<< At the current rate, I suspect AH will be well under 100 players/night in two years if the trajectory has not been altered. >>
It's pretty much at that level now and I don't see the possibility of a turnaround unless another gaming company, or equity investor, steps up and does a major makeover of the game. How likely is that to happen? Electronic Arts bought out News Corp, which owned Kesmai (Air Warrior) and did what with the game? Some bean counter decided the numbers (read:dollars) just weren't there. EA shuttered the doors and Hitech Creations had a sudden bump of several hundred new subscribers. Add to that the dawn of the new internet age, and player numbers continued to climb until 2009-2010. Numbers plateaued for awhile and in the last few years, have slowly begun to dwindle. Why they left, where they went...it's been discussed and enumerated to death.
Where we go from here, only Dale knows for sure but my guess is that HTC and the players are in a slow, steady holding pattern until the time comes when the overhead and expenses outstrip revenue. I for one will continue to pitch in my $14.95 @ mo until the lights go out. Let's just play for fun, enjoy the beatings (received or administered) and perhaps say a prayer for a disrupter to come along and shake things up in a good way.
<S>