But how can 1.7 err 1.3 million paying subs not be a significant revenue generator to not make it a priority?
Because SWTOR never had 1.7 milliojn paying subs or even 1.3 million. I'm guessing it has 400,000 top and sinking fast.
How deliciously ironic it would be if it only had 250,000, the figure SWG had when the Genius of MMORPGs, John Smedley said, 'Let's improve the game with the NGE!'.
The actual numbers are from the independently audited quarterly reports of EA. BTW deliberatly false and misleading statements by insiders of publically traded companies is a crime.
Sorry, all those who cancelled their accounts but still have time remaining are counted in the "active subscriber" numbers. As are those who keep getting free time added on just in time for the reports, rather conveniently I might add.
It is more than easy to hand investors lies disguised as truth with no repercussions. It's called "massaging the books" where I come from.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.- -And on the 8th day, man created God.-
But how can 1.7 err 1.3 million paying subs not be a significant revenue generator to not make it a priority?
Because SWTOR never had 1.7 milliojn paying subs or even 1.3 million. I'm guessing it has 400,000 top and sinking fast.
How deliciously ironic it would be if it only had 250,000, the figure SWG had when the Genius of MMORPGs, John Smedley said, 'Let's improve the game with the NGE!'.
The actual numbers are from the independently audited quarterly reports of EA. BTW deliberatly false and misleading statements by insiders of publically traded companies is a crime.
Sorry, all those who cancelled their accounts but still have time remaining are counted in the "active subscriber" numbers. As are those who keep getting free time added on just in time for the reports, rather conveniently I might add.
It is more than easy to hand investors lies disguised as truth with no repercussions. It's called "massaging the books" where I come from.
I am sorry you do not understand. Financial statements are AUDITED by INDEPENDENT accountants to give assurances that the books have not been "massaged
But how can 1.7 err 1.3 million paying subs not be a significant revenue generator to not make it a priority?
Because SWTOR never had 1.7 milliojn paying subs or even 1.3 million. I'm guessing it has 400,000 top and sinking fast.
How deliciously ironic it would be if it only had 250,000, the figure SWG had when the Genius of MMORPGs, John Smedley said, 'Let's improve the game with the NGE!'.
The actual numbers are from the independently audited quarterly reports of EA. BTW deliberatly false and misleading statements by insiders of publically traded companies is a crime.
But how can 1.7 err 1.3 million paying subs not be a significant revenue generator to not make it a priority?
Because SWTOR never had 1.7 milliojn paying subs or even 1.3 million. I'm guessing it has 400,000 top and sinking fast.
How deliciously ironic it would be if it only had 250,000, the figure SWG had when the Genius of MMORPGs, John Smedley said, 'Let's improve the game with the NGE!'.
The actual numbers are from the independently audited quarterly reports of EA. BTW deliberatly false and misleading statements by insiders of publically traded companies is a crime.
Sorry, all those who cancelled their accounts but still have time remaining are counted in the "active subscriber" numbers. As are those who keep getting free time added on just in time for the reports, rather conveniently I might add.
It is more than easy to hand investors lies disguised as truth with no repercussions. It's called "massaging the books" where I come from.
I am sorry you do not understand. Financial statements are AUDITED by INDEPENDENT accountants to give assurances that the books have not been "massaged
".
And I am sorry that you don't understand that those "independent auditors" get fooled every day by giant corporations like EA.
Counting cancelled subs with time remaining and counting accounts with free time added as "active subscribers" is unethical. But it is not illegal. They can't be held liable by those "independent auditors" or their investors because they are stating the 'truth": those are all active subscriptions per EA's policies. Regardless of what the real truth under the "truth" may be.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.- -And on the 8th day, man created God.-
But how can 1.7 err 1.3 million paying subs not be a significant revenue generator to not make it a priority?
Because SWTOR never had 1.7 milliojn paying subs or even 1.3 million. I'm guessing it has 400,000 top and sinking fast.
How deliciously ironic it would be if it only had 250,000, the figure SWG had when the Genius of MMORPGs, John Smedley said, 'Let's improve the game with the NGE!'.
The actual numbers are from the independently audited quarterly reports of EA. BTW deliberatly false and misleading statements by insiders of publically traded companies is a crime.
Sorry, all those who cancelled their accounts but still have time remaining are counted in the "active subscriber" numbers. As are those who keep getting free time added on just in time for the reports, rather conveniently I might add.
It is more than easy to hand investors lies disguised as truth with no repercussions. It's called "massaging the books" where I come from.
I am sorry you do not understand. Financial statements are AUDITED by INDEPENDENT accountants to give assurances that the books have not been "massaged".
They could be, but they aren't always. The truth is, there isn't enough manpower to audit every company.
But how can 1.7 err 1.3 million paying subs not be a significant revenue generator to not make it a priority?
Because SWTOR never had 1.7 milliojn paying subs or even 1.3 million. I'm guessing it has 400,000 top and sinking fast.
How deliciously ironic it would be if it only had 250,000, the figure SWG had when the Genius of MMORPGs, John Smedley said, 'Let's improve the game with the NGE!'.
The actual numbers are from the independently audited quarterly reports of EA. BTW deliberatly false and misleading statements by insiders of publically traded companies is a crime.
Paying and active are not the same thing. There is no false or misleading statements to hold them accountable for. Nor is there any way at this point to know how many of their 1.3 million were actual paying customers. So the poster has a point to a degree. Although I think his estimate is insanely off and really all anyone can do at this point is guesstimate the figure anyways.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
They could be, but they aren't always. The truth is, there isn't enough manpower to audit every company.
What? Publicly traded companies are all audited in that form. They don't have a choice. It is one of the many things they not only have to provide their investors but the SEC as well.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
They could be, but they aren't always. The truth is, there isn't enough manpower to audit every company.
What? Publicly traded companies are all audited in that form. They don't have a choice. It is one of the many things they not only have to provide their investors but the SEC as well.
Oh, right. I don't work for a publicly traded company. My bad. The company I work for doesn't just get audited every year in that way. We've had 1 in like 4 years.
Either way, they are pulling some fishy numbers out. Free months. Then free weekends. IT really looks like they are trying to manipulate the numbers. Not that I'm sure that they are doing so.
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
I'm glad I read the article. I was trying to pick out a new MMO (to replace 5 years of LOTRO), and I was considedring this one. That changed when I saw that they are not going to develop this MMO as others are developed, to wit, more content, new classes. etc.
Hedonismbot: Your latest performance was as delectable as dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.
Originally posted by busdriver Hot damn, I knew I was talking to someone not interested in such trivialities as good argumentation, logigal reasoning or math skills. But I must admit I didn't take you as a full retard until now.Go develop some reading skills. Please.
Fabulated and ill argumentation isn't particularly good, especially if you involve reason and logic into a process.
You even admitted yourself that you do not know what their sales might be to the date therefore all your possible guesstimate stops right there. But reason does not seem hold you from spouting out baseless assumption...
Well, I guess that's that, game over. I really wanted to luv this game,and for about a month, I did. What should have been an mmo-pve Nirvana, ( I don't pvp), was anything but. One month in and,sad to say, It was overwhelmingly boring to me. *sigh*, another Star Wars dream that didn't come true...
They could be, but they aren't always. The truth is, there isn't enough manpower to audit every company.
What? Publicly traded companies are all audited in that form. They don't have a choice. It is one of the many things they not only have to provide their investors but the SEC as well.
Are these auditors also gamers? Do they really know what to look for in terms of subscribers or do they just see the 1st page that says "This is a subscription base product.," "XXXX amount of people have gained access." and think since it's subscription base then those people must have subscriptions?
How much auditing actually goes on? These auditing firms must be huge if they can go into every corporation there is and scrutinize every detail presented to them.
All I can do is sit back and laugh, as I polish my "crystal ball" I guess it wasnt so wrong after all!
But then again, like I expected 90% of those fanboys dissapeared back from under that bridge from where they came. And yes the over zealous fanboys were the real trolls of this board.
Toddze Dec 2011
"ToR's biggest problem is not the combat. Combat isnt really a major issue in tor. TOR's biggest problem in TOR is lack of high end content. They expect you to role alts to keep occupied. Thats the number 1 problem in tor. The bigger problem for tor in general is, its an oversimplified themepark. That is why it will sink fast."
They could be, but they aren't always. The truth is, there isn't enough manpower to audit every company.
What? Publicly traded companies are all audited in that form. They don't have a choice. It is one of the many things they not only have to provide their investors but the SEC as well.
Are these auditors also gamers? Do they really know what to look for in terms of subscribers or do they just see the 1st page that says "This is a subscription base product.," "XXXX amount of people have gained access." and think since it's subscription base then those people must have subscriptions?
How much auditing actually goes on? These auditing firms must be huge if they can go into every corporation there is and scrutinize every detail presented to them.
That is why the process takes so long. Pending on the size of the company it can take a couple weeks to a month or longer with a team working seven days a week from morning until night. Big reason I stayed the hell out of that field because frankly being an auditor fucking blows.
..and they are huge. It is big business. They analyze everything to an utterly annoying degree. Anyone that has ever dealt with them can account for this. It is their job though.
Anyways, the number they gave was active not paying which gives them lots of leeway due to their trial offers during that time. Nothing illegitimate about it. However, it can mean their paying customers are 1.3 million or as low as the one poster said at 400k. No way to know for sure.
I suppose some could argue the ethics of it, but frankly what they gave is perfectly acceptable and much as I like to give the company grief can't say I blame them. Regardless how folks feel they have to try and show their numbers in the best light possible. I would honestly do the same thing in their shoes.
Besides, to anyone that it really mattered to they can read between the lines anyways. It isn't hard to gauge that things aren't going the best when they use active instead of paid as their figure and the number drops like it has. So they get the message out regardless without coming across like their game is a fiasco. Anyways, that is just one element of their company. No matter what people may think outside of SWTOR they actually had a really good quarter.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
But how can 1.7 err 1.3 million paying subs not be a significant revenue generator to not make it a priority?
Because SWTOR never had 1.7 milliojn paying subs or even 1.3 million. I'm guessing it has 400,000 top and sinking fast.
How deliciously ironic it would be if it only had 250,000, the figure SWG had when the Genius of MMORPGs, John Smedley said, 'Let's improve the game with the NGE!'.
The actual numbers are from the independently audited quarterly reports of EA. BTW deliberatly false and misleading statements by insiders of publically traded companies is a crime.
Fair enough.....................but not all those 1.3 million are paying customers.
Active accounts includes also the Trial accounts...............
But how can 1.7 err 1.3 million paying subs not be a significant revenue generator to not make it a priority?
Because SWTOR never had 1.7 milliojn paying subs or even 1.3 million. I'm guessing it has 400,000 top and sinking fast.
How deliciously ironic it would be if it only had 250,000, the figure SWG had when the Genius of MMORPGs, John Smedley said, 'Let's improve the game with the NGE!'.
I think last month someone at bioware said that they were on their way to a mil subs. Which I guess would have put it at 750k give or take. This month they are looking for people to blame for that number dropping.
So I agree they never had over a mil actual paying subscribers, but i think it peaked over your estimate of 400k but is on it's way there.
Would be interesting to see how many actual 'active' subscribers they have, but they'll never release that amount since EA currently seems to be in damage limitation mode.
The only development from here on out will be to convert it to a free-to-play game with legacy/planet/story unlocks and purple crystals in a cash shop.
ya, because EA has a long history of going F2P with their player starved MMOs. If DAOC and WAR arent F2P, dont hold your breath on SWTOR.
The only development from here on out will be to convert it to a free-to-play game with legacy/planet/story unlocks and purple crystals in a cash shop.
ya, because EA has a long history of going F2P with their player starved MMOs. If DAOC and WAR arent F2P, dont hold your breath on SWTOR.
Yeah...but they have such a huge investment in this game and lets be honest here. I would not at all be surpsrised if they already have the infrastructure in place for a f2p transition. I mean what company in their right mind wouldn't considering how it has been proven to work for games that are losing their profitability potential?
I think you'll find EA will handle this a lot differently than they have those other two games.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
The only development from here on out will be to convert it to a free-to-play game with legacy/planet/story unlocks and purple crystals in a cash shop.
ya, because EA has a long history of going F2P with their player starved MMOs. If DAOC and WAR arent F2P, dont hold your breath on SWTOR.
Yeah...but they have such a huge investment in this game and lets be honest here. I would not at all be surpsrised if they already have the infrastructure in place for a f2p transition. I mean what company in their right mind wouldn't considering how it has been proven to work for games that are lofing their profitability potential?
I think you'll find EA will handle this a lot differently than they have those other two games.
I dont agree, but time will tell. Although, I felt this should have been a B2P type offering from the start...so who know for sure ? But at the end of the day, I just dont think EA knows how to handle their MMOs and they dont ever seem to learn and they make the same mistakes over and over and over.
For those having trouble with the numbers go and check out the EA investor page and look at the February report / conference call and the May report and conference call. There is also a March presentation and some press releases.
EA are legally obligated to provide "truthful" information - but as Terry Pratchett said in Unseen Academicals, truth can wear a variety of boots! And for those who say good luck at finding the following - look in the reports and use find - its very simple.
So EA press release Dec' 23rd: 1M activated subscribers. Trumpet fanfare.
EA results in Feb. Through sales - a through sale being a sale to an end user not a retailer - 2M.
Also 1.7M subscribers. When asked they defined a subscriber as 'the industry standard definition' i.e. in the 30 days included or paying a sub. The 1.7M was either 41 or 42 days after launch.
Truth was wearing fancy boots however when JR said that the majority of the 1.7M were paying subscribers because when pressed in the March conference he clarified that majority meant just over half.
On to the May results. 2.4M sold - didn't specify whether this was through sales; it probably was. 1.3M subscribers - again didn't specify industry standard definition - and given the 30 days free this number will be 'accurate' but what exactly it means ....
And the "500k to break even, 1M to be profitable but nothing to write home about" and "wouldn't have developed SWTOR if they didn't expect 1M subs" are all in the reports. (They didn't say how long they would need 1M subs but the concensus appeared to be about 2 years depending on the number of subs, sales, advertising, number of free months given away etc.)
The only development from here on out will be to convert it to a free-to-play game with legacy/planet/story unlocks and purple crystals in a cash shop.
that wont happen EA dont do F2P
SWTOR will end up like WAR. Still pay a sub, have a cash shop with P2W items to "moneytize" the loyal fans, don't bother employing many CSRs and let cheats run rife, have a skeleton crew of like 3 pimply youths to reboot servers when things go wrong and fix only really really really serious bugs, Also if stuff aint working right, remove it from the game or "depreciate" it rathr than trying to fix it. This is the future, getting royaly EA'd.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.- -And on the 8th day, man created God.-
Newsbrief: After shutting down more than a dozen of its online-enabled games earlier this year, Electronic Arts has announced that it will turn off its free-to-play browser game Dragon Age Legends this June.
EA shuts down its aging online games on a fairly regular basis, but Dragon Age Legends is still relatively young compared to other games that have gotten the axe. The title first debuted in March 2011, right around the launch of BioWare's Dragon Age II.
EA did not provide an explanation for why it has chosen to shut the game down, but noted that it will eventually offer a free downloadable version for users who want to play the social RPG without any multiplayer features.
At GDC Online 2011, BioWare San Francisco's Ethan Levy offered some insight into Dragon Age Legends' large-scale promotional efforts, and noted that the game's launch failed to meet EA's initial expectations.
Failed to meet EA's initial expectations; I think that is certainly going to be the case for SWTOR.
Originally posted by gervaise1 And the "500k to break even, 1M to be profitable but nothing to write home about" and "wouldn't have developed SWTOR if they didn't expect 1M subs" are all in the reports. (They didn't say how long they would need 1M subs but the concensus appeared to be about 2 years depending on the number of subs, sales, advertising, number of free months given away etc.)
Comments
Sorry, all those who cancelled their accounts but still have time remaining are counted in the "active subscriber" numbers. As are those who keep getting free time added on just in time for the reports, rather conveniently I might add.
It is more than easy to hand investors lies disguised as truth with no repercussions. It's called "massaging the books" where I come from.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
I am sorry you do not understand. Financial statements are AUDITED by INDEPENDENT accountants to give assurances that the books have not been "massaged
".
Indeed, it is a crime isn't it?
This could get very interesting.
And I am sorry that you don't understand that those "independent auditors" get fooled every day by giant corporations like EA.
Counting cancelled subs with time remaining and counting accounts with free time added as "active subscribers" is unethical. But it is not illegal. They can't be held liable by those "independent auditors" or their investors because they are stating the 'truth": those are all active subscriptions per EA's policies. Regardless of what the real truth under the "truth" may be.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
They could be, but they aren't always. The truth is, there isn't enough manpower to audit every company.
Paying and active are not the same thing. There is no false or misleading statements to hold them accountable for. Nor is there any way at this point to know how many of their 1.3 million were actual paying customers. So the poster has a point to a degree. Although I think his estimate is insanely off and really all anyone can do at this point is guesstimate the figure anyways.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
What? Publicly traded companies are all audited in that form. They don't have a choice. It is one of the many things they not only have to provide their investors but the SEC as well.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
Oh, right. I don't work for a publicly traded company. My bad. The company I work for doesn't just get audited every year in that way. We've had 1 in like 4 years.
Either way, they are pulling some fishy numbers out. Free months. Then free weekends. IT really looks like they are trying to manipulate the numbers. Not that I'm sure that they are doing so.
nm
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
I'm glad I read the article. I was trying to pick out a new MMO (to replace 5 years of LOTRO), and I was considedring this one. That changed when I saw that they are not going to develop this MMO as others are developed, to wit, more content, new classes. etc.
Hedonismbot: Your latest performance was as delectable as dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.
Fabulated and ill argumentation isn't particularly good, especially if you involve reason and logic into a process.
You even admitted yourself that you do not know what their sales might be to the date therefore all your possible guesstimate stops right there. But reason does not seem hold you from spouting out baseless assumption...
SWTOR is no longer a priority for my hard earned money. Thank you EA for letting me know I should focus my game time elsewhere.
For John Riccitiello;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=1Vw8O9JHWxU#t=19s
Well, I guess that's that, game over. I really wanted to luv this game,and for about a month, I did. What should have been an mmo-pve Nirvana, ( I don't pvp), was anything but. One month in and,sad to say, It was overwhelmingly boring to me. *sigh*, another Star Wars dream that didn't come true...
Are these auditors also gamers? Do they really know what to look for in terms of subscribers or do they just see the 1st page that says "This is a subscription base product.," "XXXX amount of people have gained access." and think since it's subscription base then those people must have subscriptions?
How much auditing actually goes on? These auditing firms must be huge if they can go into every corporation there is and scrutinize every detail presented to them.
Toddze Dec 2011
"ToR's biggest problem is not the combat. Combat isnt really a major issue in tor. TOR's biggest problem in TOR is lack of high end content. They expect you to role alts to keep occupied. Thats the number 1 problem in tor. The bigger problem for tor in general is, its an oversimplified themepark. That is why it will sink fast."
That is why the process takes so long. Pending on the size of the company it can take a couple weeks to a month or longer with a team working seven days a week from morning until night. Big reason I stayed the hell out of that field because frankly being an auditor fucking blows.
..and they are huge. It is big business. They analyze everything to an utterly annoying degree. Anyone that has ever dealt with them can account for this. It is their job though.
Anyways, the number they gave was active not paying which gives them lots of leeway due to their trial offers during that time. Nothing illegitimate about it. However, it can mean their paying customers are 1.3 million or as low as the one poster said at 400k. No way to know for sure.
I suppose some could argue the ethics of it, but frankly what they gave is perfectly acceptable and much as I like to give the company grief can't say I blame them. Regardless how folks feel they have to try and show their numbers in the best light possible. I would honestly do the same thing in their shoes.
Besides, to anyone that it really mattered to they can read between the lines anyways. It isn't hard to gauge that things aren't going the best when they use active instead of paid as their figure and the number drops like it has. So they get the message out regardless without coming across like their game is a fiasco. Anyways, that is just one element of their company. No matter what people may think outside of SWTOR they actually had a really good quarter.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
Fair enough.....................but not all those 1.3 million are paying customers.
Active accounts includes also the Trial accounts...............
I think last month someone at bioware said that they were on their way to a mil subs. Which I guess would have put it at 750k give or take. This month they are looking for people to blame for that number dropping.
So I agree they never had over a mil actual paying subscribers, but i think it peaked over your estimate of 400k but is on it's way there.
Would be interesting to see how many actual 'active' subscribers they have, but they'll never release that amount since EA currently seems to be in damage limitation mode.
ya, because EA has a long history of going F2P with their player starved MMOs. If DAOC and WAR arent F2P, dont hold your breath on SWTOR.
Yeah...but they have such a huge investment in this game and lets be honest here. I would not at all be surpsrised if they already have the infrastructure in place for a f2p transition. I mean what company in their right mind wouldn't considering how it has been proven to work for games that are losing their profitability potential?
I think you'll find EA will handle this a lot differently than they have those other two games.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
I dont agree, but time will tell. Although, I felt this should have been a B2P type offering from the start...so who know for sure ? But at the end of the day, I just dont think EA knows how to handle their MMOs and they dont ever seem to learn and they make the same mistakes over and over and over.
For those having trouble with the numbers go and check out the EA investor page and look at the February report / conference call and the May report and conference call. There is also a March presentation and some press releases.
EA are legally obligated to provide "truthful" information - but as Terry Pratchett said in Unseen Academicals, truth can wear a variety of boots! And for those who say good luck at finding the following - look in the reports and use find - its very simple.
So EA press release Dec' 23rd: 1M activated subscribers. Trumpet fanfare.
EA results in Feb. Through sales - a through sale being a sale to an end user not a retailer - 2M.
Also 1.7M subscribers. When asked they defined a subscriber as 'the industry standard definition' i.e. in the 30 days included or paying a sub. The 1.7M was either 41 or 42 days after launch.
Truth was wearing fancy boots however when JR said that the majority of the 1.7M were paying subscribers because when pressed in the March conference he clarified that majority meant just over half.
On to the May results. 2.4M sold - didn't specify whether this was through sales; it probably was. 1.3M subscribers - again didn't specify industry standard definition - and given the 30 days free this number will be 'accurate' but what exactly it means ....
And the "500k to break even, 1M to be profitable but nothing to write home about" and "wouldn't have developed SWTOR if they didn't expect 1M subs" are all in the reports. (They didn't say how long they would need 1M subs but the concensus appeared to be about 2 years depending on the number of subs, sales, advertising, number of free months given away etc.)
http://wrathofheroes.warhammeronline.com/
http://iqu.com/blog/ea-evp-f2p-games-will-sell-themselves
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
I wonder how long their agreement with LucasArts is for? From: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/170632/EA_to_shut_down_its_Dragon_Age_social_game.php
Newsbrief: After shutting down more than a dozen of its online-enabled games earlier this year, Electronic Arts has announced that it will turn off its free-to-play browser game Dragon Age Legends this June.
EA shuts down its aging online games on a fairly regular basis, but Dragon Age Legends is still relatively young compared to other games that have gotten the axe. The title first debuted in March 2011, right around the launch of BioWare's Dragon Age II.
EA did not provide an explanation for why it has chosen to shut the game down, but noted that it will eventually offer a free downloadable version for users who want to play the social RPG without any multiplayer features.
At GDC Online 2011, BioWare San Francisco's Ethan Levy offered some insight into Dragon Age Legends' large-scale promotional efforts, and noted that the game's launch failed to meet EA's initial expectations.
Failed to meet EA's initial expectations; I think that is certainly going to be the case for SWTOR.
Do you mind to provide a link and quote?