errr, I don't think so. You go into your account settings and turn it off there in sony station.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
Originally posted by IcoGames Granted there wasn't a commercial, but SOE absolutely pushed the product prior to and after the initial release. Various gaming magazines had articles and adds. For at least a few months there were dedicated articles in Star Wars Insider. Btw, do you still cancel your sub by going through the register expansion option, lol.
There is a "My Account" button you can cancel through. However, considering account management includes registering expansions and cancelling accounts you can navigate your way from registering an expansion to cancelling your account.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
I think Ico is just trolling at this point. He knows he is wrong, he knows the server populations are WAY up because TE is a best seller according to every game seller out there (Amazon, BestBuy, EBGames, etc).
Logic shows that the population is going up because the game is selling well. Whether those numbers translate into continued subscriptions is the only question you can legitimately ask at this point. The server populations ARE higher than they've ever been that I can recall. LOWCA which has ALWAYS been a very light server feels downright crowded on some nights. Every night I've been on this week (since Friday) I have checked server pops and Lowca has been showing Medium every single time I have logged in. It has NEVER shown medium before now.
You can claim your conspiracy theory all you like but the facts don't back you up:
FACT: Players who PLAY the game report the servers are more crowded FACT: Game companies are reporting SWG:TE as a best-seller FACT: Population indicators on all servers are showing servers to be much more crowded than in the past
If it weren't for the fact that the game is a best seller and the added fact that people currently PLAYING the game are saying the servers are more crowded then I MIGHT buy into your theory. But the population indicators are not the only indicator of the current situation.
And you are also completely ignoring the fact that LucasArts won't hesitate to sue SOE's rear end off if they think SOE is cooking the books.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online. Sig image Pending Still in: A couple Betas
Lol, I could care less what the populations are and I'm not going to base my happiness (or dismay) of a game by the number of people playing.
One last time ... I'm saying that if server populations are up to that degree, a company like SOE would be all over advertising that fact.
Now, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, please accept my apology.
Edit: Btw Elnator, where in my statements did I site fact? Did I throw you with the term 'speculation'? At least Fade picked up on that. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, no biggie.
Ico Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
Not hurting my feelings. I could care less. Just pointing out why your theory is bunk. Like Fadeus I find it humorous that people who used the following "data" to prove that SWG was dying now refuse to accept it as evidence that the game isn't dying (yet anyway)
1) www.mmorpgchart.com - people were using the dip of about 50k players 3 months ago as evidence of its death. Now that it's plateaud at 250k players or so they refuse to accept that as a fact and choose to say "well it could be inaccurate".
2) server pop indicators. - people were gleefully stating that since ahazi and bria were sometimes showing light population that it indicated the game was dying. Now that all but 3 or 4 servers are showing medium and some are showing "extremely heavy" that's not an indication that the servers are in fact getting more populous again.
3) certain people here used "evidence" of the fact that their local EB hadn't sold any copies of the game (nevermind the fact that the store manager was telling people NOT to buy the game because he's a disgruntled player) as evidence that it wasn't selling but when you show them the fact that it's a best-seller according to the COMPANY they choose to ignore that and say 'well they haven't proven to be subscribers yet'.
Fact is that currently the game is doing well. No matter how you spin it the game is successful.
1) Any MMO with over 50k players is a successful MMO. 2) Any MMO with over 100k players is a hit MMO that is raking in money hand over fist. 3) Any MMO with over 200k players is a runaway success
Yes, there are other MMO's that are doing better (EQ, WOW, LineageI & II, FFXI) but that doesn't take away the fact that SWG is doing very well for itself and is, evidently, in a growth phase because of Star Wars Episode III.
Whether the people playing now turn into paying subscribers is anyone's guess. But it's now been over a month since TE hit the shelves either the servers will fall back to their "normal" levels soon or they'll continue to have high population counts. If they fall back then TE was an abberation due to EPIII. If they don't fall back then this is a verified growth of the game where it added subscribers.
And, SOE has always played it fairly close to the chest with their games. They typically don't announce subscription numbers unless it's a BIG change. EQ they announced 99k players, 200k players and then we didn't hear boo till they were at 400k players and again when they broke 500k. I don't play, or follow, EQ2 that much so I don't know much about them. The only number I recall seeing them tout, however, was when it broke 300k subscribers.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online. Sig image Pending Still in: A couple Betas
Originally posted by IcoGames One last time ... I'm saying that if server populations are up to that degree, a company like SOE would be all over advertising that fact.
You have nothing to base that statement on. They have only ever advertised their game numbers ONCE with the exception of press releases that are released for things like expansions.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
Originally posted by IcoGames Lol, I could care less what the populations are and I'm not going to base my happiness (or dismay) of a game by the number of people playing.One last time ... I'm saying that if server populations are up to that degree, a company like SOE would be all over advertising that fact. Now, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, please accept my apology. Edit: Btw Elnator, where in my statements did I site fact? Did I throw you with the term 'speculation'? At least Fade picked up on that. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, no biggie.
Never said you cited fact. In fact (no pun intended ) I even specifically stated that I dissagree with your theory.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online. Sig image Pending Still in: A couple Betas
Originally posted by IcoGames I'm speculating that SOE is using a different metric these days to indicate server loads. Look at it this way, if populations were remotely booming don't you think SOE would be all over advertising it? Edit: Now before anyone gets their panties in a bind, I'm not necessarily knocking the game : )
Seriously. According to mmorpgchart.com SWG has never had more than 300k total subscriptions. Thats TOTAL not, ACTIVE. If populations were booming like they're trying to make it look, why has there been no press release about hitting 350k? soe was quick to have press releases for every 100k marker, and under the recent scrutiny, you'd think they'd be quick to brag about 350k.
Now I know many of you believe SWG is by far superior to WoW, and based on the game itself, I agree. However, WoW has nearly 2 million total accounts. From December 2004 to now it has jumped 500k alone. SWG couldn't reach that in 2 years!
Why this difference? I believe its becaues WoW works pretty well, and for the most part is balanced. There aren't many prevalent bugs, customer service is decent, and quests and rewards all work quite well.
The game quickly loses its appeal at lvl 60, and thats where SWG rules - it has long term playability.
But for actual fun, down and dirty combat and fresh content with every level, WoW wins hands down.
Despite what we all might think of each game, the numbers don't lie.
Originally posted by IcoGames I'm speculating that SOE is using a different metric these days to indicate server loads. Look at it this way, if populations were remotely booming don't you think SOE would be all over advertising it? Edit: Now before anyone gets their panties in a bind, I'm not necessarily knocking the game : )
Seriously. According to mmorpgchart.com SWG has never had more than 300k total subscriptions. Thats TOTAL not, ACTIVE. If populations were booming like they're trying to make it look, why has there been no press release about hitting 350k? soe was quick to have press releases for every 100k marker, and under the recent scrutiny, you'd think they'd be quick to brag about 350k.
Now I know many of you believe SWG is by far superior to WoW, and based on the game itself, I agree. However, WoW has nearly 2 million total accounts. From December 2004 to now it has jumped 500k alone. SWG couldn't reach that in 2 years!
Why this difference? I believe its becaues WoW works pretty well, and for the most part is balanced. There aren't many prevalent bugs, customer service is decent, and quests and rewards all work quite well. The game quickly loses its appeal at lvl 60, and thats where SWG rules - it has long term playability. But for actual fun, down and dirty combat and fresh content with every level, WoW wins hands down. Despite what we all might think of each game, the numbers don't lie.
Listen, none of us are blindly believing the server indicators. And none of us have said that SWG is far superior than WOW. What I will say is that SWG is far more FUN (FOR ME) than WOW ever could be. Which game is "Better" is purely a matter of what features you like or dislike about each game, it's a personal decision that I can't force on you and you can't force on me. I personally like SWG better, you like WOW better. Can't really argue it because it's all personal preference.
What you all seem to refuse to accept is that we are actually in the game witnessing a large increase in number of players around. On top of that Video Game companies are reporting TE as a huge seller. Now, any one of these 3 facts alone could be shrugged off but you're trying to tell me that players playing the game, companies selling the game and SOE are all conspiring to make it look like SWG is selling well right now? That, to me, sounds delusional. I'll agree 100% that there is a chance that many of the people trying the game out won't end up subscribing to it. Who knows what'll happen. But right now it's doing well.
Why hasn't SOE made an announcement? Because, contrary to the opinion of some here, they KNOW that they can't get an accurate count of how many SUBSCRIBERS they have till the furor over TE dies down and they start seeing people actually subscribe to the game beyond the 30 day trial. Once they have numbers for that if SWG pops over 350k you can bet they'll start crowing about it.
Why dod WOW go to 2mil so fast and SWG hasn't? I honestly don't know. Partly because SWG was never really advertized when it first came out. Partly because (as I said in Beta) SWG SUCKED when it originally came out so many people that tried it didn't stick around. Partly because MMO's were still a fairly 'niche' market when SWG first came out. Partly because WOW already had a HUGE following from the other "Warcraft" games. SWG had none of that. It was a niche (Sci-Fi) game in a niche (MMO) market that was released, frankly, woefully incomplete.
Now... the BOOM we're seeing in-game now? Who knows... it is entirely possible in todays market where MMO's are much more common and are seeing much more rapid rises in subscribers lately that SWG will experience a takeoff like WOW's was. Who knows? All I know is that in the year I've been playing SWG steadily I have NEVER seen the servers as crowded as they are and I've NEVER seen as many players running around IN GAME as I do now. SWG also is, now, far more complete than it was 2 years ago, it's far more "Star Wars" than it was 2 years ago and has ironed out most of the game-stopping bugs and irritants that it had 2 years ago. Technology today handles the game far better than it did 2 years ago. Today's average system is on par with a TOP END system of 2 years ago so SWG will run for players TODAY much better than it did for players TWO YEARS ago. So stability, lag, completeness and fun factor are all vastly improved over 2 years ago. It's not unrealistic to think that TE may be giving SWG the 'new start' it needed.
Who knows? Not me. All I know is that anyone saying SWG is "dying" is a complete moron. Even if all it does is coast along at 200-250k subscribers it's still a very successful MMO. And I don't even really care about that. All I care is that I and my friends are having fun and enjoying the game. And, in the end, that's all that really matters.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online. Sig image Pending Still in: A couple Betas
No offense, but ya'll need to stop saying that SWG wasn't advertised when it was released, lol. I had no idea of the game until I read an article/add on the CNN web site. Afterwards, just like anything else you pickup on, I started noticing a ton of adds in gaming magazines and other SW fan related material.
As for WoW's success, I'd contend it has a lot to do with Blizzard/Warcraft name. Not to mention the numerous articles in the past 2 years slating the game as the best thing since sliced bread.
I can't really see SWG dying off until subscriptions fall below the 100k mark. Even then I'd venture SOE would sell the rights first.
Ico Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
Originally posted by trigun028 Now I know many of you believe SWG is by far superior to WoW, and based on the game itself,I agree. However, WoW has nearly 2 million total accounts. From December 2004 to now it has jumped 500k alone. SWG couldn't reach that in 2 years!
Listen, none of us are blindly believing the server indicators. And none of us have said that SWG is far superior than WOW. What I will say is that SWG is far more FUN (FOR ME) than WOW ever could be. Which game is "Better" is purely a matter of what features you like or dislike about each game, it's a personal decision that I can't force on you and you can't force on me. I personally like SWG better, you like WOW better. Can't really argue it because it's all personal preference.
Why hasn't SOE made an announcement? Because, contrary to the opinion of some here, they KNOW that they can't get an accurate count of how many SUBSCRIBERS they have till the furor over TE dies down and they start seeing people actually subscribe to the game beyond the 30 day trial. Once they have numbers for that if SWG pops over 350k you can bet they'll start crowing about it.
If you read my post, you'd see that I like SWG better.
This is what concerns me, SWG fanbois fly off the handle, get emotional, and all irrational if someone says something bad about their beloved game.
All I'm saying is look at the numbers.
And yes, soe can track the number of total subscriptions sold very easily. The fact that they haven't announced breaking 400k concerns me.
All I'm advocating is that the SWG customers wake up and realize that untill we demand better treatment, we're not going to get it.
Players sitting in denial about the game is only making things worse for us.
Originally posted by Jabberwokky Why are crafters always such a bunch of whining namby-pamby wimps? This talk is merely losers doing what losers do best: whine.
Projecting a little today?
Ico Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
I haven't seen much whining in here. Mostly just debate about whether the facts people are using are valid or not LOL
And, Ico, I agree 100% the players need to insist on better information from the Devs and CS staff. But it wouldn't surprise me if SOE is holding off on any formal announcements till July timeframe to be sure the boost in numbers isn't a temporary thing. After all they'd have an awful lot of egg on their face if they went around spouting off about having 400k (or whatever number) subscribers and two months later half the noobs cancel.
I think the only time they DID release numbers was when they broke 300k and like 2 months later thay were down to 250... probably kind of made them gunshy of announcing numbers.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online. Sig image Pending Still in: A couple Betas
Just because server pops are high doesn't mean they have more subscribers than they have ever had.
When SWG was launched they had a total of 22 servers up within 4 days, they launched with 10, and those 22 servers would each be under a heavy load or they'd be capped so you couldn't created a character there. Shortly after they brought up 2 more and not long after that 2 more to the current 26. By that time concurrency rates had dropped because everyone and their mom wasn't trying to play at the same time because the game wasn't as new.
Today, we have a new expansion, a box set of the core game and its 2 expansions, Episode 3, and a new combat system. Now I don't think anyone here is claiming that SWGs subscriptions are up above the max 330K that was stated (mmogchart.com is conjectural and that guy got swgs max subscribers wrong as the number 330K was stated by a dev a long time ago).
What people are claiming is this, due to the box set, the movie, etc, populations on the servers have increased.
Has SWG lost some older subscribers due to the combat upgrade? Yes. Have some of the people who cancelled because of the CU come back? Yes. Has SWG gained new subscribers due to the movie, the box set, etc? Yes. Will these new people stay? Time will tell. That's all I'm saying, and I think, what Elnator and others are saying as well.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
Originally posted by Elnator Why dod WOW go to 2mil so fast and SWG hasn't? I honestly don't know. Partly because SWG was never really advertized when it first came out. Partly because (as I said in Beta) SWG SUCKED when it originally came out so many people that tried it didn't stick around. Partly because MMO's were still a fairly 'niche' market when SWG first came out. Partly because WOW already had a HUGE following from the other "Warcraft" games. SWG had none of that. It was a niche (Sci-Fi) game in a niche (MMO) market that was released, frankly, woefully incomplete.
Umm, WoW has had atleast 4 official releases in seperate countries, including South Korea and China I beleive was the last? SWG is a US based MMO only. Other countries can play it, but your getting your service from here.
I am quite sure if you had 4 or more officialy releases of any game in the same countries the game would be doing atleast 3 times more then it would be just in the US, ALTEAST that, probably more like 4 to 5 times. SWG has only ever had one official release and some European servers were added, maybe 2 releases, I am not sure if Japan was a complete relaunch or wether it was just a language support addition. EQ II is the same way, its only ever had an official US release, and its number reflect that (on the low side at the moment however) Same with most other MMO's that have never had a release in an asian country. South Korean and China's populations are just rediculously huge in comparison to our own.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
Umm, WoW has had atleast 4 official releases in seperate countries, including South Korea and China I beleive was the last?
Indeed. Not to change the subject, but I love how people call SOE money grubbers or whatever but they primarily release to the US. Blizzard on the other hand is going out of their way to launch WoW all over the place.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
Originally posted by trigun028 Well then soe is stupid for not launching in other countries. Doesn't change the fact that WoW still has more numbers. (shrug) To reiterate, I like SWG better. WoW is just very well implemented.
Are they stupid or is it they are happy with their current subscribers and would rather spend money improving the game for those people rather than spend money on client localization and leave the current people wondering when the next patch will come?
Besides, WoW is a Bnet kiddy haven...there...I said it.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
Originally posted by trigun028 Well then soe is stupid for not launching in other countries. Doesn't change the fact that WoW still has more numbers. (shrug) To reiterate, I like SWG better. WoW is just very well implemented.
Maybe, or maybe they didn't want to get into the infrastructure and staff they would have to implement in every country they wanted to release in. WoW is still very young, its very to say how well they will survive the test of time with them spreading their reach so far. When the game starts to decline you have to do something with all that staff and hardware.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
Originally posted by TookyG Are they stupid or is it they are happy with their current subscribers and would rather spend money improving the game for those people rather than spend money on client localization and leave the current people wondering when the next patch will come? Besides, WoW is a Bnet kiddy haven...there...I said it.
That would account for the snide adds SOE released trying knock WoW.
Ico Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
Originally posted by IcoGames Originally posted by TookyG Are they stupid or is it they are happy with their current subscribers and would rather spend money improving the game for those people rather than spend money on client localization and leave the current people wondering when the next patch will come? Besides, WoW is a Bnet kiddy haven...there...I said it.
That would account for the snide adds SOE released trying knock WoW.
You mean like the ones that other companies, including Blizzard have done in the past? Your going to actually hold a marketting department accountable for being opportunistic? Interesting concept.
EDIT: Come to think of it does that mean you feel similar about CCP since they made snide comments about SWG while EVE was in development? Or because its not SOE its different?
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
Comments
errr, I don't think so. You go into your account settings and turn it off there in sony station.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
I think Ico is just trolling at this point. He knows he is wrong, he knows the server populations are WAY up because TE is a best seller according to every game seller out there (Amazon, BestBuy, EBGames, etc).
Logic shows that the population is going up because the game is selling well. Whether those numbers translate into continued subscriptions is the only question you can legitimately ask at this point. The server populations ARE higher than they've ever been that I can recall. LOWCA which has ALWAYS been a very light server feels downright crowded on some nights. Every night I've been on this week (since Friday) I have checked server pops and Lowca has been showing Medium every single time I have logged in. It has NEVER shown medium before now.
You can claim your conspiracy theory all you like but the facts don't back you up:
FACT: Players who PLAY the game report the servers are more crowded
FACT: Game companies are reporting SWG:TE as a best-seller
FACT: Population indicators on all servers are showing servers to be much more crowded than in the past
If it weren't for the fact that the game is a best seller and the added fact that people currently PLAYING the game are saying the servers are more crowded then I MIGHT buy into your theory. But the population indicators are not the only indicator of the current situation.
And you are also completely ignoring the fact that LucasArts won't hesitate to sue SOE's rear end off if they think SOE is cooking the books.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
Lol, I could care less what the populations are and I'm not going to base my happiness (or dismay) of a game by the number of people playing.
One last time ... I'm saying that if server populations are up to that degree, a company like SOE would be all over advertising that fact.
Now, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, please accept my apology.
Edit: Btw Elnator, where in my statements did I site fact? Did I throw you with the term 'speculation'? At least Fade picked up on that. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, no biggie.
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
Not hurting my feelings. I could care less. Just pointing out why your theory is bunk. Like Fadeus I find it humorous that people who used the following "data" to prove that SWG was dying now refuse to accept it as evidence that the game isn't dying (yet anyway)
1) www.mmorpgchart.com - people were using the dip of about 50k players 3 months ago as evidence of its death. Now that it's plateaud at 250k players or so they refuse to accept that as a fact and choose to say "well it could be inaccurate".
2) server pop indicators. - people were gleefully stating that since ahazi and bria were sometimes showing light population that it indicated the game was dying. Now that all but 3 or 4 servers are showing medium and some are showing "extremely heavy" that's not an indication that the servers are in fact getting more populous again.
3) certain people here used "evidence" of the fact that their local EB hadn't sold any copies of the game (nevermind the fact that the store manager was telling people NOT to buy the game because he's a disgruntled player) as evidence that it wasn't selling but when you show them the fact that it's a best-seller according to the COMPANY they choose to ignore that and say 'well they haven't proven to be subscribers yet'.
Fact is that currently the game is doing well. No matter how you spin it the game is successful.
1) Any MMO with over 50k players is a successful MMO.
2) Any MMO with over 100k players is a hit MMO that is raking in money hand over fist.
3) Any MMO with over 200k players is a runaway success
Yes, there are other MMO's that are doing better (EQ, WOW, LineageI & II, FFXI) but that doesn't take away the fact that SWG is doing very well for itself and is, evidently, in a growth phase because of Star Wars Episode III.
Whether the people playing now turn into paying subscribers is anyone's guess. But it's now been over a month since TE hit the shelves either the servers will fall back to their "normal" levels soon or they'll continue to have high population counts. If they fall back then TE was an abberation due to EPIII. If they don't fall back then this is a verified growth of the game where it added subscribers.
And, SOE has always played it fairly close to the chest with their games. They typically don't announce subscription numbers unless it's a BIG change. EQ they announced 99k players, 200k players and then we didn't hear boo till they were at 400k players and again when they broke 500k. I don't play, or follow, EQ2 that much so I don't know much about them. The only number I recall seeing them tout, however, was when it broke 300k subscribers.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
I know it's crazy to think that a company would want to advertise successes after a rocky year.
However, you're right SOE has only once released numbers for SWG.
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
Never said you cited fact. In fact (no pun intended
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
Seriously. According to mmorpgchart.com SWG has never had more than 300k total subscriptions. Thats TOTAL not, ACTIVE. If populations were booming like they're trying to make it look, why has there been no press release about hitting 350k? soe was quick to have press releases for every 100k marker, and under the recent scrutiny, you'd think they'd be quick to brag about 350k.
Now I know many of you believe SWG is by far superior to WoW, and based on the game itself, I agree. However, WoW has nearly 2 million total accounts. From December 2004 to now it has jumped 500k alone. SWG couldn't reach that in 2 years!
Why this difference? I believe its becaues WoW works pretty well, and for the most part is balanced. There aren't many prevalent bugs, customer service is decent, and quests and rewards all work quite well.
The game quickly loses its appeal at lvl 60, and thats where SWG rules - it has long term playability.
But for actual fun, down and dirty combat and fresh content with every level, WoW wins hands down.
Despite what we all might think of each game, the numbers don't lie.
Listen, none of us are blindly believing the server indicators. And none of us have said that SWG is far superior than WOW. What I will say is that SWG is far more FUN (FOR ME) than WOW ever could be. Which game is "Better" is purely a matter of what features you like or dislike about each game, it's a personal decision that I can't force on you and you can't force on me. I personally like SWG better, you like WOW better. Can't really argue it because it's all personal preference.
What you all seem to refuse to accept is that we are actually in the game witnessing a large increase in number of players around. On top of that Video Game companies are reporting TE as a huge seller. Now, any one of these 3 facts alone could be shrugged off but you're trying to tell me that players playing the game, companies selling the game and SOE are all conspiring to make it look like SWG is selling well right now? That, to me, sounds delusional. I'll agree 100% that there is a chance that many of the people trying the game out won't end up subscribing to it. Who knows what'll happen. But right now it's doing well.
Why hasn't SOE made an announcement? Because, contrary to the opinion of some here, they KNOW that they can't get an accurate count of how many SUBSCRIBERS they have till the furor over TE dies down and they start seeing people actually subscribe to the game beyond the 30 day trial. Once they have numbers for that if SWG pops over 350k you can bet they'll start crowing about it.
Why dod WOW go to 2mil so fast and SWG hasn't? I honestly don't know. Partly because SWG was never really advertized when it first came out. Partly because (as I said in Beta) SWG SUCKED when it originally came out so many people that tried it didn't stick around. Partly because MMO's were still a fairly 'niche' market when SWG first came out. Partly because WOW already had a HUGE following from the other "Warcraft" games. SWG had none of that. It was a niche (Sci-Fi) game in a niche (MMO) market that was released, frankly, woefully incomplete.
Now... the BOOM we're seeing in-game now? Who knows... it is entirely possible in todays market where MMO's are much more common and are seeing much more rapid rises in subscribers lately that SWG will experience a takeoff like WOW's was. Who knows? All I know is that in the year I've been playing SWG steadily I have NEVER seen the servers as crowded as they are and I've NEVER seen as many players running around IN GAME as I do now. SWG also is, now, far more complete than it was 2 years ago, it's far more "Star Wars" than it was 2 years ago and has ironed out most of the game-stopping bugs and irritants that it had 2 years ago. Technology today handles the game far better than it did 2 years ago. Today's average system is on par with a TOP END system of 2 years ago so SWG will run for players TODAY much better than it did for players TWO YEARS ago. So stability, lag, completeness and fun factor are all vastly improved over 2 years ago. It's not unrealistic to think that TE may be giving SWG the 'new start' it needed.
Who knows? Not me. All I know is that anyone saying SWG is "dying" is a complete moron. Even if all it does is coast along at 200-250k subscribers it's still a very successful MMO. And I don't even really care about that. All I care is that I and my friends are having fun and enjoying the game. And, in the end, that's all that really matters.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
No offense, but ya'll need to stop saying that SWG wasn't advertised when it was released, lol. I had no idea of the game until I read an article/add on the CNN web site. Afterwards, just like anything else you pickup on, I started noticing a ton of adds in gaming magazines and other SW fan related material.
As for WoW's success, I'd contend it has a lot to do with Blizzard/Warcraft name. Not to mention the numerous articles in the past 2 years slating the game as the best thing since sliced bread.
I can't really see SWG dying off until subscriptions fall below the 100k mark. Even then I'd venture SOE would sell the rights first.
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
Listen, none of us are blindly believing the server indicators. And none of us have said that SWG is far superior than WOW. What I will say is that SWG is far more FUN (FOR ME) than WOW ever could be. Which game is "Better" is purely a matter of what features you like or dislike about each game, it's a personal decision that I can't force on you and you can't force on me. I personally like SWG better, you like WOW better. Can't really argue it because it's all personal preference.
Why hasn't SOE made an announcement? Because, contrary to the opinion of some here, they KNOW that they can't get an accurate count of how many SUBSCRIBERS they have till the furor over TE dies down and they start seeing people actually subscribe to the game beyond the 30 day trial. Once they have numbers for that if SWG pops over 350k you can bet they'll start crowing about it.
If you read my post, you'd see that I like SWG better.
This is what concerns me, SWG fanbois fly off the handle, get emotional, and all irrational if someone says something bad about their beloved game.
All I'm saying is look at the numbers.
And yes, soe can track the number of total subscriptions sold very easily. The fact that they haven't announced breaking 400k concerns me.
All I'm advocating is that the SWG customers wake up and realize that untill we demand better treatment, we're not going to get it.
Players sitting in denial about the game is only making things worse for us.
Why are crafters always such a bunch of whining namby-pamby wimps? This talk is merely losers doing what losers do best: whine.
Projecting a little today?
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
LOL
I haven't seen much whining in here. Mostly just debate about whether the facts people are using are valid or not
LOL
And, Ico, I agree 100% the players need to insist on better information from the Devs and CS staff. But it wouldn't surprise me if SOE is holding off on any formal announcements till July timeframe to be sure the boost in numbers isn't a temporary thing. After all they'd have an awful lot of egg on their face if they went around spouting off about having 400k (or whatever number) subscribers and two months later half the noobs cancel.
I think the only time they DID release numbers was when they broke 300k and like 2 months later thay were down to 250... probably kind of made them gunshy of announcing numbers.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
Just because server pops are high doesn't mean they have more subscribers than they have ever had.
When SWG was launched they had a total of 22 servers up within 4 days, they launched with 10, and those 22 servers would each be under a heavy load or they'd be capped so you couldn't created a character there. Shortly after they brought up 2 more and not long after that 2 more to the current 26. By that time concurrency rates had dropped because everyone and their mom wasn't trying to play at the same time because the game wasn't as new.
Today, we have a new expansion, a box set of the core game and its 2 expansions, Episode 3, and a new combat system. Now I don't think anyone here is claiming that SWGs subscriptions are up above the max 330K that was stated (mmogchart.com is conjectural and that guy got swgs max subscribers wrong as the number 330K was stated by a dev a long time ago).
What people are claiming is this, due to the box set, the movie, etc, populations on the servers have increased.
Has SWG lost some older subscribers due to the combat upgrade? Yes. Have some of the people who cancelled because of the CU come back? Yes. Has SWG gained new subscribers due to the movie, the box set, etc? Yes. Will these new people stay? Time will tell. That's all I'm saying, and I think, what Elnator and others are saying as well.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
Umm, WoW has had atleast 4 official releases in seperate countries, including South Korea and China I beleive was the last? SWG is a US based MMO only. Other countries can play it, but your getting your service from here.
I am quite sure if you had 4 or more officialy releases of any game in the same countries the game would be doing atleast 3 times more then it would be just in the US, ALTEAST that, probably more like 4 to 5 times. SWG has only ever had one official release and some European servers were added, maybe 2 releases, I am not sure if Japan was a complete relaunch or wether it was just a language support addition. EQ II is the same way, its only ever had an official US release, and its number reflect that (on the low side at the moment however) Same with most other MMO's that have never had a release in an asian country. South Korean and China's populations are just rediculously huge in comparison to our own.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
Well then soe is stupid for not launching in other countries.
Doesn't change the fact that WoW still has more numbers. (shrug)
To reiterate, I like SWG better. WoW is just very well implemented.
Are they stupid or is it they are happy with their current subscribers and would rather spend money improving the game for those people rather than spend money on client localization and leave the current people wondering when the next patch will come?
Besides, WoW is a Bnet kiddy haven...there...I said it.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
On topic.
SWG: Not Dying
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
Maybe, or maybe they didn't want to get into the infrastructure and staff they would have to implement in every country they wanted to release in. WoW is still very young, its very to say how well they will survive the test of time with them spreading their reach so far. When the game starts to decline you have to do something with all that staff and hardware.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
That would account for the snide adds SOE released trying knock WoW.
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
That would account for the snide adds SOE released trying knock WoW.
You mean like the ones that other companies, including Blizzard have done in the past? Your going to actually hold a marketting department accountable for being opportunistic? Interesting concept.
EDIT: Come to think of it does that mean you feel similar about CCP since they made snide comments about SWG while EVE was in development? Or because its not SOE its different?
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World