TSO - A Few Numbers and a Few Thoughts
First of all, I must say that I still enjoy playing TSO. The problem is that I get more and more concerned about things as time goes by, which is sad as it could be a fantastic game. I don't think that I'm alone in thinking this way.
Looking back, regarding the popularity of TSO, more or less since it went live, there is a worrying trend regarding the future of the game. Although still popular, that popularity is dropping steadily month on month. While not the best barometer, I will base my numbers on the Alexa figures - these are still good enough to show the trend.
In early 2012, TSO went live on the UK servers and shot to the Alexa rating of around 12,000 and got to around 6,000 in June of that year (the lower the Alexa figure, the better). Hits dropped but improved through December, 2012 and January 2013 to around 8,000. Since then, through this year, it has been steadily dropping in the ratings and stands at around 15,000 at the moment. Still not bad at all by website standards but the trend is worrying.
On the German servers - January 2012 saw the figure as being around 2,000. January 2013 it stood at 8,000 - now it's around 9,300. Same trend although at a higher rating level.
Another aspect that I'll mention on downturns is that it seems the game's Trade Office is not as busy as it was a little while ago - but I could be wrong on that one.
These and other benchmarks are what BB will be watching regarding the corporate viability of the game and being a commercial outfit they will pull the plug if the stats drop to a certain point. What has also got to be borne in mind is that TSO is a niche market and the influx of likely new players is large but not infinite - once the rump of potential players have come and gone - new interest will become a relative trickle.
I get the feeling that with each smiling graphic, BB pitch everything they do with TSO to tempt players into parting with cash. If BB were intent on bringing us something really special, this would be no problem as far as I'm concerned - after all, they are not giving it away and are running the game to make a profit. It's our choice to pay or not to pay. I've nothing against companies making money - even shed loads of money if they provide a product that is up there with the best ... if that were the case, I'd chip in more than I already have.
Having said that, IMHO, it is the corporate mentality which is damaging the long term viability of TSO. More to the point, it is how the people wanting to join in and play the game are treated in BB's efforts to achieve bottom line profits. An online game is not like the old days when we bought a CD or DVD to play in isolation - the net brings interactivity with it and that interactivity should include reasonable dialogue with the game providers. A ticket from support or a post from an ever suffering mod on the forum is not enough. Even the mighty Google - on their help forums - have Google employees who will come in on a thread if it of sufficient importance or interest. Google are baffling enough to deal with but at least someone from Google will chip in and try to help. That makes you feel that they care about their users. BB do not appear to share that degree of caring. So people get frustrated and drop out - or others canny enough to read this forum do not drop in at all. BB might say that they continue to invest in this game, I'll go with that - but they miss the point that to get the community and everything firing on all four, they also have to invest interest and care in the people who play it.
I'm not saying that the players should run the game - no way. But at least let the players know they are being genuinely listened to or concerns are really being addressed. Things like the feedback questionnaire recently (if you could use it) just make a mockery of this - it was not seeking player input about TSO but it was a bit of sneaky (and cynical) piece of market researching - again it's that untempered corporate mentality doing damage. How many times has a BB empoyee come onto the forum to answer genuine concerns about the game? Concerns that need addressing ... or suggestions ... or anything that is constructive? How many??
I've no doubt that the script kiddies who program the game are the top guns of their trade. I've no doubt that many players on here know exactly how to tweak bits of the game to get it up there with the best. So why not bounce ideas directly off each other - the programmers and the players? Does it cost anything or would BB lose out on this - no!! Surely BB should have twigged that they would earn bundles more money if the game WAS second to none. Why not form a players' advisory team who could interact with BB? The mods on here and maybe BB know who, among the gamers, would take this seriously and see what was possible and what was not. (Not me though - I'm too old in the tooth for that.)
This is not a whinge, or a dig at BB - it's genuine concern that something that could be really great could continue to slip away - when just a little bit of working together could make the BB profit margin look good and we, as players, would be happy to keep it that way.
