SWTOR is among the most popular MMO's on PC

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

So.....apparently back when ESO and Wildstar were coming out, I saw lots of posts saying this game is dying and those 2 were going to be the cause of SWTOR's downfall. Well I saw an interesting article today that begs to differ. In fact, SWTOR is doing much better than both Wildstar and ESO. The people that left this game for those 2 other ones were apparently replaced by more and this game is far from dying. It's doing quite well. I liked what Galactic Strongholds did, and I'm looking forward to the next expansion!

 

http://caas.raptr.com/most-played-pc-games-august-2014-league-of-legends-world-of-tanks-get-an-esports-boost/

[Dreadicus]

In before the trolls, haters, and in general disagreeable folks that failed debate class but feel they were cheated (and paid trolls of other MMO's) swarm your post to pick and gnaw at it to make themselves feel superior..

 

SWTOR is like a kid hitting puberty late in their teenage years - started out slow, then unrecognizable a year or so later.. Once SW VII hits - this game is going to bloom like teenage hormones.. (likely due 'to' some teenage hormones, but hey, more people in the queues!)

[NeroTethras]

The difference is both WS and TESO came out recently, while SW:ToR has had much more time to update the game and gain traction. Looking at exactly how old both TESO and WS are and comparing it to how well SW:ToR was doing at that 'age' would make for a more fair comparison.

 

Don't get me wrong though, I love this game. GS offers some interesting new non-combat content (Which this game could use more of...PAZAAK!) and I'm really looking forward to the next story expansion.

 

As far as the other two go, I'll wait on TESO and I honestly know nothing about WS beyond hearing it's name. I think I'll give TESO a year longer to get it together before I give it a try.

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

In before the trolls, haters, and in general disagreeable folks that failed debate class but feel they were cheated (and paid trolls of other MMO's) swarm your post to pick and gnaw at it to make themselves feel superior..

 

SWTOR is like a kid hitting puberty late in their teenage years - started out slow, then unrecognizable a year or so later.. Once SW VII hits - this game is going to bloom like teenage hormones.. (likely due 'to' some teenage hormones, but hey, more people in the queues!)

 

I agree. The game is starting to hit its stride and is going in a good direction. And yeah this thread is going to probably get swarmed with trolls, but meh, at least we will get a few posts from reasonable people like yourself and others.

[Kalfear]

The difference is both WS and TESO came out recently, while SW:ToR has had much more time to update the game and gain traction. Looking at exactly how old both TESO and WS are and comparing it to how well SW:ToR was doing at that 'age' would make for a more fair comparison.

 

Don't get me wrong though, I love this game. GS offers some interesting new non-combat content (Which this game could use more of...PAZAAK!) and I'm really looking forward to the next story expansion.

 

As far as the other two go, I'll wait on TESO and I honestly know nothing about WS beyond hearing it's name. I think I'll give TESO a year longer to get it together before I give it a try.

 

OR

 

SW:TOR had much more time to loss its base (which it did in many way)

 

There is one truth and that truth is WS and ESO have GROSSLY under preformed at launch

 

Now ESO kinda surprising about that fact but ESO suffered some massive connection/video/preformance issues that should have been sorted out long before release. Plus their interface is really only friendly to ES fans, so massively limits their broader appeal market.

 

WS isnt that big a shock because of its cartoon graphics style. Ive heard and read people try to claim graphics dont matter. I just shake my head because graphics are your FIRST LINE of sales and if you cant sell the graphics, you never get the chance to sell the game.

 

Everything I have heard and read says WS mechanics are much better then SW:TOR and may be best in current MMO market. Real shame that so many players (like myself) will never get to try it because running around as a Saturday morning cartoon bunny has exactly ZERO appeal to me.

 

WS would be doing much much much better if they had even gone with normal run of mill graphics style.

 

But the key thng here is THOSE ITEMS not going to change or get updated in ESO or WS.

 

ESO will continue to have this interface

WS will continue to have its cartoons

 

So in effect they have maxed out already as those interested have bought

 

With SW:TOR their problems were things that could be fixed (and some were). No one ever hated the base game of SW:TOR.

 

So they could get that 2nd chance that WS and ESO sadly will not be able to because of core design choices

 

So you CANT get the fair comparrison you ask for because ESO and WS are NOT able to fix the problems that plague them like SW:TOR was partially able to do after their poor post launch issues.

 

Honestly fact SW:TOR is in top 4 at this stage, years after release is impressive. Both ESO and WS are recent launchs and should be ENJOYING pumped up numbers from launch players. They are not however.

 

FTR: I dont hate ESO, WS, or SW:TOR.

ESO had me very excited until I saw video of their user interface. That made the game a non starter for me. But if you put in SW:TOR/EQ2, DAoC, RIFT style of user interface into ESO game I would be so there with bells on to try game.

 

WS as I said lost me with the graphics. EVERY SINGLE CREDIBLE REPORT I HAVE HEARD says WS is a superior game to anything else on market, EXCEPT for the graphics. And sadly graphics are what you look at day in and day out so you need to be on board with the imagery. I am not and never will be a fan of saturday morning cartoon graphics because Im many many many years past watching that stuff.

 

SW:TOR failed to meet my expectations at launch and while I toughed it out for year + hopeing for change I finally had to cancel account until major changes and moves were done. Fireing the old design team and introducing housing was enough to get me to try game again. And seems game now going in right direction finally. Not sure it can ever meet its potential now but least its moving forward rather then staying stagnant and slowly dieing.

[Jarazar]

I must admit I was a critic after SWTOR launched. After a year hiatus, I am now pleasantly surprised how good the game is now. It's not perfect, but I definitely see it heading in the right direction. I am really impressed with the housing system. Now, if they would improve crafting and give us a sandbox planet to explore, I would love it.

[Raansu]

F2P game generating traffic? You don't say? The real statistic would be how many stay after level 20? How many bother to subscribe? Given how empty the level 30+ planets are? I'd say most of the traffic is people who don't play more than a few days,

[PavSalco]

The difference is both WS and TESO came out recently, while SW:ToR has had much more time to update the game and gain traction.

When SWTOR came out it had a great number of players. I wasn't around here when the game was released but I saw a video presenting about 15 US servers. So I wouldn't say that it's not fair to compare new MMO games with SWTOR as the first months after the relase can attract the highest number of players.

[RushingJaw]

ESO had or still has, I've not been up to date with news in a bit, a glaring problem that will certainly turn people off from it. Bot spam. The bot spam it that game went beyond spamming. Personal emails, in game farming. It was really bad for too long right at launch. Anyone that would deny this fact is clearly delusional. That sort of thing hurts a game for a long time.

 

As for Wildstar, it has it's own issues. It was poorly optimized at launch for lower end rigs, it had some of the mid level vendors broken at launch and quickly hotfixed to be half workable from then on. Some problems in the game are still only fixable by installing addons. As a personal opinion, it's hard as **** to figure out what is going on in PvP at any speed that I am comfortable with. For a game that totes PvP so hard, it has a bit of work to do.

 

For both, it's going to take time for them to recover.

 

As for TOR, it had it's rough patch early. We're far past that.

 

From there, it's been a steady ride (even with long delays between Ops) and the true success of it lies not so much with the end game content as with the 1-50 content. Many people I've talked with have told me that it takes a long time to get to max level. These players don't powerlevel through KDY. They play their class story, do the planet side quests, and either buy what unlocks they need from the cartel market or from the GTN.

 

That (in addition to being Star Wars and fun as ****) is why it's popular. A single player, if preferred, experience inside an MMO. I'd also like to point out that out of all the MMO's I've played lately, TOR has the most dynamic grouping I've seen. How many different players doing you end up grouping with doing leveling heroics and well as the daily heroics?

[Sangrar]

F2P game generating traffic? You don't say? The real statistic would be how many stay after level 20? How many bother to subscribe? Given how empty the level 30+ planets are? I'd say most of the traffic is people who don't play more than a few days,

 

is that a fact, or an assumption? Considering how last time they told us we were sitting pretty with a good million players, and that was just before the release of Galactic Strongholds, and I got a few friends who have returned to get alts to 55 in preparation for 3.0. Just saying. And its not like SWTOR is the only free to play game on that list.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Sangrar

[Raansu]

is that a fact, or an assumption? Considering how last time they told us we were sitting pretty with a good million players, and that was just before the release of Galactic Strongholds, and I got a few friends who have returned to get alts to 55 in preparation for 3.0. Just saying. And its not like SWTOR is the only free to play game on that list.

 

They said logins, not players. There "stat" was incredibly vague. Until BW gives us actual statistics, no one actually knows and people can only go by server population. None of the servers ever hit heavy anymore, let alone very heavy, and BC/Harbinger are probably the only servers left that are actually alive with population. The other servers are just kinda hovering and pot5 is just dead (7pm and its server status is still light).

[Darth_Wicked]

They said logins, not players. There "stat" was incredibly vague. Until BW gives us actual statistics, no one actually knows and people can only go by server population. None of the servers ever hit heavy anymore, let alone very heavy, and BC/Harbinger are probably the only servers left that are actually alive with population. The other servers are just kinda hovering and pot5 is just dead (7pm and its server status is still light).

 

Edited September 24, 2014 by Darth_Wicked

[Pietrastor]

They said logins, not players. There "stat" was incredibly vague. Until BW gives us actual statistics, no one actually knows and people can only go by server population. None of the servers ever hit heavy anymore, let alone very heavy, and BC/Harbinger are probably the only servers left that are actually alive with population. The other servers are just kinda hovering and pot5 is just dead (7pm and its server status is still light).

 

The statistic is whether the game is actively supported or not and obviously it is. 2 new expansions this year after 2 in previous one and given the time that passed since launch and F2P re-launch, this is obviously not something that was done 95% before launch "so may as well finish it and release and try to squeeze last few bucks outta players before bailing". TOR also recieves continuous mentions in EA fiscal reports and was present at EA Gamescom conference. Of course it is not keeping EA alive singelhandedly nor it is second WOW. But it's healthy and making enough cash to have EA greenlight continuous content developement and promotion. Not to mention that EA has now relegated all company's MMO developement to Austin and commisioned the studio another game after TOR's launch/F2P re-launch. Clearly, the execes are pleased with results.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Pietrastor

[LordArtemis]

I posted on the forums that in June Raptr reported that SWTOR had dropped from the top 20 for that month.

 

It is good to see SWTOR rise back up to the top 20 in August. I'd like to see how it continues to do through December.

 

What is interesting to me is when I posted the results from July, some folks jumped all over the fact it was Raptr. Now that SWTOR is doing better those folks seem to be conspicuously quiet or supportive.

 

Funny how that works.

 

It is good to see SWTOR in the top 20 PC games for this particular game service. I'd like to see how it is doing in the other game services as well, like Xfire.

 

I said it back then and I will say it now. SWTOR is a MUCH better game now than it was at launch. That is thanks to the new dev team IMO....though they have had a few stumbles, overall they are doing a pretty good job.

Edited September 24, 2014 by LordArtemis

[Darth_Wicked]

I posted on the forums that Raptr reported that SWTOR had dropped from the top 20 for that month.

 

It is good to see SWTOR rise back up to the top 20 in August. I'd like to see how it continues to do through December.

 

What is interesting to me is when I posted the results from July, some folks jumped all over the fact it was Raptr. Now that SWTOR is doing better those folks seem to be conspicuously quiet or supportive.

 

Funny how that works.

 

It is good to see SWTOR in the top 20 PC games for this particular game service. I'd like to see how it is doing in the other game services as well.

 

I'm not sure anyone else other than you and the OP even mentions those numbers truth be told.

 

As far as I can remember, whenever they're trying to make a point, people either go for the revenue the game is making or EA's claim that a million players log in every month.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Darth_Wicked

[Karkais]

The difference is both WS and TESO came out recently, while SW:ToR has had much more time to update the game and gain traction. Looking at exactly how old both TESO and WS are and comparing it to how well SW:ToR was doing at that 'age' would make for a more fair comparison.

 

Yet for some reason, people always predict the "death" of an older MMO when a newer one comes out.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Karkais

[LordArtemis]

I'm not sure anyone else other than you and the OP even mentions those numbers truth be told.

 

As far as I can remember, whenever they're trying to make a point, people either go for the revenue the game is making or EA's claim that a million players log in every month.

 

Fair enough.

 

At any rate, this is good news IMO. Hopefully it stabilizes at the top end of the list.

[Pietrastor]

I posted on the forums that in June Raptr reported that SWTOR had dropped from the top 20 for that month.

 

It is good to see SWTOR rise back up to the top 20 in August. I'd like to see how it continues to do through December.

 

What is interesting to me is when I posted the results from July, some folks jumped all over the fact it was Raptr. Now that SWTOR is doing better those folks seem to be conspicuously quiet or supportive.

To me it simply looks legit. June was the time of the biggest content drought in game this year when GSH got delayed. Now with housing release, additional activity drive in form of conquests and approaching 3.0 hype seems perfectly in line it would rebound. So yeah, looks like Raptr is tracking the trends well

[LordArtemis]

To me it simply looks legit. June was the time of the biggest content drought in game this year when GSH got delayed. Now with housing release, additional activity drive in form of conquests and approaching 3.0 hype seems perfectly in line it would rebound. So yeah, looks like Raptr is tracking the trends well

 

I like to track Xfire and Raptr to see how games are trending out. When folks were extolling the virtues and ability to strip SWTOR that ESO and Wildstar had, Xfire and Raptr told a different story.

 

Both demonstrated some evidence that both games were not going to do as well as some folks believed they would. And it turns out that was prophetic.

[Pietrastor]

I like to track Xfire and Raptr to see how games are trending out. When folks were extolling the virtues and ability to strip SWTOR that ESO and Wildstar had, Xfire and Raptr told a different story.

 

Both demonstrated some evidence that both games were not going to do as well as some folks believed they would. And it turns out that was prophetic.

Well you're kinda predicting future from Raptr yourself. It ain't good for that, both WS and ESO may crash and burn till the end (like Age of Conan or Warhammer Online) or rebound at acceptable population level and keep going (like Rift, SWTOR, LOTRO) and maybe even eclipse the latter ones. Nobody knows, 1 thing MMO community proved beyond any doubt is that it couldn't predict anything correctly

[ZETA_SCORPII]

It's Star Wars and the best game out period

[hunterraaze]

It's Star Wars and the best game out period

 

That, and well... I play it.

[Vodamin]

This chart is complete bull. GW2 is not more popular than SWTOR.

[Kissakias]

LOL at people that believe an individual bloger

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

I think since Galactic Strongholds was released, SWTOR made a important change. Guilds have a lot more importance. Before, it was just a social club and a slight experience boost. Now you can hang with your friends and work towards something while competing with other guilds. One of the best decisions SWTOR has made, IMO. I think this game is attracting a lot of people and retaining them cause there is a lot of content in this game and it takes a while to work through storylines (usually for me its 2-3 months per character at the rate I play per week).