You need context for 91% of of buyers no longer playing? Really?
Fine. Here it is:
The game is boring.
Travel is a loading screen Simulator.
Trade and Exploration consist mostly of WATCHING, not playing, the game. Seriously, someone did the math on time spent, and the reality is that, outside of combat, the majority of a play session is spent NOT interacting with the game. At all.
Add to that, it's one of the most shallow sandboxes in existence today. Nothing we do matters or has any consequences. We can't affect anything in a meaningful, visible manner or to a measurable degree.
And to top all this off, the game is marketed using some of the most dishonest trailers I have ever seen. Made to look like an action game, with I start travel and lots of close quarters dogfights in interesting places. All of which is designed to draw in the exact opposite of the player type most like to enjoy the abject boredom fostered by 75% of this Loading Screen Sim 3302.
How's that for context?
You are ignoring my post, you are not reading, 9% of buyers are playing, but let me try to make it clear again, those 9% can contain more then the 9% it is a volume number.
person a can be playing and then taking a break, and then person b can return due to time constraints, we don't know 'who' is playing we know a number, and without who that number only says so much, and one thing it doesn't say, is that the game is dying. 33% of all steam games bought are not played by steams own admission, remember that.
Also remember this is steam spy only, which isn't 100% of steam nor is it none steam users.
Also thank you for using Trading and Exploration as examples, let me, as i've repeatedly done ask you, what kind of games have GOOD exploration and/or Trading in your mind, please give an example, because at least in my eyes, exploration and trading are always like this, regardless of what game it is.
As for 'most dishonest trailers' That is plain and simply not true. You are dismissing countless upon countless of trailers, out there that are nothing more then cinematics and straight up lies. And those events DO happen, if you want them to, here's the thing, you have to put in effort to get to those situations, and apparently you don't want that? you want it all to be handed to you? You are correct in that you don't jump from action to action, but I've yet to see an action trailer that holds true to that. Take battlefield 1 and its trailers, those hold true? for honor, whichever.
And lets not forget, you've complained for a long time now, yet, despite this, you are still here, when by all rights if you dislike the game as much as you do, you would move on to do something you enjoy, so something is keeping you playing. Guess what, I've got countless of big budget triple A games, that do not keep me playing, funny how things are?
So why are you here? honestly? just here to create outrage? or if you are playing the game, why won't you admit, that yes, Elite has flaws, yet you are still here, and that, means it also has qualities you enjoy, where other games wouldn't have kept your attention? or can't drag you away Elite?
Elite is not perfect no, of course not, but it most certainly isn't equal the amount of outrage you are sprouting, but again, this seems to be a trend of late, outrage for the sake of outrage, and only listen to those that reinforce the outrage, spurn everyone else, no matter what they say.
So again, you are praising Elite, while forgetting what kind of game it is.
Frontier's reports show Elite is doing quite fine, despite all the doom and gloom sprouted, and you know what? it doesn't need to compete with action action action games, if it is following the developers vision and holding true to it, and they are willing to keep working with it and not pander to the outrage? well that's fine? Play games you enjoy, and not those you do not, it is that simple, and fact is, there are enough people that DO enjoy Elite.
