why does this make me happy?

maniacalpha1-1

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2010
3,562
14
81
Great single player game, I hope it doesn't go so far as to need to be shut down, I do want to resubscribe from time to time and run around, do a new class story.

Though to the extent this helps teach MMO makers not to overcasualize and overclone WoW, hope they learn their lesson.
 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,189
184
106
I especially like this part of the article, the update:

«In a conference call this afternoon, EA said the decrease was indeed due to "casual and trial players" cycling out of the game.»

Ok, so they called 400,000 people individually and asked them if they quit the game because they were casual and cycling out of the game due to their expiring trial, or because their post-subscription first month access period was done? How do they know that? I mean, on paper, if you check their accounts you know if they were playing for 7 days for free (by invitation), or if they used their 30 days period after subscription. That's the obvious part, but what does THAT say about the player's actual intention(s) (such as coming back maybe?) and feelings about the game?

What I mean is how do EA know - past the observation of individual accounts - if the player him/herself simply didn't quit because the game was boring, instead of "oh, yeah I quit because my 30 days access to the game is gone, I'd still play the game because I love it, but alas it's not F2P yet so I quit, but don't get me wrong, the game isn't bad!". So EA assumes that because you leave and don't stay playing, you're automatically casual? EA labels their consumers like that? They don't even know if the player who just left isn't actually "hardcore" in other games, but simply thought that Old Republic sucked balls. Now of course that didn't crossed EA's thoughts. So the game is either good and you stay, or you're a casual player and because of that, you leave. Nice.

Them defensive PR stunts make me laugh. As soon as you have news like this, EA jumps in and claims "NO no! Wait guys! Hahaha... ok, seriously that was a good one, you guys over there writing articles like that. Look, The Old Republic is the best thing since sliced bread, ok? Those 400,000 players didn't quit, they loved the game, they just cycled it out! They play 'x' games, they try them, then they leave, it's their "cycle". See? They were ALL casual players, each 400 thousands of them, we know that. They loved the game, but they left because they were casual and cycled the game out, out of a bunch of others. Very simple, now move on, nothing to see here."

I'll just say this... speaking for myself since of course those 400,000 players who quit the game were just casual players but they happened to love the game so I must be in a minority in EA's mind. I tried Old Republic for 7 days thanks to a trial invite. It was one of the most boring, generic and bland gaming experience I've had in years. I wouldn't imagine trying to endure the game for longer. I stopped playing on the 5th or 6th day of my trial period and uninstalled it. If there's 1.3 million players left whom happen to actually enjoy the game and aren't playing because they feel obliged to play since they payed to play it, then good. Having 1.3 million players still playing your game is better than seeing 400K leaving, right? Right?

Surely, when you have 25% of your players base leaving the game, they weren't consumers, they were "just" casual players, not important those peeps are they? Naaah, not important. It's totally not a sign that the game sucks. Nope. They still have 1.3 million players on it after all, and not a single one of them play it because they feel obliged to, due to the financial link to their monthly subscription fee.
 
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imaheadcase

Diamond Member
May 9, 2005
3,850
7
76
Great single player game, I hope it doesn't go so far as to need to be shut down, I do want to resubscribe from time to time and run around, do a new class story.

Though to the extent this helps teach MMO makers not to overcasualize and overclone WoW, hope they learn their lesson.

The first four words you said is why it lost them. No one plays a MMO for single player. That is why quests are dumb
 

thejunglegod

Golden Member
Feb 12, 2012
1,358
36
91
because:
1. You were disappointed with ME3 and want Bioware to die.
2. You want the entire MMORPG genre to GTFO.
3. You now hope Bioware will go back to concentrating on creating uber quality games such as Baldur's Gate & DA: Origins.
 

darkewaffle

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
8,152
1
81
Typical MMO lifecycle, it would be news if they had actually kept all those subscribers.

All MMOs see inflated numbers shortly after release simply because they're 'new', SWTORs would be even higher because of the holiday release. Compounded with the fact that the "Star Wars" name will attract a lot of players that aren't traditionally part of the MMO demographic who are likely to play some stories and put it down or simply give MMO gaming a try and find out it's not for them, this was to be expected.
 

HomerX

Member
Mar 2, 2010
184
0
0
Ok, so they called 400,000 people individually and asked them if they quit the game because they were casual and cycling out of the game due to their expiring trial, or because their post-subscription first month access period was done? How do they know that?

probably because these players marked the corresponding checkbox when canceling the subscription?

I quit SWTOR a few months ago and i remember there were some questions about your reasons...
 

EDUSAN

Golden Member
Apr 4, 2012
1,358
0
0
i got the game almost 1 month after release...

1st month i played it non stop, i got to level 30 more or less (cause i restarted in another server, got a guild and that stuff, was leveling skills)
2nd month i played less, got to lvl 45 more or less... started like 2 or 3 other characters, leveled them to 10-20 max. starting to not care about flashpoints
3rd month, i didnt even enter the game anymore, tried to unsubscribe but i did it 1 day after they bill me... so i have another month but i dont intend to play it

was fun, i guess..but there is something wrong with it, cant really say what

maybe its me that im older than when i played WoW, maybe its because its so similar to WoW.... and im a fan of SW of course. There are a lot of Kotor references. To the story, to the events that happened in the previous games, flashpoints with revan and hk-47 but i couldnt care less i didnt even do them
 

lozina

Lifer
Sep 10, 2001
11,709
8
81
Awful game. I pre-ordered it, was all excited about it, played it on day 1 for 4 or 5 hours and then never logged in again. Cancelled my subscription within a week.
 

crownjules

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2005
4,858
0
76
It makes me happy because it is yet another nail in the coffin of the MMORPG archetype that has existed since the first EQ and popularized by WoW. Gamers are getting tired of spending $15/mo on the same gameplay just dressed up in a different setting. I played in some of the SWTOR beta weekends and that alone bored me and prevented me from wasting $60.

They need to develop something different. The current model that most MMORPGs use is tired and stale. Blizzard's Titan project claims to do that, but we'll have to wait and see.
 

Gheris

Senior member
Oct 24, 2005
305
0
0
I don't think that the companies get something. MMOs are past their prime. I played Everquest for a while, I played WOW for a while. In the end your doing the same stuff over and over again. And your paying a monthly fee to do it! FTP is where it's at, but even then MMOs are just bleh.
 

rivan

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2003
9,677
3
81
How do they know that?

Well, when you sign up, you MUST enter CC information to play. For that not to be charged, you MUST cancel your account. On the account cancel page, there are a few dropdowns and a comments section that ask why you're leaving.

FWIW, I just cancelled, but haven't played in well over a month.
 

PowerYoga

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2001
4,603
0
0
mmos can be fun. It's all about the people and how the endgame dungeons are setup, and how interactive it forces you to be with other players. A game that feels like a single player will eventually be just that, and single player games get boring after a month or two for most.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
It's a great game, though far from a perfect one.

From the "I quit!" posts I've read, many people expected it to be Star Wars Galaxies 2.0 or to have more end-game content than WoW, but it isn't either of those games.

Jaded MMO veterans played for a bit, got bored, and are now ready to move on to the next flavor of the month. Soon they'll be posting about the faults of Tera and GW2, and quitting them too.
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
It's not a good game, but then again I think WoW is a bad game too, and this is just WoW with a Star Wars overlay.

There's a reason why these MMOs fail, they all play/look/feel the same. To succeed, you have to actually be different (Eve is a good example of this).
 

zerogear

Diamond Member
Jun 4, 2000
5,611
9
81
It makes me happy b/c it's EA, and after the mess of DA2 and ME3, I'm happy because it's Bioware.
 

sigurros81

Platinum Member
Nov 30, 2010
2,371
0
0
The only redeeming quality about this game is its foundation -- the Star Wars universe the game is set on. However, I think that's also the reason for its decline, I played the game for 3 months before I got bored to death with it.

Everyone look the same, nothing unique about your character that would make him/her stand out from the crowd in a battlefield. Everyone running around with light sabres. A level 30 can look like a level 50. There are only a distinct look/style only when you compared Imperial vs. Republic. Everything is too easy, and the game itself is even a bigger grindfest than WoW. I recall running around most of the game in no man land and fluff area.
 

thespyder

Golden Member
Aug 31, 2006
1,979
0
0
Everyone look the same, nothing unique about your character that would make him/her stand out from the crowd in a battlefield.

But isn't this more or less true of any MMO? 50,000 other players all with the same/similar gear, all grinding the same monsters and the same quests. Nothing Unique or original since everyone grinds towards the same "Power Items".
 

SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,202
4,401
136
I don't think that the companies get something. MMOs are past their prime. I played Everquest for a while, I played WOW for a while. In the end your doing the same stuff over and over again. And your paying a monthly fee to do it! FTP is where it's at, but even then MMOs are just bleh.

I agree. MMOs are dying. WoW was groundbreaking in many ways, but now everyone is just rushing to copy the king. But WoW has lost it's luster, we don't want any more of it, we have played that game to death.

We need something new. I think that live controlled content will be the answer.
 

momeNt

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2011
9,297
352
126
It makes me happy because it is yet another nail in the coffin of the MMORPG archetype that has existed since the first EQ and popularized by WoW. Gamers are getting tired of spending $15/mo on the same gameplay just dressed up in a different setting. I played in some of the SWTOR beta weekends and that alone bored me and prevented me from wasting $60.

They need to develop something different. The current model that most MMORPGs use is tired and stale. Blizzard's Titan project claims to do that, but we'll have to wait and see.


I think you may be on to something.

A lot of wow players are done with wow because the expansions are doing nothing for them. They are leaving for other games to try and recapture that spark they felt when actually enjoying their first, or favorite MMO.

I am currently still playing SWTOR, from WoW. I feel like I want to be back in WoW: TBC though, and perhaps that just isn't ever going to happen for me. It's not the game, it's me.

That maybe just means that after 5-10 years of MMOs, people get burned out and are maybe done. That doesn't mean that MMOs need to die, but rather the new wave of gamers just entering the key demographic need to be focused on and stop trying to key in on jaded WoW players, because they are done and can't be counted on to reliably keep subscribing.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,145
10
81
Got the game. played it a lot the first 2-3 months. then got tired of it. Its a single player game that you need to pay a monthly fee for. Also it tries to be WoW and failed.


not a great game and i want my $60 back.
 

ockky

Senior member
Jul 29, 2004
735
0
71
I played it and liked it. It had some really bad ass moments that i thought were cool as hell...way fucking cool. but i cancelled after the first month. I plan on going back eventually, but I've currently got too much work, and too many 2.50$ steam games to play ... not to mention the games yet to come out
 

Lumathix

Golden Member
Mar 16, 2004
1,686
0
46
Played it, still have an account along with my wife. It was fun. But at max level, it's fairly dull. It's a real shame based on all the resources that went into developing this game.

But it in no way makes me "happy" that the game is losing subscribers.