Bad Business Model or Ok?

I would have to agree with that. I am a big SWTOR fan. I also like many BW games and EA games as well. However, SWTOR does lack the...whatever...that WoW used to have that kept me playing for 3 years.
Now, I am no doomsayer and I cannot see leaving this game. SWTOR has many flaws when i compare it to various other MMOs I have played. But it is the best POS out there. Ya, I try to find other games to steal me away. ESO...WS...D3...various browser games even. But I keep coming back and keeping my subscription active because I feel it is a good way to blow cash on entertainment for the month.
Summer, IMO, always seems to be a low point for MMOs....the real world calls. Beach trips, parties, camping, road trips, fairs, epic nice weather....Even I have taken a week long break for a camping trip. i dont think SWTOR or any MMO can compete with heat. Maybe why the strongholds and such have been pushed back to the end of summer as a way to say.." The sun is gone. Come back. We have new shinys for you! ooooh pretty. yes! give us your money. You know you want too."
Look back at all our updates. The good stuff always seems to come with cruddy weather....
Stay thirsty my friends...

i think watch dogs has had more of an impact on TOR than WS has today. i spent a lot of my time playing that game instead of TOR since it went live. plus, i personally don't know anyone who is playing WS this weekend, but i know lots who are playing watch dogs.

as far as WS being a different animal, i don't agree. its just another themepark MMO and it doesn't do anything better than all the other big name MMOs out right now( except for ESO because of all the hacks/bots and stuff ).

The real downfall of this game will happen when Everquest next is released ( if they deliver what they promise), Wildstar is no next gen mmo, most people will be bored by it in a month or 3.

Didn't even realize Wildstar was released. It by no means appeals to all MMO players. This game is the first that's even gotten me interested in an MMO.


EQN is again a game that will by no means appeal to all MMO players. It is overly-cartoony, the same as WS, and suffers from many of the same issues just on face value that certain other MMOs do. I'm not sure why people think that because it attracts them it will attract everyone else. I certainly do not think that because none of these new MMOs will appeal to me that they will flop, but I am realistic about the fact that there is a lot to be desired depending on what an individual is looking for in a game.

There are many elements that make up a successful release and sustained model, and until the releases happen and the results are in, it's just foolish to toss all this doomsaying out there.

Thing is, MMOs are a special kind of beast, in many ways proper marketing/business for them resembles the entertainment industry (TV and film) where often the best move is to deliberately not compete with a competitor's launch date for similar products. For example, the way Warner Brothers certainly made a deliberate choice not to release Godzilla the same day/weekend that Fox was releasing the new X-men movie.

A game like Wildstar is going to dominate the hype and press for its launch window, trying to match that is a losing proposition any way you slice it.

The best thing a competitor can do is to instead have something lined up for shortly afterwards, so that once the "new car smell" wears off of the new MMO, (or if they're lucky once bugs or under-performance starts a hype backlash,) there is something shiny to draw back in those players who either switched over or began splitting their time between both games.

I played WoW for eight years, and after every Rifts or Guild Wars or whatever came out there would be a momentary drop in numbers, but then most of those who left would come back saying the same thing: Once the "new-ness" of the other game wore off, they just preferred coming back to a game where they had already invested all that time and effort to building up their characters, learning the game, and making friends.

As long as you've got something to peak your lapsed players' interest and remind them of your game, you're better off letting your competition have its day in the sun, rather than wasting your own hype window trying to go head-to-head with a brand new game - which is always going to generate more buzz and excitement than whatever expansion, event, or promotion an existing game could be putting out.

Since ToR launched, every single up and coming game has been touted as the game that puts the last nail in the ToR coffin. As others have stated. Different types of MMOs appeal to digfferent people.

Pretty much everyone I know that played ESO has already moved to something else. Too much hype leads to too high of expectations. People try new things, get bored and move onto the next new thing, or go back to something they realize appealed to them more.

Also bear in mind, summer break just started as well so vacations and parties abound.

^This.

I played the WS Beta and while the Raids were certainly fun, I actually felt letdown by Warplots.

We might lose some raiders to WS, but I don't think it will be that bad.

This. There's no way to compete with summer.

I feel like this game will have a pretty decent 3.0 reveal and they are just waiting to see how the market reacts to those other games. Star Wars is Star Wars and this is a great story driven game, something many MMO's lack so I really don't think they are worried. Wildstar was everything I thought it was gonna be, a Muppet Babies MMO and I feel pretty stupid for wasting $75 on it. Star Wars = Meat and potatoes, other MMO's = side dishes.

This post I like it.