[geoschmo]

Originally posted by rextorres:
I would say that 300 - 500 "hardcore" players is not insignificant based on the total announced sales of the product. Again this is all based on conjecture.

I didn't mean to imply it was insignificant. Merely that it doesn't justify the level of direct financial support that some people seem to feel Shrapnel should be providing.

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Battle.net is paid for by Blizzard and charges no money to use it... all you have to do is have the game. Battle.net makes them money specifically because a lot of people buy their games to play on Battle.net. PBW can become something similar for SE4/SE5.

Which is a perfect example of the point I am trying to make. Blizzard games are not what one would classify as "niche" games. They have a much larger fan base which can support things like bettle.net through proceeds from retail sales. Shrapnel is a little fish compared to that.