Study: MMOG communities mimic real life

By TomM_GScom, GameSpotPosted Mar 3, 2009 1:28 pm PT

Understanding how the mind of a massively multiplayer online gamer works could be considered by some as the first step down the perilous road of insanity. Be that as it may, a variety of researchers have been drawn to the socio-behavioral impacts of MMOGs over the years, and the latest group to do...

Understanding how the mind of a massively multiplayer online gamer works could be considered by some as the first step down the perilous road of insanity. Be that as it may, a variety of researchers have been drawn to the socio-behavioral impacts of MMOGs over the years, and the latest group to do so hails from a number of top universities in the US.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Southern California have teamed to take a look at Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest II in an effort to better understand social dynamics in real-world societies. As reported by the University of Minnesota's MN Daily, the results of the research show that online populaces have become large enough to accurately mimic traditional communities.

To arrive upon that finding, researchers collected data over a period of three years, analyzing users' server logs and click streams to track all actions performed by players in EQII. Due to the wide variety of tasks that players undertake, the research team found that they were able to use the game as an accurate proxy for studying human behavior.

The study notes that more than 300,000 players subscribe to EQII, spending on average 26 hours per week on Norrath's shores. That subscription figure, of course, represents a small fraction of World of Warcraft's 11.5-million-strong army, but who's counting?

47 Comments

  • Zolorunnin

    Posted Mar 5, 2009 12:07 pm PT

    Still cant top my favoriot study. "Dieting connected to weight loss."

  • Jonnyd108

    Posted Mar 5, 2009 8:18 am PT

    11.5 million WoW subscribers. So basically that's 11.5 million people who have no lives.

  • bogi7

    Posted Mar 5, 2009 1:02 am PT

    Has anybody been asked to participate in this study or did sony give access to the accounts logs?...just wondering

  • totaleklypse

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 9:56 pm PT

    yes gamespot your check is in the mail for the shameless WOW plug at the end. lol

  • PsychoLord13

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 7:02 pm PT

    Well some people speculate that being anonymous on the internet would make people and therefore groups of people act differently. This essentially proves that false. Now I wonder if this opens any new doors to using MMOs as approximations of groups of people that would make certian kinds of social research easier to perform.

  • Zcrimson07

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 4:03 pm PT

    @ elfstrum
    Do you not realize that this is what ALL universities do? they do studies, and research things. maybe the results are boring like this but what if they'd discovered that people who play become psychotic? then you would be praising it. btw how much do you think someones tuition is going to be lowered by cutting out a study? $5? $25? $100?

  • Jonesy914

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 3:22 pm PT

    So after 3 years of study, they found out that the players act the same as people in normal life. 3 years well spent i must say.

  • Elfstrum

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 2:16 pm PT

    Good to know my state university (MN) is spending money on studies like this instead of lowering tuition. Bad Move U of M

  • lostn

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 1:43 pm PT

    "A common misconception - WoW does not have 11.5 million ACTIVE subscribers. Lich King sold about 4 million in the first week(end?) no where near 11.5 million, and I don't think the other 7.5 million would come over the next month to upgrade."

    Yes they do have 11.5 million ACTIVE subscribers. Not all of them purchased Lich King. They are still paying to play classic WoW or BC however. To blizzard it doesn't matter. Lich King doesn't generate new subscription income, only retail income. If they are buying LK, they must have WoW and BC already, which means they are already paying $15 per month.

  • Kevu

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 9:28 am PT

    @ atopp399

    I've played both as well, and I think that would be a hilarious study. If they looked at a more PvP-Heavy MMOG, would they still consider that "to accurately mimic traditional communities"? Just wonderin.

  • atopp399

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 8:39 am PT

    I would like to see a study done on the maturity level of the typical EQ2 player vs WoW player.

    I have played both but will keep my comments to myself

  • Beetroot502

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 6:50 am PT

    A common misconception - WoW does not have 11.5 million ACTIVE subscribers. Lich King sold about 4 million in the first week(end?) no where near 11.5 million, and I don't think the other 7.5 million would come over the next month to upgrade. They count their subscribers by people who have at least at one time subscribed by paying 1 month in full. They do not take into consideration people that have multiple accounts, sharing accounts, etc. If you look at real server statistics, the figures are below 5 million, which is still a record breaker though.

  • PandaBear86

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 1:57 am PT

    I hope Aion gets market share from WoW. The PvPvE in that game looks extremely interesting, along with the airborne combat (you play an elf with wings), and it looks very good. WoW is nothing but grind all day looking for loot.

  • MarioMainic

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 12:57 am PT

    I have nothing to say im nuetral ok guys

  • Megaship

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 11:04 pm PT

    I will never understand why WoW has 11.5 million and other famous awesome MMO's have less than a million still.

  • Armaan8014

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 10:02 pm PT

    @threedown
    26 hrs a week is only about 4 hrs per day.. Thats not that much

  • gameking5000

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 9:28 pm PT

    How can they draw a conclusion on just 1 game?

  • pyroone

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 7:12 pm PT

    Sounds like a bunch of EQ players who also happen to be researchers found a way to scam some grant money. I'm going to apply for funding about socio-behavior in bars. My results should be as indepth as what was presented in this article.

  • Karrotjuce

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 6:50 pm PT

    sigh... i like games and all, but sometimes people just play them too much.

  • msudude211 posted Mar 3, 2009 6:25 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    msudude211

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 6:25 pm PT (hide)

    They should have used WoW.

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