2 Million Pirates Shanghai'd

The Escapist's news feed reports that 2 Million characters have been made in Puzzle Pirates since the launch of the game. From the article: "Three Rings' CEO Daniel James sees 2 million users as confirmation of the micro-currency model. 'We believe that this model represents the future for online entertainment. Our inspiration continues to be the Korean market, where 'free to play, pay for item' is the ubiquitous business model for online games. As the US market matures to meet Korea, we intend to keep leading the way.' In addition, the company recently released the beta version of a new game, Bang! Howdy, a multiplayer online tactical strategy game for the PC, which uses the same payment structure and online distribution model."

Really?

[9x320]

I played Puzzle Pirates, and it seems to me most of those 2 million accounts are probably old ones that were abandoned after their owners, having tried the game out, got bored after realizing there were less than ten puzzles that get tired quickly. Are those active accounts, they say? I'd be more impressed if they were.

But at least it's free (sort of). Congratulations, you have Runescape and Anarchy Online quality gaming awaiting you.

Korean MMO model works well

[smbarbour]

Since my budget does not include "gaming expenses" in it (games are purchased on a "Yay, we've got some extra money" basis), I only play MMO's that are free to play (such as MapleStory [mapleglobal.com], Fly for Fun [gpotato.com], and Space Cowboy Online [gpotato.com])

Maybe someday I'll prove that the model works by buying something...

You're not approaching it right...

[jesdynf]

It's a social game. You go out, and you go sailing. On a pirate ship. And you shoot at ships. And you take their stuff. And then you go home, and gamble your winnings away in poker or spades, or buy clothes, or furniture, or invest the winnings in your shop.

It has a multi-tiered economy -- and we're not even talking about micropayments, yet. It has the most fiendishly sophisticated chat filter I've ever seen -- it doesn't just convert profanity, it actively attacks acronyms, net slang, and inappropriate use of Caps Lock. You log on to Puzzle Pirates, and the world is instantly literate. Try "a/s/l"ing sometime and see what happens.

It has unlimited PvP... but you risk a terrible penalty if you attack a weaker vessel.

And those old, tired puzzles -- you know why they're tired? Because they're friggin' classics of the genre, that's why. Dr. Mario? Puzzle Fighter? A demented two-fisted version of Snood? And when you do them, you aren't playing a puzzle, you are chasing down a merchant frigate or frantically repairing combat damage or meticulously decanting strange and wonderful elixirs.

It's a silly idea, crafted with loving attention to detail and populated by rum-swilling fiends. It might not be for everyone, and no, of course that's not two million active accounts, but it's a milestone none the less.

Oh. Sorry, I almost forgot.

Arrrrrr!

Re:They forgot to mention...

[eviltypeguy]

They also forgot to mention that they have been very good to the community by also releasing some of the core components used to make Puzzle Pirates under a Free Software license:

http://www.threerings.net/code/narya/ [threerings.net]

(GPL)

Re:Korean MMO model works well

[tetromino]

Hot damn. When I click on Maple Story, I see a pixelated chibi girl whoring herself out to Microsoft [mapleglobal.com]. Without IE, I can't even go to an "about" or "screenshots" section and figure out if their game is worth playing. Well, too bad there isn't a single copy of Windows in the building where I am sitting right now. Congratulations, Maple, you've just lost yourself a potential customer.

Its not worth the click

[ClassicComposer]

From now on, could we possibly make a new rule: when an article's full text is under ~200 words, just quote the whole damn article and write, "Full Article:" before the quote?

Re:Korean MMO model works well

[DjMd]

Sine my budget does not include "gaming expenses" in it ... I only play MMO's that are free to play

So you aren't playing Puzzle Pirates why??
You can play Puzzle Pirates for free, join a Doubloon server (or ocean, get it? servers are oceans).
Yes people can buy Doubloons, but you dont have to and infact people can only "BUY" Doubloons, they can't buy pieces of eight, so there is a flucuating exchange rate on Doubloons to Pieces of Eight. (usually 750-800 POE/Doubloon). (actually you can even make POE by playing the Doubloon market.)
I have played Puzzle Pirates for 2-3 months and have earned ~25,000 POE and bought ~20 Doubloons (and spent 75% of that), and I haven't paid one red cent.