I actually thought it hit the ground with a bang! the first release was huge. People were talking about it immediately.
Totally agree, my recollection was this trended quickly. Let me look into it for a minute.
I am saying that AWAM was not popular at the start.It takes more than 1 year and half the game to become popular.
That is a prove that time is essential.
OK, I looked. One thing you could look at in determining 'how fast did it become popular' is activity on the site. Even if it's got some (or a lot) of repeat posters, it is still indicative of the overall level of engagement with a project.
Example:
AWAM is #3 for total number of views (I presume visits to the thread), behind Milfy City, released Jan 2018, so ~4 months later than AWAM, and Summertime Saga, released August 2016, ~14 months earlier.
Time is not, apparently a strong indicator of popularity if activity is a guide. Or is it, since I'm only considering the top three out of (thousands?)? Or isn't it, since MILFY City hasn't updated in the last year (and that last year was inconsistent to put it mildly) while Summertime Saga just updated about six weeks ago?
AWAM hit 410 pages (8820 posts) in its first year. Milfy City hit 410 pages in about six and a half months, Summertime Saga took more than a year (16 months) to hit 410 pages.
Does AWAM stack up to other "popular" games in terms of how long it takes to become popular?
AWAM is #22 on this site for number of likes, way behind games that haven't necessarily been around longer but have delivered hard core content much faster and have much shorter intervals between releases.
And none of the supposition takes into account quality and content. Being a DIK is AMAZING by any standard and quick to deliver hardcore content and was a developer with a prior success here. MILFY City, similar (but maybe lower case 'amazing').
Being a DIK was released February 2019 and is currently,
- #1 in weighted rating
- #1 in likes
- #4 all time views and
- reached 410 pages in four and a half months
Conclusion:
Length of time since initial release is not a predictor or a leading indicator of popularity.