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<H1>RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: "'<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>'" <<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: "Sellers, Michael" <<A HREF="mailto:MSellers#maxis,com">MSellers#maxis,com</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 17:55:04 -0800</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
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<PRE>
Johan wrote:
> On Tuesday, February 15, 2000 11:56 PM, Mike Sellers wrote:
>
> > Or they
> > could all be cannibalizing off of the same shrinking pool
> of players.
>
> I see this point referred to time and time again: a shrinking pool of
> players. Is this
> list absolutely convinced that the pool is shrinking, because (and I may
> very well be wrong), to me the sums just don't add up. Ten years ago, for
> example, we had what, 100 muds or so, with 100-300 patrons at peak times.
> Now we have 3,000+. Sure, a lot of muds have a negligable playerbase, but
> even of these, most seem to manage 10-20 at peak times, with the top 5-10%
> making 100-300 - do the sums, they speak for themselves.
Are you assuming that each of those are unique players? Many of the more
active players maintain a presence on several muds at once, it seems. I
don't know what the size of the active mudding population is, but I'd bet
it's between 10,000 and 200,000 at the extreme high end. Probably around
50K. Just a gross estimate, but I've run these numbers before and I think
we tend to overestimate them.
And yeah, I think the number of people actively playing text muds is
probably shrinking. I think this is the last echo of what happened to the
paper-game industry in the 1980s and early 1990s. Too bad too. (FWIW, one
of my pipedreams along these lines is to put out paper RPG
systems/supplements as a labor of love, without worrying about turning a
profit, as that's almost impossible to do these days in that part of the
industry. Who knows, maybe someday...)
Mike Sellers
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev maillist - MUD-Dev#kanga,nu
<A HREF="http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev">http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev</A>
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<li><strong><A NAME="00379" HREF="msg00379.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>
<ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Bryce Harrington <bryce#neptune,net></li></ul>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] The Endeavour Map and MUD Applications</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00693" HREF="msg00693.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The Endeavour Map and MUD Applications</A></strong>,
Justin Rogers <a href="mailto:justin#mlstoday,com">justin#mlstoday,com</a>, Wed 22 Mar 2000, 22:07 GMT
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00371" HREF="msg00371.html">RE: commercial muds and cable TV (was RE: [MUD-Dev] code base inq uiry )</A></strong>,
Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 18:04 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00351" HREF="msg00351.html">RE: commercial muds and cable TV (was RE: [MUD-Dev] code base inquiry )</A></strong>,
Sellers, Michael <a href="mailto:MSellers#maxis,com">MSellers#maxis,com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 02:07 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00366" HREF="msg00366.html">RE: commercial muds and cable TV (was RE: [MUD-Dev] code base inquiry )</A></strong>,
Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 17:29 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00352" HREF="msg00352.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Sellers, Michael <a href="mailto:MSellers#maxis,com">MSellers#maxis,com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 02:07 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00379" HREF="msg00379.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Bryce Harrington <a href="mailto:bryce#neptune,net">bryce#neptune,net</a>, Thu 17 Feb 2000, 18:06 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00392" HREF="msg00392.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Travis S. Casey <a href="mailto:efindel#io,com">efindel#io,com</a>, Thu 17 Feb 2000, 20:47 GMT
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<li><Possible follow-up(s)><br>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00353" HREF="msg00353.html">Re: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
PartyG2816 <a href="mailto:PartyG2816#aol,com">PartyG2816#aol,com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 02:13 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00355" HREF="msg00355.html">Re: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#kanga,nu">claw#kanga,nu</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 03:04 GMT
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</UL></BLOCKQUOTE>
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