Worst BF launch ever?

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@UnCazualGamer wrote:

"Steam accounts for just 20% of BF 2042 sales."

So? The game has poor reviews on all platforms, do you really think the same isn't happening on others? There are very few portal servers left, the exodus is not limited to steam.

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The question is rather: why does it matter? The long tail means that, even if the 20% statistic is correct (I'd like to see a source for it myself), there are between 25 and 80 thousand players online at any given time. With crossplay on, that's always likely to be enough to get a full game, regardless of region. The tail of players who are sticking with it in its current iteration is also relatively stable. The game might be "dying," as all games are. Everything turns to dust eventually: Prognostications of doom serve little purpose outside the rhetorical. But again: Why does it matter? I paid £80 for it and already have over 160 hours in-game. That's less than 50p per hour. If the game were pulled tomorrow, I'd still have got my money's worth.

Sure, I'd like to see the game have a long life with hundreds of thousands of online players at all times and for EA/DICE to support it and continue to develop it. If it doesn't have a long life, I can always shrug my shoulders and move on - I've wasted more money on power tools I'll realistically never use again than I have on BF2042. The world will keep spinning. Besides, I'm pretty certain that EA/DICE will support the game for at least a while longer. That means more maps, more guns, more skins: More elaboration on the game. EA/DICE have a solid track record in releasing buggy games and then both fixing them and releasing more content as they go.

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"Over 40% of Steam users are under 30 according to Statista."

Irrelevant statistic. The average age of a U.S. gamer is 35 as a whole.

"We also know that this age group is far more susceptible to online influence via influencers (angry joe and other such youtubers)"

That is a horribly stupid excuse. This type of influence doesn't affect people already playing the game. If they like it now they won't stop playing what they paid for because angry joe said its not good. What about the abysmal state of the game? The bugs? The awful specialist system with cringe voice lines? The maps that lack cover? The lack of XP in portal mode? Removal of rush? Don't you think those are driving people away? Go read what the negative steam and Metacritic reviews say.

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Actually, both your points are irrelevant. You develop your point by noting that people who continue to play are likely not those the social media warriors have reached. This is a good thing.

Portal is being addressed. Rush is back in the rotation. The bugs, such as they are, are not gamebreaking (we can still play, right?) The specialists are not awful (it's opinions time; we don't need to support our assertions right now). The voice lines are cringy, but do they really break the game? I would suggest they don't; that's weaksauce. The maps lack cover. Perhaps you should get a vehicle before you try to walk to C1. Perhaps you should consider which flags are more oriented towards vehicles than others. Take Hourglass, for example - the A control area has three flags. A2 and A3 are pretty much inaccessible to vehicles, while the A1 flag is more neutral regarding infantry/armour. Good luck capping B1 without armour support.

I'd also point out that you suggest social media reviews don't matter, then refer your interlocutor to social media reviews. Ad majoritam appeals fail because the majority are basically really stupid, especially gamers. 

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"I've put North of 100 hours into the game and played at various different times during a 24 hour period and I've never waited more than a few seconds to load into a game with 128 other humans. I've yet to encounter a Bot in AOW. "

So that means there are enough people left for you to do that, it doesn't mean most people have not left. By the end of this new year you will no longer be able to do that. You will be playing all alone with bots. 

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Unjustified conclusion. The game haemhorraged players in the first month or two. Player numbers have clearly stabilised since, albeit at significantly lower numbers than at launch. Check the holy Steam Charts.

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Therefore I would suggest there is absolutely nothing wrong with the player base numbers outside of one particular platform which, as shown above may not be the best barometer for gauging the health of the game."

Denial ain't just a river in Africa. You can only pretend this isn't a train wreck for so long. The game bombing on all platforms suggest that the exodus is not limited to any one platform. Also the player count of BF5 on steam is higher, that tells you the game is joke.

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While I don't agree that there's "absolutely nothing wrong" with player numbers (we'd all like to see more), neither do I agree that player numbers tell you that the game is a joke. That's just lazy. You can do better.

It's worth pointing out that the BFV player numbers actually suggest that there are still a hell of a lot of people playing in China and very few elsewhere - the numbers peak at ~2PM UTC (10PM Beijing time) and then dive to well below those of 2042. Maybe EA had a New Year's sale or otherwise heavily discounted the game in that region. Perhaps they gave it away. Regardless, that particular statistical titbit doesn't support your point.