Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
We should fear Lucas Arts and what they might do to TOR..ala SWG
m240gulf
Member UncommonPosts: 460
I am probably the most happiest person in the world atm that $OE shut down SWG, up until I found out the reason why it was shut down. In an interview $med did with I think Massively (I'll post the link when I find it), $med mentioned he had a conversation with LA adn they agreed that SWG should be shut down.
What that means to me is that LA didn't want two competing products on the market and SWG was the obvious choice to be cut. I just can't help but think what will happen in five years, assuming I really get into SW:TOR and am still playing. What will happen when it gets old and subs are a shell of what they used to be? Does this mean, LA will start another MMO and eventually cut SW:TOR for a better younger model?
What I'm getting at is, $OE should have been the one to give up on SWG and not LA; although it is totally in LA's own right to kill the rights to the game. I'm saying what if at one point SW:TOR only has 10k players who are die-hard fans of the game and LA wants more with a newer game?
I just hope it doesn't happen, but it's always going to be in the back of my head while I play TOR.
EDIT: inserting link to the interview
http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/24/exclusive-smedley-on-the-sunsetting-of-star-wars-galaxies/
I Reject your Reality and Substitute it with My Own!
Comments
Why would you be happy that players of SWG lost their game?
I'm pretty sure they stated it was a mutual decision, not just LucasArts saying, "You fucked up the game, time to call it quits in lieu of our new blockbuster."
Besides, SWG is a shell of what it was, like they stated in the interview as well. It's never recovered from NGE. I for one, doubt it could have. They turned a game completely inside out without regards to their community. Big no no.
I was under the impression that the game was shut down because the time was running out, Subs were low and there was a new game coming out anyway.
It would really depend on what the state of SW;TOR is in 5 years. If the subs are good and BW can afford to continue to pay the fee, then i don't think LA would force a shut down. It wasn't so much LA saying okay, your time is done, we don't care how much money your making, we want you to shut down so you don't compete.
Keep in mind that SWG wouldn't really have competed much with ToR because each cater to a very different crowd. THe only ones they'd be fighting over are the star wars fans themselves.
LA was probably only keeping SWG open because it was the only way for them to make money in the MMO departement. IT wasn't much (for them) but at least it was something. However with Bioware's game coming out they feel they have a much better oppertunity with SW;ToR. They might have even been the ones supporting SWG at the time just so they could get money. Whereas here they can just charge Bioware and rake in the money.
I really feel it will depend on how SW;ToR does in 5 years. If it's falling to pieces and very low subs, yeah i can see that happening. However if the subs are high and it's in good shape, theres no reason LA would have to shut it down for another game. Don't shoot yourself in the foot and cut off a game that is giving you tons of money.
Help me Bioware, you're my only hope.
Is ToR going to be good? Dude it's Bioware making a freaking star wars game, all signs point to awesome. -G4tv MMo report.
SWG is actually much better than it was at NGE launch. Some would argue that it is the best it has ever been due to the dungeon and PvP content that SWG never had until now. People forget how grindy pre-NGE was.
So you're afraid that if TOR becomes unsuccessful in the future and costs more to maintain than possible gain, that it'll be shut down? I know some will argue that SWG has enough subscribers to currently maintain a small profit but what about when TOR hits? Then SOE and LA would be stuck with an updated contract that would be costing them more in the long run just to keep SWG going. They did the smart thing. SWG wasn't a terrible game but it did go way down hill with NGE. This proves it.
All of the some may argue that its the best its ever been but look at the sub numbers.
Look at them...
SWG has very good population numbers on at least 3 servers that I know of. Some MMO's today wish they had 3 good servers.
Lucas Arts and the Star Wars franchise has lost their touch a looooong time ago and these days only release content with the sole purpose of maximizing profits. So for me it's not a big surprise that they wanted to shut down SWG so they can get more profits from SW:TOR.
Also I dont think SW:TOR will be a game to stay along for several years. It is a typical Thempark with single player storylines, much like the Mass Effect and Dragon Age Origins models, so unless the game goes F2P after a year or two, I doubt it will be around much longer after that.
My gaming blog
I agree. XFire shows numbers higher than WAR, FF XI, FF XIV, Lineage 2, EQ 2, EQ 1, CoX and so on. So whatever the reason for the shutdown, its for sure not lack of subs.
I was hoping for SWG to stick around and continue into its sandbox/themepark hybrid model and after 2-3 years it would probably be higher than the then dwindling numbers of SW:TOR. But I am guessing Lucas Arts put some pressure on SOE just to have the game shut down.
My gaming blog
It will thrive for a few years. It will then it will go f2p and will last until LA decides to shut it down to launch yet another SW MMO. People should be wary of LA closing down ToR later on since we have seen that they only want to back one SW game at a time.
It does not surprise me in the least. I wish there was hope for SWG to survive the shutdown. I am devistated that SWG is going offline. It was my first MMO and to me, there will never be a more immersive game as SWG. All other MMO's crafting systems are a let down to me now since I first learned crafting in SWG.
Aweful lot of fortune telling going on here. I do so wish i had you guys abilities to tell what game is going to have low pops or go F2P next or what is going to be a huge success. That way i could use that knowledge to invest in companies that will do well instead of using it here to try and throw mud at the game...*rolls eyes*
Help me Bioware, you're my only hope.
Is ToR going to be good? Dude it's Bioware making a freaking star wars game, all signs point to awesome. -G4tv MMo report.
How long did SWG last? A pretty long time. If TOR isn't making money in that time, then they should close it down.
I self identify as a monkey.
Not really. There's also something like Star Wars Clone Adventures that'll keep going on, so that makes it still 2. But maybe it's like that they don't want to back more than 2 SW online games, that's possible.
As for player retention and longevity, I expect SWTOR to have at least the longevity and player retention that other polished AAA themepark MMO's have, and if SWTOR turns out to really have a lot more content and world to explore, than longer than most of those other polished AAA MMO's.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
SWG had a small but stable population. I returned a couple of years ago but didn't stay. The sandbox concept kept a lot of people still playing the game.
But your post brought about something that I've long talked about. An MMO based on a licensed property vs. an original story. It seems that outside of LOTRO mosty licensed based MMOs have failed to live up to subs and hype vs. their original story counterparts. SWG, AoC, Star Trek Online the list goes on with MMOs that pale in comparison with Eve Online, WoW, Rift, EQ/EQ2 etc. When you have a licensed property, you are continously beholden to its owners. Your expansions, patches, updates all have to conform to whatever the owner desires. If Blizz wanted to destroy Stormwind in WOW tomorrow, it could. But Bioware couldn't do the same.
And there's the eventual problem with SW:TOR a stable dedicated player base may not be enough to save it in 5 years if the game fails to live up to expectations with WOWish numbers.
What LA wants, LA gets. That's how it works when you have lots of money and lawyers.
I wouldn't fear LA any more than I'd fear a car company. As long as they're making money, they're happy.
As for the "mutual" decision. I'd speculate that LA perk'ed SOE in exchange for cooperation. Something like, shut it down in December and we'll skip the last six months royalty payments.
I'm not happy the current players lost their game, the majority of them probably did not play the game I loved back in the beginning; I'm just happy $OE lost SWG.
I'm also not trying to predict the furture of SW:TOR, I'm just saying I'm just going to be always thinking that what-if scenerio in my head the whole time I play (assuming I love TOR at all).
Also, SWG isn't shutting down because of subs, assuming what $med was saying to be true.
http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/24/exclusive-smedley-on-the-sunsetting-of-star-wars-galaxies/
He said LA and him agreed that it was best to sunset the game, I took that to mean, LA doesn't want two competing products on the market and one had to go, ala SWG.
I Reject your Reality and Substitute it with My Own!
The point is that "LA agreed with $med" and not that LA told SOE. SOE killed SWG back with the CU and then the NGE. LA may have dicussed making the game more accessible (a la WOW) but it was SOE that implamented the specific changes and sold those changes to LA...not vis versa.
Let's face it, SWG was dead and had been terminal since CU. Even I had hoped that SOE would see the light after the massive exodus with NGE. But, facts are facts....SWG was killed by SOE.
Let's party like it is 1863!
So you're telling me ... a game with a low population... owned by a comopany who's launching a new version of their story with updated everything... decided to close down the old project that gets mediocre subs most likely in an effort to divert all subs to their new project... is shocking? Someone really finds good business shocking? I support them, sure some of the long terms will be upset but did they not have a good run? They game wasn't producing... did anyone see the SoE annual statements... they were negative many many millions.
"Sometimes people say stuff they don''t mean, but more often then that they don''t say things they do mean"
SWG was trash (IMO) and definitely a black eye for both companies , mainly SOE. Sorry to the people who still liked it or liked it better than the classic SWG. But I'm glad it's gone and they will effectively maximize the amount of people playing SWTOR and help it's growth. I know it isn't the same game as classic SWG but that game has been dead to me for a long time and I believe they will do a decent enough job on the new one to get my Star Wars fix.
Worried about closing a game down? I'm not worried at all, It couldnt possibly do any worse than SWG and that lasted a while. I love getting immersed in a game but it isn't my life ... If I play something non stop for a couple years before a burn out ... that's pretty good for me. May dabble with a game here and there in the years after If the game was good enough or the expansions are good enough. If not, generally it's off to a new game anyway. If I cared to spend 20 years of my life in 1 MMO ... I might possibly be wary.
Why do you take joy in a game shutting down? Are you that vindictive that you feed off of other people losing their game of choice?
I'm not sure why most people on this forum doen't understand a business decision. You'd do the same, I would do the same as they're doing with the game. A new game is coming, and old game that suddenly is getting a lot of love on here is going away. Funny how popular something becomes when people find out it's being shut down. Amidst all the posts on here that are mostly nothing but speculation why can't people just accept it's a good business decison. I think all that's missing on this thread now is the obligatory post that contains "this is why I'm glad SOE got hacked" to make it complete.
If it happens it happens. IDK if I'll be playing that long, I hope I do cuz it would save me some money.lol
As many people as they screwed over, I could hardly blame him. What did SWG have left anyway, 5 people playing? Ok, ok i jest. But in all seriousness, screw that company. The only thing I'm not happy about is the loss for players who still enjoyed it and the reason why it got shut down. Nothing better than seeing such a really bad decision on their part biting them in the ass that bad. And in a way , it sort of did. The bang up job they did on SWG insured they did not get another chance on a SW MMO.
Agreed. People now doubt LA and fear they'll shut down TOR if it doesn't do "well", but they kept SWG running far past its prime. Unless TOR completely fails to meet expectations, BioWare suddenly becomes a hated gaming company, and another company decides to make a THIRD Star Wars MMO, TOR has nothing to fear. Even IF a third Star Wars MMO is conceived, there's no reason it couldn't exist alongside TOR (especially if the third MMO goes back to the time period of the classic trilogy). If one MMO is still profitable and someone else wants to make another one, they'll bring in more revenue combined than if LA decides to kill TOR to promote the new game.
Let's face it. SWG needs to be put to rest. Almost none of its former players are even interested in TOR - except to attack it - though perhaps its current players are, I wouldn't know. Probably not, if they think their game is being shut down "because of TOR"; saying LA shut it down to prevent attention being taken away from TOR is a bit of a stretch, I think.