The Marketing of AH - Ideas on how to increase player base

[rvflyer]

Actually you both are wrong to some extend. The numbers went substantially up  after the arena split (2006), peaking 2007-2008. But today they are lower than even before the split. Must be for different reasons then

I started playing in 2005 and have rarely ever seen more than 700 players on at a time since I started playing. But then I am sure you will have a graph to show me wrong. 
In reality I have not seen that much of a change in players, there have always been hords there have always been HOers and there have always been collisions and vulchers etc. etc.
same as today. There is always a fight of some type in the MA be it tanks, hords, NOEs just look for them. Always find it humous when some on logs on and say "where is the fight"
pull up a map and there they are unless it from a CV and no one has upped yet.

[Lusche]

I started playing in 2005 and have rarely ever seen more than 700 players on at a time since I started playing. But then I am sure you will have a graph to show me wrong.  :xht"

Graphs are out at the moment, but the numbers are there. You can even get a rough estimate yourself by looking at the plane statistics for each tour. (My AH stats 2007 showed about 9 million kills, this year we probably end up at ~5.3 million)
In players online we have something  2/3rd compared to the peak era. Years ago, we had up to 1000 players online in all arenas on a few golden days.

[hitech]

Actually you both are wrong to some extend. The numbers went substantially up  after the arena split (2006), peaking 2007-2008. But today they are lower than even before the split. Must be for different reasons then

Peek was Feb 2009

[Lusche]

Peek was Feb 2009

I suppose that's about actual subscribers? (Something which I of course can not track, nor is this business aspect my concern.. I'm just looking at activity which is most interesting to me as a player

[MK-84]

     If I wanted to increase player base...
I would target the specific market that the more hardcore AH players, or future players would be interested in.  I believe that AH is very much a niche market, geared towards someone who is fantastically interested in flight, and needs an outlet for their dreams.
     What I would do:
     I would specifically advertise towards young individuals that their dreams are to fly (tupac) for example.  These people not only want to (or in his case do) fly, but also want something more, whether it be the excitment of combat, or the chance to learn/progress in their own flying ability.  When I was 17 I went to an airshow and saw a B-17 at Pease Tradeport, I believe it was the 909.  I was hooked, I wanted to know everything about it, how it worked, how it flew, everything!  I got my subsciption to AW3 a couple months later.  I also took my first flight in a cessna 172 soon after.

     I would advertise towards the AKAK's and the Krusty's and the WrngWays.  These people I feel love the historical aspect of the game, and can in effect be a part of the history.

I would advertise to the *cough* Midway's, people who have the only game I know that allows them to excell at what they do ingame, and have the ability to consistently improve with a zero cap on how skilled they can get.

     I would advertise to the snails out there, who want to take a game, and be able to look at it as not just a game, but a wealth of knowledge, and a puzzle that can be solved, and by careful planning and due diligence can create their own game atmosphere.

     I would not Advertise:
To the discovery channel.  Watching a TV show about dogfights certainly might give you the arcade idea of shooting down me109's left and right in your spitfire, but this is not a game that allows that.   Especially considering a 2 week trial basically lets you know you suck as a pilot.  These people will probably like WoA.

     To the general public, this is not that type of game.  It's a niche audience, and must be treated as such.  None of my friends understand, or will why I like this game so much.  They also will never understand how excited I get about history, and the magic of flight, or how gratifying it is to get that ONE kill, that took 10minutes of climbing, 2 minutes of planning attack, and 15 seconds of scoring a kill.

     So in summary, to increase player base I believe the best way is to target the specific indivudals that want to play this game, but do not realize it yet.  I mean come on, you just went to an airshow and got to actually touch, and go inside an actual B-17??  Hell yes you'd grab your free trial if it was available to you! and you'd probably pay because what else allows you to continue that true excitement after the airshow ends?

[LCADolby]

Has AcesHigh ever took a Demo Tent and put it up at airshows to showcase?

[Brooke]

MK-84, have you played in scenarios yet?  If you haven't (or even if you have), please join us in the next one, which will probably run in March.

What the most-recent scenario was like:

http://www.electraforge.com/brooke/flightsims/scenarios/201110_enemyCoastAhead/aar_frame2.htm

[Daubie]

First up the majority of them guys will go to World of Planes, a lot of people equate realism or a realistic flight model to how a game looks, take IL2 for an example I'd describe it as an immersion game not a combat simulator. World of Planes looks pretty but not real in the same way IL2 does, it looks like your watching a painting of the scene, even watching the cgi in red tails trailers it also looks like a painting.

A lot of these people simply won't want to wait maybe a year or 2 or more to get reasonably compotent in a game. They want some success within at least the first few hours. In Aces High that won't happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBHQMizctgY

Funny reading up on this people are whining about how they hope this game will take skill rather than upgrades, you'd have to wonder why they didn't just go play Aces High, probably because they are full of it  

I was thinking back to the first time I played this game I actually logged off after an hour or so and forgot about it for about 4-5 weeks when I came back my trial had expired but there was still H2H free 8 player.

Gradually after about 10 or so new ids over the course of maybe 2 years I was hooked, when H2H went I found I had to subscribe to get my fix. Point being it was the fact that H2H was free that got me hooked, if I had been straight up asked for payment I would have forgotten all about Aces High and deleted it.

I'm working from memory here but I think H2H would have went in 2007 sometime?? I remember looking at one of Lusche's pie charts the peak of players was in 2008. Just saying free H2H might be the reason the numbers have declined.

Realism?

Flight Simulator X and its realistic commercial aviation enthusiasts, air control type servers speaking the jargon.

Here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Falcon+4&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a

or here:

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/

hands down, realism!  But not WWII.

I just bought a new Alienware Aurora to play the Warthog.

There are other sim games and other communities as large as Aces High.  

You have groups of people that do varous activities with similar interests in many forms.  I call it the "tribe" mentality, be it home hobby machine shop which I am a member, bowling, archery, rifle competition, flying RCs, various forms of flight sims, or one to one war gaming.

There are a group of dedicated people here that like Aces High, that will never leave, no matter what they do to the game, until the owner here decides to pull the plug or sell it to ABC.

The big GV change that killed the usefulness of doing the GV part of this game lost a few dedicated, long-life Aces High players.  The S.O.A.R. squad does not exist and some of those players left the game OR are still here under other names, which the management could verify easily enough.

I am a retired machinist and toolmaker.  I had my own business for awhile.  You betcha' HiTech sits down, most likely weekly and has its meetings to re-evaluate how they are doing and where they are going.  

Seems to me this sim, Aces High, is going the way of an arcade game, to pick-up the younger crowd, which is sad.

I tried World of Tanks.  Realistic?  Are you kidding?  Stupid game and very much arcade.  I expect anything put out by these guys will be similar.  Not me.

The main draw I like about Aces High is their company owned, central servers; the text chatter, the radio, and the flying aerial combat.  They lost a fan of doing the GV aspect of playing this game.

I wish HiTech would consider doing Korea, the F-86 versus the Mig as a separate entity to itself.  I would spend another $15 per month.

BTW, $15 per month is nothing compared to most expensive hobbies.  Sounds like that attitude is the kids talking...

Marketing and as Mel Brooks likes to say, "Merchandising!" is where the future of this game is.  Economics theory: all products have a life span.  If you do not re-think the equation and your future to new ways of presenting your product, be it Coke, Cheerios, Tide, Crest toothpaste, etc., you are going to eventually lose.

At least you do not have to bid on products by contract and lose by just a penny per piece!

[Daubie]

MK-84, have you played in scenarios yet?  If you haven't (or even if you have), please join us in the next one, which will probably run in March.

What the most-recent scenario was like:

http://www.electraforge.com/brooke/flightsims/scenarios/201110_enemyCoastAhead/aar_frame2.htm

Yes, I have.

Fun!

Not done often enough.

I'm looking for a squad, but not using this username.

[Daubie]

I started playing in 2005 and have rarely ever seen more than 700 players on at a time since I started playing. But then I am sure you will have a graph to show me wrong. 
In reality I have not seen that much of a change in players, there have always been hords there have always been HOers and there have always been collisions and vulchers etc. etc.
same as today. There is always a fight of some type in the MA be it tanks, hords, NOEs just look for them. Always find it humous when some on logs on and say "where is the fight"
pull up a map and there they are unless it from a CV and no one has upped yet.

I do not know the membership numbers.  Google must have internet statistics on who uses Aces High.

Those 700 players I bet are not always the same guys.  Aces High could have 5,000 members, they just do not play ALL the time. 

The membership must be large to soley be the income of the AH crew.  I doubt they live in caves or grass huts.

Lately, Late War averages about 400 players at prime time Eastern time until the Pacific timer's go to bed, then it drastically thins out in the wee hours.

The game I went to after the big GV change here, is, DCS: A-10C Warthog.  GVs are done differently there and one of the drawbacks I dislike. That game has a large USA, British Isles, European and other countries following.  Warthog when it was 1st marketed was $60.  Several patches later and lots of guys buying, it is now under $40.

[rvflyer]

I do not know the membership numbers.  Google must have internet statistics on who uses Aces High.

Those 700 players I bet are not always the same guys.  Aces High could have 5,000 members, they just do not play ALL the time. 

That I understand, my only point was that at the moment I looked at players logged on it was around 700.  Not sure what you don't like about gvs,
I know I do not like the fact that tanks can easily shoot dn an aircraft this is not a bit realistic. Not talking about anti aircraft vehicles.
The one thing I really dislike about a recent change is what has been done to my mouse control and getting my curser back
When I want it. 

[Peyton]

Well seems it is better than that, there are over 700 players in tonight 12/30/2011, Kind if shoots your theory down right? 

After Christmas spike....just like gym memberships

[Peyton]

I agree with Bustr.  I have no reason to believe that a free arena would work out any differently than free H2H, which for the most part was not a success.

I'm not sure how many remember free H2H, but in my personal experience it was usually filled with griefing chest thumpers.  I'd venture that H2H chased as many people from the game as it attracted paying subscribers.  It also served as a free laboratory for trying out hacks, cheats, and exploits.  I imagine the amount of effort required to oversee the "free" H2H just wasn't worth HTC's effort.

I'd focus more on retention than marketing.  The best way to hook someone, IMO, is to offer some basic off-line tutorials that detail controller setup, takeoff, landing, basic flight maneuvers, and a rundown of the view system.  Some background on the planes might be nice too.  For example, if you bring up a P-51D, you get a brief paragraph or two history of it, its years of operation, its capabilities, etc at the selection screen.  Unfortunately, I'm sure that adding such functionality would unacceptably increase download sizes.

That's why EW should be free.  H2H free is crazy.  how can you fly H2H if you don't even know how to play the game?  the learning curve is the biggest hurdle of the game, so if you allow players to communicate with each other, share knowledge, have their friends play, and/or use vehicles besides the planes, you allow people to overcome the learning curve but also allow them to communicate and learn.  The EW free idea will give players the ability to see all the features Ah has to offer.  If you want more, pay for full access.  you can still have training in EW. Trainers can be online or go to a remote airbase.  Or do what we all do, type a message on vox.

Retention while a good idea cannot be the only money maker for AH in the future.  Yes keep the paying core group happy, but you need new players for more income.

[Kazaa]

Aces High is the only active indie game I know off the top of my head that requires a subscription to play. Time of Defiance also used this method before shutting down their server. A lot of failing subscription based MMORPG titles like AION and DC universe recently switched to the free to play with micro transaction method and saw a huge surge in both membership and profit. See this artile for more detail: http://www.qj.net/ps3/news/dc-universe-free-to-play-and-profitable.html

"700% increase in revenue" - "We are at a 900% concurrent increase since we launched f2p."

There is no doubt that the free 2 play with micro transaction method could become the status quo in future. Buy to play will still have its place of course, mainly for AAA titles with huge overhead costs like Guild Wars 2. Aces High could make a profit from selling cosmetic features like plane liveries for example.

As a seven year consumer of Aces High, I feel the software hasn't evolved with the times and is now past its sell by date. Maybe it's time for HTC to start a fresh?

[EagleDNY]

When I first started AH, it was on a free 2-week trial.  They had me hooked after the first day - not because of the flight model or graphics, but because I found some decent guys to fly with and we had fun.  Single players will come and go, but get someone flying with a bunch of guys they like and they are hooked forever. 

What this means as far as bringing in more NEW players and retaining them is that there needs to be an effort to locate new players and get them into missions and squads. 

Suggestion:  anyone on a trial account automatically gets a special invite to any mission posted in their country.  Also make sure they have mission channel pre-programmed into their comms.