This is an institution. A hobby that has effected the way of life for millions of people, and started the first 3D D&D Online Multiplayer Game that revolutionized the computer game industry in 1999-2000. It has stood the test of time. So, many dedicated players are needed to keep it aloft as a necessity. My support is given to it's continuance, as I fire up 7 accounts again. (I am not an AFK Box Grouper) Don't be a nay sayer. Don't be an Everquest slayer. Bring your support to DBG, to keep it alive. Dun be discouraged about the present development of the game, or any dooms day comments from DBG staff. We are most times getting the things we want for our characters, and DBG supplied those request to satisfy us last year. This year is a little different, but the Game Lives! It breaths. It has an AI. Keep breathing life into it. You all got the EQ Bug. However, it is not as contagious as a disease, but more so like an addiction. It's a hobby. It's a form of entertainment. It's a social outlet. Its a game you can't beat, but it's damn fun trying to...! Let's see it thru to 2020 and see how it goes. Dun let it die! You are all addicted. Join me in this cult! Angre
Ugh... Make me study to prove a point? It was the first of it's kind. It set the stage for a plethora of other 3D D&D MMORPG's. There was nothing like it, or as captivating as Everquest in 1999-2000. It had well over a million subscribers, at that time. Myself being one of them. Angre
Didn't EQ peak at 450k-500k ? In 2000 it was around 270k and Verant Interactive, announced today that its highly anticipated EverQuestâ„¢: The Scars of Veliousâ„¢ expansion pack, which is the second add-on to the most successful online role playing game ever released - EverQuest - will be available in Winter 2000. The expansion pack will provide the more than 270,000 current EverQuest gamers with an all-new frozen continent, more than 16 new adventure zones, numerous new creatures, additional spells and weapons and an enhanced 3D game engine.
Neverwinter nights had over 115k players and Ultima Online after that. EQ did what it did and that’s great, but being more popular doesn’t make it the first. Credit goes where credit is deserved. Unless you want people to say WoW was the first mmo, because it did all the things you credit EQ for with a number much higher than one million.
WOW never interested me, I've been in EQ since the beginning of Jan. 2000, and I will stay in EQ until it dies, or i do.
As has already been shown you are just simply wrong. Did it surpass Ultima and other games? sure did. Was it first? no, sorry it just wasn't. EQ never had a million subscribers. It peaked at about 500k in 2004. As was posted already in 2000 it had 270k. If you are talking about people who have played/copies sold then yes. EQ and all its expansions sold over 3 million, but that is much different then subscribers.
Based on what? At best, those are estimates. To my knowledge, Verant, SOE, and DBG have never released subscription numbers.
Max number of subscriptions at one time is not the same as what the OP has stated "A hobby that has effected the way of life for millions of people". I think its safe to say that at no one point in time EQ has had over a million subscribers but I think its also safe to say that well into the millions have been subscribers to the game over the years. I do agree that the game is like a drug in that it can be addicting. This could not be any clearer to me than this year when I took a step back for 2 months. During this time I made thousands of extra dollars I would not have otherwise made, took my first vacation in almost a decade, and did tons of work on my house. Although I have returned I am only playing about half as much as I did before my leave and I feel better because of it. EQ is and always will be one of my favorite hobbies but like anything in life to much of something can be a bad thing even if that thing is a good thing generally. May the season for Frostfell be generous and kind to you all.
They used to do press releases with some rough numbers. November 1, 1999: Kunark Expansion Announced EVERQUEST POSITIONED TO AGAIN CONQUER ONLINE WORLD WITH EVERQUEST: THE RUINS OF KUNARK EXPANSION PACK - Expansion Pack Features All-New Continent, More Than 20 New Adventure Zones and an Enhanced 3D Engine - FOSTER CITY, Calif., November 1, 1999 - 989 Studios, a Sony Computer Entertainment Group Company, announced today that its highly anticipated EverQuest®: The Ruins of Kunark™ expansion pack, which is an add-on to the most successful online role playing game ever released - EverQuest -will be available in March 2000. The expansion pack will provide the more than 225,000 current EverQuest gamers with an all-new continent, more than 20 new adventure zones, numerous characters, an additional playable race and an enhanced 3D engine. August 1, 2000: Velious Expansion Announced EVERQUEST POSITIONED TO CONQUER ONLINE GAMING A THIRD TIME WITH EVERQUEST: THE SCARS OF VELIOUS EXPANSION PACK -- Expansion Pack Features an Enhanced 3D Engine, All-new Continent, and Dozens of Improvements -- SAN DIEGO, CA - August 1, 2000 - Sony Online Entertainment and Verant Interactive, announced today that its highly anticipated EverQuest™: The Scars of Velious™ expansion pack, which is the second add-on to the most successful online role playing game ever released - EverQuest - will be available in Winter 2000. The expansion pack will provide the more than 270,000 current EverQuest gamers with an all-new frozen continent, more than 16 new adventure zones, numerous new creatures, additional spells and weapons and an enhanced 3D game engine. Sony Online Entertainment Takes EverQuest® Players to the Moon With EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin™ Sony Online Entertainment - 12/03/2001 Sony Online Entertainment Inc., a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming, announced today that EverQuest®: The Shadows of Luclin™ will be available at retail stores tomorrow. The enchanting moonscape of Luclin will provide more than 400,000 current EverQuest players with over 27 new adventure zones, all-new items, creatures, spells, a new playable character race and rideable horses Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest® Celebrates Its Fifth Year and Over 2.5 Million Units Sold Worldwide Sony Online Entertainment - 03/15/2004 Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming, today begins celebrations in honor of the fifth year of EverQuest, North America's biggest massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. Since its launch on March 16, 1999, EverQuest and its expansions have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide and continues to be one of the gaming industry's biggest and most influential titles. Translated into seven languages, with a global player base of more than 420,000 people, EverQuest is one of the largest and most dynamic online fantasy worlds ever created.
Funny thread. I'll say this, eq is a game that deserves better than daybreak. That's about all I can say. I'm not playing now because there's no solo content, and boxing multiple accounts is too expensive. The developer could have solved this problem years ago. They didn't. And what were left with is just a grindfest. Faction hits are present just to increase grind, or to sell cash shop potions. Lengthy quests with no real reward are made just to (again) increase the grind. Terrible spawn rates and drop chances are just there to, you guessed it, increase the grind. Let's not mention the brutal way daybreak deals with it's customers. Thanks for all the silence during 20 hour downtimes, and thanks again for leveraging punishment against the entire community when a few players exploited daybreaks poor programming, and poor design.
I agree that DBG could do better but EQ has always being light on solo content and heavy on grind. I've tried a lot of games that had more solo content than EQ but I've always being drawn back to EQ.
The majority of EQ has also been centered around the holy trinity. There was very little solo content ever. The game has also always been a grindfest, its kind of core to the game. So you blame DBG for continuing to follow the roadmap that was built over the last 20years?
