Where did all the new customers come from?

[Giants44]

First, let me lead with the comment- I think it is absolutely great - the more the merrier, the stronger the community and the more money Markus deservedly makes. Also the stronger it makes the franchise so it is good news all around.

What interests me is where did all of these new people come from, was there a review or an article somewhere that steered so many new customers to OOTP?

I don't ever remember so many new users in past versions.

[Ambermonk]

Originally Posted by Giants44

First, let me lead with the comment- I think it is absolutely great - the more the merrier, the stronger the community and the more money Markus deservedly makes. Also the stronger it makes the franchise so it is good news all around.

What interests me is where did all of these new people come from, was there a review or an article somewhere that steered so many new customers to OOTP?

I don't ever remember so many new users in past versions.

I think the delayed release date had the most to do with it. During the delay period you could see more & more people starting to post messages.

Added to that, the installed user base probably has been growing every year - perhaps not too visible to regular forum members during quiet periods.

As the game has grown - so has the complexity. I believe that more & more people (myself included) are utilizing the talent & generosity of the other forum members to help add depth & richness to the OOTP gaming experience.

[Neags23]

I think a few of them may be coming over from Baseball Mogul. I was just browsing their forums to see impressions of the new OOTP, and they seem quite enamored with it. Everyone has been very, very impressed. Even hardcore BM fans who have never played OOTP are giving it a try.

[Jaba_Rules]

Originally Posted by Neags23

I think a few of them may be coming over from Baseball Mogul. I was just browsing their forums to see impressions of the new OOTP, and they seem quite enamored with it. Everyone has been very, very impressed. Even hardcore BM fans who have never played OOTP are giving it a try.

Basically, though i am new to both games I felt BM was really lacking something (mainly depth it was far too easily to build a crushing dynasty). I tried the demo of OOTP 8 but never got into (mainly due to a lack of time), but reading some of the dynasty reports here and the preorder price swayed me to try it out.

So far so good, it is going to take me a bit to get used to where everything is. IMHO the trick to OOTP is not the complexity its figuring out which menu is where, once i get that down pat i will be fine.

[Raidergoo]

A vast majority of paying customers do not post on the boards, or, if they do, do so infrequently.

[neojonas]

I hope a demo gets released soon. I'm afraid some of these people are waiting for a demo and if it takes too long the interest might decrease.

[rowech]

I cam from Puresim myself after having spent time with Mogul.

[JohnHoward]

I have been playing since OOTP 5, actually since Season Ticket Baseball, I just have not posted much until recently.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

A vast majority of paying customers do not post on the boards, or, if they do, do so infrequently.

I do find this cool when some guy with 30 posts since 2003 pops up to comment on the game. I guess I'm not as introverted as I thought.

[DYNAMO]

I've been around since the start of OOTP but although I read and learn and download havent bothered to post much - although have posted more than my count shows as I lost my first ID a couple of years back and only this year bothered to re-register. I think theres probably a majority of OOTP owners that read and dont post

[Boom Boom]

A lot of people are pretty happy over at the Sports Mogul Forums, as I am one of them. some how Sports Mogul lost its publisher so it is rough times for them

I really can't wait till OOTP Online comes out. I read that in a newsletter a while ago, and have to say that if OOTP Online comes out, there will be a lot of BMOers coming over here to play. BMOers are hardcore leauge players, but if the game isn't affordable, then they will be suck. BMO hasn't really seen an update since beta over 8 years ago....

[Giants44]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

A vast majority of paying customers do not post on the boards, or, if they do, do so infrequently.

What makes you say this?

I am not saying your wrong and I think that is absolutley true for a game like say, Madden where most gamers are not going to seek out a site.

I beleive a game like OOTP (or the wolverine games, or FOF) would tend to attract customers that would become part of the community. I have zero evidence to corroborate that theory, just seems likely to me.

Do you have evidence to corroborate your theory, is that just what seems likely to you?

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by Giants44

What makes you say this?

I am not saying your wrong and I think that is absolutley true for a game like say, Madden where most gamers are not going to seek out a site.

I beleive a game like OOTP (or the wolverine games, or FOF) would tend to attract customers that would become part of the community. I have zero evidence to corroborate that theory, just seems likely to me.

Do you have evidence to corroborate your theory, is that just what seems likely to you?

When I went to Philadelphia to meet battists, that was one of the points during discussion (over beer, and burgers, and unfiltered cigarrettes...)

Since he's the one with the stats, I'd tend to believe him.

[mattshwink]

I post, very, very infrequently. And I actually have not purchased since v6. I have some underpowered computers (5 year old Dell laptop, 7 year old desktop (currently nonfunctional)) and when I installed the demo for 6.5....well my system was slow and didn't really work well for the way I wanted to play, so I didn't buy it.

Now this version lowers the requirements/runs faster and I am going to buy a new laptop in the next month (HP announced 17 new laptops, going to get one of the new 17" models). So I bought the current version (to get the discount). I have not installed it yet. Even though I get two licenses, I wanted to wait until the new laptop (in case it ran too slow anyway on the old one). But I may install it this weekend on the old laptop anyway (heck, I can always buy another copy if I run out of licenses!)

I already have plenty of ideas of how I am going to play. I always like to try creating a team with stars of the past and see how they do in the modern era. I also want to try a historical replay starting the year the Orioles started in Baltimore (never done Historical with OOTP before, always fictional). And I like the World Baseball League idea that is being discussed in a thread. And I have thought of an idea of creating a league with a division for every state in the US, placing teams in the larger cities of those states (but I don't think I could enforce players only playing for their states). Lots of possibilities out there...I am looking forward to having a system where I can try them out!

I also want to test OOTP and see how it performs on a dual core system vs single core (and maybe quad, if I build a new desktop one of these days!)

Matt

[JudgeDredd]

I registered here quite some time ago, but rarely posted. I tried the demo of OOTP7 and OOTP8 but with no "immersion" for me, I stayed with Puresim.

I received an email about OOTP9 mentioning sound was in the game and it sold me...I always wanted OOTP...but I needed some sound for the immersion...otherwise I just couldn't get past the fact it was a program with a lot of stats.

I know and heard other people say they didn't need sound, but I did. It helps with the immersion for me...and because I play every game, I need to feel the game.

So kudos for them putting sound in...it sold me right away.

Just so I'm clear, I will continue to play Puresim though...it's a great game in it's own right.

[mattshwink]

Originally Posted by Giants44

What makes you say this?

I am not saying your wrong and I think that is absolutley true for a game like say, Madden where most gamers are not going to seek out a site.

I beleive a game like OOTP (or the wolverine games, or FOF) would tend to attract customers that would become part of the community. I have zero evidence to corroborate that theory, just seems likely to me.

Do you have evidence to corroborate your theory, is that just what seems likely to you?

I am one of them. I read the boards now and then (more when I am playing). I don't post much because I don't have much to add usually, and work and life tend to get in the way of active community involvement.

If I am having an issue (or question), I usually don't have to post, someone has usually already posted an answer. That's the good thing about an active community, I don't need to be active to take advantage of the body of knowledge that already exists

Matt

[Giants44]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

When I went to Philadelphia to meet battists, that was one of the points during discussion (over beer, and burgers, and unfiltered cigarrettes...)

Since he's the one with the stats, I'd tend to believe him.

good info, yes I agree he would know.

I will now put my preconceived notions away where they belong.

[TRON2.0]

Yeah, I'm a first time OOTP buyer. I was previously a BM player for the last 3 versions of that franchise. I love Mogul, and may even continue to buy it as well, but I longed for a deeper franchise mode (Waivers, Options, Rule 5 draft, DFA, 60 day DL, etc.). I found a review for OOTP and noticed it was consistantly rated higher in reviews then Mogul, and upon further review, i found it was everything I was looking for. I played the OOTP 8 demo, loved it and preorded 9 the next day! my timing was perfect, i only had to wait a week for the release

[Giants44]

Originally Posted by mattshwink

I also want to test OOTP and see how it performs on a dual core system vs single core (and maybe quad, if I build a new desktop one of these days!)

Matt

In my experience there is little difference.

In the past year I have run OOTP on these 3 different machines

1. Laptop - single core - 1.5 gig RAM
2. Desktop - single core - 4 gigs of RAM
3. Desktop - dual core - 4 gigs of RAM

Both Desktops run it very fast and much faster than the laptop. But the dual core desktop and the single core show little difference. I believe the RAM is the biggest factor.

I also remember reading once Markus posting something about not being able to use both cores.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

A vast majority of paying customers do not post on the boards, or, if they do, do so infrequently.

Originally Posted by Giants44

What makes you say this?

The same kind of thing is true in regards to people playing games online. A majority of those folks who purchase a PC game will, even if it has online features, not play it online.

At least, that was the case not that many years ago, with the figures coming from the game companies themselves (they know how many copies were sold and how many people were playing online, and the former number was always much higher than the latter number).

As online access becomes more and more ubiquitous, I would expect that the percentage of people using a game's message boards and the percentage playing a game online will continue to gradually increase.