How many people actually play this game?

[ninjonxb]

The number of people in low level areas is impressive for an MMO that's been out this long. Using group finder, at least every third Flashpoint I run into people who have never seen a particular flashpoint before. Those two things together tell me that a healthy influx of new players are arriving on a steady basis.

 

I have noticed this. I have made it a point for my guild to go and try to scoop up as many new players as possible. Not just to grow my guild. But we have a mix of new and veteran players.

My hope is that by getting new players in a helpful guild early they may be more inclined to keep playing the game because they can get the help they need instead of dealing with nasty people in general.

Edited April 11, 2013 by ninjonxb

[Captpete]

I hope you don't think that when you see one server that it's just one big beefed up piece of hardware. Think of each server name as a self contained environment with many servers. You have application servers running different parts of the game. Possibly servers for different OP's, different zones, different instances. You have authentication servers, you have lots of database servers, most of all are clustered. There are firewalls between different servers. When they consolidated the number of server names they collapsed the environments into fewer names, and re-purposed some of the hardware to other games most likely. They could keep the same number of server names and grow them out to handle more gamer capacity rather than adding entire whole environments with a new name for it.

[Taorus]

The number of people in low level areas is impressive for an MMO that's been out this long. Using group finder, at least every third Flashpoint I run into people who have never seen a particular flashpoint before. Those two things together tell me that a healthy influx of new players are arriving on a steady basis.

 

Oddly enough that they are not making it to the higher level planets IE: Voss/Cor.

[Eillack]

At the moment, not as much seeing that servers have been down for many hours.....

[Xeperi]

Meh, this is a fantastic game that new people try and fall in love with. Some of them quit due to terrible service and reliability, but most probably stay because the game is just that good. Can't answer the original question, but I think swtor is doing great in terms of player population. If its service and reliability equaled its quality as a game, it would KILL wow and probably be the top mmo period. I would tell every gamer I know to play this if I didn't think I would be embarrassed a week later by service failures. Thats not griping, I really mean it. It is a great game. You just can't play it reliably when you want to play it. But ya, I think probably around 2 million total (complete guess to stay on topic) including f2p and subscribers.

[chuixupu]

As far as WoW Goes. Don't they always say how many Accounts they have not subs (big difference)?

 

Honestly, I'm not sure. I thought they had released both numbers at some point. WoW has it's level 1-20 free trial as well. They also have a huge market in China. But that's a discussion for another topic, I guess.

[ninjonxb]

Meh, this is a fantastic game that new people try and fall in love with. Some of them quit due to terrible service and reliability, but most probably stay because the game is just that good. Can't answer the original question, but I think swtor is doing great in terms of player population. If its service and reliability equaled its quality as a game, it would KILL wow and probably be the top mmo period. I would tell every gamer I know to play this if I didn't think I would be embarrassed a week later by service failures. Thats not griping, I really mean it. It is a great game. You just can't play it reliably when you want to play it. But ya, I think probably around 2 million total (complete guess to stay on topic) including f2p and subscribers.

 

I will be the first to admit there are problems with the game and (it seems) development process. But I have been here since launch with a few months break in the middle.

I stick around because this game is still better then other games in the areas that are critical to me. And that is story.

 

I also am a long time Bioware fan and I have faith in them.

 

What I hate, I work in the engineering department at a fairly well known company in big cities. We discuss games alot (we are all geeks) and it seems on an almost weekly basis I have to defend this game not being as big of a flop as it seems the rest of the gaming community thinks it is.

Edited April 11, 2013 by ninjonxb

[ninjonxb]

Honestly, I'm not sure. I thought they had released both numbers at some point. WoW has it's level 1-20 free trial as well. They also have a huge market in China. But that's a discussion for another topic, I guess.

 

I vaguely remember seeing some controversy surround them releasing numbers because they always said "we have 10m accounts"

And blizzard never clarified wether this was paying or not.

[RaiderMid]

Oddly enough that they are not making it to the higher level planets IE: Voss/Cor.

 

I think alot of that has to do with the f2p restrictions on experience. I took a JK to 50 finishing class story on a preferred account and it was a pretty horrible experience. It's the main reason I subbed. I'm not going to put myself through that torture again.

[aeterno]

The sad thing is that EA has already put this title in the "lost cause" bucket and we will never see such intense development as was promised to us around launch. They will not increase the team no matter how well it does and every single cent of profit will go to other projects till this well has been milked dry.

 

While the first part is true, it will never develop as fast and big as if it were the prophetic wow killer, but to say it's now all cash in and milking is a bit rich. Especially if the game really has floated upwards to be one of the if not the biggest EAs micro transaction earners.

 

Even if EA is all about pushing out new titles, what is ROHTC if not something along these lines. They probably sold coppies to the majority of the 0,5mil subs, and thats being very pessimistic. Every sub is probably gonna pick it up (or unsub) and there are more than 500k of those for sure. With the studio + tools + IP + product profile all already in place, the production cost for something like makeb is laughably low. If EA is a moneygrubbing hutt they'll churn out these digital expansions or other expansions to TOR like there's no tomorow cos per buck invested it makes them more money at less risk than any new IP/game they'd try to float with those funds instead.

Edited April 11, 2013 by aeterno

[ninjonxb]

While the first part is true, it will never develop as fast and big as if it were the prophetic wow killer, but to say it's now all cash in and milking is a bit rich. Especially if the game really has floated upwards to be one of the if not the biggest EAs micro transaction earners.

 

Even if EA is all about pushing out new titles, what is ROHTC if not something along these lines. They probably sold coppies to the majority of the 0,5mil subs, and thats being very pessimistic. Every sub is probably gonna pick it up (or unsub) and there are more than 500k of those for sure. With the studio + tools + IP in place, the production cost for something like makeb is laughably low. If EA is a moneygrubbing hutt they'll churn out these digital expansions or other expansions to TOR like there's no tomorow cos per buck invested it makes them more money at less risk than any new IP/game they'd try to float with those funds instead.

 

Especially if the interview with James Ohlen recently is to be believed. Which it would be a lie not just a stretch if it wasn't true.

 

That Bioware is now at the center of EA's MMO push. What exactly this means for SWTOR is not clear.

To me, it probably means Bioware is developing a replacement for SWTOR. Either Mass Effect or their new IP (which has been confirmed multiple times) most likely

 

I also believe that EA will pump enough money into SWTOR for Bioware to experiment. For them to try new things for the purpose of learning for their new MMO. They already have the core built so why not?

Edited April 11, 2013 by ninjonxb
wow as I off saying the interview was with Eric Musco

[CosmicKat]

My guess is they are lucky if they have 200k subs.

 

I suspect the game would be R.I.P. by now but the CM has boosted their profit per account to levels that the bean counters are allowing them to keep the lights on.

[tekhiun]

Especially if the interview with James Ohlen recently is to be believed. Which it would be a lie not just a stretch if it wasn't true.

 

That Bioware is now at the center of EA's MMO push. What exactly this means for SWTOR is not clear.

To me, it probably means Bioware is developing a replacement for SWTOR. Either Mass Effect or their new IP (which has been confirmed multiple times) most likely

 

I also believe that EA will pump enough money into SWTOR for Bioware to experiment. For them to try new things for the purpose of learning for their new MMO. They already have the core built so why not?

 

I'm pretty sure that this game is now just as important as BF4free and other titles, it will just remain a pay2win microtransaction game from EA , just like battlefield heroes and etc.

 

IMO bioware should just give up of the MMO business, they have shown that they cannot compete with other mmos. If you gonna try to re-invent the wheel then you MUST do a great job, they didn't. They tried to do their own thing and what we got was a subpar mmo, with nearly no QOL and terrible technical issues such as an inefficient engine which limits the amount of players in an area by quite a lot, middle of the road graphical quality which requires high end gpus to work properly , server and chat crashes ,memory leaks and etc.

 

Don't get me wrong, the game can still be fun, the same way you can still have fun playing that old game that you enjoyed so much today. But they released an early 2000 mmo in 2011 and now they will have a hard time catching up with the features of other mmos . The expansion is a great move forward with quite a few good ideas but just not enough to make this game stand out. IMO the only reason this game hasnt died out yet its because its the only star wars mmo around.

 

As for the OP question, its hard to say. Even though the servers say full sometimes you still see quite a lot of the same ppl when you reach end game. I would imagine even more now since we got an expansion.

Edited April 11, 2013 by tekhiun

[Kilora]

I'm pretty sure that this game is now just as important as BF4free and other titles, it will just remain a pay2win microtransaction game from EA , just like battlefield heroes and etc.

 

IMO bioware should just give up of the MMO business, they have shown that they cannot compete with other mmos. If you gonna try to re-invent the wheel then you MUST do a great job, they didn't. They tried to do their own thing and what we got was a subpar mmo, with nearly no QOL and terrible technical issues such as an inefficient engine which limits the amount of players in an area by quite a lot, middle of the road graphical quality which requires high end gpus to work properly , server and chat crashes ,memory leaks and etc.

 

Don't get me wrong, the game can still be fun, the same way you can still have fun playing that old game that you enjoyed so much today. But they released an early 2000 mmo in 2011 and now they will have a hard time catching up with the features of other mmos . The expansion is a great move forward with quite a few good ideas but just not enough to make this game stand out. IMO the only reason this game hasnt died out yet its because its the only star wars mmo around.

 

As for the OP question, its hard to say. Even though the servers say full sometimes you still see quite a lot of the same ppl when you reach end game. I would imagine even more now since we got an expansion.

 

 

So wait -- Because BioWare did a bad job on their first go, they should stop trying? Seriously? I hope you never say that again, because I can't imagine anyone ACTUALLY wanting that.

 

As was said before -- and I agree with the speculation -- this was a test. WHY the chose to do Star Wars? I have no idea. I can certainly fault them for that, seeing as how it was destined for failure. You have the MOST EXPENSIVE IP in the world, and a company that has NEVER made an MMO before. Kinda seems like a recipe for failure to me.

 

I'm keeping my positive hat on -- and hoping that BioWare will release information regarding their new IP/MassEffect MMO sometime over the next 2 years, and we will see something of good enough quality to deserve the BioWare Corps. name -- not the garbage EAware has turned out.

[aeterno]

I'm pretty sure that this game is now just as important as BF4free and other titles, it will just remain a pay2win microtransaction game from EA , just like battlefield heroes and etc.

 

IMO bioware should just give up of the MMO business, they have shown that they cannot compete with other mmos. If you gonna try to re-invent the wheel then you MUST do a great job, they didn't. They tried to do their own thing and what we got was a subpar mmo, with nearly no QOL and terrible technical issues such as an inefficient engine which limits the amount of players in an area by quite a lot, middle of the road graphical quality which requires high end gpus to work properly , server and chat crashes ,memory leaks and etc.

 

Don't get me wrong, the game can still be fun, the same way you can still have fun playing that old game that you enjoyed so much today. But they released an early 2000 mmo in 2011 and now they will have a hard time catching up with the features of other mmos . The expansion is a great move forward with quite a few good ideas but just not enough to make this game stand out. IMO the only reason this game hasnt died out yet its because its the only star wars mmo around.

 

As for the OP question, its hard to say. Even though the servers say full sometimes you still see quite a lot of the same ppl when you reach end game. I would imagine even more now since we got an expansion.

 

In what way is having the 2nd largest subscription based mmo and one of the biggest MT earners of its publisher (that happens to be the biggest one in the biz period) in one an indication "they should give up on the mmo business"? By that logic only blizzard would work on the genre lol.

[ninjonxb]

So wait -- Because BioWare did a bad job on their first go, they should stop trying? Seriously? I hope you never say that again, because I can't imagine anyone ACTUALLY wanting that.

 

As was said before -- and I agree with the speculation -- this was a test. WHY the chose to do Star Wars? I have no idea. I can certainly fault them for that, seeing as how it was destined for failure. You have the MOST EXPENSIVE IP in the world, and a company that has NEVER made an MMO before. Kinda seems like a recipe for failure to me.

 

I'm keeping my positive hat on -- and hoping that BioWare will release information regarding their new IP/MassEffect MMO sometime over the next 2 years, and we will see something of good enough quality to deserve the BioWare Corps. name -- not the garbage EAware has turned out.

 

I say they chose SWTOR for story reasons. They basically had all this lore already written either from the KOTOR days or from Lucasarts.

 

Mass Effect was probably not at the point that it could have had a mmo launched. They have even admitted some of the ME story was in flux into ME3.

The new IP is still in development.

 

If we use the logic that once a company puts out a game that does not live up to expectations they should stop making games in that genre... we would have lost alot of great franchises.

 

Mario - Super Mario Sunshine did not live up to expectations

Pokemon - almost every game has not really lived up to expectations (even though I love them)

Zelda - Wind Waker (love it)

Halo - Halo 2

we can keep adding to this list.

Edited April 11, 2013 by ninjonxb

[tekhiun]

So wait -- Because BioWare did a bad job on their first go, they should stop trying? Seriously? I hope you never say that again, because I can't imagine anyone ACTUALLY wanting that.

 

As was said before -- and I agree with the speculation -- this was a test. WHY the chose to do Star Wars? I have no idea. I can certainly fault them for that, seeing as how it was destined for failure. You have the MOST EXPENSIVE IP in the world, and a company that has NEVER made an MMO before. Kinda seems like a recipe for failure to me.

 

I'm keeping my positive hat on -- and hoping that BioWare will release information regarding their new IP/MassEffect MMO sometime over the next 2 years, and we will see something of good enough quality to deserve the BioWare Corps. name -- not the garbage EAware has turned out.

 

 

You do know that EA owns bioware now right ? So ... not a chance. If they release a new mmo it will most likely just follow the EA philosophy, not biowares. But we don't even know if this is going to happen. If it does let's hope that they at least don't bring anyone that has worked or works on swtor. Who knows maybe they will do it right next time. But if they will just deliver another subpar mmo then I stand by what I said.

[Kilora]

You do know that EA owns bioware now right ? So ... not a chance. If they release a new mmo it will most likely just follow the EA philosophy, not biowares. But we don't even know if this is going to happen. If it does let's hope that they at least don't bring anyone that has worked or works on swtor. Who knows maybe they will do it right next time. But if they will just deliver another subpar mmo then I stand by what I said.

 

Uh, wrong.

 

Yes, EA owns Bioware. However, BioWare functions separately. They have their own offices with NO EA employees. You work for BioWare, NOT EA. They hire their own people, etc. etc.

 

We KNOW that they are working on ME4. We KNOW they're working on a completely new universe. We're ALMOST positive said universe is an MMO (as it's been hinted at like crazy).

 

Who are you to tell a company to stop trying? How about you /unsub and stop playing, if it's that bad?

[tekhiun]

In what way is having the 2nd largest subscription based mmo and one of the biggest MT earners of its publisher (that happens to be the biggest one in the biz period) in one an indication "they should give up on the mmo business"? By that logic only blizzard would work on the genre lol.

 

You must think that justin bieber is a great artist then. That's just not how i measure quality though ofc if the game is profitable, for the company then from their POV it makes sense to keep going, but I am talking about a gamer POV. FI their next project is a good one sure they should go on. But we just don't know how it will turn out. Swtor was by all measures a failure if you take in consideration what they were aiming for. That's what I am using as baseline , what are you using ?

[tekhiun]

Uh, wrong.

 

Yes, EA owns Bioware. However, BioWare functions separately. They have their own offices with NO EA employees. You work for BioWare, NOT EA. They hire their own people, etc. etc.

 

We KNOW that they are working on ME4. We KNOW they're working on a completely new universe. We're ALMOST positive said universe is an MMO (as it's been hinted at like crazy).

 

Who are you to tell a company to stop trying? How about you /unsub and stop playing, if it's that bad?

 

Calm down fanboy, already did sub is expiring in a few days though

[Kilora]

You must think that justin bieber is a great artist then. That's just not how i measure quality though ofc if the game is profitable, for the company then from their POV it makes sense to keep going, but I am talking about a gamer POV. FI their next project is a good one sure they should go on. But we just don't know how it will turn out. Swtor was by all measures a failure if you take in consideration what they were aiming for. That's what I am using as baseline , what are you using ?

 

IN YOUR OPINION.

 

What is wrong with you, that you think you are the end-all opinion of a game? I'm enjoying SWTOR much more than I ever enjoyed WoW, surprisingly. . . .

 

Notice that people can have other opinions? If you dislike the game, you should leave. But to tell a company to stop trying just because you dislike it? God the arrogance is strong with you.

[Kilora]

Calm down fanboy, already did sub is expiring in a few days though

 

Woah, I'm immediately a fanboy for presenting information? Ruhroh. /so-long

Please, let the door hit you :-D

And make sure you give someone your stuff.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Kilora

[ninjonxb]

You must think that justin bieber is a great artist then. That's just not how i measure quality though ofc if the game is profitable, for the company then from their POV it makes sense to keep going, but I am talking about a gamer POV. FI their next project is a good one sure they should go on. But we just don't know how it will turn out. Swtor was by all measures a failure if you take in consideration what they were aiming for. That's what I am using as baseline , what are you using ?

 

Yes, There were insane expectations for this game before it was released.

There are a lot of people at fault for this and it is not entirely Bioware/EA's fault as far as the expectations are concerned.

They have admitted they had launch problems and they did not meet expectations.

 

Now they are past the launch problems. They are working on fixing the game (it takes time) and it is all but confirmed that there is another MMO in some stage of development at Bioware.

 

It is all a learning experience. Honestly for Bioware's first MMO i think they did really well. They made mistakes and they have learned.

Edited April 11, 2013 by ninjonxb

[tekhiun]

IN YOUR OPINION.

 

What is wrong with you, that you think you are the end-all opinion of a game? I'm enjoying SWTOR much more than I ever enjoyed WoW, surprisingly. . . .

 

Notice that people can have other opinions? If you dislike the game, you should leave. But to tell a company to stop trying just because you dislike it? God the arrogance is strong with you.

 

The irony on your post is hilarious, thank you =). And yes everything i posted are my opinions , anything else to say captain obvious ?

Edited April 11, 2013 by tekhiun

[Kilora]

The irony on your post is hilarious, thank you =). And yes everything i posted are my opinions , anything else to say captain obvious ?

 

I don't think that word thinks what you think it means.