Here’s a service at PGM readers probably didn’t realize happens all the time: we often sit on news stories. We rarely report on “news” here because as the news evolves and isn’t as it initially seems. It also takes additional time and people to check back on stories, research them deeper and see how they pan out versus just parroting out what appear to be “the facts.”
Here’s an example of a story sat on a little while, because wanted to see how it shook out. Sometimes, stories come out alleging something really negative, then the party attacked — in this case Ubisoft — defends themselves and it doesn’t appear quite as negatively. Then sometimes it goes back and forth until anybody researching the facts can’t really figure it out what really happened.
One of the links I left below, the MP1ST report, has an editor update as follows, which clears up this particular mysery:
“Update From the Editor: It seems that upon further investigation, this “source” is unreliable, and has been known to cause controversy when there is none. While we are leaving the article up as a reference point, we would take anything said by the original source with a huge truckload of salt.” – An MP1ST report
Upon initial reading, I didn’t think Ubisoft did exactly what’s being alleged below, because doing that would beg for negative backlash. Hence the reason I used the word “If” in the headline of this article and removed Ubisoft specifically from the headline.
Let’s get to the allegation first, and then just look at why this would be a bad idea if any company does this, not specifically Ubisoft. I mentioned this on the PGM Twitch stream when I first heard about it, saying it wouldn’t be wise for any compay to do this.
“An MP1ST report sourced to Fandom Pulse discusses information shared by a Ubisoft insider, stating the company has requested that Valve limit access to player count data on Steam. According to these rumors, Ubisoft would like the concurrent player counts for games on Steam either hidden or removed entirely, noting dissatisfaction with the way players and press outlets often talk about these metrics. In some cases, gamers will use Steam player count data to indicate a video game’s success, and the company wants to paint a “more favorable picture to investors” who may otherwise be discouraged. According to the insider, Ubisoft is one of several other companies that have requested Valve hide this information” via Ubisoft Reportedly Wants Steam to Hide Concurrent Player Count Data
The reason I doubted this being accurate is because it’s would obviously lead to very negative reaction from gamers seeing right through this. But boy, some game pubs couldn’t wait to drag Ubisoft through the mud without emphasizing that it might, in fact, be fake news.
Here’s a better idea for any game company that might think suppressing their player stats is a good idea: focus instead on making games people want to play. If you make a great game and players like it, your concurrent player count data will reflect this success. You don’t need to hide anything.
It’s really this simple:
- Create a fun, entertaining game people want to play — this is *the* most important — and therefore hardest — part, because if a game isn’t fun to play nothing else matters
- Promote the game ethically and responsibly both before launch (don’t overhype, overpromise or you’ll likely disappoint) and afterwards (like only clipping over positive reviews is a bad idea)
- Charge the right price (too much at launch, gamers will wait, not enough price, you’ll lose money)
- Fix any bugs and/or issues identified through patches ASAP
- Add DLC and other content gamers request either for free or a reasonble price
- Support the game for a reasonable life cycle (IE. don’t abandon or delist a game within a few years, especially if it has a fanbase and passionate gaming audience)
Note above nowhere is it mentioned to hide the stats of how many people are actually playing. That would fall under “promote the game ethically and responsibly” because if you hide the number of people playing it, that’s not ethical behavior. It’s not good marketing or PR for a game to be non-transparent about what other gamers think of the game. Let them speak through their gameplay, or lack thereof.
Ubisoft can be criticized, like any company, for whatever they are doing or not doing. I’m not a fan, personally, of their need to have their own subscription service, but see why they want to as a revenue and control model. Add to that, it does offer some advantages, see: How to Check Out The Crew: Motorfest Ultimate Edition with Ubisoft+ for $14.99 instead of $119.99 – and 100+ more games.
As for trying to make Steam hide player stats, again, this would be an absolutely horrible idea.
Let me give you another stat for comparison: Twitch displays the stats of how many people are watching. I like this stat, but like any other stat with numbers of people, the rich get richer: the channels with the most viewers will benefit from getting more raids, more viewers, more interest, therefore catapulting their channels into even more viewers. It can take a long time for a brand new streamer to develop any kind of regular viewing audience, even if it’s only a few viewers. Despite this, I like that the number of viewers is shown and would not be in favor of streamers being able to hide this stat.
Transparency is important. So, are ethics and responsibility. I’d like to think all game companies keep this in mind, besides chasing dollars and cents, but the reality is the larger a company grows, the focus seems to be less on the customer and more on themselves and their bottom line. That’s not a universal statement, as there are exceptions.
What do you think, friendly readers of the idea of any company trying to hide the true numbers of how many people are playing their game?