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Controversial Inquirer Article On Gaming Industry

I came across this recently published article on JustAnotherGame dot Com which talked discussed a recent article on the industry published in today’s Inquirer (Business Section). In that article, both companies claimed that they had more than 2,000,000 active users. What the author of the blog did was to go to the rankings of the websites of the game publishers to validate their claims on the registered/active users. Here’s a picture of the graph that he was able to get.

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And here’s a direct quote from his article:

Without going into figure specifics, you can obviously see the difference in site traffic. This can mean a few things.

* One is bloating their figures.
* One is lying.
* Both are lying.

If you notice, the 3rd player trumps both of these sites in terms of average site traffic, and yet, they aren’t even mentioned in the article. While the local gaming market can pretty much be defined by online games, seeing these outrageous claims just make me scratch my head (after all, I used to work for a videogame magazine).

Let me put it this way. Judging by the 18,000 that was able to fill up the Araneta Coliseum in last night’s game 7, why not prove all the claims and stage an event there? Surely, if each of these gaming companies really have 2.5 million existing gamers, how hard can it be to mobilize about 18,000 of them?

I just hope we can put an end to all these fabricated figures. The local gaming industry would be better off that way. :)

*2.5 million gamers to be increased to 5 million in 2008? Give me an effin’ break. Visit the Amped Forums and you’ll see that they only have around 37,800+ members.

I’ve still to see another gaming event that comes close to Level Up LIVE. heh

This entry was posted on Monday, March 3rd, 2008 at 2:23 pm and is filed under Lead Article. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 1,147 Views

35 Responses to “Controversial Inquirer Article On Gaming Industry”


  1. Well if your company only cared enough for its customers through better customer service instead of overfocusing on the Hypermart then those companies wouldn’t even stand a chance at all to make claims like that.


  2. @ROcky

    ouch that shows them hehehe


  3. All i can see in the figures are bot……. players nid better customer service……


  4. yea better customer service!


  5. yeah we need better customer service!!


  6. nye asa pa tayu t0inks~
    laging we’re doing our best /hmm


  7. no matter how terrible lug customer support will be, it is the best philippines has to offer in online gaming here.


  8. I highly doubt LU would survive long without pRO. Nde sila best in terms of service, sinwerte lang sila na nakuha nila ragnarok.


  9. ^ Baka sa RO2 sila bumawi.


  10. ^ malabo yan e yung ibang games nila na kumikita ganun din ang service eh. =))


  11. Panalo level-up-games kc saksakan ng bots


  12. hep hep hep… pag weekly update… hypermart lang na-uupdate. pero bot , DUPE , bugs. party chat guild = never mind..

    PATUNAYAN NYO NA NO1. ang LUG !! di un puro ITEM MALL!


  13. tae mga LU na yan..nhack ako tpos cnb ko ung nanghack…xmpre kkmphan nila nanghack kc mglalaro pa din un kesa pg ban xa edi bwas kita.


  14. There is simply no online game as of now that can stand up against RAGNAROK [LUG BIG GUN!]
    - no heavy graphics [many can access the game even in lower PC version or set-up]
    - storyline is based on a established manga comics story [there is even a Animated Movie of Ragnarok]
    - constant evolution through additional Episodes/Patch [something to look forward to]
    - catalyst of online gaming [people already love the game]
    - the first in its kind to actually Click in the market

    So Please PO! Paki ayus lang ng services!!! You’ll never know if the adversary has or will have a trump card in its sleeves, NASA LAST BREAK PA RIN ANG HULING HALAKHAK……..

    Chief pa OT:
    Bakit naman ginawan ng restriction yung neo weapons/ items na nasa box pa? sobra naman pagka garapal sa profit to…….. A large percentage of Valks commerce/market rely on this items, kindly suggest naman, ok lang mag item lock pag open na wag naman yung naka box pa……


  15. hey wauks. ang pangit ng compensatio nio sa baldur… hndi tlga nawawala ung hypermart sale… no offense pero mga mukhang pera tlga kau level up!


  16. so its all about stats now…

    sheesh…


  17. Crab MentaliTY ..


  18. OT .. Meron na daw mga NEO SUNNIES sa T Y R. Yung expiration until further investigation pa daw.


  19. ^
    ala akong napapabalitang NEO sunnies sa TYR.. but its the DUPE OH SUNNIES and MP SUNNIES are the ones n patok n patok ngaun sa TYR.. u can see those DUPE SUNNIES in the auction house selling them 1B a piece.. makakakita k rn dun ng SUNNIES[0] selling them also 1B each.. heheheh how pathetic un nangyyring DUPE issues sa server nmin… Wauks, make an action naman about this sana… thanks


  20. @Creator. Base
    I agree with you mukha talagang pera LU,imagine pinerwisyo nila tyu
    ng mahigit isang buwan tapos gagatasan pa tyu dahil sa hypernart
    sale daw eh pano ung walang pera na pambili jan sa hypermart nyo
    di hindi sila nakinabang ng tinatawag nyong compensation.
    Sori OT.
    hehehe


  21. paOT:

    IMO, i don’t think the compensation is good enough for bugs that were still unresolved for more than a month (Baldur).. sana exp mod na lang /heh


  22. uu nga puro nlang hypermart… MUKHANG PERA na kc ang LU ngaun.. (sorry for the harsh comment, pero totoo)…. pansin ko nga hirap na mag pa upgrade ngaun ng armor, me ENRICHED ELUs n kc..(EWAN KO LANG HA!)..

    from 5,000+ players of Freya noong umpisa nag drop na ng 2000… LAKI NG DECREASE.. dahil sa mga hindi magawan ng solusyon mga problema tapos eto? hypermart? sheesh


  23. OT

    GAMEGUARD problem on WINDOWS VISTA. we cannot log in to the game after gameguard patch. Please fix right away.


  24. I agree with a lot of people here. LU should value their customers and improved their services. Ragnarok is such a nice game, but poorly managed :(


  25. “Quite frankly, I don’t give a damn.” ~ Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind

    All I can see are bloated egos. What do the players get from all the statistics? Nada. Does it in ANY way affect the service you give your customers? Apparently, not.

    Unless generating monsters and item mall goods actually cost LUG anything…even a single centavo, I do not see how this is even remotely fair compensation for the players.

    Even if it did, it is not enough. You’ve kept us in the dark for more than a month only for this flimsy excuse and mumbled apology?

    Each week we spend for supplies (yes, that includes item mall stuff) and load, hoping that the server will already be fixed and we can all enjoy the only remaining joy most of us find in this game.

    Then you shove this so-called “compensation” down our throats when it really just does is compel us to spend more on your cleverly branded generated items. But hey, “it’s on SALE!” *rolls eyes.

    Give your customers a bit more credit. We are not idiots.


  26. Asa pa kayong basahin ni wauks lahat ng post nyo rito…
    Magpopost sya tungkol sa rating ng ragnarok n RAN
    Feeling nman nya napakaganda ng service ng PRO…
    Bombahin ko building nyo sa makati ng matauhan kayo eh! Ano DARE???


  27. nag babasa ng post c sir wauks and lahat ng mga reklamo ntin fnoforward nya sa tech.. please mga kapatid magalit kyo sa LU wag ky sir wauks.. It is good thing na merong gnitong site n pwedeng mgupdate stin with regards ragnarok and at the same time pwede tyong mg post ng comment.. I think this is better than ragnaboards kc rekta lahat eto sa Level up /heh


  28. I correct myself, it is: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” :-)

    Oh, and I do commend Mr. Ople for his efforts to bring our complaints to the Tech people. I just hope he also gets our message across to the marketing team and the top management. Kung kasing efficient niya ang mga tao sa Customer Support and those other community managers, siguro RO will be a better place.

    Technical problems is only one side of the problem. The bigger problem is crappy customer service and support.


  29. Actually… he does read the comments here… he was also once a player and believe me, he was once pissed too…

    I’d have to agree na mahirap talaga maglaro ngayon especially if your after the GLORY of it kasi the game just doesn’t work to our expectations anymore. Being a Priest myself, I can’t even level-up properly coz the party system is always busted. I had the first-hand experience last week when I wanted to marry someone who was leaving the country and the party system just won’t work…

    I know, we all have our frustrations, and we tend to point our fingers on the obvious ones that we think is the reasons for our mishaps. I myself point mine on the same direction; but the thing is, the hypermart excuse you guys bellow out here is a bit lame because they don’t really force you to buy their stuff, ITS YOUR OWN FRIGGIN CHOICE…

    Don’t get me wrong; I’m also one of the players who get stuck in maps, recieve copy-pasted nonsense from the cust-support and is constantly slamming my head on my keyboard because of the ever glorious LAG. But there are just some things that I can’t agree.

    If you don’t want, don’t buy….

    Just my 2 cents as a fellow player… ^^


  30. OT summon ng monsters sa woe? more lag.. delay na lahat tpos summon pa..

    ska po ung baseball cap d maalis sa inventory d pwde i kafra.. d mka neuralizer pano kikita neuralizer nyo kung d magamit lol


  31. @Patatas

    “If you don’t want to buy, don’t buy.”

    Precisely my point why they should think of something better than an item mall sale to compensate players.

    Following your logic, it means that if you do not patronize the item mall (hindi ka bumili) eh di lugi ka na sa “compensation” na ino-offer sayo. You can’t benefit from the discounts if you don’t buy anyway.

    Anyway, that said, I just hope the second batch of “compensations” are more useful.


  32. Those numbers also makes me to scratch my head.


  33. LUG = “Boom!!” Beware..


  34. @LadyLaz

    Well the thing is, you have a point there.

    But bugs have been there since day one and compensations have been given. Its not a change of tune after 4 years, and the veterans of the game should know that whining on it won’t work.

    About the Item mall, yeah it sucks, because you still have to pay for your own compensation. But I still stand on my word because I notice the improvements on the server in a slow but sure manner. The party delay for example had a dramatic improvement during certain times and on some maps. It’s but a small fraction of improvement but I do recall that some people (including me…) complained about that just a few weeks ago…

    Yes its their marketing strategy to shove up compensation that we still have to buy pero do not tell me na hindi kayo nakinabang sa x4 exp natin sa valk last valentines…

    peace! ^-^V


  35. one problem are those annoying players not gamers who abuse game bugs..

    Tip: More in-game events, less hypermart.. :D

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