Way back in the beginning of this blog I often posted the Mafia Wars metrics [1]. Back then there were over 5 million daily players and 20 million monthly players! Although we don’t really know how accurate these numbers are (most likely they are inflated) they are the ones Facebook makes public. However meaningless they are, they have been good for comparison purposes. Many, including myself used to think (some mistakenly still do) that these numbers will determine the fate of the game. Despite years of dooming Mafia Wars with images of these metrics it has survived and persevered. Time has taught me a few lessons about this practice. We have seen the VIP Membership Program last for over 2 years and that alone could keep the game afloat for years to come. Regardless of how small the player base has become, Zynga is still making money from the game. It probably won’t go anywhere until that stops. The creator of the Mafia Tornado site made a special tab for me to check on the number of VIP subscribers a while back and it has continued to grow. A year ago there were 7,392 and now there are (or were) 21,987 [1]. It’s not a large percentage of actual players but it seems to be enough for Zynga. When free players complain about the ones who spend money they should really stop to think and thank them instead. The sad truth is the free players are not really needed for this game to survive which is something unique. Sure many quit for various reasons and there are plenty of them but constantly using the metrics reported by Facebook as a sign that things are going to end has proved to be a waste of time [1]. It’s no longer news that the metrics have dropped. That’s why I rarely make posts about them anymore. I don’t even need to because everyday you see Debbie Downer, Negative Nancy and Crybaby Chuck whining about things they don’t like and correlating them to these metrics. Until they find a feature or event that spike the metrics like Limited Time Properties and competitive Family Events, we will probably see more even though Zynga knows we hate them. It’s obvious of late that Zynga is making changes to please us and it’s been fun to see player ideas come to life in the game. Whether you are a free player or a money spender, most of us are still here because of the relationships we have formed from the game and that is priceless. Many free players have just as much or even more fun playing the game than the spenders. The game itself is secondary to friends and family and those who appreciate that fact are the ones who will ride it out until the end whenever that may be.
I did the "Free Trial VIP" then ended it before it was time to start paying. Tornado still has me listed as "VIP" therefore their numbers are not accurate.
ReplyDeleteWell VIP or not All you can hope is that Zynga is still alive in 2015 because these small number of money spender will not Save Zynga from ruin themself...
ReplyDeleteThe detection of vip or not from mafiatornado is not really working. I know multiple accounts who was vip subscribed but cancelled it and mafiatornado still show them as VIP. Also they often shows low level accounts with very high mafia def but when you tap them the mafia def is much lower. Dont know whats wrong but dont trust the mafiatornado Ranking. Just saying...
ReplyDeleteAlso they often shows low level accounts with very high mafia def but when you tap them the mafia def is much lower.
Delete- You should check the "Updated x days/hours ago" often they have been updated while they had a defense boost active like +20% mwdef for a few hours. So you have to wait for the next update and it should be corrected...
The Mafiatornado Ranking shows every Player as VIP who was once subscribed for VIP. Also they who join only for the free 1 week. They dont show the actual numbers of VIP subscribers ....
ReplyDeleteA brave way of looking at it.
ReplyDeleteHow VIP players are identified on the Tornado site is explained in the referenced article. Anyone who has a VIP items as one of their top 5 will have an identifier. These are not all current subscribers, just players who have subscribed and got one of the Harbingers. Just a comparison of the numbers in a year, this post wasn't meant to focus on the VIP Membership Program.
ReplyDeleteBut you wrote the game would have around 22k VIP subscribers now but im sure its more like 2k or 3k VIP's now.
DeleteThanks, I made an edit to make that more clear.
Deleteout of the 140k DAU, how many do you think are minis? 1/2?
ReplyDeleteI bet the numbers of minis are much higher. I know people who play over 200 Accounts daily. So i guess 75 % of the DAU are Minis, Kamis or loot storage accounts.
DeleteFriends....I don't see the money and metrics Jen....I play Mafia Wars as a free player. The game itself is a bit rubbish/crap but it's the friends...online and those I have met for real that have made me keep playing. My MW family is the best ever and have helped me and are helping me to get over losing my husband 7 weeks ago, cancer got him.I couldn't have got by without them. Pm's, phone calls, texts, visits....one person in particular is always at the end of the phone for me...Mafia Wars is much more than just a game. It is family and even when Zynga pull the plug on MW....my GL family will still be here for me...and I hope some of you will be here for me to xx
ReplyDeleteas a non money player i dont care that peeps wanna spend there money i never will...that said i think they should be separated from non money players ..non money players in no way can play fairly with cash players due to ,the kami accts ,the very high att def, that tend not fight on there skill level they att easy low, non money players that cant fight back,this to me is not fair.really that's why alot of peeps are no longer playing because the monster accts, are targeting and bullying the lowers.
ReplyDeleteWell that is a optimistic way of looking at the situation to be sure Loot Lady. But when you reach a peak of 5 million daily players and you have only 100,000 left that to me is a major cause for concern. We all know of those 100,000 players probably half or more are mini's and most likely you have around 50,000 actual daily players. Add to that a few thousand VIPS and the situation looks even worse. A few thousand people paying monthly won't offset the long term cost of paying programmers to update and maintain a game that barely ranks in facebook metrics. The blame for this decline is not on paying players or scripts but Zynga's continued meddling into a game that for the most part didn't need fixing. Instead of fixing the problems they just added new events until the whole game felt like a big homework assignment instead of a fun distraction from real life.
ReplyDelete"The sad truth is the free players are not really needed for this game to survive which is something unique."
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with you on that one Loot Lady. If you look at the big picture the free players are just as important to the long term survival of MW as the paying ones are in my opinion. One of the incentives for people to pay actual money for MW is you can be stronger and defeat weaker players aka free players. With no low hanging fruit so to speak all you would have is several thousand paying players going at each other. At that point the player base would be divided into 2 groups: the whales who spend thousands a month and those who casually spend a few hundred of less a month. When the free players are gone who are the whales going to attack? The casual players who have no free players to beat up on will now get the abuse of the whales who they will never defeat because they will always be outspent. So what do they do? They quit the game and so on and so on...
I used to think this way too but the fact that the game is still here has changed my mind. It would have and should have been long gone if it was based on the number of players. I just suspect they are riding it out until the big spenders stop spending. If they cared about the small money things would be much different. This just my opinion of course and why I no longer make posts about the end of the game. I've been wrong so many times. It's still here and that is the only reason I can think of. Zynga as a whole probably doesn't care if this game stays or goes as the revenue is a drop in the bucket. Why not keep taking it until it dries up? If only 1,000 were left but they each spent $100,000 dollars a year why not? They obviously aren't seeking the small money.
DeleteI agree with the Anonymous poster. I think as more people walk away, others absorb their accounts or create more mini/kami accounts.
DeleteI won't go so far as to 'thank' anyone who spends money. Why not thank the daily non-paying players? (I gotta reserve my thank yous for script writers and information pages *wink)
You are a paying player and I am not. So, obviously we have different viewpoints. Different opinions. Neither is better.
You should post a poll or survey(again): 2 questions: check the box
1. spending money occasionally
paying for VIP
non-paying
2. one account
2 - 5 accounts
6 - 10 accounts
11 or more accounts
"It’s not a large percentage of actual players but it seems to be enough for Zynga."
ReplyDeleteSerious question: how do you know that Loot Lady? Have you personally talked to Zynga's people and confirmed it was enough to keep it running a few more years. Not being a smart a$$ here just wondering if you actually heard from them or you are just guessing like the rest of us. I think you have done a great job with your blog over the years and hope you continue but I would guess Zynga hasn't told you any more about this game and it's future than us. Considering what you have done to help promote their game over the years you would think they would be working with you to help keep this game afloat for a few more years. I think the fact that they don't just shows you how much they really care about MW.
I don't know any more than you about this topic. It's just my opinion based on what we see today versus what we saw a long time ago. Zynga doesn't share that information with anyone. I'm in a few focus groups with Zynga but it's more for player feedback than anything else. Most things about the future on this site are guesses and speculation based on history.
DeleteIt just makes me sad. This game used to be so fun and lively with so many players and lots of interaction. But it is not anymore. Its just not a social game for the most part and I miss that. So while the game may continue thanks to the big spenders, and I do thank them since I can keep playing, it is just not the same and not as fun.
ReplyDeletethe only reason Loot lady prints this crap is because she's making money off of it
ReplyDeletelol, that is hilarious. More money is spent on my accounts and maintaining this blog than is made from it. This is a hobby and nothing else. If I needed money, writing a blog would not be the way to get it.
DeleteAll of us who have played and loved MW for years have to face the fact that Zynga is not a well run company as a whole. Besides the massive layoffs and Pincus losing his job it's clear this company has no direction in terms of sustainable growth as a gaming company. Their refusal to ask or listen to the player's input on how to fix/improve the game proves their focus is simply on profit. I don't blame them one bit but for us players, especially those who have spent thousands of dollars on this game, it's disappointing to know all of that time and money would be lost when they decide to close the game. I seriously doubt many paying players would have still shelled out that kind of money if they knew the game would have turned out like it has. Of course that is their business and you take a risk on everything you buy but it still sucks for all of us who loved this game
ReplyDeletehell i dropped VIP 3 months after it started an tornado still has me listed dumb asses
ReplyDelete