I hate to say it but this is one of the reasons we keep getting crap MMO's. You guys have NO IDEA how this game will be and so many are pre ordering it on faith that it will be good. but the chances of it sucking are far greater.
dont get me wrong i hope its a good game, i want to check it out if it is. but i learned my lesson long ago with pre orders, there is going to be alot of sad people out there after this game comes out.
Hell i should make a MMO, all i need to do is put out a few screen shots, make a bunch of promises on how the game will be then spend a bunch of money to hype it up and open up the pre orders. doesnt matter if the game is good or not.
I have pretty much preordered every mmo in recent years, including AoC, Warhammer, Aion, Rift etc. And I frankly didnt see myself changing my habits when it came to Swtor. I was so far along I had actually clicked the preorder link for the standard edition (I dont care, and never have about any CE specialness(*new word?) - it was about getting the game asap), and then I notice something odd. Im annoyed, while clicking through to the billing page. Annoyed because I just read that my headstart was not a garantee barring the usual server Q's but I was actually also seeing the part about how the Headstart was tiered into who had bought the preorder first.
This pissed me off. it mean the whole point of me preordering was not going to give me what I was preordering for. I wanted a garantee access the very first day of headstart, preferably, I'd be manically playing from the very first minutes because Im a masochist that way.
I wasnt getting that with this preorder. It might have turned out that I was one of the first and would have gotten the experience I wanted, but my money wasnt going to garantee that.
So, for a game I have been following for years, having been a part of the community at swtor since the first day the forums came up, I broke my habit. - I didnt preorder. Money was not the issue for me. Obviously if it was I'd be leery of purchasing any kind of preorder with the horrible track record I have had with the recent years A titles. They mostly tanked. - But I dont like being manipulated, and I could tell right off the bat, that EA was playing on my - get there first, be there fastest - mentality.
If you have ever been on a commercial flight you know the deal. Rushing to be the first one off the plane, walking not standing on the conveyer belt as it ferries you towards baggage claim. And your prize for hurrying is so you can wait the longest for your baggage to arrive. The logic never fails. But this time, I just didnt want to be an idiot.
To the OP: You can be angry at EA, but you really should just be embarressed. You could have taken a step back and controlled your own purchase power. You didnt, thus facilitating this method of selling preorders for the next game to come along. Own up to that, and dont cry about EA's methods.
Nothing wrong with making a mistake as long as you learn from it. Just don't let it happen again.
I learned a long time ago not to pre-order. I swore to NEVER do it again, and even the SW:TOR hype machine couldn't change that. I'll play it when it comes out, even if I am last to log in, that won't make any difference to me.
Same here , been there done that and i will never pre order again .
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what
it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience
because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in
the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you
playing an MMORPG?"
ok, I confess...I am excited about SWTOR. But not before EA launched its massive campaign of making us feel like if we didnt pre-order we would not get a head start, but moreover, if I didnt do it NOW, I would be at the end of the line, since EA is using the order in which you buy the game as the order you get early access.
I initially scorned the CE, but then paranoia set in and I felt that if I didnt blow my hard earned money on the CE I would lose out on the "exclusive store" items that have yet to be revealed, and would regret it later.
Then I flip flopped back and forth between the CE and the Digital Edition, because I really dont want a box, and the CE was a waste of money, as i dont care about the statue it has.
In the end, I bought the CE because there were so many unanswered questions, that I felt I was playing it safe pre-ordering ANY VERSION of the game, and the CE was more of a safety net.
MAN....did I fall for EA's marketing HYPE....NOW look at all those headlines of EA announcing that they broke ALL RECORDS of pre-order sales! THAT makes me SO ANGRY!
EA didnt get those sales because we were all so overwhelmed by the majesty of the gameplay footage, or a demo, of that we were all 100% commited to pre-ordering....NO we mostly gave EA their breaking sales record via a GIMMICK, falling for the panic EA caused making is all feel like we would miss out if we didnt.
Just look at some of the other headlines on gaming sites such as "EA makes gamers HURRY UP AND WAIT".
I dont know about you, but I feel like we were all suckers and fell right into EA's long thought out plan to break sales records via a gimmick. Breaking a sales record and being PROUD of such a feat because we players were very very impressed by gameplay footage or after playing a demo would be realistic, or even under NORMAL circumstances where the pre-order was put out there and the laws of nature where players pre-ordered on REAL INTEREST and NOT PANIC resulted in record breaking sales. THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF AND BRAG ABOUT....NOT WHAT EA IS BRAGGING ABOUT NOW.
I feel most MMO players are SMART....including myself...but now I cannot help but feel angry and embarrassed that EA is just exploiting the gimmick they used to break such records.
My apologies for the RANT, but this is how I feel.
Ahh the big bad drug dealer made you buy his drugs and now your pissed at him because he made it look soooo good.
The following statement is false The previous statement is true
I am looking forward to playing this game, but I don't mind waiting at the back of the line. One of the announcements they made at SCC really got me thinking, and it was a funny YAAAAAAY .. DOHHHH moment.
One of the panel said " And for all of you here at ComiCon, you will recieve a Collectors Edition code! (Crowd cheers YAAAAAAYYYY!!!). Then the next sentance was " But you will have to buy the original copy to use the code ( Crowd goes quiet and severa DOHHH's).
The reactions were funny to me, but the bottom line is that greed peered its ugly head. I mean COME ON!! You cant give a thousand copys out to the people there to support you at Comicon instead of hyping them then kicking them in the thier sensitive spots? lol.
I am looking forward to playing this game, but I don't mind waiting at the back of the line. One of the announcements they made at SCC really got me thinking, and it was a funny YAAAAAAY .. DOHHHH moment.
One of the panel said " And for all of you here at ComiCon, you will recieve a Collectors Edition code! (Crowd cheers YAAAAAAYYYY!!!). Then the next sentance was " But you will have to buy the original copy to use the code ( Crowd goes quiet and severa DOHHH's).
The reactions were funny to me, but the bottom line is that greed peered its ugly head. I mean COME ON!! You cant give a thousand copys out to the people there to support you at Comicon instead of hyping them then kicking them in the thier sensitive spots? lol.
I don't see how greed plays a roll at all here. They can't give out free game keys to 1000+ people. That is money they have to make back for the games development.
EA didnt get those sales because we were all so overwhelmed by the majesty of the gameplay footage, or a demo, of that we were all 100% commited to pre-ordering....NO we mostly gave EA their breaking sales record via a GIMMICK, falling for the panic EA caused making is all feel like we would miss out if we didnt.
...but now I cannot help but feel angry and embarrassed that EA is just exploiting the gimmick they used to break such records.
but this is how I feel.
I know this is late in post but you can feel better about the purchase you made, It was a good choice No matter what was said.
For all we know, when they put up the Pre-order sales even WITHOUT any hype, at all, the sales would have gone thru the roof. This is Star Wars after all, remember ?
Had they just said, Like every other company, that Pre-orders get a Head start, that alone would have been enough to Rocket the sales ..
I truely believe even without a Head start, sales would have been thru the roof on the CE anyway ..
Look at how many of the game sellers sold out of their C.E. (collectors edition) the first few hours ? Lucky for us starwars had a back up plan, and got more Titles out to the game sellers, so we all could get one, if we so desired.
So, do not feel tricked .. or cheated .. or like you were manipulated any more in this game then in any other New game to hit the market as of late.
Your real struggle was within your self padawan ... you were at conflict in your Own mind even when you knew what the Right decision was to make.
I say WAY TO GO .. you made the right choice .. SEE ya in Head start man and Keep the Force with you. (light sabre salute)
Look to the stars to know HE is with us. HE hung them as markers, of times and of seasons.
I hate to say it but this is one of the reasons we keep getting crap MMO's. You guys have NO IDEA how this game will be and so many are pre ordering it on faith that it will be good. but the chances of it sucking are far greater.
dont get me wrong i hope its a good game, i want to check it out if it is. but i learned my lesson long ago with pre orders, there is going to be alot of sad people out there after this game comes out.
Hell i should make a MMO, all i need to do is put out a few screen shots, make a bunch of promises on how the game will be then spend a bunch of money to hype it up and open up the pre orders. doesnt matter if the game is good or not.
Most MMO players are quite smart but not wise, a huge difference
Aquazen is correct. Intelligence is knowing what rain is, understanding how it is formed, what it is made up of. Wisdom, is using common sense and staying out of the rain.
I feel like all these kinds of discussions need are "I hated SWTOR and their pre-orders before it was cool to hate SWTOR and their pre-orders".
Sorry but pre-orders and "pressure" to pre-order are not what is killing the MMO industry nor is TOR the root of all things bad about MMOs. I say this as someone with no inention of playing the game, I just don't have to get all hipster elitest about my dislike.
Originally posted by DrunkWolf I hate to say it but this is one of the reasons we keep getting crap MMO's. You guys have NO IDEA how this game will be and so many are pre ordering it on faith that it will be good. but the chances of it sucking are far greater. dont get me wrong i hope its a good game, i want to check it out if it is. but i learned my lesson long ago with pre orders, there is going to be alot of sad people out there after this game comes out. Hell i should make a MMO, all i need to do is put out a few screen shots, make a bunch of promises on how the game will be then spend a bunch of money to hype it up and open up the pre orders. doesnt matter if the game is good or not.
I cant think of a crap mmo that is thriving because of pre orders. There are a lot of crap mmos that are surviving, but thats because theyve been working frantically to make their games better and offering different ways to pay for it. That is hardly laughing their way to the bank off pre orders. I dont think a company spends 4+ years developing an mmo thinking theyre out to make a quick buck. I dont think anyone that does anything for 4+ years is looking for a short term reward from it.
I hate to say it but this is one of the reasons we keep getting crap MMO's. You guys have NO IDEA how this game will be and so many are pre ordering it on faith that it will be good. but the chances of it sucking are far greater.
dont get me wrong i hope its a good game, i want to check it out if it is. but i learned my lesson long ago with pre orders, there is going to be alot of sad people out there after this game comes out.
Hell i should make a MMO, all i need to do is put out a few screen shots, make a bunch of promises on how the game will be then spend a bunch of money to hype it up and open up the pre orders. doesnt matter if the game is good or not.
EXACTLY but they never learn ! ^
10 Stars for this post
You give this lame post 10 stars ? Your Both Drunk.
So he is going to make his Own MMO ?? Right ? B.S. point One
point two .. he would then need to put out Playable demo's as Starwars has that BLOWS AWAY Everyone who has played it ... NOT GONNA HAPPEN in his method
Point Three .. He would then need to make Trailers with actual game footage showing BLOW US AWAY game play and creativity .. Not gonna happen
Point Three ... spend a few million on voice actors (his cousins and brothers do not count) and demonstrate how the voice acting and path changing choices happen ... OH wait he will not have those either as it takes real programers to make stuff like that happen ...
Point Four .. people will see thru your charade in the first 10 seconds and you will not sell a single copy to anyone but your momma .
sigh ... People.
Look to the stars to know HE is with us. HE hung them as markers, of times and of seasons.
All sales is is what gimmick to use on a customer. That's for every product you've ever bought, not just SWTOR. So are you mad that their gimmick was so effective or are you mad that you've just now realized that every Joe Salesman is manipulating you?
And let me get this straight... You're a SWTOR fan and were going to pre-order anyway, but because they've offered early access for pre-ordering, it's now a complete betrayal of your trust? That's one of the silliest things I've ever heard.
I am looking forward to playing this game, but I don't mind waiting at the back of the line. One of the announcements they made at SCC really got me thinking, and it was a funny YAAAAAAY .. DOHHHH moment.
One of the panel said " And for all of you here at ComiCon, you will recieve a Collectors Edition code! (Crowd cheers YAAAAAAYYYY!!!). Then the next sentance was " But you will have to buy the original copy to use the code ( Crowd goes quiet and severa DOHHH's).
The reactions were funny to me, but the bottom line is that greed peered its ugly head. I mean COME ON!! You cant give a thousand copys out to the people there to support you at Comicon instead of hyping them then kicking them in the thier sensitive spots? lol.
I don't see how greed plays a roll at all here. They can't give out free game keys to 1000+ people. That is money they have to make back for the games development.
Of course they could, have you checked the news lately? TOR pre-orders are breaking records on how many have been sold since the announcement. They have certainly covered thier "development" costs. Besides, the monthly fees would keep the money rolling in.
The point of my post was mostly about how they made it look like the people there were going to get something for nothing, But then they snatched it away from them as they reached for it.
I am not hating on TOR I just think they could have presented the complimentary CE code a bit differently. Greedy may be a strong word for it, but they should have just givin them a regular copy of the game and they would have been giddy with excitement.
I see your point , but you say the record breaking sales came from panic and not interest in the game. Why would players panic about a game they have no interest in? Sure the early game access had a part in it , but it was moreover the hype of one of the best RPG makers of all time (and in my opinion the best with bethesda a close runner up) finally putting their MMO out for pre order after nearly 3 years of anticipation.
I'm not touching this game with a ten foot pole. All that needs to be said is "EA is involved", that there alone is enough to make anyone aware of the dangers of giving them any money. Heck, my own kids have already walked away from this game.
Second my kids were super pumped until they figured out it's kotor (with a sub), so the kids are no longer interested, but now i am and i totally plan to get this game when it's on sale for %50 to %75 off or goes f2p.
Think about this for a few moments, why the urgency, and why are they taking the old sales "trick", BUY NOW, LIMITED SUPPLY, that would really have one wondering, oh yeah they came up with we don't want to many players on the servers, so what happens when it actually does launch then EA??? BS folks, BS.
Also ask yourself this, WHY do you absolutely need to be there before it actually launches, why not a few months later? Avoid all the launch problems, probably get it allot cheaper, more bugs worked out and allot less people in your way in your online single player world. It's an mmo meant to be played for years, and years, (ahhh right now a days it's a month or two, sry i forgot). So you're in a rush to get it and be bored faster than anyone else?
Stuff ain't adding up and i'm getting the impression they are milking what they can from it before the word about how shallow and boring it is gets out. Bookmarking this thread, and I'll link it back up for you a month or two after launch, well even if you care about the game anymore, let alone bother with any forums for it.
Honestly, I wish i could feel better about this game but I don't, and don't let me stand in the way of your hype excitement and pre-launch and launch fun, i know all well how much fun that is but when it all wears off a couple months later two things happen 1) you find out it's going F2P and or it's %75 off and or better monthly rates 2) always wish i didn't drop so much money on it because now all these new players paid hardly anything and they enjoy the game more because it wasn't a huge investment and the game is usually more polished. in retrospect i always read "Hey wait a minute posts" and always right out ignored them, i always figured they were trolls and haters, i guess i was wrong, because every time i didn't listen and look what happened. Then i wondered maybe if i did hold off and hold off for a month or two, maybe a few of those games id still be playing today.
I sat out Rift and thank the MMO gods i did. Stocking up the popcorn looks to be a good show coming this fail, i mean fall. I think my sig is going to be glad i didn't preorder.
As much as I like head start, I will not pre-order until about a week before release, if then. These companies, that can't even be bothered to talk about a release date, let alone set one don't deserve the treatment we lavish them with.
This has nothing to do with SWTOR .. just the industry in general. After Rift I decided I would never pre-order again. Crap like all of the best feature of an MMO but better ... maybe it wasn't a lie .. maybe they actually believed that .. but that just makes it worse .. making it apparent that they dont know wth they are talking about.
I have faith that this will be a good game and all, not my fav mmo of all time .. but good enough to give me some fun for a while .. but at this point, any MMO would be hard pressed to get my money early.
LFD tools are great for cramming people into content, but quality > quantity. I am, usually on the sandbox .. more "hardcore" side of things, but I also do just want to have fun. So lighten up already
So basically, the OP made a decision not based on his personal opinion about whether making the decision to pre-order the game would be worth it, but rather based on EA's marketing? And I think that we can all agree that this is not a new technique of trying to get people to purchase a game. But why do you even try and get other's to join the rant in being angry at EA and their marketing techniques. Anyone with some sense about them would know to ignore companies marketing strategies/gimmicks and just make your own decisions regardless.
I have no sympathy for you due to your apparent lack of ability to make your own decisions. And regarding the news about record pre-order sales, hats of to EA, well done. And I am not saying this is all because of players panicing and buying out of fear that they will either not be able to play first, or not have some cool in game items. I pre-ordered the game a couple hours after the pages went online. Did not get the CE as I don't really care about the in game items or the statue and didn't want to spend the money. But I also didn't base my decision to buy the game off of anything related to EA's marketing. I've done my research, and I've watched all the footage/videos, read reviews....blah..blah.. but I decided a long time ago that I was going to get the game anyway. Not a super fanboy or anything, but it looks like it will be good and I don't mind shelling out $60 before reading actual reviews and all that.
Anyways, I just don't think we should get angry at EA for using any kind of marketing strategy, as their ultimate goal here is of course to make money off the game. It is up to the players to have some common sense.
I'm not touching this game with a ten foot pole. All that needs to be said is "EA is involved", that there alone is enough to make anyone aware of the dangers of giving them any money. Heck, my own kids have already walked away from this game.
Second my kids were super pumped until they figured out it's kotor (with a sub), so the kids are no longer interested, but now i am and i totally plan to get this game when it's on sale for %50 to %75 off or goes f2p.
Think about this for a few moments, why the urgency, and why are they taking the old sales "trick", BUY NOW, LIMITED SUPPLY, that would really have one wondering, oh yeah they came up with we don't want to many players on the servers, so what happens when it actually does launch then EA??? BS folks, BS.
Also ask yourself this, WHY do you absolutely need to be there before it actually launches, why not a few months later? Avoid all the launch problems, probably get it allot cheaper, more bugs worked out and allot less people in your way in your online single player world. It's an mmo meant to be played for years, and years, (ahhh right now a days it's a month or two, sry i forgot). So you're in a rush to get it and be bored faster than anyone else?
Stuff ain't adding up and i'm getting the impression they are milking what they can from it before the word about how shallow and boring it is gets out. Bookmarking this thread, and I'll link it back up for you a month or two after launch, well even if you care about the game anymore, let alone bother with any forums for it.
Honestly, I wish i could feel better about this game but I don't, and don't let me stand in the way of your hype excitement and pre-launch and launch fun, i know all well how much fun that is but when it all wears off a couple months later two things happen 1) you find out it's going F2P and or it's %75 off and or better monthly rates 2) always wish i didn't drop so much money on it because now all these new players paid hardly anything and they enjoy the game more because it wasn't a huge investment and the game is usually more polished. in retrospect i always read "Hey wait a minute posts" and always right out ignored them, i always figured they were trolls and haters, i guess i was wrong, because every time i didn't listen and look what happened. Then i wondered maybe if i did hold off and hold off for a month or two, maybe a few of those games id still be playing today.
I sat out Rift and thank the MMO gods i did. Stocking up the popcorn looks to be a good show coming this fail, i mean fall. I think my sig is going to be glad i didn't preorder.
Sounds like you lead a very dismal life if you plan on playing something so "mundane and boring" like SWTOR. If you don't want to play it, don't play it. This game won't go F2P for years. As it stands now, estimates on launch numbers are looking to be extremely high, so just from launch capital alone it will be more than enough to pull them through their first year easy, and thats before any updates are announced.
RIFT is actually not doing too bad considering it was one of the least known of MMOs, with over a million players, and they haven't gone Free 2 Play yet, so the chances of SWTOR doing it ..... not even in the realm of possibility in the first year.
As for limited amounts of CE's ... you ALWAYS have limited amounts of CEs, even with games like HALO or CoD, or GoW. What isn't adding up? Well, it all adds up, this isn't new, its actually pretty common. It increases interest and gives people who are really excited what they want -- more to be excited about. Theres no real urgency caused by EA here, not any more than any other company... they said there was a imited supply of CE preorders, but nowhere did they say that everyone had to buy within the next week, the players are the ones that caused the urgency. They never said they'd discontinue the CE, did they? They never said, buy until october or we pull the CE and all you get is the deluxe.
I'm glad EA is involved, if you want to get down to companies and only playing games from ones that don't have problems or haven't wronged their customer base in one way or another your going to end up playing absolutely nothing. EA is one of the biggest publishers if not THE biggest, and their reach spreads to every genre, sub genre, and platform. Boycotting EA these days is like eating a bag of M&Ms but not eating the green and red ones. Its pretty pointless and you just end up missing out on more wholesome goodness.
Comments
I hate to say it but this is one of the reasons we keep getting crap MMO's. You guys have NO IDEA how this game will be and so many are pre ordering it on faith that it will be good. but the chances of it sucking are far greater.
dont get me wrong i hope its a good game, i want to check it out if it is. but i learned my lesson long ago with pre orders, there is going to be alot of sad people out there after this game comes out.
Hell i should make a MMO, all i need to do is put out a few screen shots, make a bunch of promises on how the game will be then spend a bunch of money to hype it up and open up the pre orders. doesnt matter if the game is good or not.
I have pretty much preordered every mmo in recent years, including AoC, Warhammer, Aion, Rift etc. And I frankly didnt see myself changing my habits when it came to Swtor. I was so far along I had actually clicked the preorder link for the standard edition (I dont care, and never have about any CE specialness(*new word?) - it was about getting the game asap), and then I notice something odd. Im annoyed, while clicking through to the billing page. Annoyed because I just read that my headstart was not a garantee barring the usual server Q's but I was actually also seeing the part about how the Headstart was tiered into who had bought the preorder first.
This pissed me off. it mean the whole point of me preordering was not going to give me what I was preordering for. I wanted a garantee access the very first day of headstart, preferably, I'd be manically playing from the very first minutes because Im a masochist that way.
I wasnt getting that with this preorder. It might have turned out that I was one of the first and would have gotten the experience I wanted, but my money wasnt going to garantee that.
So, for a game I have been following for years, having been a part of the community at swtor since the first day the forums came up, I broke my habit. - I didnt preorder. Money was not the issue for me. Obviously if it was I'd be leery of purchasing any kind of preorder with the horrible track record I have had with the recent years A titles. They mostly tanked. - But I dont like being manipulated, and I could tell right off the bat, that EA was playing on my - get there first, be there fastest - mentality.
If you have ever been on a commercial flight you know the deal. Rushing to be the first one off the plane, walking not standing on the conveyer belt as it ferries you towards baggage claim. And your prize for hurrying is so you can wait the longest for your baggage to arrive. The logic never fails. But this time, I just didnt want to be an idiot.
To the OP: You can be angry at EA, but you really should just be embarressed. You could have taken a step back and controlled your own purchase power. You didnt, thus facilitating this method of selling preorders for the next game to come along. Own up to that, and dont cry about EA's methods.
Same here , been there done that and i will never pre order again .
Star Wars The Old Republic SE: $59.00
Star Wars The Old Republic DE: $79.00
Star Wars The Old Republic CE: $150.00
Self Control: Priceless
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
Ahh the big bad drug dealer made you buy his drugs and now your pissed at him because he made it look soooo good.
The following statement is false
The previous statement is true
Yeppers, pre-ordering has always been this way. Why pre-order?
You cant sell something and promise early access and then not grant it. Not where i come from anyway UK, its against the Trades Descriptions Act 1968.
I am looking forward to playing this game, but I don't mind waiting at the back of the line. One of the announcements they made at SCC really got me thinking, and it was a funny YAAAAAAY .. DOHHHH moment.
One of the panel said " And for all of you here at ComiCon, you will recieve a Collectors Edition code! (Crowd cheers YAAAAAAYYYY!!!). Then the next sentance was " But you will have to buy the original copy to use the code ( Crowd goes quiet and severa DOHHH's).
The reactions were funny to me, but the bottom line is that greed peered its ugly head. I mean COME ON!! You cant give a thousand copys out to the people there to support you at Comicon instead of hyping them then kicking them in the thier sensitive spots? lol.
Work hard Play Harder
I don't see how greed plays a roll at all here. They can't give out free game keys to 1000+ people. That is money they have to make back for the games development.
Sub to me on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/user/JJJK29isGaming?feature=mhee
Fear of loss marketing, tried and true baby!
http://gotojenniferfisher.com/jensblog/2010/08/fearofloss/
http://www.drcop.com/blog/view/5184/selling_fear_of_loss_vs__desire_for_gain
Are you team Azeroth, team Tyria, or team Jacob?
Look to the stars to know HE is with us. HE hung them as markers, of times and of seasons.
Game companies sell to a young audience, and they know all the tricks in the trade.
An honest review of SW:TOR 6/10 (Danny Wojcicki)
EXACTLY but they never learn ! ^
10 Stars for this post
Look to the stars to know HE is with us. HE hung them as markers, of times and of seasons.
I feel like all these kinds of discussions need are "I hated SWTOR and their pre-orders before it was cool to hate SWTOR and their pre-orders".
Sorry but pre-orders and "pressure" to pre-order are not what is killing the MMO industry nor is TOR the root of all things bad about MMOs. I say this as someone with no inention of playing the game, I just don't have to get all hipster elitest about my dislike.
Look to the stars to know HE is with us. HE hung them as markers, of times and of seasons.
All sales is is what gimmick to use on a customer. That's for every product you've ever bought, not just SWTOR. So are you mad that their gimmick was so effective or are you mad that you've just now realized that every Joe Salesman is manipulating you?
And let me get this straight... You're a SWTOR fan and were going to pre-order anyway, but because they've offered early access for pre-ordering, it's now a complete betrayal of your trust? That's one of the silliest things I've ever heard.
Of course they could, have you checked the news lately? TOR pre-orders are breaking records on how many have been sold since the announcement. They have certainly covered thier "development" costs. Besides, the monthly fees would keep the money rolling in.
The point of my post was mostly about how they made it look like the people there were going to get something for nothing, But then they snatched it away from them as they reached for it.
I am not hating on TOR I just think they could have presented the complimentary CE code a bit differently. Greedy may be a strong word for it, but they should have just givin them a regular copy of the game and they would have been giddy with excitement.
Work hard Play Harder
I see your point , but you say the record breaking sales came from panic and not interest in the game. Why would players panic about a game they have no interest in? Sure the early game access had a part in it , but it was moreover the hype of one of the best RPG makers of all time (and in my opinion the best with bethesda a close runner up) finally putting their MMO out for pre order after nearly 3 years of anticipation.
"I have a bad feeling about this"
I'm not touching this game with a ten foot pole. All that needs to be said is "EA is involved", that there alone is enough to make anyone aware of the dangers of giving them any money. Heck, my own kids have already walked away from this game.
Second my kids were super pumped until they figured out it's kotor (with a sub), so the kids are no longer interested, but now i am and i totally plan to get this game when it's on sale for %50 to %75 off or goes f2p.
Think about this for a few moments, why the urgency, and why are they taking the old sales "trick", BUY NOW, LIMITED SUPPLY, that would really have one wondering, oh yeah they came up with we don't want to many players on the servers, so what happens when it actually does launch then EA??? BS folks, BS.
Also ask yourself this, WHY do you absolutely need to be there before it actually launches, why not a few months later? Avoid all the launch problems, probably get it allot cheaper, more bugs worked out and allot less people in your way in your online single player world. It's an mmo meant to be played for years, and years, (ahhh right now a days it's a month or two, sry i forgot). So you're in a rush to get it and be bored faster than anyone else?
Stuff ain't adding up and i'm getting the impression they are milking what they can from it before the word about how shallow and boring it is gets out. Bookmarking this thread, and I'll link it back up for you a month or two after launch, well even if you care about the game anymore, let alone bother with any forums for it.
Honestly, I wish i could feel better about this game but I don't, and don't let me stand in the way of your hype excitement and pre-launch and launch fun, i know all well how much fun that is but when it all wears off a couple months later two things happen 1) you find out it's going F2P and or it's %75 off and or better monthly rates 2) always wish i didn't drop so much money on it because now all these new players paid hardly anything and they enjoy the game more because it wasn't a huge investment and the game is usually more polished. in retrospect i always read "Hey wait a minute posts" and always right out ignored them, i always figured they were trolls and haters, i guess i was wrong, because every time i didn't listen and look what happened. Then i wondered maybe if i did hold off and hold off for a month or two, maybe a few of those games id still be playing today.
I sat out Rift and thank the MMO gods i did. Stocking up the popcorn looks to be a good show coming this fail, i mean fall. I think my sig is going to be glad i didn't preorder.
As much as I like head start, I will not pre-order until about a week before release, if then. These companies, that can't even be bothered to talk about a release date, let alone set one don't deserve the treatment we lavish them with.
This has nothing to do with SWTOR .. just the industry in general. After Rift I decided I would never pre-order again. Crap like all of the best feature of an MMO but better ... maybe it wasn't a lie .. maybe they actually believed that .. but that just makes it worse .. making it apparent that they dont know wth they are talking about.
I have faith that this will be a good game and all, not my fav mmo of all time .. but good enough to give me some fun for a while .. but at this point, any MMO would be hard pressed to get my money early.
LFD tools are great for cramming people into content, but quality > quantity.
I am, usually on the sandbox .. more "hardcore" side of things, but I also do just want to have fun. So lighten up already
So basically, the OP made a decision not based on his personal opinion about whether making the decision to pre-order the game would be worth it, but rather based on EA's marketing? And I think that we can all agree that this is not a new technique of trying to get people to purchase a game. But why do you even try and get other's to join the rant in being angry at EA and their marketing techniques. Anyone with some sense about them would know to ignore companies marketing strategies/gimmicks and just make your own decisions regardless.
I have no sympathy for you due to your apparent lack of ability to make your own decisions. And regarding the news about record pre-order sales, hats of to EA, well done. And I am not saying this is all because of players panicing and buying out of fear that they will either not be able to play first, or not have some cool in game items. I pre-ordered the game a couple hours after the pages went online. Did not get the CE as I don't really care about the in game items or the statue and didn't want to spend the money. But I also didn't base my decision to buy the game off of anything related to EA's marketing. I've done my research, and I've watched all the footage/videos, read reviews....blah..blah.. but I decided a long time ago that I was going to get the game anyway. Not a super fanboy or anything, but it looks like it will be good and I don't mind shelling out $60 before reading actual reviews and all that.
Anyways, I just don't think we should get angry at EA for using any kind of marketing strategy, as their ultimate goal here is of course to make money off the game. It is up to the players to have some common sense.
Sounds like you lead a very dismal life if you plan on playing something so "mundane and boring" like SWTOR. If you don't want to play it, don't play it. This game won't go F2P for years. As it stands now, estimates on launch numbers are looking to be extremely high, so just from launch capital alone it will be more than enough to pull them through their first year easy, and thats before any updates are announced.
RIFT is actually not doing too bad considering it was one of the least known of MMOs, with over a million players, and they haven't gone Free 2 Play yet, so the chances of SWTOR doing it ..... not even in the realm of possibility in the first year.
As for limited amounts of CE's ... you ALWAYS have limited amounts of CEs, even with games like HALO or CoD, or GoW. What isn't adding up? Well, it all adds up, this isn't new, its actually pretty common. It increases interest and gives people who are really excited what they want -- more to be excited about. Theres no real urgency caused by EA here, not any more than any other company... they said there was a imited supply of CE preorders, but nowhere did they say that everyone had to buy within the next week, the players are the ones that caused the urgency. They never said they'd discontinue the CE, did they? They never said, buy until october or we pull the CE and all you get is the deluxe.
I'm glad EA is involved, if you want to get down to companies and only playing games from ones that don't have problems or haven't wronged their customer base in one way or another your going to end up playing absolutely nothing. EA is one of the biggest publishers if not THE biggest, and their reach spreads to every genre, sub genre, and platform. Boycotting EA these days is like eating a bag of M&Ms but not eating the green and red ones. Its pretty pointless and you just end up missing out on more wholesome goodness.