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[StreetsofBeige]

This whole genre is cooked or will only work as a neutered, Disney version that is more about progression/PVE than it is about multiplayer.

A dad can be lethal in Halo playing an hour a night. Marathon asks those people to spend their time sorting inventory, walking across 1 of 3 maps, open chest after chest of trash, and losing everything after 4 second fight.

Yup.

But that's the design. Ziegler himself said on twitter the game is designed to be grindy, then cryo weekend is like a main event to go for more.

So while other games have gamers pop in and out playing TDM or an objective mode in isolation, marathon is supposed to be a weekly cycle of gaming. Then rinse and repeat next week.

 

[cormack12]

This whole genre is cooked or will only work as a neutered, Disney version that is more about progression/PVE than it is about multiplayer.

Epic Games is working on an Arc Raiders-like Disney extraction shooter slated to release by the end of the year

Epic Games is reportedly working on an Arc Raiders-like extraction shooter in partnership with Disney.

www.gamesindustry.biz

 

[diffusionx]

Hahahahahaha and people believed in 1.5-2M sales

This hasnt sold more than 500-750k across all platforms.

Didn't the 1.2 or whatever imply that the game sold the same amount of copies on console as it did PC?

No way that is true. This game seems like a massive bomb on PS5. Like probably less than 100k sold. Apparently PS5 players need to do crossplay if they don't want to wait forever (and then get exposed to the cheaters). Which is an even bigger problem if Sony is trying to focus more on PS5.

 

[Saber]

Didn't the 1.2 or whatever imply that the game sold the same amount of copies on console as it did PC?

No way that is true. This game seems like a massive bomb on PS5. Like probably less than 100k sold. Apparently PS5 players need to do crossplay if they don't want to wait forever (and then get exposed to the cheaters). Which is an even bigger problem if Sony is trying to focus more on PS5.

From what I remember this is like a 70~80% presence on steam and the rest on both PS5 and Xbox.

 

[Salmorejo]

At this rate, I don't think it will still be alive in July.

 

[Roman Empire]

Maintenance days are always slow. Afternoon and onwards is what matters.

Another rough week for marathon.

 

[ValiantInstance]

At this rate, I don't think it will still be alive in July.

Season 3 will basically be a small team keeping the lights on at this rate.

 

[LuxFixxins]

You only quoted on half my post

I am dumb. Apologies.

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

Yup.

But that's the design. Ziegler himself said on twitter the game is designed to be grindy, then cryo weekend is like a main event to go for more.

So while other games have gamers pop in and out playing TDM or an objective mode in isolation, marathon is supposed to be a weekly cycle of gaming. Then rinse and repeat next week.

Makes sense, but now they know the audience size for this design and it is bleak. Let's say Arc Raiders is basically a defacto chatroom and most people aren't making immense progress or gains, so may we there is 40-100k committed players that will opt into this "fun". They probably aren't buying skins. Pack it up.

It's funny because the genre sorted itself before Marathon came out. If mindless fun PVE, then Helldivers. If progress and loot, MMO/Destiny/Diablos. If PVP, death match or battle royale.

The Venn diagram of people that want all 3 at once in the style of Tarkov isn't something a big team should target even if they are out of energy and ideas like Bungie.

Here is a free idea Bungie. Turn on team respawns, so the same players can gather and be looted multiple times. Let everyone keep all loot when they decide it is time to extract.

Here is another. No respawns, but players keep all loot they gather. Killing players gets you keys to spend during the Elite cryo experience.

Both of these sound better for a large audience. Merely copying a niche genre and hoping for success is just rolling the dice. If you win, you get to be the defacto chat room for a while. If you lose, you are in Bungies situation.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Season 3 will basically be a small team keeping the lights on at this rate.

The S3 team will be a janitor and a tax guy who rifles through file cabinets with a little cocaine on the tip of his nose.

 

[kpopSuperstar]

 

[cormack12]

 

[ByWatterson]

I mean it has obviously sold fewer copies than those two games, but the gap between Elden Ring and Returnal is MUCH greater than this would have you believe, so I'm not sure how instructive these numbers are.

Less than Returnal, I'm sure we can say that.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I mean it has obviously sold fewer copies than those two games, but the gap between Elden Ring and Returnal is MUCH greater than this would have you believe, so I'm not sure how instructive these numbers are.

Less than Returnal, I'm sure we can say that.

Not going to be that meaningful since returnal has been on sub plan.

 

[pepeno]

game's deader than dead. It will hit below 20k in 2-3 days.

 

[ValiantInstance]

This time after last week's maintenance there were 15k players online, currently at 2.5k. Dead as a dodo in Europe.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I'm gonna take a random stab. Today's CCU will be flat to yesterday. Tuesday maintenance CCU always seems to be barely down. No doubt gamers want to try the new patch.

Add in the new solo CARRI thing and there could be some gamers who dropped off giving it a go again.

Who knows.

 

[GooseMan69]

game's deader than dead. It will hit below 20k in 2-3 days.

Oh shit, it dropped below 5K? Yeahhh getting pretty close to the point of no return here.

 

[Ribi]

game's deader than dead. It will hit below 20k in 2-3 days.

Damn 2k? Lol crazy that it even got up to 22k

 

[falconhoof]

I presumed that the servers were still down and the 2.5k were just people who had left the exe running, but I see that people are currently streaming the game on twitch. Unless they're on console and the PC is down.

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

Pretty sure there was a patch so as much as I love seeing that few it isn't there yet

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Servers are ramping up. CCU at about 9,300

 

[Fake]

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[Roman Empire]

Game is doing great to the point of getting discounted after a month.

Solid sales numbers.

 

[Kronark]

Bungie would have been better off releasing at $70-80 and just fleecing the believers for their money.

 

[falconhoof]

Looks like there's a post patch boost going on. Numbers are back to what they were this time last week.

Game is saved. Close the thread. The Omega Genre is here.

 

[Roman Empire]

Looks like there's a post patch boost going on. Numbers are back to what they were this time last week.

Game is saved. Close the thread. The Omega Genre is here.

 

[PeteBull]

Still non-buynary to me

 

[PeteBull]

Looks like there's a post patch boost going on. Numbers are back to what they were this time last week.

Game is saved. Close the thread. The Omega Genre is here.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Big boost due to patch drop.

1 pm hour +36%
2 pm hour +31%
3 pm hour +26%

As a comparable, when cryo first dropped it started out around +30% and ended the day +18%. So it's possible, the peak today might hold onto a +20%. We'll have to see.

If it does, the peak will be 22.9k yesterday peak +20% = 27.5k

Side note: Weekly Top Sellers updated and it dropped to 67th. Sales the past week were one rank higher than a Video Store Sim.

 

[Timberwolf25]

Big boost due to patch drop.

1 pm hour +36%
2 pm hour +31%
3 pm hour +26%

As a comparable, when cryo first dropped it started out around +30% and ended the day +18%. So it's possible, the peak today might hold onto a +20%. We'll have to see.

If it does, the peak will be 22.9k yesterday peak +20% = 27.5k

Side note: Weekly Top Sellers updated and it dropped to 67th. Sales the past week were one rank higher than a Video Store Sim.

Yup, that's a fairly big boost for a patch.

Curious to see if that is sustained or just the players coming back to see if they like the changes or not.
I think the numbers next week will tell the story.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Yup, that's a fairly big boost for a patch.

Now imagine Season 2...

 

[SlightlyUnstable]

So Bungie threw in the "mid-season patch" when there's still 2 months left in the season because the numbers were cratering. They're doing anything they can to try and level out the player numbers. They'll get their small boost for this week and maybe over the weekend but that boost in numbers isn't NEW players, which is the problem. The vast majority of people that will ever play the game have already bought it.

 

[falconhoof]

So Bungie threw in the "mid-season patch" when there's still 2 months left in the season because the numbers were cratering. They're doing anything they can to try and level out the player numbers. They'll get their small boost for this week and maybe over the weekend but that boost in numbers isn't NEW players, which is the problem. The vast majority of people that will ever play the game have already bought it.

And it's rocketed the game back up to last Friday's numbers!

All without Cryo. Truly a gaming moment of our time, and we're all here to witness it.

The Omega has cometh.

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

As if this game couldn't be anymore annoying, the whole wet fart stuff just puts it over the top.. Like hot off the line of TikTok trash lmao jfc

 

[Chuck Berry]

The desperation and hope to keep this shitsack of an ugly game going is damn fascinating

Don't worry guys just wait til July
Don't worry guys just wait til October
Don't worry guys just wait until the next round of the 7 year cicada

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

The desperation and hope to keep this shitsack of an ugly game going is damn fascinating

Don't worry guys just wait til July
Don't worry guys just wait til October
Don't worry guys just wait until the next round of the 7 year cicada

They're all so optimistic lol like I mean I'm not saying it a way to dig on anybody or in a cruel way but they're all so giddy when bungie does things and I mean I dunno, I just don't see how a game that is this low on the totem turning a corner. It's the whole game, it's not appealing... Like at all for most people and alot just can't seem to accept that.

 

[mdkirby]

They're all so optimistic lol like I mean I'm not saying it a way to dig on anybody or in a cruel way but they're all so giddy when bungie does things and I mean I dunno, I just don't see how a game that is this low on the totem turning a corner. It's the whole game, it's not appealing... Like at all for most people and alot just can't seem to accept that.

I dunno, for those that are into it, they seem to genuinely really like it. So for what it is, it seems to be a good game…but it's just a very niche game, that in no way is viable with a several hundred mil dev cost (not to mention the studio acquisition costs) or monthly burn rate.

It would have been perfectly fine and good as a $10mil, 20 person indie team game. But that's not who bungie are.

 

[Dorfdad]

Yup.

But that's the design. Ziegler himself said on twitter the game is designed to be grindy, then cryo weekend is like a main event to go for more.

So while other games have gamers pop in and out playing TDM or an objective mode in isolation, marathon is supposed to be a weekly cycle of gaming. Then rinse and repeat next week.

Exactly why it was doomed to fail. Super niche capitalized off arc success at the start imho. There is a market for these games and fans but it's never going to be a GAAS genre way to niche to expect 200k players at a time constantly. Bungie envisionehd this as a Destiny successor but it's not.. if you want to make the game a "commercial success" you have to factor in the casual market and I'm not saying those who play match 3 games, but those with less time to grind but find the experience interesting. If I have to play every night to grind and in 30 seconds I could lose all my progress in never playing it, because I know 1000% some cheater or no lifer will camp and kill me for lol's and just ruin my experience.

Sorry but I want my games to make me feel validated that the grind is getting me somewhere. Maybe they could make it so gear in a special section is protected for 3-4 rounds. Would require a counter on each equipment or something but that would go a long way to softening the blow to long to cheaters etc…

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

I dunno, for those that are into it, they seem to genuinely really like it. So for what it is, it seems to be a good game…but it's just a very niche game, that in no way is viable with a several hundred mil dev cost (not to mention the studio acquisition costs) or monthly burn rate.

It would have been perfectly fine and good as a $10mil, 20 person indie team game. But that's not who bungie are.

I get it like I said I'm not trying to throw digs but it does appear to be a sinking ship. I get everyone has their tastes and I know I have mine but we as individuals gather our opinions as we go and I as a lover of pvp and gaming, I struggle to see anything favorable in marathon so it's hard to understand but it's just for sheer conversation

 

[StreetsofBeige]

10 pm completed hour CCU. Big rebound due to the new patch. 26.6k
All time peak was launch day 88.3k. Today's peak at 26.6k is -61.7k or -70%

Today vs yesterday: 26.6k vs 22.9k (+3.7k or +16%)

Yesterday's low 6.5k. If the rate holds, low tonight will be 7.5k

Tue vs Tue: 26.6k vs 27.7k (-1.1k or -4%). Big improvement vs the usual -20%

Alternate method to estimate peaks and valleys (ballpark ratios)
On normal weekdays, 3:1. For example, a peak 30k will have a low of 10k. For Fri/Sat, gamers stay up playing so the ratio is 2.5:1

Steam Rankings
Daily Active Users 96
Global Top Sellers 45
Weekly Top Sellers 67 ending Apr 14 (was 41 last week)
Top Rated Games 5,657 (84.41%)

To give an idea how big today's +16% is vs yesterday, here's how it compares to cryo bump days. So this patch had similar bump effect to cryo launch.

1st week +18% (launch)
2nd week +3%
3rd week +12% (Easter Friday next day)
4th week +6%

 

[Kerotan]

If they bring in changes to make this more casual could it's sales improve?

Bungie would have been better off releasing at $70-80 and just fleecing the believers for their money.

You might actually be right plus it'd give them more scope to do big discounts without it getting too cheap.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[MayauMiao]

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

is

 

[mdkirby]

I get it like I said I'm not trying to throw digs but it does appear to be a sinking ship. I get everyone has their tastes and I know I have mine but we as individuals gather our opinions as we go and I as a lover of pvp and gaming, I struggle to see anything favorable in marathon so it's hard to understand but it's just for sheer conversation

For sure, I mean, I almost exclusively play single player narrative games, except for occasionally dabbling in helldivers.

I used to enjoy the halo campaigns with friends when I was young, and played a lot of the multiplayer on it…but that's about it.

I generally abhor Gaas and view it as a death spiral for the industry, and would rather the whole system burn in fire. Hence why I'm engaged in this thread.

But, I thought marathon looked interesting. The very first teaser I was excited. That vanished when they revealed it was just a multiplayer extraction with no campaign. The world/universe looked fascinating. Visually the first gameplay looked terrible, it looks ok and unique now. But yeah, tho into do seem to enjoy it. It's just very very very much not for me, and seemingly not for most multiplayer gamers either (if it was there's certainly enough of you for its numbers to be non catastrophic).

 

[Unknown Soldier]

is

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