jgelling Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 (edited) So are these the numbers we have to work with? http://beta.xfire.com/games/swtor A decline of nearly 50% in hours logged just in May(!), among XFire's population of 1,512 gamers who play SWTOR. That sounds really, really bad, but then again that's a small-ish sample size of what may not be the most representative group of gamers. And even if they've shifted gaming time away from SWTOR, that doesn't necessarily mean they've canceled subs. Still, if BW is seeing sub numbers that look anything as bad as that it's not surprising they went into full-scale layoff mode. But we'll see. Edited June 2, 2012 by jgelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasgallant Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 So are these the numbers we have to work with? http://beta.xfire.com/games/swtor A decline of nearly 50% in hours logged just in May(!), among XFire's population of 1,512 gamers who play SWTOR. That sounds really, really bad, but then again that's a small-ish sample size of what may not be the most representative group of gamers. And even if they've shifted gaming time away from SWTOR, that doesn't necessarily mean they've canceled subs. Still - an MMO loses its stickiness and replayability and new competition emerges and you have to wonder. If BW is seeing sub numbers that look anything as bad as that it's not surprising they went into full-scale layoff mode. But we'll see. full scale layoff mode? how do we know they didnt lay off the people they hired to ensure the launch went off well. ( which it did) then after the game was launched the extra people were no longer needed and layed off.. it is a common practice in industries like this.. hire someone for a specific job/timeframe. once it is done why keep them around to take up money and resources.. as for stephen reid it was no shock that a large portion of people on the forums were complaining about community interaction. ( what he was directly responsible for) so it is understandable they would lay him off too.. as sad as that is. I really dont think laying off the few they did is a huge indication the game is in trouble, it honestly could be downsizing due to the no longer need of the release team. but bioware will never tell us why, and we will have to of course live with conjecture and speculation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackardin Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 full scale layoff mode? how do we know they didnt lay off the people they hired to ensure the launch went off well. ( which it did) then after the game was launched the extra people were no longer needed and layed off.. A few layoffs, of which not a person on these boards knows the actual reason, suddenly becomes "full scale layoff mode". Amazing is it not, the level of extrapolation and exaggeration on this board? Not only experts, but prophets now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mannic Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 (edited) full scale layoff mode? how do we know they didnt lay off the people they hired to ensure the launch went off well. ( which it did) then after the game was launched the extra people were no longer needed and layed off.. I really dont think laying off the few they did is a huge indication the game is in trouble, it honestly could be downsizing due to the no longer need of the release team. You're SO right. How do we know the game actually doesn't have 4 million susbscribers, but Bioware, not wishing to appear pretentious, just isn't telling us? They're humble as well as brilliant, those Bioware guys. I know that when SWG shut down it was only because SOE was just so tired of having to count all that money and because they didn't want to appear greedy. As long as we're going to ignore the obvious, we might as well do it right, yeah? You don't suddenly lay off 25% of your staff as a "normal, planned layoff." Edited June 2, 2012 by Mannic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgelling Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 (edited) full scale layoff mode? how do we know they didnt lay off the people they hired to ensure the launch went off well. ( which it did) then after the game was launched the extra people were no longer needed and layed off.. it is a common practice in industries like this.. hire someone for a specific job/timeframe. once it is done why keep them around to take up money and resources.. True - however they laid off staff, not just people on contract, and it wasn't just QA people or customer service - it was across the board including developers. EA also made several hundred other cuts at the same time - showing EA itself is worried about cutting costs after a few pretty bad quarters. You can believe what you want - but the indisputable fact is we went from James Ohlen saying this: Unlike a lot of other game companies that, once they launch a game, downsize their teams radically, our plan is to keep the team together and continue to focus on building content," says James Ohlen, creative director on Star Wars: The Old Republic, which launches this week. To laying off over a third of their staff. In fairness though, I'd bet solid money the decision came from EA, not BW, who probably had the rug pulled out from under them. But it doesn't really matter why the cuts happened - they did. As for this article, who knows if this is evidence of subscriber loss or if the cuts are related - that was the part I was speculating about - and in fact I basically agreed with you this isn't much in the way of evidence: all this shows is a handful of hard-core gamers logging less hours in SWTOR, not necessarily un-subbing. For some reason you chose to take issue with the phrase "full-scale layoff mode", but I can't imagine what else you call it when there's such deep cuts all at once up and down the line and across the board. But you can call it what you will. Edited June 2, 2012 by jgelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshlaBoga Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 I actually like the idea of server merges over transfers myself. That way they could do the merges on the basis of population. Merge 20 servers with 50 people, 10 servers with 100 people... and that way all the servers will be about the same size - except Fatman which will be fatter (pun) than the other servers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenshire Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Nothing brings people into the game and onto your server like constantly posting about how the game is failing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatGarth Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 (edited) and you never considered recreating on a new server? in january? you couldnt have gotten that invested in the server in a month that leaving it would be impossible. 1 I shouldn't have to. 2 My friends stated their not starting over. 3 There are posts from others who did reroll on to another server and that died as well. 4 If I leave the server, its just an empty server, so merge it. This would will also mean less maintenance cost. 5 Rerolling is a dumb solution. I don't know where get the idea that this problem is the customers fault. Edited June 2, 2012 by GreatGarth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetflair Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Well way I see it SWTOR has lot of potential. However there is big problem right now I have not with the game but producer of it. I am not convinced Bioware/EA is serious about the game. Not convinced they want to support this game really. My reasons are totally subjective and personal but I think still valid.I play MMO's because I do long hours in work and I like the ability to log in game get either pve or pvp content when I want to. However my server is ghosttown. I can get pvp or pve only about between 9 pm - 2 am. This sucks since my work is pretty demanding I need the sleep. Right now as it is weekend I'd like to do something but on my server there is only 8 people online at republic side and only two 50 level players. I am the another level 50 player. I can understand that adding features to programs isn't easy as I am programmer myself. So ofc. I don't expect things magically be fixed. However time goes by and I am starting to get the feeling BW isn't really interested having me and other players playing. Yes making server transfers can make time. However its hard to believe its so complex that well motivated team would not make it in about 2-3 weeks. And yes Bioware may be producing furiously new content but I can't even enjoy the current one so priority should be on server transfer on today not tomorrow. This is the reason why I am having doubts not about the game but its producers. Much as I would want to play the game I don't get the feeling they are helping me in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatGarth Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Well way I see it SWTOR has lot of potential. However there is big problem right now I have not with the game but producer of it. I am not convinced Bioware/EA is serious about the game. Not convinced they want to support this game really. My reasons are totally subjective and personal but I think still valid.I play MMO's because I do long hours in work and I like the ability to log in game get either pve or pvp content when I want to. However my server is ghosttown. I can get pvp or pve only about between 9 pm - 2 am. This sucks since my work is pretty demanding I need the sleep. Right now as it is weekend I'd like to do something but on my server there is only 8 people online at republic side and only two 50 level players. I am the another level 50 player. I can understand that adding features to programs isn't easy as I am programmer myself. So ofc. I don't expect things magically be fixed. However time goes by and I am starting to get the feeling BW isn't really interested having me and other players playing. Yes making server transfers can make time. However its hard to believe its so complex that well motivated team would not make it in about 2-3 weeks. And yes Bioware may be producing furiously new content but I can't even enjoy the current one so priority should be on server transfer on today not tomorrow. This is the reason why I am having doubts not about the game but its producers. Much as I would want to play the game I don't get the feeling they are helping me in it. I don't feel the love either bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jett-Rinn Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 People still use xfire? Tela and her cult over at mmorpg.com does very few actual gamers do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkirus Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Blizzard will not see much sub lost because of D3. They are experencing lower player pops now on the servers as many are playing it until the release of the next expansion. Close to 2 million took advantage of the free D3 for a year sub commitment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevonDs Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 The dancer that Jabba drops into the Rancor pit in Return of The Jedi loses her top as she falls in. I did not know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blur Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 I think there is still ample opportunity for SWTOR become even stronger. I disagree. Word of mouth is a powerful thing. And TOR has terrible word of mouth. It's done. Everything from here on is a face-saving exercise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt_Latency Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 (edited) Tela and her cult over at mmorpg.com does very few actual gamers do. X-fire does seem to be a pretty good indicator of whats going on. I have been watching it for years. All MMOs have followed the trends the x-fire has shown. Namely starting off very high in the percent played for MMO. Then dropping quickly as the fade out. Even WoW has been followed pretty well. It spikes on x-fire when an expantion launches then drops 6 months after the expantion has been out and is over al trending downward a little. For reference around 3 months ago SW:TOR held stead at around 15%. It now floats around 6% Edited June 2, 2012 by Lt_Latency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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