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How well would SWTOR done if released before WOW?
eycel
Member Posts: 1,334
I was reading some of the things that are going to be left out of the game like day/night cycle and a few others and it got me thinking. How would this game have done if it would have been released before WOW say a year or so before and taking into account that galaxies never came out. Where would we be today with the game? Compare that to how it will differ from how its going to be when it actually releases for real. Some could say its irrelivent but if it interests anyone give it a shot please.
Would it have been more sucessfull cause it would have been way ahead of its time or would it have been more fail cause it would have been hit so hard by WOW?
Comments
you can jump in SWTOR....
anyway, from Bioware's statements about design/inspiration i doubt the game would have been released before WoW in its current shape. it'd be entirely different, but if it were bug free and a more convenient experience than the rest of the market it would probably do amazingly well.
Jumping is in the game.
I didn't even noticed there wasn't day/night cycles. But when I thought about it, it doesn't really bother me when you're in freaking space.
If this game was released before WoW. Every one would be slobbering over it because KOTOR II wouldn't have even be released by then.
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
5th expansion ?.. lol,.
WoW, Guild Wars, and Eve online were all released at that time and they were lucky, it was the golden time to release an MMO. There were MMOs before them, and MMOs after but at that particular time people were actually discovering MMOs to a huge extent and the market boomed. The games that released at that particular time had low competition, did not need to meet high expectations (there were high expectations, but they did not have to meet them), It was after the .com bubble, during a large growth economically around the world, and a large group of people ready to play something, anything.
Basically, it doesn't matter what the game was, if it had been released at that time it would have done well.
thats really interesting cause thats what I was trying to think of. So weird how times change so quickly.
Figuring it probably would have had the same affect as WoW did. Now let me explain before anyone goes after me for this, theres a very valid reason for this line of thinking in this scenario
Okay first off we don't have people having played WoW for years. So we got a big name, big budget, highly polished game with a big studio bringing in lots of people from the outside into a theme park game which is highly accessible to a lot of people, so no need to completely upgrade your computers...ironically i'm not talking about WoW in this situation but ToR instead. See i feel all the same conditions that made WoW so popular are the same for tor. minus maybe the timing, *in a chuckled voice* although in a way seeing as how people are getting bored with cata, that may fit as well *ends chuckled voice*. Not to mention it wasn't hard for bioware to sell a game based off of Kotor at that time as they'd still be floating on the success of Kotor. Plus people back them weren't so fickle and picky about their games, they picked a game and stuck with it.
If ToR released a year before WoW with what it has now...it would have done extremely well. As for nowadays? we'd probably considering if ToR was extremely successful, we'd probably be seeing a lot of games using full voice overs, cinematic fights (like you do in say ME) with things flying over head, ships flying into buildings, creature running around, a more focus on the presentation of the game. We'd also have everyone saying oh such and such is a ToR clone (yeah cuase you know people would do it). But i digress. events would probably (other then game design) probably would have happened nearly as same. As for what would have happened to Bllizzard, they would have had their hardcores but when you compare text box to cinematic questing...lets just say they don't really compare. Text box questing would look..kinda outdated so to speak when you got people walking talking speaking and you have choices compare to single path text box with no voice overs other then a few grunts or lines spoken.
Heck that last one i can even show you...If they both went up at the same time which would you prefer if you had the oppertunity to buy either one but not both:http://www.youtube.com/user/logun24x7?blend=2&ob=5#p/u/0/JX0LqCz0ywk
Yes again it's logun, hes good at it. Remember in this example ToR is going up against WoW at nearly the same time.
Help me Bioware, you're my only hope.
Is ToR going to be good? Dude it's Bioware making a freaking star wars game, all signs point to awesome. -G4tv MMo report.
It just keeps punding my brain that with the way people discuss this game, It would have to be WOW on anbolic steroids for the same people to think of it as a sucess after its been released.
If it would have been released before WOW, the game would have blown away everyone at the sight of a few pictures and a teaser video.
Bump. Also, something to keep in mind, is that WoW is on it's 3rd expansion. When it was first released, mounts were rare to have, there was little end game (for those who remember, Stratholm was a raid, and MC wasn't even heard of yet), the classes were unbalanced (rogues, enough said), the transportation was a nightmare, and the grind from 50-60 made would take weeks (or at least it took me weeks on my first time through playing on a daily basis).
I think that people's expectations have grown to be completely irrational; to a point where the game can't get through its first year. Personally, I can't wait for the first SWTOR expansion, to see all the content that SHOULD have been put in the game for launch, but wasn't able to make the cut. On the other-hand, I totally understand the need to finally get this game launched and into the hands of the public.
Stratholme was not a raid, however, you could bring a raid group to any dungeon.
REALITY CHECK
Imo it wouldn't "do" at all seeing as SWTOR has 85% or so elements taken from wow [mechanics wise].
it was intended to be a raid zone.
No it wasn't. It was intented for 5 man. Every dungeon was 5 man at the release. But again, you could form a raid and enter 5 man dungeon back then.
REALITY CHECK
Blackrock Spire, Stratholme and Scholomance were all tuned for 15 people raids, and they were still way too hard even with 15 people, which they later toned down to 5 players.
WoW was released at a perfect time, ripe for a new mmo. If it had been swtor instead, it would have enjoyed the same success.
Wrong
UBRS was 15 man
Strat and Scholo were 10 man for a long time.
And how much in WoW there are elements what are copyed from other games? Same 85% or more... What unique wow has? Other than its lore?
well depends on what you want chips or dip
. i am just going to enjoy the game life is short and have fun
.....
Its kind of difficult to say what TOR might have done if it was released in 2003/2004...
You have to factor in that EA wouldn't have bought BioWare for 860 Million dollars... nor would BioWare have had the money EA has thrown into the game...
I know BioWare had a fairly loyal customer base but I had honestly never played one of their games until a year or two ago (bought the knights of the old republic games on steam). Where Blizzard with its games had a huge fanbase around the world. I never played Blizzard's games either but I knew there games were huge (StarCraft etc but they aren't my type of game).
So the best you can do is look at SWG because it sold on the Star Wars name. Oddly enough if you look through SOE's PR announcements you will find that the game was their best selling blah blah from launch right up to it being a failure. So if there was no SWG and TOR came out it probably would have done about the same...
What would be a more interesting question from my point of view is... If SWG and TOR launched at the same time... When you got close to November of 2004 and the launch of WoW.. which of the two games would have been doing better. We'll never know the answer to that question but I think it would be the more interesting question.
*edit* fixed a few things.. broke a few others for balance.
Can I just point out to the OP we still don't know how well it will do when its released so it might be a little silly of argue how it would have done if it was released before Warcraft but I will bite I think it proberbly would have been a massive game back then and I think it will proberbly be a massive game when its released in several months time . It has a lot of things going for it .
Firstly StarWars is the biggest franchise about so its likly to attract StarWars fans who number in thier millions who have never even tried or wanted to try WoW . Unlike the previous Galaxies mmo its being developed by a company with a good track record . I've yet to see a bad Bioware game . The amount of money and time thats been put into means more than likly we will see a very polished product upon release so its not likly to be another Vanguard ,Age of Conan or Warhammer . Admitedly it could all still go wrong but I really dont think so . Pre-order sales have broken records already so I don't think the estimated 3 million players in the first month is impossible . It also comes at a time when Warcraft is starting to leak subs after arguably a rather lackluster expansion .
I think there will be people calling it a WoW-clone becuase they are ignorant of the facts that WoW itself cloned the ideas of games that came before it (and after it for that matter) its a pretty stupid argument made by unthinking people who don't realise that mmos are a genre . For example I bet they don't go around refering to every FPS as a Doom clone because they have similar controls and gameplay .All game build on ideas from previous games . Its gaming evolution and its very rare you see something truely original .
Theres also going to people that'll tout it to be the WoWkiller which is equally foolish .WoWs not going to leak 11 million subs over the period of a few months . What StarsWars might do though if it is as good as we all hope it will be is maybe reduce the numbers playing WoW from anything between 1-5 million players over its first year after release . I don't think thats out of the bounds of possibilty unless of course Blizzard pull a rabbit out of the hat at Blizzcon this year about annouce free to play from levels 1-60 which is quite possible imo.
Concur. Simple and to the point.
In many parts of Europe it was released at the same time as cheap affordable broadband was becoming widly available for the first time . Lots of people suddenly thought they'd like to try thier hand at online gaming . Also Blizzard managed to get the specs of the game right as well as it played on most computers at the time and looked fairly good if a little cartoony .
I dont believe a word of this.
All three games have something special to explain their success. Blizzard had the good name, decent product, and for whatever reason, they had a huge success in asia. EVE became a solid product and is famous for its good economy. GW was the first "MMO" that was B2P, and a solid game overall.
All three games have had a strong competition ever since, and havent stepped back because of it. They stayed because of their quality, not because they had the luck to be released "at the right moment".
So yeah, you're wrong, plain and simple.
It would have been a long forgotten game.
In some remote gaming site somebody would post a single posting about it: "todays gaming machines finally able to run SW:TOR smoothly".
So yeah, whats the point of your scenario ? SW:TOR will start for real 2011 or 2012 or maybe even later. It will be done by Bioware Austin and its all too possible that, afterwards, it will be screwed up by EA, just like Lucas Arts screwed up SWG with NGE.
Its a game of today, with its shortcomings and advantages.
I honestly don't think it would make that much of a difference. It may have gotten, say, 100k more subscribers or so; but the majority of WoW's success is simply the fact that it's a Blizzard game. Blizzard has one of the largest, most loyal fanbases out of all the game studios. Everytime they release anything (MMO or not) millions of people go nuts. WoW would've probably been just as successful if it wasn't an MMO (in terms of box sales), but they would've made far less money (due to no subscription).
I will say, though, that MMOs released around that time generally had an easier time appealing to players. Back then most people were far from being burnt out on MMOs. People were much more willing to give the new games a fair shot before writing them off.
I don't think thats true . Blizzard did'nt have a huge loyal fanbase in the way you seam to implying prior to the release of World of Warcraft . They had had a few resonable successes with other games such as diablo and of course the original Warcraft rpgs . They were pretty well regarded amongst gamers but fan worship of one paticular games company just did'nt exist in any meaningful way and if it did it was proberbly limited to a few thousand gaming nerds and certainly could not be applied to your average gamer . Thats something thats really only arisen in recent years and really only with Blizzard and souly because of World of Warcraft . I'd actually heard of the Warcraft franchise in around 2001 when I played Warcraft 2 and although I thought it a decent game if did'nt make the impession on me the likes of Baldurs Gate had . I was actually pretty suprised anyone would invest time in making a mmo of it . Of course I tried it and loved along with many other people and the rest is history .
Definatly not a fan of Blizzard or a player of Warcraft anymore though .