BuzzerBeater Forums

So what are your suggestions for increasing the number of USA players?

As with all "I like BB the way it is" responses in this thread, what changes would any of you make to increase the number of USA teams? Clearly, standing pat is not a real option.

Saying "I like it the way it is, so don't change" is also a totally irrelevant comment for this specific thread, BTW. Most of you have played many seasons. We all know you like the game. Your happiness is not the issue. Getting new USA players is.

Not losing current players is an issue that deserves just as much weight as finding new players. Just because some people don't support your crusade to fundamentally change the game to what you personally would prefer, doesn't mean their comments are irrelevant. Maintaining the things about BB that helped make it popular and get it to where it is today is both a real and (imo) desirable option. We all know you don't like the current system, but your dissatisfaction is not the issue. What's best for growing the game overall is. /rant

To make this post at least somewhat constructive, I would like to see the BB more or less continue with what they've already been doing: improvements that make the game more fun/interactive (the new draft system), contests and things that get the community involved and encourage recruitment of new players (the world cup contest), the Facebook stuff they're working on, etc.

edit: And I totally agree with smedlock: the US does not equal BB, and I would hate to make drastic changes to a game popular worldwide just to address a declining US user base, when other countries don't seem to be suffering from the same problem, and it's not at all clear why US users may be declining. Given the game (and the US user base) has been using this training system since its inception, I am at the very least skeptical that your complaint is the sole or major reason for any recent decline in users, and frankly I'm also doubtful that changing it will attract more long term users than it drives away.

Last edited by J-Slo at 9/30/2010 10:20:31 AM

I am at the very least skeptical that your complaint is the sole or major reason

I listed six reasons, with the player development model as the fourth. Hardly 'the sole or major reason'.

The US is only 6 percent of the user base,

The point of this thread is to make the USA more than 6 percent, is it not?

I still contend that advertising in the US would help. Grassroot movement to advertise on college campuses. Gotta get the math geeks in here. GO GO GO!

Stability in the user base is actually a sign of a flaw in the game. The goal is to grow the game and that is not happening for whatever reasons....many conjectures have been made about this in the thread. I would love to see the US user base grow, but maybe your right that it has reached it's saturation point, but just because some countries are growing and some are declining doesn't make this game successful. You ask any business owner if they are okay with "standing pat" and they will tell you flat out NO. Anyone with business savvy would agree because they know that growth is key to a successful business...and that's what BB is. If the overall user base doesn't grow, then it's harder to make game improvements and ultimately it will end up folding. The fact that the US user base is falling should be alarming as we are a huge piece of the pie when it comes to athletic competition and more specifically basketball. To have a country like the US declining alarms the creators of BB....and if they won't admit that it alarms them even a little bit then I would think they were probably telling a little white lie. 55k in 13 seasons is not necessarily an alarming number, but the lack of overall growth is.

I wouldnt mind if there was another ad or two... the two that there are now dont really bother me.

edit- and whats the "Endorsement" part under where it shows my next game?

Last edited by shawnvb at 10/10/2010 8:35:34 AM

If it grew the game which in turn allows for upgrades and the ability to hire more folks to the BB team as employees, then as for myself I would be fine with more advertising. I tend to tune it out anyway and it doesn't bother me. Not that I represent everyone, but it seems a small price to pay if it helps out BB in the long run.

I would say to the United States accounts not logging on after registration is the waiting period required. The U.S. is a country that wants things happening when they take action(such as signing up) and like results fast. Not to say other countries don't, but I just believe its because of the basis of the American system that we live in, we are very impatient :).

Possibly quicker waiting periods would be helpful, I don't have much information towards this subject, so I'll refrain from talking about it much as I don't know the mechanics of the registration very well.

The activity at the lower levels is also very disheartening, when I use to play BB I would say the forums were way more active for leagues, not very active, but still there was activity. I could just be in a inactive league, but I believe when I first made a post when I registered my team, the league had gone about a year without a post.

The forums are another thing, BB is a great game, but I just do not like how these forums work, they are just quite strange, and do not function very well for me. If anyone here has played the football simulation, Goallineblitz, their forum set up is great, and the way there is sub sections into sections. These forums are VERY active, the forums themselves are set up great, not to say the moderation or user base posting is very good though :).

edit:
Another thing, thinking of the goallineblitz forum system gave me another idea, the buzzerbeater referral system just doesnt give me enough incentive to try to invite friends, and the way its set up is bad. Something such as a referral link, for example goallienblitz uses this(my referall link, feel free to remove if it is viewed as advertising): http://goallineblitz.com/game/signup.pl?ref=17499907

If users had a referall link, they could post it on forum websites they go to, fantasy football leagues, facebook, myspace, etc. Now, the incentive for getting referrals? I would suggest something to where you earn points per referral, like say you needed 100 referral points to get a month of supporter, but to keep abuse low for someone that would just make the accounts themselves or get friends to just create accounts then never login, I would suggest a waiting period. Like say I recruit a friend named Bob Smith, he would then need to be active for one month before I could gather any of the referral points, and the month being maybe having to take some actions, not just creat it on day 1, then say 30 days later logging on, active throughout the entire period, and maybe having to complete the glb checklist(I think thats what its called? Visiting Buz R Beater or whatever). And possibly buying some transfers and other things like that, not sure how buzzer beater would set it up, just a suggestion. Sorry if i'm trying to compare BuzzerBeater to Goallineblitz, just thought of two ways that I believe would benefit BB.

Last edited by PrizzlePulse at 10/12/2010 3:11:14 AM