One Million accounts…for Star Trek Online

It’s time to break out the champagne glasses! Atari has announced that STO now has over one million registered accounts. Now while that is a number that should bring a smile to any marketers face it does not mean the future is certain or bright for that matter.

As your girlfriend told you on your promo night it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. The true test of any MMO is if it can keep its subscribers after the first few months. If you don’t believe me ask Age of Conan and they will tell you what it is like.

There has been a divide in opinion for STO. Normally this would mean nothing as it is the case with any game, but the rumblings say STO still has a lot to fix before it can be considered top shelf. On the other hand many testers and new owners of the game are saying the love it and the bugs are minor and will be fixed quickly, but the overall game is sound and fun.

Back to the main story, with the discounted lifetime and year-long subscriptions plans it seems Atari and Cryptic have a long term plan to retain customers, at least on one end. However, those who I have talked to that have purchased such a plan really like the game and plan to stay through the upcoming patches and fixes.

Another smart move was their teaming up with the Syfy network to offer an exclusive digital download bundle through the channel’s site and to run a two-day marathon of Star Trek episodes this week. It is moves like this, coupled with a strong development team that can keep the home fires burning for STO and make it a real player in the MMO market.