So How Significant Are We, Really?

[Navigata07]

Hey all, so we often come to the forum to talk about all sorts of topics related to AC, and of course nothing is more satisfying than a good ol' rant with fellow players who share your frustration. We often think that us forum members mirror similar thoughts of other players of the game, and I mean why not...we dont think we're better than anyone right? Some of us already are aware of how small our community really is in the grand scheme of things, but I work very well with numbers, so I wanted to put some numbers to that thought.

Current Number of Forum Members: 8388 members
Number of Airport City Players on all platforms (September 2019 via Wikipedia): 75 million players.
Percentage of Players on Forum: 8388/75000000 * 100 = 0.011%

A few things to note with this number:
1) September 2019 was 20 months ago, and that value could've changed drastically since then (updates, pandemic, etc.)
2) This figure doesn't reflect player activity. Both the forum members and the total number of active players will have a wide range of players, from those who play constantly throughout the day to those who downloaded the game and hardly play...if at all. These factors can significantly change the ratio I provided, but with the number of members being the max at the moment, the story won't change much unless there was a huge collapse in total number of players
3) Most of the active players are probably not giving significant feedback, and in regards to which players provide more feedback, though the forum is probably still outnumbered compared to customer support feedback, facebook, and game ratings, the ratio probably is a bit higher compared to the total number of active players.

Bottom Line: Although we are numerous on the forum, we can't even call ourselves the 1%...we are more like the 0.01% of the total player base. We must keep that in mind as we communicate to GI, and also appreciate that at least we have dedicated personnel checking in on the forum, increasing our odds of at least being heard. Just wanted to put things in perspective.

 

[Pendragon]

Right! Just how many of that 75 million actually still play the game or are we seeing how many downloaded it and decided it was to expensive, slow and just not for them. I wonder what the actual figure is?

 

[Navigata07]

Right! Just how many of that 75 million actually still play the game or are we seeing how many downloaded it and decided it was to expensive, slow and just not for them. I wonder what the actual figure is?

The wikipedia page said "active players", which I would interpret as players who actually engage with the game periodically. Now this is wikipedia of course, so it's not a solid number by any means. However, considering the android app alone has had 10 million+ downloads, it's not impossible when you consider all platforms amd the actual number exceeding that

 

[Harcourt]

And then, of course, there is reputational damage.

 

[VdW]

That’s why, just enjoy the game as it is. I seriously doubt our voices value to anything. Okay, there is GI representative here. But he’s barely here (I totally understand too. Tending the forum is probably not in his job desc). So, we’re ranting just within our community.

When you’re too annoyed (like I currently am), take a break and enjoy life outside AC. I realized I did more things the last couple weeks when I don’t play AC as much as before.

 

[LX Air - Teresa]

That percentage could get close to 1% if we consider that many of us have done quite a few downloads each...

 

[Navigata07]

That percentage could get close to 1% if we consider that many of us have done quite a few downloads each...

Ah yes...support files, but I still dont think we would get there. If we said that each forum member had 9 support files, we would add 9 times the forum amount, equal to 83880, which would make us 0.1% of the downloads. Most of us dont have that many supports (maybe an average of 3 or 4). If we're getting closer to the 1%, we would need to be in the hundreds of thousands.

 

[cazmillon]

I remember Ur-quan saying this:
[Never came to fruition however ]

 

[Navigata07]

I remember Ur-quan saying this:
[Never came to fruition however ]

View attachment 52331

Well its supposedly something theyre working on. I haven't written off the effort just yet. Even though we are a mere 0.01%, they do realize the amount of knowledge on the forum. The biggest question is what will they do with the information they acquire. They could read until they cant read anymore, but if there is no action on said knowledge, then it was all for naught

 

[Harcourt]

As long as AC is available in the Windows Store, I will continue to be optimistic !!

 

[jpm-wv]

It's hard to be optimistic sometimes but I suspect that we could be heard. If I can say it, some other people are probably thinking it but remain silent. I suspect the entire debacle is costing them money such as lost revenues from premium passes and the 20 greenies and 2000 units of fuel deal. In addition, some players might be willing to throw down a little money on that $29 building that gives an advantage. All of that $$$ has been lost for 2 events.

Now add to this that people will post on social media about the problems they've been experiencing including on the Store.

 

[flyhores]

For GI or other game companies, only paying users are active, so I think this ratio will be close to 10%

 

[Navigata07]

It's hard to be optimistic sometimes but I suspect that we could be heard. If I can say it, some other people are probably thinking it but remain silent. I suspect the entire debacle is costing them money such as lost revenues from premium passes and the 20 greenies and 2000 units of fuel deal. In addition, some players might be willing to throw down a little money on that $29 building that gives an advantage. All of that $$$ has been lost for 2 events.

Now add to this that people will post on social media about the problems they've been experiencing including on the Store.

Think this is what @Harcourt was hinting at about reputation damage

 

[pete blake]

Any company operating at the top of its game will have an active communication strategy with its customers. A two way street where the company actively seeks feedback on its performance while simultaneously communicating important information to the people who constitute its revenue stream.

This company doesn't have this. A deliberate act on their part, too busy or just unaware of its importance?

At least we can moan to each other.

P

 

[Navigata07]

Any company operating at the top of its game will have an active communication strategy with its customers. A two way street where the company actively seeks feedback on its performance while simultaneously communicating important information to the people who constitute its revenue stream.

This company doesn't have this. A deliberate act on their part, too busy or just unaware of its importance?

At least we can moan to each other.

P

....and that we do 😂

 

[VdW]

Any company operating at the top of its game will have an active communication strategy with its customers. A two way street where the company actively seeks feedback on its performance while simultaneously communicating important information to the people who constitute its revenue stream.

This company doesn't have this. A deliberate act on their part, too busy or just unaware of its importance?

At least we can moan to each other.

P

I agree with you. Even their official Discord channel, which is supposedly bring the players and developers together, is kinda abandoned.

Only Walter again, Walter again (same like their official FB). Even then, he’s technically a “moderator”, not an official GI employee.

The idea is there but they seem clueless on how to execute it. Idea is just an idea without action.

 

[Navigata07]

I agree with you. Even their official Discord channel, which is supposedly bring the players and developers together, is kinda abandoned.

Only Walter again, Walter again (same like their official FB). Even then, he’s technically a “moderator”, not an official GI employee.

The idea is there but they seem clueless on how to execute it. Idea is just an idea without action.

Theyre dropping balls all over the place quite frankly. Guess they recognize that fact as well...hence the goal of more communication

 

[Barkmi4 (Mike)]

Hey all, so we often come to the forum to talk about all sorts of topics related to AC, and of course nothing is more satisfying than a good ol' rant with fellow players who share your frustration. We often think that us forum members mirror similar thoughts of other players of the game, and I mean why not...we dont think we're better than anyone right? Some of us already are aware of how small our community really is in the grand scheme of things, but I work very well with numbers, so I wanted to put some numbers to that thought.

Current Number of Forum Members: 8388 members
Number of Airport City Players on all platforms (September 2019 via Wikipedia): 75 million players.
Percentage of Players on Forum: 8388/75000000 * 100 = 0.011%

A few things to note with this number:
1) September 2019 was 20 months ago, and that value could've changed drastically since then (updates, pandemic, etc.)
2) This figure doesn't reflect player activity. Both the forum members and the total number of active players will have a wide range of players, from those who play constantly throughout the day to those who downloaded the game and hardly play...if at all. These factors can significantly change the ratio I provided, but with the number of members being the max at the moment, the story won't change much unless there was a huge collapse in total number of players
3) Most of the active players are probably not giving significant feedback, and in regards to which players provide more feedback, though the forum is probably still outnumbered compared to customer support feedback, facebook, and game ratings, the ratio probably is a bit higher compared to the total number of active players.

Bottom Line: Although we are numerous on the forum, we can't even call ourselves the 1%...we are more like the 0.01% of the total player base. We must keep that in mind as we communicate to GI, and also appreciate that at least we have dedicated personnel checking in on the forum, increasing our odds of at least being heard. Just wanted to put things in perspective.

I’ve been debating replying to this... the problem is, the lack of facts available.

However, if memory serves me right the ‘75 million’ was the number of downloads. The number of active users will be far far less. I seem to remember a post indicating it was in the hundreds of thousands - but i‘ve had no joy trying to fact check that. Realistically a number of those downloads will be device changed/upgrades etc. And when you consider the vast majority of customers won’t interact, I’d place a much higher % value on our community.

What we do know is that this community gets semi regular interaction from G!, and not just the moderators. We get more interaction here than Facebook and Discord. It isn’t as much interaction as we’d like, and it’s not as much as we used to get. But I think the fact that we get more interaction here speaks volumes for the community, and our collective voice is an important one to the Game Insight team.

I know when Ivan was around he’d read the forum nearly everyday. We were (are?) an extremely useful resource, and our value isn’t to be underestimated. I know we don’t always get our way, but a number of suggestions have been implemented over the years.

G! have posted several on the forum and on discord via the moderators that they aim to be more active here, and I do believe them. Clearly their jobs have been made more difficult by the pandemic, and they have some issues to work through at the moment. But I don’t believe it’s all doom and gloom.
In my personal opinion, I think as long as we provide constructive feedback rather than just complaining we will remain the preferred platform for player - company relations. 🙂

 

[Navigata07]

I’ve been debating replying to this... the problem is, the lack of facts available.

However, if memory serves me right the ‘75 million’ was the number of downloads. The number of active users will be far far less. I seem to remember a post indicating it was in the hundreds of thousands - but i‘ve had no joy trying to fact check that. Realistically a number of those downloads will be device changed/upgrades etc. And when you consider the vast majority of customers won’t interact, I’d place a much higher % value on our community.

What we do know is that this community gets semi regular interaction from G!, and not just the moderators. We get more interaction here than Facebook and Discord. It isn’t as much interaction as we’d like, and it’s not as much as we used to get. But I think the fact that we get more interaction here speaks volumes for the community, and our collective voice is an important one to the Game Insight team.

I know when Ivan was around he’d read the forum nearly everyday. We were (are?) an extremely useful resource, and our value isn’t to be underestimated. I know we don’t always get our way, but a number of suggestions have been implemented over the years.

G! have posted several on the forum and on discord via the moderators that they aim to be more active here, and I do believe them. Clearly their jobs have been made more difficult by the pandemic, and they have some issues to work through at the moment. But I don’t believe it’s all doom and gloom.
In my personal opinion, I think as long as we provide constructive feedback rather than just complaining we will remain the preferred platform for player - company relations. 🙂

Yeah Mike that's why I placed the disclaimers I did. The 75 million is an old number, and it was based on "registered players" according to wikipedia. Potential wiki error asode, the amount of active players would indeed be less, and those giving feedback even moreso.
Just to clarify, the idea of the post wasn't to paint doom and gloom, as Ive discussed with you numerous times how my optimism may keep me playing far longer than maybe I should. I just wanted players here to get an idea of how many other players are potentially out there, each with a different level of activity, and that as valuable of a resource as we are, we arent the only voices that represent the customer base. I also made it very clear that the fact that we have people selected to keep tabs on this forum shows how valued we truly are.
Bottom Line: We need to be aware of our potential size compared to the rest of the customer base, but also realize our value. We need to learn to criticize constructively in hopes that our feedback gets implemented; just been a lot of bashing as of late, which isnt helping anything 🤷🏿‍♂️

 

[Maverick68]

Theyre dropping balls all over the place quite frankly. Guess they recognize that fact as well...hence the goal of more communication

Sounds like they need a Product Manager, or a better one than have <g> A goal to say they want more communication versus actual communication is worthless.