Why did PR2 die off?

[jdelta]

Are zoomers just obsessed enough with apps and console stuff that most flash games have lost their target audience? Or is lack of marketing finally showing its long-term repercussions? Discuss below.

[Master Raiden]

Because PR2 has been around for a long time and people eventually got bored of it and moved on to other things. There are plenty of appealing free-to-play games nowadays that offer a lot more than what a 2D platformer like PR2 can, and when people start leaving PR2, you get into a cycle where the game will gradually die off.

See the responses to this thread for more:
Why is PR2 DEAD? – The Truth!

[Addy]

Jiggmin made the kong store killed most of the community members since you can buy epic upgrades with epic everything instead of competing for them on jiggmindotcom

[Dangevin]

I personally wouldn't say that PR2 died, but it does have a substantially lower player base than it used to have.

This response from the thread @Master Raiden referred to pretty much summarizes why I feel PR2's player base lowered:

tl;dr: because it's a (nearly) 15 year old game which had a massive lull in development that is exclusive to a now deprecated browser plugin

PR2 being a flash game is the leading reason why it's not as popular. If it wasn't because Adobe decided to no longer support Flash, it would be because flash games ended up losing popularity. The fact that the game is still around despite it being online-only is amazing to me however, and I'll continue to try and support the game and the community.

[jdelta]

I personally wouldn't say that PR2 died, but it does have a substantially lower player base than it used to have.

How low would the player base have to go for you to say it died?

I'm with you as far as flash games essentially being a thing of the past, though. In order for the game to regain traction it would have to be re-released somewhere like Steam, and even then there's unfortunately a whole host of 2D scrollers that offer relatively more variety.

[Camer the Dragon]

- Flash
- No consistent events (Pr3 tournaments actually get a lot of people on)
- Advantage (stats) to veteran players

If there were to be a regular event with levels by the community (which had forced stat blocks) I think this could possibly help a bit but it may take some time

[cremedefromage]

- Flash
- No consistent events (Pr3 tournaments actually get a lot of people on)
- Advantage (stats) to veteran players

If there were to be a regular event with levels by the community (which had forced stat blocks) I think this could possibly help a bit but it may take some time

Isn't that the point of the tournament server? I"ve messed with it a few times and it seems like it sets your stats to 65 across the board, and remvoes hats. Never seen it played properly though.

[Kramig]

they not add me to the game

[Camer the Dragon]

Isn't that the point of the tournament server? I"ve messed with it a few times and it seems like it sets your stats to 65 across the board, and remvoes hats. Never seen it played properly though.

Tournament server forces stat combo and 65/65/65 aren't good stats. If it made it 195 stat points that'd be far better. Also removing hats outright is a bit much as it removes hat dynamics, which depending on the level can be fine (and you can ban hats from specific levels now anyway).
It terms of people not really playing it, it's for these reasons as well as 2 other things. The first thing being there's no consistent organised get-together schedule, the second thing being that you don't get exp on tournament server.

[ThePizzaEater1000]

PR3's tournaments are a completely different kind of gameplay from anything that PR2 in its current state can achieve (and getting there would require a huge amount of work), so that might not be the best model to go for if you want to encourage activity.

[LCPD]

I just feel like it got stale and people moved on to other choices. It was great during high school but now it’s different.

[Adulock77]

One of the main reasons why it ''died'' in my opinion is that the game is way over 10+ years old. Not only that but we have to remember that it came from an era of flash games that were quick, easy, come-in-and-out games that no longer exist anymore. 

Not only that but the game was left sort of abandoned for a very long time without any updates too (back in... 2014?) Which also contributed to the player base taking a major hit before Jiggmin had to quit developing games due to his marriage and stuff.

And of course, the death of flash was a huge hit as well due to it now being not as easily accessible as it once was.

So... yeah it's pretty bad but... I don't think is dead ''dead'' is more like... dormant. I strongly believe that the game is also in the best shape it has ever been thanks to Ben and the great suggestions that made it into the game recently by the community. The game just needs an opportunity for a resurgence. Perhaps adding the game to more modern platforms (such as Steam maybe) will be great. That way it can come back to its glory days.

[Northadox]

Platform Racing 2 is a simple, old game with no marketing muscle behind it to speak of, that had a massive lull in development and the plugin that ran it has been deprecated on all modern browsers, and doesn't have much of the lure that multiplayer games nowadays tend to have (...which are admittedly pretty predatory things, but it's what gets players). The fact that we're still talking about it is a miracle in itself.

[Jiggmin]

Probably a lot of reasons as people have said! I think one reason is that people spend more time on phones than computers these days

[jdelta]

Probably a lot of reasons as people have said! I think one reason is that people spend more time on phones than computers these days

No cap, bih. That's some fr fr shit.

[Eternal]

I believe it’s largely due to the shift in audience and the advancement of technology. As ones has before me have said, folks are interested in lore-based game or more complex developments. Also, most of us played PR2 during our childhood because it was all that was available. Especially in a school setting. We simply didn’t have PCs powerful enough to play triple A titles. Coolmathgames, NewGrounds, and PR2 were what was easily accessible. Now, the general audience has more power at their fingertips (phone) than we did with the strongest, most powerful desktop back in 2008. Roblox Mobile, CoD Mobile, and other mobile games are the fad.

We’re a rapidly advancing society.

[Camer the Dragon]

I believe it’s largely due to the shift in audience and the advancement of technology. As ones has before me have said, folks are interested in lore-based game or more complex developments. Also, most of us played PR2 during our childhood because it was all that was available. Especially in a school setting. We simply didn’t have PCs powerful enough to play triple A titles. Coolmathgames, NewGrounds, and PR2 were what was easily accessible. Now, the general audience has more power at their fingertips (phone) than we did with the strongest, most powerful desktop back in 2008. Roblox Mobile, CoD Mobile, and other mobile games are the fad.

We’re a rapidly advancing society.

Ye this too probs tbh
PR2 was something easily playable on a school break via browser, no download required.
Whereas now people probably play on their phones a lot more in breaks as Jiggmin said with more people using phones, plus with the death of flash on major browsers it's less easy to just play something like that during a break.
I don't recall playing PR2 on a break at school personally but I deffo played it with friends when I got home from school.

[Adulock77]

Probably a lot of reasons as people have said! I think one reason is that people spend more time on phones than computers these days

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???? Is this Jiggy Da Jiggman Jig???? O______O No way!

[jdelta]

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???? Is this Jiggy Da Jiggman Jig???? O______O No way!

It's Jiggmin the man aight

[Master Raiden]

If you go on PR2 and play Why PR2 Is Dead! by Legendary (6395215), you can read the opinions of over 60 players on why PR2's activity has been declining.

The comments in the level were written during 2014-2017, back when the game still had some level of activity and appeal.
Here are a few of them: