SOE: 70% Of DCUO Players Are On PS3

Written by: Jason Winter (@winterinformal) | July 19, 2012 1:18 pm

10 Comments

Dedicated PC gamers may scoff at the notion of MMOs on consoles, but Sony Online Entertainment doesn’t.

In a recent chat with Games Industry International, John Smedley said that 70% of DC Universe Online players play via the PlayStation 3, and that the free-to-play model is alive and well with regards to consoles. DCUO is a prime example of this, and he thinks CCP Games‘ DUST 514 will also prove this to be true.

Smedley also has some interesting things to say regarding the tracking of games and how other releases can affect their numbers for a short- or long-term basis:

When another MMO launches we track very carefully how many players we lose to it. We can tell when the bad ones come out because they might have a lot of hype up front and we lose players for a couple of days, but they come right back so we immediately know if something is not good.

We’ve heard similar refrains from Blizzard execs, along the lines of “We know they’ll come back,” but it’s interesting to see that there’s some data, and not just bravado, behind those claims.

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7BitBrian

I do kind of find it surprising myself, but in a good way. MMOs on consoles are still new and relatively small. I play DCUO on PC and there are always a ton of people online to play with. I’ve not had a problem finding stuff to do. So if the majority of people are playing on the PS3 those servers must be packed.

This is pretty awesome if you ask me.
Kagitaar

Never change Smedley, never change.
http://twitter.com/DragonkinSverd Steven Sword

I play DCUO on PC, but only because that’s where my friends play. I played FFXI on PS2 for years and actually preferred it to the PC version(not sure why). As long as you have a keyboard of some kind(logitech made an awesome keyboard controller), playing MMO’s on a console just makes sense. If you have the means to release on a certain platform, why wouldn’t you?
Revanhavoc

CCP looks at this and says “Oh great, this means Dust is going to be huge success! Right? …Right…? Anyone?”

*crickets*
http://twitter.com/Nathiest Nathiest

I played the beta test. I thought it was loads of fun. The Joker was hilarious! But in whole it’s not really the type of game for me. I enjoy using my keyboard and mouse and you are really forced to use an 360 controller, which I rather not.
- http://twitter.com/jiffah Jiffah
  
  Playing with a keyboard and mouse is actually a LOT better, I don’t know where you got the impression you were forced to use a controller.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Shawn-Hargrave/100003202374593 Shawn Hargrave

john smedley: With the NGE star wars galaxies will get 9 million new players!! any remember this lolz
http://twitter.com/jiffah Jiffah

I’ve played the game on both systems and even if most players are on PS3, the game is much much better on the PC. It runs better, lags less, less buggy, with FAR less crashes or disconnects (which happens alot on the PS3) and personally, the controls on the ps3 feels good, but are dreadful on certain stuff (like speedster, while on speed-force and jumping is atrocious) whereas the PC version is only a bit weird with UI interactions at first.
Also, not alot of people plug in a keyboard in their ps3, so chat is usually a hassle, but more ppl have a mic so voice chat is used more (but that’s not always a good thing, remember to turn off proximity chat!) So overall, the social interactions are almost inexistent and as far as MMOs are concerned, that’s not good in my opinion.
I think the fact it’s more popular on the PS3 is only because it’s one of the very few free to play games and the only MMO besides FF. So if you’re considering trying it and can’t choose between the two, I’d recommend the PC version. The playerbase is also a bit older on the PC if that’s factor for you.
Carl Dafw

That’s nice and all, but did they say how much money those PS3 gamers were spending in the cash shop as opposed to PC gamers?
Kai Moseley

I thought it’d be pretty obvious why…

Name MMO’s on the PS3 (You’ll only need one hand).
Then name the MMO’s on PC (you’ll need all the hands in a small town).
Competition. The PS3 version has none.