Describing the Typical WoW Player with Numbers

Ethec gets his geek on to pour through the amazingly detailed census numbers available for World of Warcraft. Which faction is more popular - horde or alliance? What about race and class? Are there more active players on PvP or normal servers? The answers may surprise you! Plus, you know the reasons commonly given for World of Warcraft's incredible popularity, is there another reason lurking in the numbers?

"When people talk about World of Warcraft's success, they cite accessibility, availability of quests, directed play, and other qualitative mechanics directly attributable to… well, fun. But one of the best kept secrets of World of Warcraft's success can be expressed quantitatively, Numb3rs-style, through math. Check out the descriptive statististics to the right. K values from zero to two indicate meso-kurtosis, or (literally) a flat level distribution, and low positive skewness indicates a gentle downward slope in population as levels increase - both signs of as healthy a MMORPG population that can be hoped for. Omitting level 60 - which I'm comfortable doing since, by most accounts, the level 60 game is an entirely different game than the 59 levels preceding it - World of Warcraft meets these conditions more than a year and a half after its inception. This mathematical fact makes WoW a rarity among MMOs, most of which coping with vacant low-to-mid level zones, snaring these games in a developmental tailspin of catering exclusively to players heavily concentrated at high levels."

Keep reading to find out what other interesting facts Ethec has to share. Don't forget to stop into the forums at WoW Ten Ton Hammer to let us know what you think.