Every game that has ever released has had to deal with other games coming out at/around the same time. Due to the traditional release times (pre Christmas - Nov/Dec, Post Christmas Feb/march, Midyear July/sep) most games tend to get clumped together with at least 1 other game similar to it. You could say 2010 is a bad time to release too because of a whole host of games coming out.
The point is saying that a game should not release in X year or Y month because Z game is coming out is pointless.
I think you're underestimating the behemoth that is Blizzard. That's not to say that I'm a fan or like their games in any way, but it is what it is. 2, possibly 3, major releases by the #1 game development studio out there at around the same time as anyone else's games go to market? Not a good idea by anyone's standards, even Bioware's. Other games/studios are neither here nor there, as they can't complete in the sqame league. It is entirely on point actually. They practically destroyed several other mmos with WoW alone over the first couple years, so I think it's a case of 'ignore at your own peril' Bioware.
Anyway, as much of a SW fan as I am, I've equally become a Bioware anti-fan since NWN probably, & have no love lost for Blizzard either, so could care less. I may try Sw:ToR when it launches, I may not (I didn't even try SWG until last year). So, I have no vested interest in saying what I did, but I think it's clearly a very relevant marketing point which I'm sure Bioware will take into consideration.
This post brings up a point of view that I have been strongly against since it started to rear it's ugly head. The idea that Blizzard, for having created WoW, was responsible for the death of other games.
While I can see how one could come to that conclusion, it is not entirley correct. We exist in a free market society. Noone holds a gun to anyone's head and forces them to play World of Warcraft. In a free market, a better product will attract more customers and thereby succeed where others fail.
The failure of many games due to competition from WoW is undeniable. However, Blizzard and thier game are not logicly responsible for said failures. Rather the producers of these games have paid the price for releasing an infirior product that was unable to draw enough market share to survive of it's own merit.
Sounds good to me. I was thinking it was coming out in September of this year or something, and I was little worried they'd have time to get everything together and have enough time for a nice, long beta test. Looks like none of that is going to be a problem. Beta Testing will start this year, so it seems like things will be tested for AT LEAST half a year and quite possibly 9-12 months. That should be more than sufficient to iron out any significant problems.
For those that think this is too long, remember how much content this game is going to have. Group story content, 8 solo stories, and those stories all have aspects where decisions made early on can have consequences that crop up much later. That's a pretty complicated system right there. They're also moving away from a Tank-Healer-DPS system, and that takes time to test and work out properly. Then they have to develop in test crafting, whatever sort of raids they have, and various types of group content and "end game" content. Time is NOT a bad thing here even if it ends up ruffling some investors a little (as a consumer, I don't particularly care how the investors feel as long as they don't force a game to come out rushed).
Originally posted by slipfeed This post brings up a point of view that I have been strongly against since it started to rear it's ugly head. The idea that Blizzard, for having created WoW, was responsible for the death of other games. While I can see how one could come to that conclusion, it is not entirley correct. We exist in a free market society. Noone holds a gun to anyone's head and forces them to play World of Warcraft. In a free market, a better product will attract more customers and thereby succeed where others fail. The failure of many games due to competition from WoW is undeniable. However, Blizzard and thier game are not logicly responsible for said failures. Rather the producers of these games have paid the price for releasing an infirior product that was unable to draw enough market share to survive of it's own merit. Just had to get that off my chest.
Yeah, Blizzard makes good games, but thinking they kill other games that aren't very flawed is kinda silly. Thinking that if they release 3 games in one year that will destroy all other games on the market is also silly. The vast majority of gamers can afford more than 1 game in a month if a bunch of awesome stuff comes out, or they can split up their buying over several months.
I'll probably buy D3 (looks good so far), SC2, AND TOR in 2011. Might not buy many other games (if the new Zelda game for the Wii comes out, I'll get that too), but those 3 I'd think would make me plenty happy -- that's my best guess on my purchases at this point, anyhow. If all those games come out May 2011, then I am certainly not going to decide to only buy SC2 and D3 and then forget about the others and buy lesser games the following months. If I could only afford two, I'd buy two, and then the next month I'd buy another one or two of them. I don't think Bioware is going to collapse if I delay purchasing their game a month (though honestly, I'd probably delay one of the Blizzard games a month or two...assuming they all come out at once, which is rather unlikely).
Every game that has ever released has had to deal with other games coming out at/around the same time. Due to the traditional release times (pre Christmas - Nov/Dec, Post Christmas Feb/march, Midyear July/sep) most games tend to get clumped together with at least 1 other game similar to it. You could say 2010 is a bad time to release too because of a whole host of games coming out.
The point is saying that a game should not release in X year or Y month because Z game is coming out is pointless.
I think you're underestimating the behemoth that is Blizzard. That's not to say that I'm a fan or like their games in any way, but it is what it is. 2, possibly 3, major releases by the #1 game development studio out there at around the same time as anyone else's games go to market? Not a good idea by anyone's standards, even Bioware's. Other games/studios are neither here nor there, as they can't complete in the sqame league. It is entirely on point actually. They practically destroyed several other mmos with WoW alone over the first couple years, so I think it's a case of 'ignore at your own peril' Bioware.
<snip>
I'm inclined to agree with Death on this point - since game launches tend to clump up at certain times of the year, every year, studios can't afford to delay or cancel a launch until there's no competition simply because another studio is releasing a similar game. On another, slightly related note, SW:ToR would be launching against major releases that aren't even in the same genre. Starcraft 2 is an RTS. Diablo 3 gives every indication of being a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler with a multiplayer component like its predecessor, Diablo 2. If you'd like to think of this as a situation where a consumer must absolutely choose between SW:ToR and SC3 or D3, then it may not even be a problem because some gamers do not like the RTS or hack-and-slash genres: It would be a non-issue to choose SW:ToR over the "competition." (Conversely, gamers may choose SC2 or D3 over SW:ToR because they don't like the MMO genre.)
Granted this is an oversimplification, but the developing studio may not even enter the equation. Are there many people who will make the choice of game solely on genre? Probably not. Will some people buy either (or both!) Blizzard games, just because Blizzard is the one that developed them? Probably so, but you could say the same of SW:ToR because Bioware is developing it. Will gamers buy only one of these three releases to the absolute exclusion of the other two? Highly doubtful. If someone was interested enough, they could always come back and buy the other game at a later date. I don't think that a SW:ToR lauching concurrently with Blizzard's games are going to impact overall sales too greatly either way. Different genres, different tastes.
Every game that has ever released has had to deal with other games coming out at/around the same time. Due to the traditional release times (pre Christmas - Nov/Dec, Post Christmas Feb/march, Midyear July/sep) most games tend to get clumped together with at least 1 other game similar to it. You could say 2010 is a bad time to release too because of a whole host of games coming out.
The point is saying that a game should not release in X year or Y month because Z game is coming out is pointless.
I think you're underestimating the behemoth that is Blizzard. That's not to say that I'm a fan or like their games in any way, but it is what it is. 2, possibly 3, major releases by the #1 game development studio out there at around the same time as anyone else's games go to market? Not a good idea by anyone's standards, even Bioware's. Other games/studios are neither here nor there, as they can't complete in the sqame league. It is entirely on point actually. They practically destroyed several other mmos with WoW alone over the first couple years, so I think it's a case of 'ignore at your own peril' Bioware.
<snip>
I'm inclined to agree with Death on this point - since game launches tend to clump up at certain times of the year, every year, studios can't afford to delay or cancel a launch until there's no competition simply because another studio is releasing a similar game. On another, slightly related note, SW:ToR would be launching against major releases that aren't even in the same genre. Starcraft 2 is an RTS. Diablo 3 gives every indication of being a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler with a multiplayer component like its predecessor, Diablo 2. If you'd like to think of this as a situation where a consumer must absolutely choose between SW:ToR and SC3 or D3, then it may not even be a problem because some gamers do not like the RTS or hack-and-slash genres: It would be a non-issue to choose SW:ToR over the "competition." (Conversely, gamers may choose SC2 or D3 over SW:ToR because they don't like the MMO genre.)
Granted this is an oversimplification, but the developing studio may not even enter the equation. Are there many people who will make the choice of game solely on genre? Probably not. Will some people buy either (or both!) Blizzard games, just because Blizzard is the one that developed them? Probably so, but you could say the same of SW:ToR because Bioware is developing it. Will gamers buy only one of these three releases to the absolute exclusion of the other two? Highly doubtful. If someone was interested enough, they could always come back and buy the other game at a later date. I don't think that a SW:ToR lauching concurrently with Blizzard's games are going to impact overall sales too greatly either way. Different genres, different tastes.
only problem i see is if TOR launches with GW2....other then that it is Star Wars..no question it will have a strong base of players and I can not see it doing poorly at all....GW2 will be a stronger game as far as MMOs go but I still can not see TOR doing bad.
However even releasing with no MMOs still put pressure on the game....Starcraft II and Diablo 3 will have a lot of players picking them up (Starcraft II more IMHO) this may cause some players to make a choice and only purchase one.
I expect no less that a quality game from Bioware.. its is their trademark.. so if 2011 is the target then I truly expect to see a really quality game.. they just raised the bar as far as I am concerned. ALTHOUGH, do not discount a possible Xmas release of this game.. I wouldn't be surprised at that possibility either..
It matters not. Bioware fully intends to put forth a good, possibly great, game at launch and I applaud them fully. Take all the time you need Bioware.. tale all the time you need.
As a business decision, it seems a good one as well since I take it that putting another Sci-fi game out that is an IP may not be quite as appealing. STO is a very good Beta right now and will be a good game in its own right..
I expect TOR to blow the doors off alot of games and maybe even the genre itself.. we will see.. but I say to Eve and WoW.. no matter what, I think you both have some serious competition coming..
As long as the game is finished and has good land pve combat, its only real competition should be star trek online, and coming out a year later it will be better than competing directly with star trek online now... This gives an entire year for the game to be complicated and in depth, and to be awesome enough for players to want to pay for both Star trek online and Star wars : ToR, or to pay for at least Star Wars: ToR...
Players will always expect to much out of a game, there is no reason to ever rush it. People will always complain no matter what, so I agree they should take all the time they need, don't worry about competition, and just make their game the best it can be... They won't be competing against Eve Online that is all pvp based and has no land content.... that's for sure, that game is downright boring for someone like me that hates pvp with a passion...
There's no reason to worry about WoW, most players on WoW only play because there is nothing good enough to beat WoW... It's the old mainstream standby for when someone is bored of whatever game they happen to play... Without any space content, people would love to leave WoW and play Star Trek Online and Star Wars: ToR...
Why are you even worried about Blizzard? The game will succeed, because all of us have loved Star Wars and Bioware enough to support it!! No matter how many games come out, gamers will still buy it in addition to any other games!! Lol.
Comments
I think you're underestimating the behemoth that is Blizzard. That's not to say that I'm a fan or like their games in any way, but it is what it is. 2, possibly 3, major releases by the #1 game development studio out there at around the same time as anyone else's games go to market? Not a good idea by anyone's standards, even Bioware's. Other games/studios are neither here nor there, as they can't complete in the sqame league. It is entirely on point actually. They practically destroyed several other mmos with WoW alone over the first couple years, so I think it's a case of 'ignore at your own peril' Bioware.
Anyway, as much of a SW fan as I am, I've equally become a Bioware anti-fan since NWN probably, & have no love lost for Blizzard either, so could care less. I may try Sw:ToR when it launches, I may not (I didn't even try SWG until last year). So, I have no vested interest in saying what I did, but I think it's clearly a very relevant marketing point which I'm sure Bioware will take into consideration.
This post brings up a point of view that I have been strongly against since it started to rear it's ugly head. The idea that Blizzard, for having created WoW, was responsible for the death of other games.
While I can see how one could come to that conclusion, it is not entirley correct. We exist in a free market society. Noone holds a gun to anyone's head and forces them to play World of Warcraft. In a free market, a better product will attract more customers and thereby succeed where others fail.
The failure of many games due to competition from WoW is undeniable. However, Blizzard and thier game are not logicly responsible for said failures. Rather the producers of these games have paid the price for releasing an infirior product that was unable to draw enough market share to survive of it's own merit.
Just had to get that off my chest.
Sanity is a delusion. The only truth is madness.
Sounds good to me. I was thinking it was coming out in September of this year or something, and I was little worried they'd have time to get everything together and have enough time for a nice, long beta test. Looks like none of that is going to be a problem. Beta Testing will start this year, so it seems like things will be tested for AT LEAST half a year and quite possibly 9-12 months. That should be more than sufficient to iron out any significant problems.
For those that think this is too long, remember how much content this game is going to have. Group story content, 8 solo stories, and those stories all have aspects where decisions made early on can have consequences that crop up much later. That's a pretty complicated system right there. They're also moving away from a Tank-Healer-DPS system, and that takes time to test and work out properly. Then they have to develop in test crafting, whatever sort of raids they have, and various types of group content and "end game" content. Time is NOT a bad thing here even if it ends up ruffling some investors a little (as a consumer, I don't particularly care how the investors feel as long as they don't force a game to come out rushed).
Yeah, Blizzard makes good games, but thinking they kill other games that aren't very flawed is kinda silly. Thinking that if they release 3 games in one year that will destroy all other games on the market is also silly. The vast majority of gamers can afford more than 1 game in a month if a bunch of awesome stuff comes out, or they can split up their buying over several months.
I'll probably buy D3 (looks good so far), SC2, AND TOR in 2011. Might not buy many other games (if the new Zelda game for the Wii comes out, I'll get that too), but those 3 I'd think would make me plenty happy -- that's my best guess on my purchases at this point, anyhow. If all those games come out May 2011, then I am certainly not going to decide to only buy SC2 and D3 and then forget about the others and buy lesser games the following months. If I could only afford two, I'd buy two, and then the next month I'd buy another one or two of them. I don't think Bioware is going to collapse if I delay purchasing their game a month (though honestly, I'd probably delay one of the Blizzard games a month or two...assuming they all come out at once, which is rather unlikely).
I think you're underestimating the behemoth that is Blizzard. That's not to say that I'm a fan or like their games in any way, but it is what it is. 2, possibly 3, major releases by the #1 game development studio out there at around the same time as anyone else's games go to market? Not a good idea by anyone's standards, even Bioware's. Other games/studios are neither here nor there, as they can't complete in the sqame league. It is entirely on point actually. They practically destroyed several other mmos with WoW alone over the first couple years, so I think it's a case of 'ignore at your own peril' Bioware.
<snip>
I'm inclined to agree with Death on this point - since game launches tend to clump up at certain times of the year, every year, studios can't afford to delay or cancel a launch until there's no competition simply because another studio is releasing a similar game. On another, slightly related note, SW:ToR would be launching against major releases that aren't even in the same genre. Starcraft 2 is an RTS. Diablo 3 gives every indication of being a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler with a multiplayer component like its predecessor, Diablo 2. If you'd like to think of this as a situation where a consumer must absolutely choose between SW:ToR and SC3 or D3, then it may not even be a problem because some gamers do not like the RTS or hack-and-slash genres: It would be a non-issue to choose SW:ToR over the "competition." (Conversely, gamers may choose SC2 or D3 over SW:ToR because they don't like the MMO genre.)
Granted this is an oversimplification, but the developing studio may not even enter the equation. Are there many people who will make the choice of game solely on genre? Probably not. Will some people buy either (or both!) Blizzard games, just because Blizzard is the one that developed them? Probably so, but you could say the same of SW:ToR because Bioware is developing it. Will gamers buy only one of these three releases to the absolute exclusion of the other two? Highly doubtful. If someone was interested enough, they could always come back and buy the other game at a later date. I don't think that a SW:ToR lauching concurrently with Blizzard's games are going to impact overall sales too greatly either way. Different genres, different tastes.
I think you're underestimating the behemoth that is Blizzard. That's not to say that I'm a fan or like their games in any way, but it is what it is. 2, possibly 3, major releases by the #1 game development studio out there at around the same time as anyone else's games go to market? Not a good idea by anyone's standards, even Bioware's. Other games/studios are neither here nor there, as they can't complete in the sqame league. It is entirely on point actually. They practically destroyed several other mmos with WoW alone over the first couple years, so I think it's a case of 'ignore at your own peril' Bioware.
<snip>
I'm inclined to agree with Death on this point - since game launches tend to clump up at certain times of the year, every year, studios can't afford to delay or cancel a launch until there's no competition simply because another studio is releasing a similar game. On another, slightly related note, SW:ToR would be launching against major releases that aren't even in the same genre. Starcraft 2 is an RTS. Diablo 3 gives every indication of being a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler with a multiplayer component like its predecessor, Diablo 2. If you'd like to think of this as a situation where a consumer must absolutely choose between SW:ToR and SC3 or D3, then it may not even be a problem because some gamers do not like the RTS or hack-and-slash genres: It would be a non-issue to choose SW:ToR over the "competition." (Conversely, gamers may choose SC2 or D3 over SW:ToR because they don't like the MMO genre.)
Granted this is an oversimplification, but the developing studio may not even enter the equation. Are there many people who will make the choice of game solely on genre? Probably not. Will some people buy either (or both!) Blizzard games, just because Blizzard is the one that developed them? Probably so, but you could say the same of SW:ToR because Bioware is developing it. Will gamers buy only one of these three releases to the absolute exclusion of the other two? Highly doubtful. If someone was interested enough, they could always come back and buy the other game at a later date. I don't think that a SW:ToR lauching concurrently with Blizzard's games are going to impact overall sales too greatly either way. Different genres, different tastes.
only problem i see is if TOR launches with GW2....other then that it is Star Wars..no question it will have a strong base of players and I can not see it doing poorly at all....GW2 will be a stronger game as far as MMOs go but I still can not see TOR doing bad.
However even releasing with no MMOs still put pressure on the game....Starcraft II and Diablo 3 will have a lot of players picking them up (Starcraft II more IMHO) this may cause some players to make a choice and only purchase one.
I expect no less that a quality game from Bioware.. its is their trademark.. so if 2011 is the target then I truly expect to see a really quality game.. they just raised the bar as far as I am concerned. ALTHOUGH, do not discount a possible Xmas release of this game.. I wouldn't be surprised at that possibility either..
It matters not. Bioware fully intends to put forth a good, possibly great, game at launch and I applaud them fully. Take all the time you need Bioware.. tale all the time you need.
As a business decision, it seems a good one as well since I take it that putting another Sci-fi game out that is an IP may not be quite as appealing. STO is a very good Beta right now and will be a good game in its own right..
I expect TOR to blow the doors off alot of games and maybe even the genre itself.. we will see.. but I say to Eve and WoW.. no matter what, I think you both have some serious competition coming..
so mote it be.
As long as the game is finished and has good land pve combat, its only real competition should be star trek online, and coming out a year later it will be better than competing directly with star trek online now... This gives an entire year for the game to be complicated and in depth, and to be awesome enough for players to want to pay for both Star trek online and Star wars : ToR, or to pay for at least Star Wars: ToR...
Players will always expect to much out of a game, there is no reason to ever rush it. People will always complain no matter what, so I agree they should take all the time they need, don't worry about competition, and just make their game the best it can be... They won't be competing against Eve Online that is all pvp based and has no land content.... that's for sure, that game is downright boring for someone like me that hates pvp with a passion...
There's no reason to worry about WoW, most players on WoW only play because there is nothing good enough to beat WoW... It's the old mainstream standby for when someone is bored of whatever game they happen to play... Without any space content, people would love to leave WoW and play Star Trek Online and Star Wars: ToR...
Why are you even worried about Blizzard? The game will succeed, because all of us have loved Star Wars and Bioware enough to support it!! No matter how many games come out, gamers will still buy it in addition to any other games!! Lol.
WooooT
Any problem can be solved, with the Proper Amount of High Explosives.....
Dont take life serious, youll never get out alive ..
Hilarious necro of a thread.
BOOYAKA!
WoW I missed the launch?