New updated sub numbers (Official)

[Vember]

 

1) Casuals keep playing because they like the easy mode

.

 

Why do you think World of Borecraft is so popular?

[ninjashadowdark]

Subscribtion's have already gone down. A loss of 300,000 subscriber's isn't going down?

 

that's like 15% of the subscriptions since they last released their numbers. I never wanted the game to fail but after being lied to by bioware and their failure to deliver what they promised I have grown bitter.

 

one word stop playing the game.. i like the game dispite its flaws but ..... if you dont like it stop playing .. No one here forcing you to play go play something else

[xxdragonragexx]

People can predict the future with great accuracy.

It has been done in gambling, races, sports, and etc.

Not always correct but with a steady trend, it can be easily predicted.

For example, bioware can see which players are leaving and which ones are coming back and how many new players are buying the game. With this information, they can predict the future. Not always accurate though but since this game is very steady, and no competition for a while, it is easy to predict the future of this game.

[DarkLordRedeemed]

So you call a loss of subscriber's "expanding"? Well I have news for you this game is way too casual friendly to have people play for the long run.

 

This game attracts solo players with its "story". Once they try out the different stories and maybe play a few "operations" whats left with them?

 

Don't try to tell me this games operations and pvp have any holding power. Getting geared in record time isn't going to keep subscribers. This game is too damn easy and there is no carrot on the stick incentive to keep playing since you can get geared so fast.

 

Also with rated warzones coming out there will be no gear upgrade for doing well in rated warzones? Really? How is that going to incentivize people to keep pvping over other well known pvp mmos. The game's engine isn't even built for smooth, fluid pvp action.

 

I like the game for it's pve content but it is way too easy and 1.2 won't change the fact that this game has no holding power.

 

Expect subscriptions to go down. They may fluctuate up and down but it won't grow at an enourmous pace.

 

I hate to quote a first page post that's been addressed, but wow; This is really nostalgic. It's very close to a post I read WoW launch day on the FFXI forums back when I was a little teeny bopper. Some other people were saying it's too casual, it takes far too little time to reach level 60, which was the level cap, it won't keep in hardcore players, etc.

 

I'm not saying that shrinking won't happen with TOR, because it could. However, WoW only had about 300k purchases at launch. Obviously this was before MMO's were a thing, and some say WoW made it a thing. I'd actually credit its success to timeframe. It was lucky to have appeared when games were just starting to become cool, and people who were too young to necessarily associate gaming with social awkwardness had more and more access to computers. Also, South Park and Chapelle's Show gave it a huge boost to teens and young adults.

 

Anyway, the point I'm making is MMO's can grow exponentially. Maybe not as much since we're not near the timeline of the internet being in every home. Yet, it'll only make you look extremely bad if you try to analyze the future using your own personal gripes about gameplay. There are a lot of variables that come into play, and the numbers don't really point at all to it somehow magically failing someday. I'm not trying to come in here as a rabid fan trying to defend the game. It just really reminds me of all the people who said WoW was too easy and simple to last as an MMO. Not that TOR will be the next WoW necessarily.

Edited March 9, 2012 by DarkLordRedeemed

[Badlander]

Why do you think World of Borecraft is so popular?

 

Well to tell you the truth Blizzard just let 600 people go and WOW is losing subs fast. Vanilla wow which was hard at the top end instances blows the wow of now away. But you are right to a point. pretty much what is left in wow are casual easy mode wanting players.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Badlander

[NogFizzbin]

I pay 15 dollars a month. This is a very small investment. At any time I feel the game is not worth the 15 dollars I will quit. My decision is not based on number of subs or how fast or slow the subs are going up or down. My decision is not based on what other players think is fun or a good mmo.

[JerokTalram]

For kicks, I typed /played and it told me 4 days, 12 hours of time. So since pre-launch, I have invested fully 4.5 days of the last 70 ish to a video game. To me, that's a lot, but many would say that is "casual".

 

What no alts? You know that played only gives you the play time for the current character not all of them.

[JerokTalram]

Erm while the article was only just posted it is obviously dated information, it talks about the Asia/Pacific launch later in the month...

 

Also this being the exact same data put out over a month ago, I reckon the journalist is simply slow to post his articles. Investors are unlikely to be given a monthly update, quarterly is more standard.

 

If that's the case, that's probably good news because it doesn't include the Asia/Pacific subs so the current number of subs could actually be higher. But then again Asia/Pacific only has 3 servers and is probably a very small percentage of the actual player base.

[CptZeal]

the reason playerbase has not fallen off is the expansion of the asian servers happening right about the time the hardcore gamers are quitting because they are "bored."

 

So, I think their numbers might start to reverse here shortly if 1.2 patch isn't a hit. I know a lot of people are just waiting on that. If they deliver just 50% of what is promised, I'll be happy to continue however. I really like the setting, and the entire concept of the game. Most of my complaints are technical in nature.

 

As are mine. I'm not 'hardcore' by any stretch of the imagination, but I rather enjoy the game, the whole concept is brilliant imo. Now if they'd just fix the bugs....

[Norke]

Yes this game doesn't go down because:

 

1) Casuals keep playing because they like the easy mode

2) People just want to play with glowsticks and that's all they care about in an MMO

 

The people who actually came to play a good MMO, have all left or are about to.

 

I sure hope to god you aren't talking about the major MMO I think you are talking about because you just described it minus the glowsticks. If not, then, well I suppose it's your loss.

 

I'm loving this game and can't wait for it to come together in 1.2. It's a change of pace and this game has made me enjoy PvP again.

[Daluu]

As are mine. I'm not 'hardcore' by any stretch of the imagination, but I rather enjoy the game, the whole concept is brilliant imo. Now if they'd just fix the bugs....

 

Besides the story aspect, what is so brilliant about this game?

 

Story is the only innovative aspect of this game. And it gets old quick since you have to repeat 90% of the story for each toon.

 

Before you say companions, all they are is a talking pet with a decent AI. The talking is part of the story, the combat...same as a pet.

 

Nothing else about this game is brilliant.

[DWarrior]

The numbers ares still that high becouse

 

1. Theres nothing better to play (atleast theres ME3 for now)

 

2. GW2, Tera and Secret World isnt out yet

 

I still have my subscription. Am i active? No..havent logged in for 2 days, cant be arsed doing dailys, but i just.. cant unsubscribe. People still need me for operations :/

 

If any of the games in point 2 was out tomorrow, i would unsub directly

 

Sorry but just had to chime in for a sec

Secret world looks like garbage and wont be a contender for TOR. That is all

[myriadical]

/wave

 

See the attitude?

 

You're not hardcore. Not even close. You may be a scrubbly that grinds through harder content with your friends, but I went down the hardcore road for several years and NOT ONE TRUE Hardcore player.... NOT ONE.... would be upset about "casuals" or ANYONE playing a game they do as well, because without them there is no competition, no way to gauge themselves, not enough customer base and no one to feed the epeen stroking egos.

 

Your post is just simply immature, condescending and insulting to a LARGE portion of EVERY MMOs player base, and let's be frank: People are sick and tired of your type playing their games, not the other way around. Go back to CoD, WoW Arena, Counter Strike, or whatever else you think is "difficult" and sets you apart from the rest of humanity. At the end of the day: your attitude is an example of why these games are dying, NOT because the developers cater to anyone, because the average person is sick of the 5-8% that constantly insist they are so much more "skilled" than everyone else..

 

in a video game.

 

 

And so we move on, looking for the better community and player base, who will respectfully challenge the developers to make better, more challenging content... in a mature manner.

 

Wow well said. The funny thing bout 'hard core' players is that eventually they will all become 'casual' players due to work or family life or....maybe not.

[JerokTalram]

one word stop playing the game.. i like the game dispite its flaws but ..... if you dont like it stop playing .. No one here forcing you to play go play something else

 

what are you drunk? 'stop playing the game' is not one word. Go sober up before you troll.

[Dayfax]

Assuming 1.7M people bought box copies of the game at the minimum price of $60, that puts the company at around $110M off box sales (1.7M people x $60), more counting the collectors editions and digital deluxe. Lets say it stays at 1.7M for 2 months after the free month, (1.7M x $15 monthly x 2 months) tacks on another $60M....So assuming this all adds up, they are at approximately $170M/200M. If the game survives another month, anything after that will be profit, not taking into account current labor, production, operating costs. Honestly, things can't be looking that grim....

 

EA does not receive the full retail price of the game. They might get half that. It's more $60MM in box sales, another ~$51MM for two months of subs.

 

That's ~$111MM gross, and obviously doesn't include infrastructure, marketing, or the cost of current/ future development.

[maxilo]

ok so if these figures are accurate, where are all the players ?

 

my first two servers have very few people left on them. (so few i have to play on a third server these days)

 

perhaps they are all waiting for new patch ?

[Dayfax]

You guys do realize that wow reports both their asian and western subscribers. First, their asian subscribers are pay to play and aren't realistically like their subscribers in the west. What I would be really interested in seeing wow's western subscriber numbers only and not combined their east with west subscribers since most of their profits come from their western subscribers.

 

I don't particuarly like the way Blizzard spins their subscribers numbers especially their eastern base since they pay to play. If said player only plays once a month they count them as a subscriber even if they only played for one hour. Thus, I'm very skeptical about true profits wow makes over their east base subscribers.

 

I admit the way Blizzard promotes its numbers is disingenuous, but their NA/EU base (where something like 70% of their revenue comes from) still dwarfs SWTOR by 2.5 to 3 times.

[Touchbass]

ok so if these figures are accurate, where are all the players ?

 

my first two servers have very few people left on them. (so few i have to play on a third server these days)

 

perhaps they are all waiting for new patch ?

 

The subs are there, it's just the activity of those subs is which is in question. Bioware has a following from a single player game, it attracted probably a lot of those players who are use to doing things solo as it is. With the amount of annoyance it is in forming groups on some servers, people just probably log on for a little bit here and there. That is probably why the game feels so void on some servers.

[CptZeal]

Besides the story aspect, what is so brilliant about this game?

 

Story is the only innovative aspect of this game. And it gets old quick since you have to repeat 90% of the story for each toon.

 

Before you say companions, all they are is a talking pet with a decent AI. The talking is part of the story, the combat...same as a pet.

 

Nothing else about this game is brilliant.

 

The aesthetics of the game are brilliant. I love the settings, and the inhabitants of this "universe". I honestly was never very interested in Star Wars before I started playing this game, I literally own NONE of the movies, and haven't even seen the entirety of the 5th and 6th (2nd and 3rd originals) movies. The only other SW game I had played prior to this was Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles. So maybe I don't have much experience in the Star Wars scene, but I do when it comes to MMOs.

 

I played WoW for 4.5 years, and I had 4 85's, 9 over 80, and 17 over 70. I had a total of 34 characters. Other MMO's I've played for over 6 months at one time or another or just tried out were: Allods Online, DC Universe Online, Dofus, Warhammer Online (Free Trial), Rift, APB Reloaded, LoTR Online (Free Trial), Perfect World, and Runescape (First MMO, doesn't count lmao, added for *****'n'giggles).

 

SW: TOR is the first that I've played that gives me the same, if not greater feeling I got playing WoW, and it hasn't diminished. SW: TOR and GW II will be my MMO's of choice, for a long time.

 

A bit much has been said already, so I'm just going to go ahead and say I like the music, graphics, combat, story (duh), and "fluff" of the game. It's all fine to me. Do YOU not like it? Then quit. No sense wasting your money and energy on something you don't enjoy, that's just asinine.

[JHoltJHolt]

So you call a loss of subscriber's "expanding"? Well I have news for you this game is way too casual friendly to have people play for the long run.

 

This game attracts solo players with its "story". Once they try out the different stories and maybe play a few "operations" whats left with them?

 

Don't try to tell me this games operations and pvp have any holding power. Getting geared in record time isn't going to keep subscribers. This game is too damn easy and there is no carrot on the stick incentive to keep playing since you can get geared so fast.

 

Also with rated warzones coming out there will be no gear upgrade for doing well in rated warzones? Really? How is that going to incentivize people to keep pvping over other well known pvp mmos. The game's engine isn't even built for smooth, fluid pvp action.

 

I like the game for it's pve content but it is way too easy and 1.2 won't change the fact that this game has no holding power.

 

Expect subscriptions to go down. They may fluctuate up and down but it won't grow at an enourmous pace.

 

Damn... I don't even want to play anymore after reading this. This game must really suck, and i didn't even realize it. Do you know all of this for a fact?? I had better unsubscribe, I don't see any point in continuing to play after what you've said here. I can't believe I put all this time into playing SWTOR and assuming that I was enjoying it.

 

It sure felt like i've been enjoying it so far... Was I wrong? Oh well, good thing I read your post, thanks. You've saved me alot of time.

[Eildalior]

Most of my friends stopped playing but keep paying.

They wait for the update that would fix some particular bugs or implement new end-game content.

It is probably true there are 1.~M people paying but I would not call those guys "players" anymore.

[Necrolepsy]

1.53M x $60 + 170K x $150 + $15 x 3 x 1.7M x 0.65 = $125,970,000

 

Assuming people paid $60 for DDE/SE on average

Assuming 10% bought the CE at $150

Assuming 3 months sub @ $15 for 1.7 million subscribers

Assuming 35% lucasarts commision

 

SWTOR has generated $126 million dollars in revenue so far. They have not release additional paid services yet (aside from authenticator). They have already spent the initial $300 million on voice acting for this entire vanilla release. If the game survives and grows for another ~5 months, it will break even.

 

These are very base-level figures also, I'd say about 20-25% of the user base purchased CE personally and that more than 2 million box sales total have gone out.

 

Once server transfers / paid services start coming out, they will generate yearly revenue in the multiple billions. Then I hope they keep the content pace up or higher.

 

Haters go and choke on a grape or something, you got no argument, cy@.

 

Most of my friends stopped playing but keep paying.

They wait for the update that would fix some particular bugs or implement new end-game content.

It is probably true there are 1.~M people paying but I would not call those guys "players" anymore.

 

Then you may as well say that WoW has 800k subs because of the annual pass, since a lot subbed only for d3 and no longer play.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Necrolepsy

[bigredcandle]

I dont want this game to fail or succeed as it served as a distraction and was fun but these numbers 1.7mil last time...1.7mil this time seem odd to me as thats 100%retention and 0 growth shown.

 

I know fanboys want to herald these as proof the games awesomsauce and the haters are going to wanna herald them as the doom of the galaxy but that nonsense aside and the numbers just seem made up....no movement at all up or down with asia launch and all the hate/love...still 1.7mil hmmmm.

[Dezziedc]

Wow well said. The funny thing bout 'hard core' players is that eventually they will all become 'casual' players due to work or family life or....maybe not.

 

On the contrary. I'm sure they will continue to use the fact that they were hardcore gamers in everyday life. Afterall, it is a status symbol that earns much respect around the world no matter where you use it:

 

• When wanting to impress a total stranger in the hope of picking them up for a night of fun - "Hey, you're harder to pick up than a mob without an aggro table"
  
• When applying for a job - "I ran a guild of 200 members and was able to clear new Raids within a week of release - my organisation skills are 2nd to none"
  
• When applying for a credit card - "I was able to raise 500k gold in a mere 6 months and was able to maintain that amount for the entire 7 years I played 'X' MMO. As a matter of fact I am currently at 1m gold and growing!!!"
  
• When demonstrating physical stamina - "I once played an MMO for 5 days straight with no sleep and only spent an additional 2 days in hospital in a coma when I passed out!!! "
  
• When demonstrating wealth - "I have spent $2k in the last 6 months purchasing virtual pets!!! I have so much money that I can even buy things that don't really exist!!!"
  

 

I mean really, how can this not be impressive?

[Eildalior]

Then you may as well say that WoW has 800k subs because of the annual pass, since a lot subbed only for d3 and no longer play.

 

That's right.

Then I don't care as long as EA/Bio/Lucas get the money And like you said, they did not implement all the various and common services yet.