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Total Premium Membership

PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:13 pm
by rebelman
I know I could try and go through page by page and add them up but so I am not doing nothing else for the next fortnight and because I assume this information is easily available could lack or someone please confirm this sites total premium membership, I have heard various figures floated about but I would like to hear it from the turtle's mouth.

Re: Total Premium Membership

PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:18 pm
by Rocketry
rebelman wrote:I know I could try and go through page by page and add them up but so I am not doing nothing else for the next fortnight and because I assume this information is easily available could lack or someone please confirm this sites total premium membership, I have heard various figures floated about but I would like to hear it from the turtle's mouth.


the TMNT lol

Rocketry

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 3:42 pm
by rebelman
can anyone answer this query ?

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:01 pm
by Optimus Prime
Maybe if I have a free moment I'll try and figure it out.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:02 pm
by lackattack
sorry rebelman, the figures are not public info

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:04 pm
by DiM
lackattack wrote:sorry rebelman, the figures are not public info


actually they are since anybody can count the people with premium from the scoreboard. :lol:

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:08 pm
by The1exile
DiM wrote:
lackattack wrote:sorry rebelman, the figures are not public info


actually they are since anybody can count the people with premium from the scoreboard. :lol:


but there are more, especially since the scoreboard only lists active people with premium, plus some people buy prem for multiple years, and also multis and such who buy prem to play the game again. So calcing off the scoreboard would give a probably quite significant underestimate.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:16 pm
by rebelman
lackattack wrote:sorry rebelman, the figures are not public info


fair enough,looks like i need to go counting and assume a % of the ? rank, I know this still will not give me an accurate figure but its more a % im interested in so this should be a fairly accurate sample size :D

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:19 pm
by DiM
The1exile wrote:
DiM wrote:
lackattack wrote:sorry rebelman, the figures are not public info


actually they are since anybody can count the people with premium from the scoreboard. :lol:


but there are more, especially since the scoreboard only lists active people with premium, plus some people buy prem for multiple years, and also multis and such who buy prem to play the game again. So calcing off the scoreboard would give a probably quite significant underestimate.


how many could there be besides those listed on the scoreboard?

and if you aren't satisfied you can always go to this list and count from there to get a more accurate result. (you'll see all the members that have premium and the only info you won't get is the duration of their premium) but that's not the point. the idea is to find out how many people support CC not for how many years or how many $ lack has made.

so the point is this is a public info that is accessible to anybody that has enough time to count. why doesn't lack want to spare us the trouble and give as at least an estimate?

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:25 pm
by rebelman
DiM wrote:
The1exile wrote:
DiM wrote:
lackattack wrote:sorry rebelman, the figures are not public info


actually they are since anybody can count the people with premium from the scoreboard. :lol:


but there are more, especially since the scoreboard only lists active people with premium, plus some people buy prem for multiple years, and also multis and such who buy prem to play the game again. So calcing off the scoreboard would give a probably quite significant underestimate.


how many could there be besides those listed on the scoreboard?

and if you aren't satisfied you can always go to this list and count from there to get a more accurate result. (you'll see all the members that have premium and the only info you won't get is the duration of their premium) but that's not the point. the idea is to find out how many people support CC not for how many years or how many $ lack has made.

so the point is this is a public info that is accessible to anybody that has enough time to count. why doesn't lack want to spare us the trouble and give as at least an estimate?


agree totally with DiM, the reason i am interest is im a big fan of this site and i think premium is great value, especially with the dollar so weak :lol: i want to be able to defend premium membership with those that knock it and obviously we can point to several benefits but if those that are strong advocates of freemium over premium keep saying that over 90% of members are freemium, without some stats this what /I assume to be a false claim cannot be shot down.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:40 pm
by sully800
rebelman wrote:agree totally with DiM, the reason i am interest is im a big fan of this site and i think premium is great value, especially with the dollar so weak :lol: i want to be able to defend premium membership with those that knock it and obviously we can point to several benefits but if those that are strong advocates of freemium over premium keep saying that over 90% of members are freemium, without some stats this what /I assume to be a false claim cannot be shot down.


And then if you tell them the real amount of people who have bought premium they will think, "Man, lack has made $XXX off of a website? He doesn't need any more money!" (Of course forgetting how much money and time has to be continually put into the website to keep things up and running). The people who don't want to pay for premium will always find an excuse not to. It's perfectly within their right, but I don't think telling them how many people have premium will provide a greater incentive.

It's the same as asking someone how much money they make, which I imagine is why lack would not readily like to answer. That's typically a rude question to ask, especially when you don't know the person.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:42 pm
by AAFitz
it took a while for me to compile this info, but I came up with 72

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:54 pm
by Coleman
AAFitz wrote:it took a while for me to compile this info, but I came up with 72
This is for you Also so is this. Unless you were trying to be funny with a horrifically low value that can't possibly be the right answer. Anyway, I'd like to encourage everyone to not figure this out, because it isn't really any of our business.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:05 pm
by jiminski
AAFitz wrote:it took a while for me to compile this info, but I came up with 72


well i laughed

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:06 pm
by rebelman
sully800 wrote:
rebelman wrote:agree totally with DiM, the reason i am interest is im a big fan of this site and i think premium is great value, especially with the dollar so weak :lol: i want to be able to defend premium membership with those that knock it and obviously we can point to several benefits but if those that are strong advocates of freemium over premium keep saying that over 90% of members are freemium, without some stats this what /I assume to be a false claim cannot be shot down.


And then if you tell them the real amount of people who have bought premium they will think, "Man, lack has made $XXX off of a website? He doesn't need any more money!" (Of course forgetting how much money and time has to be continually put into the website to keep things up and running). The people who don't want to pay for premium will always find an excuse not to. It's perfectly within their right, but I don't think telling them how many people have premium will provide a greater incentive.

It's the same as asking someone how much money they make, which I imagine is why lack would not readily like to answer. That's typically a rude question to ask, especially when you don't know the person.


very good point sully, i didnt think of it like that I genuinely have no interest in the money side of it. i am very happy with this site and appreciate it does not carry ads. i hope lack covers his costs and hopefully has something left to spare but i genuinely did not ask this question with a view to "exposing the accounts of CC" i did it for the reasons I previously mentioned but considering what you, lack and coleman have said i for one will not pursue this query any further because of these potential negative side effects.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:11 pm
by rebelman
AAFitz wrote:it took a while for me to compile this info, but I came up with 72


Excellent some hard figures finally, well done AA on this impressive piece of research.

Will not criticise this answer by AA just in case he cant count past 72 and I dont want to embarass him in public. PS I know AA loves tiny text.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:21 pm
by DiM
sully800 wrote:And then if you tell them the real amount of people who have bought premium they will think, "Man, lack has made $XXX off of a website? He doesn't need any more money!" (Of course forgetting how much money and time has to be continually put into the website to keep things up and running). The people who don't want to pay for premium will always find an excuse not to. It's perfectly within their right, but I don't think telling them how many people have premium will provide a greater incentive.

It's the same as asking someone how much money they make, which I imagine is why lack would not readily like to answer. That's typically a rude question to ask, especially when you don't know the person.



i don't think anybody is concerned with how much money lack makes from this site. we all know that he affords to dedicate exclusively to CC so that means he makes enough.
do you think that if people knew he makes 1 billion buck a year they'd act differently or stop buying premium? nah. i for one would be the first to congratulate him on having an idea and getting money out of it.

a few years back i tried setting up an online game with 3 other people. i took care of the game logic story line and various innovations 2 guys were programming and another one took care of graphics. unfortunatelly it died as soon as we ran into money trouble so i know a bit of how expensive things are. that's why i have even more respect for him because i tried and failed while he succeded.

PS: one day i will turn that project into something real. it would be a shame to have wasted so many hours writing and coming up with formulas and stuff.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:32 am
by Rocketry
serious question, forgive me for being somewhat ignorant when it comes to running websites.

other than getting paid for the time lack puts into this site, what does he actualy spend the money on? a server or something?

Rocketry

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:55 am
by jiminski
are you not happy with paying 20 bucks for a years play?

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:56 am
by Rocketry
jiminski wrote:are you not happy with paying 20 bucks for a years play?


luckily i recieved mine as a gift, im just curious thats all.

Rocketry

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:06 am
by The1exile
Rocketry wrote:serious question, forgive me for being somewhat ignorant when it comes to running websites.

other than getting paid for the time lack puts into this site, what does he actualy spend the money on? a server or something?

Rocketry


I'm no expert, but I would think he probably has to have the server or multiple servers (pretty damn expensive), plus pay for the huge bandwidth to run the thousands of games per day, as well as forums, chat, PM's etc.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:10 am
by jiminski
I think ... and i can't confirm this with absolute certainty.. i think that the 20 dollars i spent to join CC was the best value i have ever got for a 10 pound note.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:34 am
by DiM
Rocketry wrote:serious question, forgive me for being somewhat ignorant when it comes to running websites.

other than getting paid for the time lack puts into this site, what does he actualy spend the money on? a server or something?

Rocketry


bandwidth, servers, upgrades, electricity, taxes, salary for his employees (if he has), rent, and all sorts of minor things that add up.

depending on the scale of the game you could spend somewhere from thousands of dollars to millions of dollars.

and money come from 3 things, play tax (or premium type packages if the game has no monthly tax), banners, and merchandise.

big bucks can be made if you know how to run your business but at the same time all can be lost in an instant if you make mistakes. i've been around the internet long enough to see games rise and fall. only the strong survive and actually make profit. and i'm telling you it's pretty scary how easy everything can go to waste. poor cheating prevention methods are a sure way of destroying a game. greed is also a major factor. increasing taxes or putting too much banners and pop-ups and pop-unders will also make many people leave. but one of the most stupid things is offering real game advantages for real money. that's a sure way to lose lots of players. yes in the short term you'll get quick cash because some people will pay but many many more will leave.

i used to play travian. i was in a romanian alliance and we won the server after a year of hard fought battles. it was great. but after the server was reset they introduced the possibility to pay real money to get more resources or to make your troops stronger. that day. all the people in my alliance and almost all in 3 other alliances left. that was over 2500 players. and those are the ones i know of. who knows how many others have left.

and from those 2500 players nearly 2000 had a premium like package bought. and it was like 25 dollars per year. that's 50 thousand dollars lost in an instant. back then the servers were hosting around 160 thousand active players. i'm looking now and they have only 98 thousand. huge drop 62 thousand players lost. if only 15% had premium (it was actually called plus) that's still a loss of over a quarter of a million us dollars. :wink: