Roadmap

[Paulsutherland]

Any reason to be a subscriber would be good at this point.

[Noerra]

I think you only missed 2 things.

 

Obligatory recap on how amazing last year was, with so much new content and events!

Apology for lack of communication, due to January being a busy month with meetings but more communication will be coming sometime!

 

On the plus side Anthem just posted its Roadmap for the post launch future.

 

I honestly tried to type that in too but i just couldn't... it seems there is limit how much total nonsense i can type

[Savej]

Math.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_the_last_jedi

All critics 204,091

Rating 45% liked it.

Means 91,840 didnt of the viewers who logged onto the site reviewed it.

 

Movie grosses more than $1,332,539,889

Means guessing at $15 a ticket on average around the world, thats 88,835,992 people saw the movie.

 

Of the ones who didnt like the movie, who logged onto the Rotten Tomatoes site, that is only 91,840/88.835.992...which is less than one-tenth of one percent.

 

Thats pretty much a vocal minority. And that is all we have to work with, unless every ticket holder was allowed to review, which it wasnt. So, yes...very,vocal minority.

 

Of the people that reviewed the movie, most didn't like it. For your statement that "the people that didn't like this are a minority" to.be true you would need some indication or evidence that the viewers that didn't review the movie liked it. Where is that? Strong ticket sales for the first two weeks are indications of marketing and hype, especially for a sequel.

[IoNonSoEVero]

Of the people that reviewed the movie, most didn't like it. For your statement that "the people that didn't like this are a minority" to.be true you would need some indication or evidence that the viewers that didn't review the movie liked it. Where is that? Strong ticket sales for the first two weeks are indications of marketing and hype, especially for a sequel.

 

For one thing, as of last September, The Last Jedi was the top-selling blu-ray of 2018, selling more than Thor and Black Panther. It did not sell as much as The Force Awakens, but it did better than Rogue I and a lot of people still liked it enough to buy it and want to see it again. https://screencrush.com/blu-ray-sales-2018-star-wars-last-jedi/

 

We're not really privvy to other indicators of popularity, such as merch sales, costume sales, popularity of the characters in existing theme park interactions, etc.

 

I don't like all that they are doing in the newer movies and wish they'd kept the old EU with Mara Jade, the Solo twins, and Leia as a trained Force user, but the movie really didn't crash and burn the way some people wanted it to.

[aerockyul]

For one thing, as of last September, The Last Jedi was the top-selling blu-ray of 2018, selling more than Thor and Black Panther. It did not sell as much as The Force Awakens, but it did better than Rogue I and a lot of people still liked it enough to buy it and want to see it again. https://screencrush.com/blu-ray-sales-2018-star-wars-last-jedi/

 

We're not really privvy to other indicators of popularity, such as merch sales, costume sales, popularity of the characters in existing theme park interactions, etc.

 

I don't like all that they are doing in the newer movies and wish they'd kept the old EU with Mara Jade, the Solo twins, and Leia as a trained Force user, but the movie really didn't crash and burn the way some people wanted it to.

 

The only two types of people I’ve talked to or read in many public forums that are frothing at the mouth with hate over TLJ are those who see SJWs in their nightmares and can’t stop bleeting about how SJWs ruin everything, and people who feel the same way but mask it by complaining that TLJ just “wasn’t a good movie” because of details that have been in all the other movies but are somehow egregiously unforgivable this time.

 

Hey dude, a scary SJW is standing behind you! Boo!! Look out!!

[MadDutchman]

At summertime the amazing thing everyone has been waiting for, making this the most exiting year for SWTOR ever! Downloadable for your mobile phone, new app "Major Anri's gardening adventure" you can grow flowers with Major Anri. Fertilizers, extra skins for watering cans and bug repellents sold separately.

 

Besides the humour in your post, the truly hilarious part about this in particular is it probably could actually make decent money, especially if Anri does pest control HK-55 style.

 

Better than most of the mobile game crap out there...

[IoNonSoEVero]

The only two types of people I’ve talked to or read in many public forums that are frothing at the mouth with hate over TLJ are those who see SJWs in their nightmares and can’t stop bleeting about how SJWs ruin everything, and people who feel the same way but mask it by complaining that TLJ just “wasn’t a good movie” because of details that have been in all the other movies but are somehow egregiously unforgivable this time.

 

Hey dude, a scary SJW is standing behind you! Boo!! Look out!!

 

Well yes, Rey is a Mary Sue, didn't you hear? It's not like there's this guy in a SW film who is able to accidentally stop a space battle at age 9 because he's literally called the Chosen One and another guy who knows how to pilot an X-wing well enough to destroy a Death Star the first time he flies it who is conveniently named similarly to the creator or anything...

 

In all seriousness yes, exactly, that's the elephant in the room.

[MadDutchman]

The only two types of people I’ve talked to or read in many public forums that are frothing at the mouth with hate over TLJ are those who see SJWs in their nightmares and can’t stop bleeting about how SJWs ruin everything, and people who feel the same way but mask it by complaining that TLJ just “wasn’t a good movie” because of details that have been in all the other movies but are somehow egregiously unforgivable this time.

 

Hey dude, a scary SJW is standing behind you! Boo!! Look out!!

 

You either don't get out much or deliberately are shoe-horning people's opinions into your own view point. This is just as simplistic as those screaming SJW conspiracy.

 

The biggest beef I had with the movie (and this is a fairly common complaint) is how they handled Luke. This is the guy who, despite all evidence to the contrary, believed Vader could be redeemed. He went to extraordinary lengths to try and reach him and In the end he was proven right.

 

Move forward ~20 years (can't remember exactly the time table) and he decides to murder his own nephew in cold blood while he sleeps because he is walking dangerously close to the Dark Side. They completely butchered one of the oldest and most loved characters of the IP.

 

Utter BS

Edited February 1, 2019 by MadDutchman

[annabethchase]

You either don't get out much or deliberately are shoe-horning people's opinions into your own view point. This is just as simplistic as those screaming SJW conspiracy.

 

The biggest beef I had with the movie (and this is a fairly common complaint) is how they handled Luke. This is the guy who, despite all evidence to the contrary, believed Vader could be redeemed. He went to extraordinary lengths to try and reach him and In the end he was proven right.

 

Move forward ~20 years (can't remember exactly the time table) and he decides to murder his own nephew in cold blood while he sleeps because he is walking dangerously close to the Dark Side. They completely butchered one of the oldest and most loved characters of the IP.

 

Utter BS

 

You seem like a reasonable person, but I feel you missed the whole point of Luke's story arc. Yes, you're correct about his story arc in the OT. But, you have to take a step further back to see his story arc across the entirety of the saga:

 

He was a brash young man. "All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was... what he was doing." I consider this Yoda quote to be the summary of early Luke. So this is what I see as the baseline of his story arc across the Saga and leads to my next point -->

 

He did consider striking Ben in TLJ, "for the briefest moment". Maybe the wisdom he once learned from Yoda finally sank in "“Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.” “Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could, but you will destroy all for which they have fought and suffered.” In ESB, he did not learn that lesson and went off to save his friends. You can interpret if he made a mistake in doing so or not, but the lesson remained that he couldn't predict the future. In TLJ, you see that lesson sink in when he does spare Ben, both as a Teen and in TLJ itself by not coming and killing him.

 

Luke DID NOT KILL Ben, even when he has an army ready to destroy everyone Luke loves. Instead, he still is giving him a chance at redemption. I happen to be a big believer that Ben is turning to the light in Ep9, but regardless of whether it happens Luke found a way to give Ben another chance. Luke paid the price with his life so that nobody else would have to.

 

Let's compare that to what we saw in ROTJ. Luke was dressed in all black for a reason. He was on the edge of giving in to the dark side himself. He fought with aggression and that was a large part of how he was able to get the better of Vader. But in the end, the lessons he learned brought him back from the brink of darkness and he saw that maybe his father could also be redeemed. However for the balance of ROTJ he was bordering on the dark side himself.

 

Compare that with TLJ where he's portrayed as a paragon of the Light Side with one brief moment of darkness. Heroes aren't different than villians in never having a desire to do the wrong thing. What makes a hero is they turn away from that darkness. By the end of TLJ, I was extremely satisfied with the story arc of Luke's life and he absolutely had a fitting end.

[annabethchase]

Besides the humour in your post, the truly hilarious part about this in particular is it probably could actually make decent money, especially if Anri does pest control HK-55 style.

 

Better than most of the mobile game crap out there...

 

Mini games in SWTOR itself could do wonders for keeping people logged in. Not something ridiculously simple like the casino event, but a fun amusement or 3 to use while waiting for a raid to form up or while waiting for the next patch to drop.

 

Ideas in the past have included swoop racing or card games, but i'm sure we'd all garden if it was designed for fun not as a grind.

[Savej]

For one thing, as of last September, The Last Jedi was the top-selling blu-ray of 2018, selling more than Thor and Black Panther. It did not sell as much as The Force Awakens, but it did better than Rogue I and a lot of people still liked it enough to buy it and want to see it again. https://screencrush.com/blu-ray-sales-2018-star-wars-last-jedi/

 

We're not really privvy to other indicators of popularity, such as merch sales, costume sales, popularity of the characters in existing theme park interactions, etc.

 

I don't like all that they are doing in the newer movies and wish they'd kept the old EU with Mara Jade, the Solo twins, and Leia as a trained Force user, but the movie really didn't crash and burn the way some people wanted it to.

 

No one's saying the movie crashed and burned (although it did crash and burn in China). There is credible evidence that it -did- major damage to the franchise. Retail sales of toys took a hit in 2017 vs 2016 and 2015. The fact that so many people didn't give Solo a chance is largely attributed to TLJ.

 

The main point I'm addressing, tho, is that there's no evidence that the people that didn't like TLJ are some sort of minority. Even The Phantom Menace has a higher user rating on Rotten Tomatoes (and MetaCritic) and that movie also probably sold the most dvds in its release year. Ragnarok, Rogue I and Black Panther were better liked movies but they weren't mega event movies like Avengers or Star Wars (lower budgets, less marketing, etc).

[IoNonSoEVero]

No one's saying the movie crashed and burned (although it did crash and burn in China). There is credible evidence that it -did- major damage to the franchise. Retail sales of toys took a hit in 2017 vs 2016 and 2015. The fact that so many people didn't give Solo a chance is largely attributed to TLJ.

 

There's such a thing as market saturation and brand fatigue, though, which can help explain Solo and toy and merch sale peaks and valleys. Between 2015 and 2018 there were four Star Wars movies, countless tie-ins and merchandising lines, the revived animated series, etc. Consumers do get overwhelmed and bored. It's important to remember that with both the original films and the prequels there were several years between films and there was an ebb and flow to the merch tie-ins, not a constant overwhelming flow. The same is true with other franchises like Harry Potter where some time has been left between each film or book launch.

 

Solo didn't do well, but it was also released against the Incredibles and Infinity War, and the lack of success might as well be attributed to brand fatigue and lack of interest in the back story of that particular character. Especially since none of the new characters were in Solo at all. Neither did Rogue I have any of the TFA or TLJ characters, but it had a very heavily touted Darth Vader cameo, and that was what a lot of people wanted.

 

At any rate, any fan who would walk away from the entire franchise in a huff because of TLJ might be replaced by one who appreciates what they've done, and a lot of the claims about the "damage" it's done seem to be unfounded.

Edited February 1, 2019 by IoNonSoEVero

[LordDarrack]

You seem like a reasonable person, but I feel you missed the whole point of Luke's story arc. Yes, you're correct about his story arc in the OT. But, you have to take a step further back to see his story arc across the entirety of the saga:

 

He was a brash young man. "All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was... what he was doing." I consider this Yoda quote to be the summary of early Luke. So this is what I see as the baseline of his story arc across the Saga and leads to my next point -->

 

He did consider striking Ben in TLJ, "for the briefest moment". Maybe the wisdom he once learned from Yoda finally sank in "“Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.” “Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could, but you will destroy all for which they have fought and suffered.” In ESB, he did not learn that lesson and went off to save his friends. You can interpret if he made a mistake in doing so or not, but the lesson remained that he couldn't predict the future. In TLJ, you see that lesson sink in when he does spare Ben, both as a Teen and in TLJ itself by not coming and killing him.

 

Luke DID NOT KILL Ben, even when he has an army ready to destroy everyone Luke loves. Instead, he still is giving him a chance at redemption. I happen to be a big believer that Ben is turning to the light in Ep9, but regardless of whether it happens Luke found a way to give Ben another chance. Luke paid the price with his life so that nobody else would have to.

 

Let's compare that to what we saw in ROTJ. Luke was dressed in all black for a reason. He was on the edge of giving in to the dark side himself. He fought with aggression and that was a large part of how he was able to get the better of Vader. But in the end, the lessons he learned brought him back from the brink of darkness and he saw that maybe his father could also be redeemed. However for the balance of ROTJ he was bordering on the dark side himself.

 

Compare that with TLJ where he's portrayed as a paragon of the Light Side with one brief moment of darkness. Heroes aren't different than villians in never having a desire to do the wrong thing. What makes a hero is they turn away from that darkness. By the end of TLJ, I was extremely satisfied with the story arc of Luke's life and he absolutely had a fitting end.

 

And you think the original movies didn't have completely stupid, non believable **** ups in them?

The Battle Of Endor, One Ewok died fighting the most powerful force in the galaxy complete with shock troops, Jet bikes, AT-STs, AT-ATs and artillery on call.

As ex military I can tell you I nearly fell out of my chair laughing.

 

Rose tinted specs mate.

 

Be safe

[sauceemynx]

There's such a thing as market saturation and brand fatigue, though, which can help explain Solo and toy and merch sale peaks and valleys. Between 2015 and 2018 there were four Star Wars movies, countless tie-ins and merchandising lines, the revived animated series, etc. Consumers do get overwhelmed and bored. It's important to remember that with both the original films and the prequels there were several years between films and there was an ebb and flow to the merch tie-ins, not a constant overwhelming flow. The same is true with other franchises like Harry Potter where some time has been left between each film or book launch.

 

Solo didn't do well, but it was also released against the Incredibles and Infinity War, and the lack of success might as well be attributed to brand fatigue and lack of interest in the back story of that particular character. Especially since none of the new characters were in Solo at all. Neither did Rogue I have any of the TFA or TLJ characters, but it had a very heavily touted Darth Vader cameo, and that was what a lot of people wanted.

 

At any rate, any fan who would walk away from the entire franchise in a huff because of TLJ might be replaced by one who appreciates what they've done, and a lot of the claims about the "damage" it's done seem to be unfounded.

 

I think this is exactly right. My kids, who are already rabid Star Wars fans, loved both TLJ and Solo (and to be honest I loved Solo, too). We old fogies who fondly remember playing with our original Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker action figures back in 1978 or whenever have to accept that we are no longer the future of the franchise. While we still matter as fans, our opinions are not the be all, end all that they once were, because we aren't clamoring for the toys. And let's face, toys matter hugely to this market. Now it's up to Disney to ensure that the current generation of kids don't take it all for granted--that Star Wars is as special to them as it was (and continues to be) for us.

[TUXs]

The only two types of people I’ve talked to or read in many public forums that are frothing at the mouth with hate over TLJ are those who see SJWs in their nightmares and can’t stop bleeting about how SJWs ruin everything, and people who feel the same way but mask it by complaining that TLJ just “wasn’t a good movie” because of details that have been in all the other movies but are somehow egregiously unforgivable this time.

• The entire movie centered around a space chase where ships are capable of FTL travel, yet they couldn't close the 100 yard gap between their lasers and the fleeing rebels...for the entire movie!!!

• Finnn isn't a good character. He's a coward who's been trying to run away for 2 movies now. I have no feelings towards his living or dying either way because he's an unimportant side show

• Rey is perfectly fine - love her character

• Luke was 100% not the Luke we last saw - he was freaking weird

• Kylo Ren isn't a "bad guy"...he's a confused character who I feel sorry for, not hatred for

• The main antagonist, Snoke, turned out to be a fake and died as quickly as he was introduced - that leaves a huge void in the "bad guy" department

• Hux isn't funny...he's just a human Jar Jar

• The entire "bombing run" was ridiculously stupid - it would have made sense in a WW2 movie, not Star Wars

• The entire casino thing was just a waste of time with nothing coming from it

• Captain Phantasma was another huge dud

 

I could literally go on and on about how many parts of the movie sucked...not ONE of my reasons has anything to do with SJW anything...it was just a complete travesty of a movie. Solo was no better - 99% of that is the horrible acting job of the dude playing Han...he was TERRIBLE!!! Everyone could have died at the end of Solo, like they did in Rogue One, and I sincerely wouldn't have cared. Again, nothing about SJW anything...just completely crap movies.

[Savej]

There's such a thing as market saturation and brand fatigue, though, which can help explain Solo and toy and merch sale peaks and valleys. Between 2015 and 2018 there were four Star Wars movies, countless tie-ins and merchandising lines, the revived animated series, etc. Consumers do get overwhelmed and bored. It's important to remember that with both the original films and the prequels there were several years between films and there was an ebb and flow to the merch tie-ins, not a constant overwhelming flow. The same is true with other franchises like Harry Potter where some time has been left between each film or book launch.

 

Solo didn't do well, but it was also released against the Incredibles and Infinity War, and the lack of success might as well be attributed to brand fatigue and lack of interest in the back story of that particular character. Especially since none of the new characters were in Solo at all. Neither did Rogue I have any of the TFA or TLJ characters, but it had a very heavily touted Darth Vader cameo, and that was what a lot of people wanted.

 

At any rate, any fan who would walk away from the entire franchise in a huff because of TLJ might be replaced by one who appreciates what they've done, and a lot of the claims about the "damage" it's done seem to be unfounded.

 

There's no evidence in there that the people that didn't like TLJ are a minority. Brand fatigue is an excuse - if it was a real killer then Marvel would have blown up long ago. The fact is that good movies bring more people to an IP, not less.

 

I mentioned China because that's one of the few places on planet Earth with a movie population that wasn't sucked into SW last century thanks to censorship. They liked TFA okay but without the SW fans TLJ bombed (in China).

Edited February 1, 2019 by Savej

[kodrac]

Now it's up to Disney to ensure that the current generation of kids don't take it all for granted--that Star Wars is as special to them as it was (and continues to be) for us.

 

Well then they might want to worry about that oversaturation stuff. When we were kids we had to wait literal years for anything Star Wars. That waiting and building anticipation did all the work for Lucas. Today you can't go one month without some new Disney Star Wars themed something or other - cartoon, toy, theme park, hockey team, etc, etc.

Edited February 1, 2019 by kodrac

[Celise]

I think we'll be getting one sometime soon. I doubt whether it will be released by the end of January, but I bet we'll see one in February. After all, we're due for one and it would be nice to have some transparency as to what will be happening with the game in 2019.

 

I'm very doubtful we will see one in February, but i hope i'm wrong.

I'd very much like to know what is going on with SWTOR i just hope it isn't as taken from HK-55: "Report: Dead".

[IoNonSoEVero]

There's no evidence in there that the people that didn't like TLJ are a minority. Brand fatigue is an excuse - if it was a real killer then Marvel would have blown up long ago. The fact is that good movies bring more people to an IP, not less.

 

I mentioned China because that's one of the few places on planet Earth with a movie population that wasn't sucked into SW last century thanks to censorship. They liked TFA okay but without the SW fans TLJ bombed (in China).

 

Brand fatigue's not an excuse; it's a real phenomenon. Marvel's put out a wide variety of films, not just one particular franchise. Same with the films based on DC characters. If they'd put out four films about, say, Wonder Woman in four years and saturated the market with merch during that time frame the same way SW did, I'm sure you'd see the same brand fatigue. Even with properties like Frozen that are cash cows Disney is careful about how much it releases and how often, but that went out the window with Star Wars.

 

If you want to believe that TLJ was some franchise-killing disaster, there's nothing anyone says that will convince you otherwise, but it doesn't mean it's true. People want to believe that most people hated TLJ because they did, but the economics don't point to that.

[TUXs]

Brand fatigue's not an excuse; it's a real phenomenon. Marvel's put out a wide variety of films, not just one particular franchise. Same with the films based on DC characters. If they'd put out four films about, say, Wonder Woman in four years and saturated the market with merch during that time frame the same way SW did, I'm sure you'd see the same brand fatigue. Even with properties like Frozen that are cash cows Disney is careful about how much it releases and how often, but that went out the window with Star Wars.

 

If you want to believe that TLJ was some franchise-killing disaster, there's nothing anyone says that will convince you otherwise, but it doesn't mean it's true. People want to believe that most people hated TLJ because they did, but the economics don't point to that.

It's not brand fatigue...it's BAD fatigue. The past 2 Star Wars movies were utterly terrible (TLJ and SOLO). I'm still excited to see a new Star Wars movie, but after the last 2, my expectations and excitement are way lower than they've been in the past. I feel like TLJ ended poorly and it left me not caring if they made an Ep9 or not...nothing is left hanging from that movie...the bad guy is dead, the hero is dead.

[IoNonSoEVero]

I think this is exactly right. My kids, who are already rabid Star Wars fans, loved both TLJ and Solo (and to be honest I loved Solo, too). We old fogies who fondly remember playing with our original Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker action figures back in 1978 or whenever have to accept that we are no longer the future of the franchise. While we still matter as fans, our opinions are not the be all, end all that they once were, because we aren't clamoring for the toys. And let's face, toys matter hugely to this market. Now it's up to Disney to ensure that the current generation of kids don't take it all for granted--that Star Wars is as special to them as it was (and continues to be) for us.

 

Exactly. The franchise has to evolve, and even though I would have rather seen Mara Jade and the original EU characters, what they're doing is evolving. Every franchise with sticking power has to do that. Fans of the original 1960s X-Men, Star Trek or Doctor Who don't necessarily like what those franchises have done more recently, but that doesn't mean that what those franchises have done is wrong or disliked by current fans. I remember reading posts where people were imploding from rage when they cast a woman as the Doctor, and lo and behold, ratings went up significantly with that actress in the role.

 

I saw a ton of kids dressed up as Rey this Halloween in my area. At Disney parks I've been told that the line to meet Rey is as long as the one to meet Chewbacca. Little ones seem to be as into the new films and animated series as Xers and Xennials were with the original films, and that will carry it all forward.

 

I don't think that means that every fan is going to be in love with every story decision that is made, heck, we see that with SWTOR. But it is different to say "I personally disliked this film or story choice" than "everyone obviously disliked it and a franchise with a 40+ year body of work fell to pieces as a result of the story choice I disliked."

[IoNonSoEVero]

It's not brand fatigue...it's BAD fatigue. The past 2 Star Wars movies were utterly terrible (TLJ and SOLO). I'm still excited to see a new Star Wars movie, but after the last 2, my expectations and excitement are way lower than they've been in the past. I feel like TLJ ended poorly and it left me not caring if they made an Ep9 or not...nothing is left hanging from that movie...the bad guy is dead, the hero is dead.

 

But are you going to see the next film, or continue to patronize Star Wars products at all? The answer to the last question is yes, as you're still subscribed here, to a Star Wars MMO, right? There's a difference between personally disliking what they did with a film or another franchise product and claiming it destroyed said franchise.

[TUXs]

But are you going to see the next film, or continue to patronize Star Wars products at all? The answer to the last question is yes, as you're still subscribed here, to a Star Wars MMO, right? There's a difference between personally disliking what they did with a film or another franchise product and claiming it destroyed said franchise.

Oh hell yes I will...gladly too - I'm a die hard Star Wars nerd. But I also believe Disney did serious harm to the brand.

[IoNonSoEVero]

Oh hell yes I will...gladly too - I'm a die hard Star Wars nerd. But I also believe Disney did serious harm to the brand.

 

So it didn't drive you away from the entire franchise, right?

 

IMHO a lot of the things people are claiming "damage" the brand, like more female characters, more ethnic and age diversity, and more acceptance of different orientations, are things that should have been part of the equation before now. If one wants to talk about Disney throwing too much Star Wars on the market in too short a time, letting the GoT people touch the films and not managing its license for video games better it's one thing - Disney should be breathing down EA's neck to properly care for this particular game IMHO- but what people claim is "damage" in most cases doesn't seem to be about that.

Edited February 1, 2019 by IoNonSoEVero

[KendraP]

Oh hell yes I will...gladly too - I'm a die hard Star Wars nerd. But I also believe Disney did serious harm to the brand.

 

Disney has potential - see also marvel. I haven't enjoyed the sequel trilogy either though.