing I can't get enough of, it's WoW data. With the search data that Google makes available, we can get a unique look into how WoW-related searches have changed over time with the changing popularity of the game and what kinds of topics WoW players are searching for more than others. The Google-eye view is a unique insight into the online interest and discussions of World of Warcraft.
World of Warcraft hits 11.5 million subscribers
It's been recently announced that the World of Warcraft has hit another milestone: a grand total of 11.5 million subscribers. This really comes as no surprise after the release of an expansion, especially one as widely hyped as Wrath of the Lich King which broke a few records of its own. I think it would be bigger news if they hadn't hit a couple of new milestones.Gamesindustry.biz has a quote from Senior VP of merchandising at GameStop Bob McKenzie, indicating that it's not just Wrath of the Lich King doing well. These numbers haven't spiked because of all of the returning customers, WoW is gaining plenty of new ones, too. The base WoW package and the World of Warcraft Battle Chest are still doing quite well. Better than last year, he specifies. So while those base package purchases are certainly fueled by the Wrath hype, it's bringing in new customers, not just the returning customers.WoW may not be the kind of game for every gamer out there, and the game isn't without its flaws. Despite that, it has proven over and over that it's by far one of the best games out there, and definitely the best of its genre. I don't expect it will be going away anytime soon.
Game developer says WoW is wearing thin
According to Joel Bylos, a developer for the upcoming MMO Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, we may soon be seeing a decline in the popularity of WoW. Bylos claims that the "feeling on the internet", including that gleaned from "online communities", seems to be that WoW is "losing its lustre". Of course, if that were really true, developers of upcoming MMOs that will be in competition with WoW would probably not feel the need to claim it. Especially considering the latest push from Blizzard to add to its already massive 9.3 million active subscriber base using celebrity-hosted dynamic commercials, combined with the buzz for the upcoming expansion Wrath of the Lich King, it is doubtful that WoW will be going into decline any time soon. In fact, Blizzard's parent company, Vivendi, has continued to show significant increased revenue that is attributed to the success of WoW. Its recent merger with Activision suggests that indeed, professional predictions by investors remain positive. So why say it at all? Honestly, it's not all wishful thinking. If you head over to these "online communities" such as the official forums, unofficial forums, and even our own comment boxes here at WoW Insider, you will find no shortage of complainants.
