mothermonterr Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 And here we are with swtor in the same priority raking as tiger wood's golf. (from investor conference call) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neloth Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 (edited) Go back and read the quote 500k was not the number to make a profit. I hope I'm wrong but my guess is that with all the low pop servers and new games coming out that after the free 30 days runs out the sub numbers are going to see another significant drop. Do you suffer from selective reading comprehension or something? Over 500k and it's profitable, over 1m and it's very profitable. "We previously described to folks that 500,000 subscribers saw the game as substantially profitable, but it's not the kind of thing that we would write home about," he said. "[but] anything north of 1 million subscribers is a very profitable business." Source here Edited May 9, 2012 by Neloth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solo_Han Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Doesn't that honor fall to the Sims? Nope... FIFA 11 is the largest selling sports game ever made apparently. Not largest ever. Largest is Wii Sports, with 71 million sales... It was bundled with the every copy of the Wii sold though, so that's not really fair. The Sims (16 million shipped) - http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/feb/1114806.htm In terms of a series it's the largest selling, but not as an individual title. I think Tetris is probably the largest selling game of all time if you want to look at it objectively. I mean, everyone and their dogs owns a copy of that in one form or another. Be it on the gameboy, mobile, PC, whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Januaria Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Reading this thread gave me that awful "sinking" feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like in "Jaws" when Roy Scheider realizes that the shark is slightly more dangerous than anticipated and utters those now classic words: "We're gonna need a bigger boat." I'm afraid that SWTOR has now reached that "bigger boat" moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fhrosty Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I miss the days when the developers of a game also controlled the game. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlaxitov Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 (edited) Casual players have unsubscribed How is it that casual gamers have unsubscribed when its only the casual gamers who could possible still have anything to do? They couldn't have it more wrong. Edited May 9, 2012 by Vlaxitov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FooBard Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Cool, can't wait to play a new Sim City game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 (edited) Microtransactions would be annoying unless it is for cosmetic stuff It's pretty clear if you have followed their earnings calls for a while now that microtransactions is core to a specific segment of their procut family, which does not include their MMO product family. They intend to grow micro-transactions as a part of their business, and it will mostly be in the app market for phones/tablets because that is where the lions share of the potential revenue resides. Edited May 9, 2012 by Andryah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armaso Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Reading this thread gave me that awful "sinking" feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like in "Jaws" when Roy Scheider realizes that the shark is slightly more dangerous than anticipated and utters those now classic words: "We're gonna need a bigger boat." I'm afraid that SWTOR has now reached that "bigger boat" moment. I think you have the wrong scene. It's more like the part where Jaws aka EA is eating the Capt aka BW and the boat aka SWTOR is sinking. Too late to get that bigger boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puppup Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 So much for bottoming out. EA has begun to bite the bullet. They have invested too much to abandon SWTOR anytime soon, but with the lack of WoW like numbers and the Luca$'$ royalty, profit margins are not there to justify massive investment. F2P or sub will depend on the beancounter's forecast of revenue streams. No surprise it is no longer top priorty. The landscape of gaming is evolving, EA is transitioning from the old school to the new digital age. Origin was devolped to compete with Steam. The stock is flirting with a 10 year low, has 5 bucks cash, a stable of titles. Hate to bottomfish and average down, but seems a reasonable risk/reward with a longer term viewpoint. Barring a buyout it is likely dead money, but I always keep my powder dry to pick up more even cheaper. Patience can be a virtue, a year from now things can be very different. Bought alittle more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawginole Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 (edited) SimCity a higher priority?? Casuals have unsubscribed?? EA certainly isn't feeling confident in TOR anymore, that's for sure. SimCity is of more importance. SWTOR is a niche game even if it has a huge audience. WoW is a niche game even with 12 million subscribers. SimCity can be placed on every single platform, PC, Mac, Android, Windows Phone, and Apple device. They can sell 500 million copies of it and design it to have micro-transactions for an even further continued revenue stream. So yes, for a company in the business of making money and not in the business of making Star Wars or MMO fans feel #1 and special, SimCity is of more importance. Not even close. That also has nothing to do with whether they think SWTOR will be profitable or if they think it's important. If you work for Microsoft, the OS will always be your bread and butter because it is your #1 money maker. That doesn't mean Office or Presence sales in the business world are not very important. They just aren't the highest priority. Edited May 9, 2012 by Dawginole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohpleasework Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 (edited) If you work for Microsoft, the OS will always be your bread and butter because it is your #1 money maker. That doesn't mean Office or Presence sales in the business world are not very important. They just aren't the highest priority. Not for nothing, but Sharepoint and Office are the big revenue streams for Microsoft, followed by Exchange. It's crazy when you think about how many PCs run windows and the penetration of Windows Server in the data center - but no, Sharepoint and Office are the top dogs. Anways, I digressed like a mother, sorry. Edited May 9, 2012 by ohpleasework Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 EA has begun to bite the bullet. They have invested too much to abandon SWTOR anytime soon, but with the lack of WoW like numbers and the Luca$'$ royalty, profit margins are not there to justify massive investment. F2P or sub will depend on the beancounter's forecast of revenue streams. Complete speculation on your part, absent any support from any thing communicated by EA. No surprise it is no longer top priorty. I know this is probably going to sting you as an MMO player, but IT NEVER HAS BEEN. Sorry, but MMOs are mice nards to EAs strategic growth plans. Further, they contribute less then 10% of contribution revenue to the company. They are profitable mice nards, which is why they keep them as part of their product offerings though. The landscape of gaming is evolving, EA is transitioning from the old school to the new digital age. Origin was devolped to compete with Steam. Actually, the digital landscape they are evolving toward is not Origin centric (that is only one component of their business plan). The big growth market is app based for the handmobile market, and it's exclusively digital. Origins was developed to be a digital delivery engine where they reap all the profits rather then share those profits with 3rd parties like Steam. Nothing more, nothing less. ALL MMOs and many FPS products are going the digital delivery route as it cuts their production costs to deliver a unit to almost zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puppup Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Complete speculation on your part, absent any support from any thing communicated by EA. Investing, not speculating. I can read a 10Q. I know this is probably going to sting you as an MMO player, but IT NEVER HAS BEEN. Investor, not a player. Actually, the digital landscape they are evolving toward is not Origin centric (that is only one component of their business plan). The big growth market is app based for the handmobile market, and it's exclusively digital. Origins was developed to be a digital delivery engine where they reap all the profits rather then share those profits with 3rd parties like Steam. Nothing more, nothing less. ALL MMOs and many FPS products are going the digital delivery route as it cuts their production costs to deliver a unit to almost zero. Of course. Thank you for reiterating what I posted. I put my money where my mouth is. How about you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netskink Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 who told them this? or maybe the casuals just pay month to month? if this game goes f2p ill be quitting. they always end up putting too many restrictions on games when theyre f2p trying to force you to spend more money... no thank you... I used to play a free to play game. I think it was lineage. It was an asian game similar to diablo. I remember this one class had a pet and I used to see guys standing around in an area with nearby mobs. There pet would kill the mobs and they would get free xp. It was like you were walking around in an area full of zombie players with their pets getting free xp. I did not play that game much after I saw that. I was like what is the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawginole Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 MMOs and many FPS products are going the digital delivery route as it cuts their production costs to deliver a unit to almost zero. Not to mention it cuts out potential losses in sales from second hand markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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