Focusing only on Modern Warfare 2 users who actively played the game between Feb 1 and Mar 1, we find the following:
This indicates that Bad Company 2 users were less active in Modern Warfare 2 play the month before the former released on March 2, thus it is possible that it attracted some lapsed Modern Warfare 2 users at a non-trivial rate. At the same time these rates suggest that recently active Modern Warfare 2 users were attracted at a slightly higher rate than all Modern Warfare 2 users regardless of when active.
Of all Modern Warfare 2 users active any time up through Jan 31, 41% did not play between Feb 1 and Mar 1. Of these “inactive” Modern Warfare 2 users, 14% then went on to play Bad Company 2. Interestingly, when looking at Modern Warfare 2 users who played the game before Feb 1 and then continued to be active in the game between February 1 and March 1, 23% of them went on to play Bad Company 2.
These crossplay rates suggest that active users of a long standing competing product may be easier users to sell to than inactive users. For Modern Warfare 2 and Bad Company 2, more time will need to pass before we can make a more concrete conclusion in this case. Of the 63% of Bad Company 2 users who were recently active Modern Warfare 2 users between February 1 and March 1, they averaged 10.5 different Modern Warfare 2 play days in that period. That figure translates to play on 36% of possible days (10.5 days / 29 possible days). These same Bad Company 2 users who were recently active in Modern Warfare 2 averaged 7.2 play days between March 2 and March 17, translating to play on 45% of possible play days (7.2 days / 16 possible days). Admittedly, gamers tend to be more engaged with new releases than older releases so it is no surprise that they were more engaged in Bad Company 2 and the time periods are not a true apples-to-apples comparison.
For more information on Xbox Live analysis of the GamerDNA audience, please contact DFC Intelligence.
5 Comments
March 25, 2010
Bad Company 2 sucks just as much as the first game. Sluggish controls and the need to empty an entire clip to down one single enemy (excluding sniper). Seriously, did they not hear the critique from the first game?
March 25, 2010
Bad company 2 is a pononamal game with more too come.it,s been rumerd that more add on content via the playstation store it can only get better. But i think call of duty mw2 wont be too far behind with rumours of map packs via download so time is the only factor in this race now.but as a gammer in veryy excited
March 25, 2010
@lucy what are yopu talking about? Have you actually played it? I seriously doubt it. I am and I`m lovin every bit single player campaign and online multiplayer. It`s so much fun, trhills, pins, squad strategies, achievements... pheww...
March 26, 2010
Have to say after playing all of the last three COD titles until each consecutive release was made, which gives me at least 18 months of weekly if not daily play at great expense to my social life, BC2 offers many more layers of game play than COD:MW. Major improvements include for starters vehicles as a multiplayer option and not simply as one time achievements, interactive cover and camouflage, weapons systems that actively take into effect gravity on bullets trajectories. Classes that not only vary based on misson, but are very useful for a cohesive combined arms tactics that COD:MW only touches on with ranged classes like a sniper and sub machine gunner playing on a team.
Maps that are much more comprehensive, and I apologize if I have not made note of the fact that all my comments to this point have strictly been about the multiplayer versions of all titles.
You have after match recaps of acheivements, more user friendly slots that allow for immediate weapons layouts versus fixed classes created and modified only before a match in COD titles begins.
Now I can't say that BC2 is perfect, I have a number of complaints, the most frequent being when I spawn four feet in front of my enemy's barrel, or having an obnoxious teammate spawn on your sniper perch can really make you wish you could knife your commrade if not chuck your controller virtually at his head, but overall this is a step up in the FPS military scenario.
With rare exception, I don't see the one sided victories that I too often partook in COD:MW, and I am not complaining as victim but as victor. The battles seem much more balanced and create a much deeper game play on multiple levels for the user on BC2.
March 27, 2010
I've played both of them, and both are equally entertaining. MW2 was less serious, more social, more customizable, and you can do a lot more, and it is relatively easy. It is more social because more people use it and you can talk with more people. It is more customizable because you can get the skins for the guns, I do miss the blue tiger skin on BC2 (multiplayer).
BC2 is harder, not as much of my friends play it, most of them use MW2. But on online play, you can get plenty of weapons and vehicles. With that, and the destructible environment, it makes for a fun game.
I'm a fan of both. Personally, I chose BC2 because of the VIP free maps. Other than that, I like them both. Keep in mind, my opinion may change. I played BC2 for 2 days now, and I played MW2 (roomates copy) for a month. Already BC2 is even, with more time to get used to it, I will most likely like it more.