In your educated opinion, what's the fate of this game?

[Quraswren]

I think the game still has potential.

 

It offers a good story for casual players and a grade "A" leveling experience.

 

Max level offers multiple Flash points for those that just want small group play or are gearing up for larger operations.

 

We have 3 operations with as many as 8 different versions (and one hopefully on the way)

 

However, BW will need to expand the game in space combat area eventually. The rail shooter in a SW game cannot last. Sure, it's a fun minigame and has always been just that. A minigame. It was never announced as anything but that.

 

That said, it will have to evolve into a full fledged space combat of sorts for it to retain SW subscribers as the stories alone wont do that and the minigame while fun is just so minor in a SW universe.

 

While players complete content these days more rapidly than what we have in the past. More FP's and operations will have to be released. If WOW loses subs for a 10 months drought of content you can bet SWTOR will lose subs for a 2-3 month drought. It's not been around long enough for players to feel that attached to SW and continue paying through a drought.

 

But... The game has potential. So many areas of the game have potential but it's not up to players to make that be realized.

 

It's BW who has to see it and make it happen.

 

Better space combat and a full evolution into a X-wing VS Tie Fighter setting. Even a 1V1 setting of PVP space combat would be cool to start with.

 

More FP's and operations.

 

Interesting time killers: While it might not be fishing, create a few fun/interesting times killers.

 

So while the game is stalling, I don't think it's gone just yet. So much potential but BW really will have to make a good F2p Experience, get content out as they said they would and expand on what they already have.

 

Can they do it? I hope so.

[Urael]

I have never really been into computer games and I have never played an MMO in my life, but I'm really loving this game. True, it has its flaws, but I can overlook most of them. I will be honest, though. I'm pretty concerned about the future of SWTOR. I've heard it's losing subscriptions at an alarming rate, and I don't see how this Free to Play option could be anything but an ominous sign of the future to come.

 

I don't stay caught up with news, so I was hoping someone could fill me in. What does the future of this game look like?

Are the developers optimistic? Pessimistic? Indifferent?

Could SWTOR bounce back, or has it had too many blows in its short existence?

 

I'm looking at this game like a relationship. If the game has a future, I will stick around. If the game is doomed, I would rather bail sooner than later, before I become even more attached.

 

Educated opinion is an oximoron.

 

If you were "looking at this game like a relationship", then you would be willing to put in the time and risk and work to see "the relationship" blossom. I don't think you understand what a relation ship is about if you are constantly looking to bail on one or have to have the opinion of others to determine whether it's viable or not.

[Rafaman]

A good majority of the world is uneducated. If this were not the case, then reality TV shows and singing and dancing competitions would not be as popular as they are.

 

So, in my humble opinion, education gives you a disadvantage in predicting the decisions that the majority of people will make.

 

Just wanted to lighten the mood a bit.

 

Lol! Yea... I've lost some faith.. especially when we make celebrities out of Jersey Shore caricatures.

 

But I think educated peeps are tuning in as well. They fall into the trap of watching the "car wreck". And to some extent that is what happens here as well. Just peruse the forums and you will see what I mean. The game is not the wreck these forums are. For example, some who are no longer playing the game or even subbed for that matter continue their Jihad against the game because it is entertaining to rile others up. Its no longer constructive criticism. It is quite simply malice. These forums are a tragic caricature community where the celebrities are the trolls. And yet... here I am.

 

As for the fate of this game? Well, I think it will be alive and well for years to come. However, I stopped trying to predict such things as there many external factors that come into play. Yet, I would say that really... the ultimate fate of the game is not that important. It isn't my cause dejour. I've had fun and gotten my moneys worth. What is next?

Edited August 27, 2012 by Rafaman

[pocketthesaurus]

I have never really been into computer games and I have never played an MMO in my life, but I'm really loving this game. True, it has its flaws, but I can overlook most of them. I will be honest, though. I'm pretty concerned about the future of SWTOR. I've heard it's losing subscriptions at an alarming rate, and I don't see how this Free to Play option could be anything but an ominous sign of the future to come.

F2P has made a lot of games better. SWTOR still has more subscriptions than most MMOs, including F2P ones. Losing subscriptions is fine, because it's still far ahead of other MMOs. Having been one of the most over-hyped games of all time and selling more copies to begin with than any other MMO is the only reason the subscription numbers have gone down so fast. There are more to lose when a game is over-hyped, and there are more to lose overall... But in the end, this game still has more players than almost every other subscription MMO right now.

[Kalfear]

F2P has made a lot of games better. SWTOR still has more subscriptions than most MMOs, including F2P ones. Losing subscriptions is fine, because it's still far ahead of other MMOs. Having been one of the most over-hyped games of all time and selling more copies to begin with than any other MMO is the only reason the subscription numbers have gone down so fast. There are more to lose when a game is over-hyped, and there are more to lose overall... But in the end, this game still has more players than almost every other subscription MMO right now.

 

*cough cough*BS *Cough cough*

 

Im not going to argue the numbers as its pretty appearent you have made your own up to suit your "theory"

 

Simply say EA told us they need 500k to break even,

Subs are closing in on the magic 500k mark (from EAs own mouth)

Thats the only numbers that matter, The break even number, not this magical competition with other games that you have no clue what their numbers are yet act like you do.

 

Losing subs is not ok and F2P doesnt make games better normally.

 

But what ever, the spin and nonsense from the pro crowd has been over the top, over the line, and flat out silly for some time now!

Why change a patern now?

Edited August 27, 2012 by Kalfear

[DarkSaberMaster]

My opinion? The game will continue on. people will be unhappy about some things. People will be happy about some things. But regardless, it will continue on until EA/BioWare feels it isn't making the profits that it wants or when LA decides to shut it down.

 

Doesn't matter how we feel about the game or what it does or doesn't have. The highlighted statement is all that matters.

[Saltydogg]

This game would be fine if they just did some freaking ADVERTISING!!!!! I didn't even know this game existed till some told me about it, out pure chance. All they really need is a new Marketing Campaign!!! It really drives me crazy when a game goes down hard not because it's bad but because the creators and investors do a **** job at marketing the game. Remember when WOW did a marketing/Advertising campaign with Mountain Dew? That what i'm talking about, they need to do something like that. Hell, if they just did anything it would help. But I have a bad feeling the people at EA are just too dense to have that kind of realization. BUMMER:(

 

Here is my take on Advertising. They have been doing it for how many years now?? Further more its STAR WARS, how could you fail at making any game with that kind of fan base. Well here is the proof, the game hasnt been out for a year and its gone F2P, the lead developer has killed two MMO's in his career and is now poised to kill another. Sorry but you cant Advertise this game, i mean really what would you say? Would it be something along the lines of we spent 200million for voice acting so have fun with your rail quest system in a very blah themepark? I bet that would pull in a ton of F2P people.

[Saltydogg]

*cough cough*BS *Cough cough*

 

Im not going to argue the numbers as its pretty appearent you have made your own up to suit your "theory"

 

Simply say EA told us they need 500k to break even,

Subs are closing in on the magic 500k mark (from EAs own mouth)

Thats the only numbers that matter, The break even number, not this magical competition with other games that you have no clue what their numbers are yet act like you do.

 

Losing subs is not ok and F2P doesnt make games better normally.

 

But what ever, the spin and nonsense from the pro crowd has been over the top, over the line, and flat out silly for some time now!

Why change a patern now?

 

I wonder if people really understand what break even means? Everyone here except yourself doesnt understand that break even means a total halt on all development. There will be just enough funds comming in to cover daily costs. I am truly impressed that a game with the backing of STAR WARS would fail this badly

[SlimsPicken]

The title saying educated opinion and seeing over 200 replies makes me chuckle... I expect there are a lot of E-diplomas on game design in this thread.

 

Im no scholar, so I will keep my opinions to myself.

[Hessen]

I wonder if people really understand what break even means? Everyone here except yourself doesnt understand that break even means a total halt on all development. There will be just enough funds comming in to cover daily costs. I am truly impressed that a game with the backing of STAR WARS would fail this badly

 

I'm not sure on that. As paying existing employed developers would surely fall under breaking even? 500k subs isn't paying the server rental and a couple of moderators to keep the ship afloat, it's going to include everyone.

 

I would also say that the 500k subs for breaking even referred to when the employed team was larger. After the two rounds of redundancies I would guess that the break even point is a lot lower than that now.

[Helistin]

I'm not sure on that. As paying existing employed developers would surely fall under breaking even? 500k subs isn't paying the server rental and a couple of moderators to keep the ship afloat, it's going to include everyone.

 

I would also say that the 500k subs for breaking even referred to when the employed team was larger. After the two rounds of redundancies I would guess that the break even point is a lot lower than that now.

 

Maybe, maybe not but i'm pretty sure Lucas wants the same juicy cut even if there is 100k or 1 million subs.

[Vandicus]

Maybe, maybe not but i'm pretty sure Lucas wants the same juicy cut even if there is 100k or 1 million subs.

 

Lol if that were true SWG would've died well before Lucas Arts shut it down.

 

*EDIT

 

Seriously the idea of a non percentage based cut is ludicrous. If SWTOR had been super succesfull in subs beating out WoW you'd expect Lucas Arts to take the same cut?

Edited August 27, 2012 by Vandicus

[Hessen]

Yeah, it's all George's fault!

[Omisri]

I think people playing this game will continue to fall. After F2P i think alot will just stop logging in and a slight increase in players when new flashpoints or war zones are added which will see a further fall after they have been played to death.

 

With the MMO side of this game being more like an arcade. Bioware built themselves into a corner with little room for expansion on the all famous "4th pillar".

[DrowNoble]

Tabula Rasa, Earth and Beyond, MxO and a few others say Hi

 

Ah Earth & Beyond, I loved that game. Too bad that EA didn't support it at all. Marketing for the game was virtually nil. It's like after EA absorbed Westwood (developers of E&B) they just had them finish it, release it, break even, cancel.

[MasterKayote]

If theyre lucky theyll be around LotRO's popularity. I say "if theyre lucky" because Turbine is a good developer that took that game and ran it with very little bug issues from the start (at least compared to TOR) and did it well for approx. 2 years including content updates and an expansion before throwing in the towel and going f2p.

[discosoc]

MMO's rarely grow over time, with WoW being a big exception (they were adding a few million new subs every year for a long time). TOR will, unfortunately, limp along at it's current pace indefinitely. Active players will probably hover at the current rate, although the F2P option will buffer it a little.

 

The problem with the F2P option is that it doesn't really do much to add players to the aspects of the game that paying players will need, such as HM's and Ops. Bioware might make plenty of money selling these people vanity pets and speeders or whatever, but the end-game players won't benefit as much as they'd like. This is based on experience with LotRO which, after going F2P, has been supposedly great for Turbine's bottom line, but end-game content is still really not reliable.

 

The real limit on TOR's longevity is related to when future MMO's will get released. GW2 is out today, which probably isn't helping, although it's aimed at more of the PvP crowd. WoW:MoP is out in another month, which will bring a lot of players back to it for a while at least. Elder Scrolls Online is slated for late next year, and I expect that to do fairly well, even if it's not revolutionizing the genre at all. There is also a Warhammer: 40k MMO out next year. That IP has a history of low-quality games, but it has a huge built-in fanbase, so it will at least launch well (unless they really screw something up).

 

Basically, I wouldn't expect a whole lot to have changed with this game in the next year or so. There is a lot of competition coming up this year and, by the time buzz from them dies down next year, there will be newer stuff coming out. People will keep coming back to this game to fill in time with the free gameplay, but that's it.