GSP Graveyard

[Steven Crothers]

Having worked for gameservers.com years ago, I can also say this is completely incorrect. You obviously don't know what your talking about. Its unfortunate I have an NDA which prevents me from explaining to you the many ways your wrong. However I can say GS is not worried about Hostile Contact whatsoever, you could make your prices $0.01/slot and they wouldn't care.

[HGN-Daniel]

Bandwidth has gotten cheaper. Hardware has gotten cheaper. Those are pretty much the two main components for game hosting - why wouldn't game hosting get cheaper then? Just because gameservers has lower prices does not mean their business plan is unsustainable. They get everything a hell of a lot cheaper than any other host on this forum (or any other game host in general) due to economies of scale.

[Defcon|Rich]

But your initial cost was 3 times as high for servers that do not have 1/4 the power and performance of today’s servers. I would bet that you are not using many of the single core or dual core servers that you started out with. By entering the market later new GSPs postpone the expense of server upgrades. Yes there will come a time when they also will have to upgrade and will be at a disadvantage to the new entries into the market but that's life in this ever evolving technology driven industry.

 

When we started out the AMD 2800+ Duals were the hot setup

 

On the same vein as your argument people entering the market now need to purchase hardware and everything that goes with it AND still try to compete in this industry which is 100X larger then it was 5 yrs ago.. Now, With all the expenses how can the new guy possibly try to recoup the initial investments by selling at .49c..

[SickPuppy]

Sure technology has been "ramped up" since Defcon started, but they follow the trend just the same as all the others. So to make assumptions that a "new GSP" doesn't have the expense of server upgrades that Defcon does is pure ignorance in my eyes.

 

Go back and read my post

By entering the market later new GSPs postpone the expense of server upgrades.

This means lower entry cost and when the time comes lower upgrade cost.

 

Read up on a little business theory and practice. Being first in has advantages and disadvantages. Everyone will eventually fall victim of time and technology no matter when you entered the market. The sooner you enter, the higher the cost, this is just one of the prices of being first. The advantage that Defcon and other GSPs gained by being first was a larger market share and company branding. With fewer fingers grabbing at the pie you can get a bigger slice.

 

Each time a new company enters a market the existing companies lose part of their market share. Most of the $1.00 a slot providers are going to have fewer than 100 customers so that is not a big impact on the market until you multiply that by 10000 small GSPs

[SickPuppy]

When we started out the AMD 2800+ Duals were the hot setup

 

On the same vein as your argument people entering the market now need to purchase hardware and everything that goes with it AND still try to compete in this industry which is 100X larger then it was 5 yrs ago.. Now, With all the expenses how can the new guy possibly try to recoup the initial investments by selling at .49c..

 

I have not seen a successful business model based on $.49 a slot. So until one of the $.49 a slot GSPs can last long enough to prove their model we will just have to wait.

[Defcon|Rich]

I have not seen a successful business model based on $.49 a slot. So until one of the $.49 a slot GSPs can last long enough to prove their model we will just have to wait.

 

 

Derek's giving it his best but if you noticed he's also been selling everything and the kitchen sink on here so that tells another story..

[Steven Crothers]

No, your still wrong.

 

If Defcon bought a server in 2003, and upgraded in 2004. Its the same as buying a server in 2009, and upgrading it 2010. Zero difference whatsoever, and with price inflation/deflation, the money they would spend then, would equate out to a similar investment today.

 

I cannot for the life of me figure out where you get your out of control, completely wrong, and absurd statistics.

 

You make it sound like you or some other GSP has some secret weapon with pricing out new hardware. No, you don't. You and your 3 machines will upgrade with the same life cycle as the rest of everyone on here, if your around that long with your numbers.

[Steven Crothers]

Derek's giving it his best but if you noticed he's also been selling everything and the kitchen sink on here so that tells another story..

WTS: Kitchen Sink (Orange Rarity) 250.00

[proclan]

They are the biggest for a reason. Clearly they are doing something right.

 

Only because they have there own game tracking software,control panel,domain name and have been around for years, some gamers just put up with it, one of our new clients said he was with them for over 4 years and finally got tired of the lag and lack of support within the last 6 months. If they were a new company just starting out they would drop like a 2 day old mosquito. Also having there domain name puts them above everybody else in SEO rankings. Google search any game and see how many times there name pops up in the first 5 listings. Selling game slots for .49/slot in popular locations means:

 

1. They lost so many customers and have dozens of empty servers.

2. There trying to fill there newly installed dual quad core servers after finally upgrading from dual cores after 5 years (hehe).

3. I personally think they run at a loss for write off's for the bigger companies that have there hands in that GSP.

[HGN-Daniel]

"Only because they have there own game tracking software,control panel,domain name and have been around for years"

 

Only because...?

 

That's their whole business plan! They got lucky with their domain name but those things didn't develop themselves. That's exactly what you should do to promote yourself instead of becoming stagnant pieces of crap like most GSPs. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

[Steven Crothers]

1. They lost so many customers and have dozens of empty servers.

2. There trying to fill there newly installed dual quad core servers after finally upgrading from dual cores after 5 years (hehe).

3. I personally think they run at a loss for write off's for the bigger companies that have there hands in that GSP.

 

Yet another person I feel the need to correct, but cant entirely.

 

1. Wrong (so very wrong), you may think GS.com loses customers because of "bad support" or "lag". However as you know in this business, for every 10 customers, only 1 will be unhappy. The ones who are happy, never talk about how they are happy, because they are busy playing. The ones who feel the need to bitch or gripe are the ones that make it out to the public.

2. From dual quad cores? I can say without breaking my NDA, that GS.com has been using Dual-Quad cores since 2005. They use premium Dell equipment and their machines are severely overpowered for what little hit on the machines the servers can put on them.

3. You personally think they run at a loss? What are the operating costs of owning your own network? What do the machines cost in bulk orders? If I had to break it down, its probably somewhere around $70-80/machine at the "big time" level. If you think its possible to run at a loss at that price, than you need to revisit middle school.

 

Do you all sit around with a random number generator to prepare for debate? Or do you actually think first?

[Steven Crothers]

"Only because they have there own game tracking software,control panel,domain name and have been around for years"

 

Only because...?

 

That's their whole business plan! They got lucky with their domain name but those things didn't develop themselves. That's exactly what you should do to promote yourself instead of becoming stagnant pieces of crap like most GSPs. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Thank you.

[Defcon|Rich]

Steven is correct. Companies like gameservers set out with a specific business plan in mind. It's called volume selling and is exactly what they've perfected.

 

Walmart and homedepot are also good examples of this practice and why they've shut down all the mom/pop stores.

 

FYI: Your the mom/pop store.

[SickPuppy]

No, your still wrong.

 

If Defcon bought a server in 2003, and upgraded in 2004. Its the same as buying a server in 2009, and upgrading it 2010. Zero difference whatsoever, and with price inflation/deflation, the money they would spend then, would equate out to a similar investment today.

 

I cannot for the life of me figure out where you get your out of control, completely wrong, and absurd statistics.

 

You make it sound like you or some other GSP has some secret weapon with pricing out new hardware. No, you don't. You and your 3 machines will upgrade with the same life cycle as the rest of everyone on here, if your around that long with your numbers.

 

Well I wanted to keep this civil but it looks like you just want to make this a personal attack so here goes.

 

I completed my undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a Minor in Accounting in less than 3 years, with a 3.95 GPA, had some issues with one of the instructors and ended up with a B in world religions. I will complete my MBA in June with a 4.0 GPA. I will start my Doctorate in 2012, funds are a little tight and $56K a year is going to be hard to swing. I am looking for a school that will allow me to teach in order to offset the cost of my PHD.

 

This is not something that I am making up if you cannot grasp the concept or don't believe me then Google it, because it is obvious you don’t know what you are talking about. If you need help I will send you the formulas for calculating the Present Value and Future Value of an investment.

[Steven Crothers]

Well I wanted to keep this civil but it looks like you just want to make this a personal attack so here goes.

 

I completed my undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a Minor in Accounting in less than 3 years, with a 3.95 GPA, had some issues with one of the instructors and ended up with a B in world religions. I will complete my MBA in June with a 4.0 GPA. I will start my Doctorate in 2012, funds are a little tight and $56K a year is going to be hard to swing. I am looking for a school that will allow me to teach in order to offset the cost of my PHD.

 

This is not something that I am making up if you cannot grasp the concept or don't believe me then Google it, because it is obvious you don’t know what you are talking about. If you need help I will send you the formulas for calculating the Present Value and Future Value of an investment.

Its unfortunate you still don't know what your talking about with all these assumptions you make. Its good to see that education is getting a work out.

[proclan]

Steven is correct. Companies like gameservers set out with a specific business plan in mind. It's called volume selling and is exactly what they've perfected.

 

Walmart and homedepot are also good examples of this practice and why they've shut down all the mom/pop stores.

 

FYI: Your the mom/pop store.

 

Your good hehe......death to Walmart!

[SickPuppy]

Derek's giving it his best but if you noticed he's also been selling everything and the kitchen sink on here so that tells another story..

 

Having outrageous sales and liquidating assets are not signs of a healthy company. And before that dolt Crothers can jump in with some obtuse remark about having a sale, there is a big difference between having a sale to generate company growth and having a sale to prevent a company closure. He won’t comprehend what I am talking about but I am sure everyone else will.

[Steven Crothers]

Having outrageous sales and liquidating assets are not signs of a healthy company. And before that dolt Crothers can jump in with some obtuse remark about having a sale, there is a big difference between having a sale to generate company growth and having a sale to prevent a company closure. He won’t comprehend what I am talking about but I am sure everyone else will.

You got me, I'm far to much of a dolt to understand why our dedicated server sales are bad for business.

 

Having dedicated customers is always a bad thing.

 

I guess were just trying to use our Enterprise License appropriately.

 

Maybe I should take a page out of Hostile Contacts book? I know what I'll do, I'll install e107 on my site, use a free template, advertise other products on our site like livezilla, teeshirts, and logitech. After all, thats what all your business education has told you to do right?

[DougK94]

Somebody is going to get removed from someone's Christmas card list.....

[Defcon|Rich]

Somebody is going to get removed from someone's Christmas card list.....

 

Your too late.. Missed all the fun

[HGN-Daniel]

It's much too tempting to not get into other people's business.

[jbiloh]

Well I wanted to keep this civil but it looks like you just want to make this a personal attack so here goes.

 

I completed my undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a Minor in Accounting in less than 3 years, with a 3.95 GPA, had some issues with one of the instructors and ended up with a B in world religions. I will complete my MBA in June with a 4.0 GPA. I will start my Doctorate in 2012, funds are a little tight and $56K a year is going to be hard to swing. I am looking for a school that will allow me to teach in order to offset the cost of my PHD.

 

This is not something that I am making up if you cannot grasp the concept or don't believe me then Google it, because it is obvious you don’t know what you are talking about. If you need help I will send you the formulas for calculating the Present Value and Future Value of an investment.

 

Mom always told me not to brag. I learned that lesson the hard way when I was 14.

 

And from an independent, unbiased perspective, you consistently come off poorly.

[Derek]

You guys are funny I'll leave it at that.

[{-SMAKU-}_MotorMouth]

You got me, I'm far to much of a dolt to understand why our dedicated server sales are bad for business.

 

Having dedicated customers is always a bad thing.

 

I guess were just trying to use our Enterprise License appropriately.

 

Maybe I should take a page out of Hostile Contacts book? I know what I'll do, I'll install e107 on my site, use a free template, advertise other products on our site like livezilla, teeshirts, and logitech. After all, thats what all your business education has told you to do right?

 

The T-Shirt, embroidery, Playseats and Logitech merchandise are other stuff WE sell. And considering where we was 3 1/2 years ago we are doing pretty damn good. We don't have a problem retaining customers. With the first of 2009 going in the dump like it did we still turned a good profit and was able to expand.

 

Your right about the "walmartofgameservers" most of our new clients come from them complaining about laggy servers (i would guess there overloaded at .49/slot hehe) and poor support. As far as the voice servers we wouldn't even have a page up for them but we do get clients asking for it and it's just a add on service with no profit unless you count pennies.

 

I cannot for the life of me see how they stay on top. When I rented game servers they was the worst servers I ever used. The Vent server was so bad we ditched it and rented one from someone else. And then the game server got so bad we rented our own server box.

 

 

We have watched several companies start the big sale like they are doing and it never fails they go out after they get the money. They may not but it can't help. I had 5 customer ask me if I could match that price and my answer was nope. They went over to them for 10 to 20 days. They've been back with us now and all 5 said the exact same thing "the server was unplayable". They were the customers you love to keep, never have a support ticket from them unless it a hardware issue.

[JasonF]

I see the forums have not changed......