E3 - Will Bioware announce a new SWTOR Expansion?

[Eillack]

Why are people expecting EA/BW to go to E3 and similar events...TOR is done with those things other than the cantina tours. The game is past its prime, just expect stuff from forums.

[LadyKohastFel]

If SWTOR will be at E3, my guess is announcing the new PvE stuff in 2.2 (NiM OPS) and 2.3 (new dailies, new event, etc) or maybe whatever that "not just a new WZ" "big" PvP update for 2.4 is.

2.4 will probably be the super secret space project, which I am hoping will be what "Jump to lightspeed" was to SWG, a proper space sim section of the game to replace the starfox64 clone we have now.

Edited June 7, 2013 by LadyKohastFel

[TUXs]

The reason market heading F2P is not that it is a better model. It is out of necessity and hard competition. All F2P MMOs would prefer sub model. It is guaranteed money. Don't overrate the revenue coming from cartel market. It may disappear in a very short time.

 

The real reason games (MMOs) are going F2P is that they aren't worth paying a sub for...they don't mean gamers expectations. W0W has set the bar, others try to copy it, but they fall short. W0W still charges a sub fee...shouldn't they be doing horrible if "the market" was driving F2P? BAD GAMES are the reason F2P is so popular, not pretend market forces. In order to survive, substandard MMOs need to give the game away for free to stay alive. W0W is the perfect example of a good game people are willing to PAY for.

[Kilora]

The real reason games (MMOs) are going F2P is that they aren't worth paying a sub for...they don't mean gamers expectations. W0W has set the bar, others try to copy it, but they fall short. W0W still charges a sub fee...shouldn't they be doing horrible if "the market" was driving F2P? BAD GAMES are the reason F2P is so popular, not pretend market forces. In order to survive, substandard MMOs need to give the game away for free to stay alive. W0W is the perfect example of a good game people are willing to PAY for.

 

Eh, I think it is a mixture of both. Obviously no one really knows what will happen in the future -- but market analysts do suggest that F2P is where most people are headed.

 

I think many people (very casual gamers) are getting used to the MT world -- like DLCs for current console games, or basically anything Mobile. Subscription models aren't the best -- but they are highly profitable if you can get the millions and millions of subscribers that WoW has.

 

F2P, Freemium, B2P -- they are all viable, and right now none of them come out ahead because they are relatively new. The market is certainly pushing towards an ability to play something before paying -- but I can't say it is currently pushing for much more than a "trial" like WoW or any other game does.

 

Many people aren't really interested in dropping $60+ on a game, paying $15/mo to play it, and then having it die within a few months. I don't blame them much for that -- but who knows where the market will be in 5 years. We can only guess :-D

[TUXs]

2.4 will probably be the super secret space project, which I am hoping will be what "Jump to lightspeed" was to SWG, a proper space sim section of the game to replace the starfox64 clone we have now.

 

You expect far too much. Expect the SSSP to be little more than co-op of what we have.

[TUXs]

Eh, I think it is a mixture of both. Obviously no one really knows what will happen in the future -- but market analysts do suggest that F2P is where most people are headed.

 

I think many people (very casual gamers) are getting used to the MT world -- like DLCs for current console games, or basically anything Mobile. Subscription models aren't the best -- but they are highly profitable if you can get the millions and millions of subscribers that WoW has.

 

F2P, Freemium, B2P -- they are all viable, and right now none of them come out ahead because they are relatively new. The market is certainly pushing towards an ability to play something before paying -- but I can't say it is currently pushing for much more than a "trial" like WoW or any other game does.

 

Many people aren't really interested in dropping $60+ on a game, paying $15/mo to play it, and then having it die within a few months. I don't blame them much for that -- but who knows where the market will be in 5 years. We can only guess :-D

 

W0W disproves EVERYTHING you've said above Kilora. F2P/Freemium isn't "new", geezus, it's been out for a decade.

 

Your "market analysts" are biased accountants trying to save their own rears after a game has gone belly up. The only people who think F2P is the way of the future, are developers of mediocre, or worse, games.

Edited June 7, 2013 by TUXs

[Kilora]

W0W disproves EVERYTHING you've said above Kilora. F2P/Freemium isn't "new", geezus, it's been out for a decade.

 

Your "market analysts" are biased accountants trying to save their own rears after a game has gone belly up. The only people who this F2P is the way of the future, are developers of mediocre, or worse, games.

 

Sorry Tuxs -- Wow doesn't disprove ANY of that.

 

In fact, I even stated that WoW PROVES that Subscription-only is highly profitable IF YOU HAVE millions of subscribers.

 

There is PROOF that people are starting to dislike spending $60 on a game before playing it. This goes for all markets -- including Console games. Why do you think there is so much uproar over removing used games from consoles?

 

When, in the last decade, have you seen MULTIPLE high-profile MMOs functioning off of a F2P/Freemium model?

 

iOS market place proves that people are more likely to make dozens of small transactions (when they aren't intrusive) than to make one large transaction. Smaller intial prices with in-app purchases are significantly more profitable, and more often downloaded.

 

As I said -- maybe it is just mobile that is headed that way. In 5 years, we can re-visit the question and see where the market stands. There is certainly a strong push by mediocre developers for F2P models -- but some of the best rated games on iOS run the same exact way.

[TUXs]

Sorry Tuxs -- Wow doesn't disprove ANY of that.

 

In fact, I even stated that WoW PROVES that Subscription-only is highly profitable IF YOU HAVE millions of subscribers.

 

There is PROOF that people are starting to dislike spending $60 on a game before playing it.

W0W does though...W0W proves that a GOOD GAME can be HIGHLY profitable with a sub model. They have MILLIONS of subscribers because they have a product people are willing to PAY for. People feel the $15 is justifiable due to the amount and the quality of the content in the game.

 

The fact that people aren't buying crappy games for $60, doesn't mean the market has suddenly changed Kilora, that is a direct reflection of the current state of the game market, where customers are treated like fools who can't tell a good game from a bad and the quality of games has dropped substantially over the past decade.

 

W0W, Call of Duty, HALO, Madden are prime examples of GOOD GAMES that are able to sell an absolute crap ton of copies because players think they're good games. People PAY for good games. I am 100% convinced that the only people insisting that some magical market shift is happening, are those people who produce BAD GAMES!

 

We have PROOF to the complete contrary of what you and others claim, yet they pretend it doesn't exist. BAD GAMES FAIL! Good games succeed. Those companies that produce bad games, justify it by pretending there's some shift and they cite other failed game developers who use the same excuse as "proof"...it's complete rubbish.

[tanerb]

W0W does though...W0W proves that a GOOD GAME can be HIGHLY profitable with a sub model. They have MILLIONS of subscribers because they have a product people are willing to PAY for. People feel the $15 is justifiable due to the amount and the quality of the content in the game.

 

The fact that people aren't buying crappy games for $60, doesn't mean the market has suddenly changed Kilora, that is a direct reflection of the current state of the game market, where customers are treated like fools who can't tell a good game from a bad and the quality of games has dropped substantially over the past decade.

 

W0W, Call of Duty, HALO, Madden are prime examples of GOOD GAMES that are able to sell an absolute crap ton of copies because players think they're good games. People PAY for good games. I am 100% convinced that the only people insisting that some magical market shift is happening, are those people who produce BAD GAMES!

 

We have PROOF to the complete contrary of what you and others claim, yet they pretend it doesn't exist. BAD GAMES FAIL! Good games succeed. Those companies that produce bad games, justify it by pretending there's some shift and they cite other failed game developers who use the same excuse as "proof"...it's complete rubbish.

 

And you would think that Bioware learned that through Dragon Age 2, whose sales were behind DA:O and they cancelled all expansions and add ons.

[CharlieBrown]

Since we're all just making up wishlists / doomsaying, here's my piece:

 

This game came out at least a year too soon. In hindsight, everyone would have waited for a better experience. Everyone except the people paying the bills, of course.

 

Reputation, Legacy, Achievements, Collections, Group Finder, Super servers, all of those things should have been at launch.

 

EV & KP should have had legitimate nightmare modes at launch, not "More HP! More Damage! Hope Soa's platforms don't bug on you!".

 

1.1 should have been EC + Lost Island / Kaon.

1.2 should have been Novare Coast & season 1 ranked.

1.3 should have been TFB + Section: X / HK-51.

1.4 should have been Ancient Hypergates and season 2 ranked.

1.5 should have been S&V + Makeb.

1.6 should have been tagged with "SW:ToR surpasses 5 million subscriber mark in less than one year" and the SSSP, a new warzone, and season 3 ranked.

 

If that miracle wishlist were true, this game would have been unstoppable. That would have been great.

 

Based on their summer plan, this game holds nothing for me until 2.4 at the earliest, months away. I love this game, and it's a lot of fun when it tries to be. Completing all 16 AC's for both factions through the storyline is all that's left at this point. 6 down, 10 more to go. Hope it's enough to hold me over until 2.4 and they start giving a rat's tail about PVP or releasing actual new content instead of 'SUPER DUPER NIGHTMARE MODE NOW AVAILABLE! Relive the excitement as we roll back all the bug fixes in our raids and introduce world-tearing one shot mechanics! 2.4 brings you ... BACK INTO THE ETERNITY VAULT!!!"

 

As optimistic as I really want to be, most of my guild (probably one of the few last 16man raiding guilds on my server) feels the same way.

Edited June 7, 2013 by CharlieBrown

[Logisitcs]

2.4 brings you ... BACK INTO THE ETERNITY VAULT!!!"

 

I lol'd, because they would actually do this. Like it would come as no surprise

 

Rehash, Re-use and Recycle seems to be the name of the game here

[xxIncubixx]

So, Rift is on life support now?

And, why hasn't WoW, Rift, LOTRO, Aion, EVE, etc. been at E3? And will they be there this year?

 

Doubt it. But, random kids in forums pretending to be seasoned game analysts? Yeah, they seem to show up everywhere.

 

Any sane shareholder and company prefers Subs ten times more then F2P model, subs is a constant revenue, F2P isnt. The diference is what happened to swtor is that subs were going down so hard that it wasnt profitable anymore so they had to make adjustments (cutting bioware personnel, most likely cutting further development and try to harvest what they can, in other words leeching the star wars logo, because lets be honest here the only thing this game has more then any other MMO its the logo, the rest is meh at best).

 

last time i was on rift there were only 2 EU servers left... so yes its more then dead, the rest of the servers had 0 people. (again same problem as swtor hence f2p).

 

EA is just trying to milk everything from the star wars logo they did the same with Warhammer, which was obviously a disaster, both are following the same path. And both were made as cash grabs from the beginning which failed, and like i said same mythic fail crew did both games so i didnt expect much anyway... especialy with Witch Hickman on the helm.

Edited June 8, 2013 by xxIncubixx

[CrazyOldMystic]

It does seem as though they are milking the IP. The only hope this game has is space, if they fail to open up the swtor universe with space, like they did in swg. Then yes this game will be dead in a year or two. Flashpoints, and warzones are of the moment. Meaning people get bored with them fast after running them on a regular basis. Swg space had 10 levels of components, with roughly 10+ different components for each level. Each level had a reactor, guns, armor, shield, capacitor, engine, booster, and later on missiles/counter measures. So that space set up allowed players to mess around with the various ships, many many times over. End result was it outstretched instances, and pvp by a long shot. If they then add ships like pobs that you can walk around in while in space. This game may have a chance. If they half *** it. Do something that a tunnel shooter pvp, this games dead, because though that may appeal to some it does not open up the star wars universe. This is something this game desperately needs.

[Jandi]

It does seem as though they are milking the IP. The only hope this game has is space, if they fail to open up the swtor universe with space, like they did in swg. Then yes this game will be dead in a year or two. Flashpoints, and warzones are of the moment. Meaning people get bored with them fast after running them on a regular basis. Swg space had 10 levels of components, with roughly 10+ different components for each level. Each level had a reactor, guns, armor, shield, capacitor, engine, booster, and later on missiles/counter measures. So that space set up allowed players to mess around with the various ships, many many times over. End result was it outstretched instances, and pvp by a long shot. If they then add ships like pobs that you can walk around in while in space. This game may have a chance. If they half *** it. Do something that a tunnel shooter pvp, this games dead, because though that may appeal to some it does not open up the star wars universe. This is something this game desperately needs.

 

This guy gets it. We need sand, not more carrots.