It's called budgets.. and marketing money is never product production money. Also each department is important to a company's success.

Sure, but when was the last time you saw EA market this game?

With respect to Anthem... I think what players should be watching for is how the earlier alpha reviews for the game settle in... because EA IS a company that will cut it's losses early on a new game and just shutter it if it does not appear to be performing to firm business objectives. The game space Anthem plays in is risky for EA.. so Anthem very well may never get out of the tube. Strictly in SWTOR terms... players should be rooting for an early termination of Anthem as that means freed up resources, and EA typically redeploys said resources rather than just lay them off. Of course.. what they redeploy to is a question mark... because EA clearly is doing better with game investments in the non MMO space.

I agree, it would be better for swtor if EA terminated the production of Anthem before it goes live. The sooner the better, before they spend too much money that Bioware can’t come back from it.

If I remember reading correctly, EA shares have climbed significantly this year, so they are certainly doing something right for their investors. But it’s not in swtor and I dont even think it’s in PC gaming, Lots of their recent successes have been in mobile platform games and their micro transactions.

Yeah.. this is something so many players seem to be unable to grasp

Heh yeah sure, but how do budgets work???

I mean in a company you have a Forecast of what the profits should be in the next year. Based on the business plan for the year you then divide the forecasted earnings among the departments (yes, those are budgets). So far so good.

However, the problem arises when things do not go according to the Forecast and the company finds out that the budgets actually have been incorrectly high! Budgets are sometimes money the company does not have! This then leads to budget cuts etc. So if Bioware gives 1 mil to marketing to make a trailer according to the business plan, but half way through the year they find out there is a big issue in game and they need the Devs to work at it, they don't have the necessary resources as their budget for that year was too low, since no development was expected! OK its a hard example for an IT company for which I do not have exact experience with, but that is the general principle.

So everything has to be considered. Its all based on forecasts, so thats what makes a difference between a good and a bad company, the way they are able to asses the situation and anticipate the future. If they make a wrong call they will have a bad year. So if you invest into story but also make a change in gear (Galactic Command) which suddenly drives away subs, you again have to direct funds to redevelop, what was already developed to save the situation!

Yeah.. this is something so many players seem to be unable to grasp ---> marketing budgets are separate and distinct from development budgets

Because the rest of us are sooooo stupid!.... It must be difficult to be so intelligent all the time. And it's sooooo hard to call others stupid using passive aggression. Amazing. You carry such a burden. The weight.... OMG! To walk in your shoes.... intense.... to look down on so many stupid people in this world..... your opinions can only be facts.... well done.

Sure, but when was the last time you saw EA market this game?

Game, set and match M®s. Trixxie

Sure, but when was the last time you saw EA market this game?

I'm not sure if you count it or not but sometimes I do get adds for the Origin SWTOR bundle, I mean I already have everything unlocked anyway so I never check it out but I was actually surprised when I first saw it.

Because the rest of us are sooooo stupid!.... It must be difficult to be so intelligent all the time. And it's sooooo hard to call others stupid using passive aggression. Amazing. You carry such a burden. The weight.... OMG! To walk in your shoes.... intense.... to look down on so many stupid people in this world..... your opinions can only be facts.... well done.

No kidding...great reply!

Sure, but when was the last time you saw EA market this game?

They don't...and they won't. It was just discussion of a Blur trailer..."if" it happened...it won't, but "if" it did.

Sure, but when was the last time you saw EA market this game?

June 2015 when they made this..

And you spend the big bucks on the new stuff, not existing stuff.

June 2015 when they made this..

I think you'll find that that's rather the point of the rhetorical question...it has been ages. Three years in fact as you pointed out.

And you spend the big bucks on the new stuff, not existing stuff.

Well, I think after 5.0 failed to impress or rather chased more people away than was good for the game, there's no more big bucks for SWTOR anymore. I would be very surprised if 6.0 manages to be more than a very minimal expansion.

As it stands SWTOR has been trying to bank on old content mostly for a long time.

June 2015 when they made this..

 

And you spend the big bucks on the new stuff, not existing stuff.

No, you forgot the

Now remember, the game was supposedly losing some subs because some number of players wanted a return to the Bioware's story roots, so even though there had not been a Blur trailer since launch, they made two for the "Knights of" story-focused expansions meant to bring players back.

What's my point? If they (EA) feel its a worthwhile investment to try and improve subs, they'll invest in a marketing push.

Because the rest of us are sooooo stupid!.... It must be difficult to be so intelligent all the time. And it's sooooo hard to call others stupid using passive aggression. Amazing. You carry such a burden. The weight.... OMG! To walk in your shoes.... intense.... to look down on so many stupid people in this world..... your opinions can only be facts.... well done.

Feel better now? Or do you need to take another lap around the rant track chasing the phantom bunny?

And just to clarify... since you very much jumped the shark here.... being unaware, uninformed, or unwilling to learn about how corporations actually work =/= "stupid". But don't take my word for it... look up the actual terms and their definitions. Stop role playing as victim, and conflating your soap box.

If they (EA) feel its a worthwhile investment to try and improve subs, they'll invest in a marketing push.

No disagreement. But in the MMO market space... traditional marketing appears less effective than the pre-launch blitz marketing that big gaming corporations like EA typically do. MMOs pretty much sell themselves because the audience is fairly specific and will want to kick the tires and decide for themselves, which is why having an F2P option for an MMO works so well in lieu of actual coordinated marketing blitzes. There is almost always some marketing (though not TV or print media, but rather mostly internet or old fashioned guerilla marketing that has worked with games for many years) ahead of an Expac. Expac marketing works well for the effort and resources invested because it is largely focused at their past players (ie: people whose email addresses they have, and who have in the past subscribed to the game) AND getting current players excited about what is coming (hence better chance of holding them until the Expac drops.

I know some players feel they should be advertising on TV.. but in reality.. this is the most expensive and lease productive advertising channel for established MMOs. It works OK for a brand new launch I guess.

I agree, it would be better for swtor if EA terminated the production of Anthem before it goes live. The sooner the better, before they spend too much money that Bioware can’t come back from it.

 

If I remember reading correctly, EA shares have climbed significantly this year, so they are certainly doing something right for their investors. But it’s not in swtor and I dont even think it’s in PC gaming, Lots of their recent successes have been in mobile platform games and their micro transactions.

Don't forget the gazillions they make on the EA Sports brand, most notably FIFA

Don't forget the gazillions they make on the EA Sports brand, most notably FIFA

Yep. Their sports titles have been and continue to be solid gold for their bottom line. Which makes sense.. given the size of the sports market and the players who play them basically just want to pretend they are playing their favorite sports teams or heros. Much much simpler than trying to please a wide base of fantasy fanatics who each feel they deserve special handling and treatment.

Personally, I don't care if SWTOR is not one of their "golden" products. MMOs really do not fit their core business model very well to begin with, and certainly do not play into the forward looking business goals and investments. EA has always been focused on Title Sales (being boxed or digital), and their growth focus is in mobile gaming with blended access models. MMOs are kind of their unloved step child, but even on smaller scales they remain cash cows as you can easily tune investment VS revenue to keep them very profitable. I guess every family needs an outlier.

Feel better now? Or do you need to take another lap around the rant track chasing the phantom bunny?

 

And just to clarify... since you very much jumped the shark here.... being unaware, uninformed, or unwilling to learn about how corporations actually work =/= "stupid". But don't take my word for it... look up the actual terms and their definitions. Stop role playing as victim, and conflating your soap box.

You refuse to read what I write, but you complain that others don't read what you write. Are you even on the planet? Do you know what a "rant" is? Phantom bunny? Really? You're the king of rant.

Do you know what "jump the shark" means? I don't think you do.Unaware, uninformed, or unwilling to learn doesn't equal stupid? What? Victim? You just spew to spew. Do you know what sarcasm is? I think these posts fly right over your head. I gotta put you back on ignore again. Your only goal on these forums is to be opposition to others. Why do you like that position?

Oh yes... the happy face at the end.

you refuse to read what i write, but you complain that others don't read what you write. Are you even on the planet? Do you know what a "rant" is? Phantom bunny? Really? You're the king of rant.

 

Do you know what "jump the shark" means? I don't think you do.unaware, uninformed, or unwilling to learn doesn't equal stupid? What? Victim? You just spew to spew. Do you know what sarcasm is? I think these posts fly right over your head. I gotta put you back on ignore again. Your only goal on these forums is to be opposition to others. Why do you like that position?

 

Oh yes... The happy face at the end.

Seriously?

lmao.

Seriously?

 

lmao.

Yes...

Lmao too.

I'm not sure if you count it or not but sometimes I do get adds for the Origin SWTOR bundle, I mean I already have everything unlocked anyway so I never check it out but I was actually surprised when I first saw it.

The only emails I’ve ever received from swtor have been one time password, confirmation of subscription / CC Payments, Gneric CS droid bot response from a CS ticket.

Not once in 6 years have I seen a marketing email. But even if I had, that’s not marketing to get new players, which is what is needed. An actually marketing campaign on TV, magazines and social media would have done wonders for this game over the years. Alas, it was never done.

The only emails I’ve ever received from swtor have been one time password, confirmation of subscription / CC Payments, Gneric CS droid bot response from a CS ticket.

 

Not once in 6 years have I seen a marketing email. But even if I had, that’s not marketing to get new players, which is what is needed. An actually marketing campaign on TV, magazines and social media would have done wonders for this game over the years. Alas, it was never done.

Um well you have to go to "My Account" here on the website and click the box to receive updates, promotions etc, its in the Basic Information tab. There also was the 1 month free sub if you have ticked these boxes. After you have those you get stuff from time to time about Origin bundles, sales etc.

Um well you have to go to "My Account" here on the website and click the box to receive updates, promotions etc, its in the Basic Information tab. There also was the 1 month free sub if you have ticked these boxes. After you have those you get stuff from time to time about Origin bundles, sales etc.

LoL, they’ve been ticked for 6 years.

The only emails I’ve ever received from swtor have been one time password, confirmation of subscription / CC Payments, Gneric CS droid bot response from a CS ticket.

 

Not once in 6 years have I seen a marketing email. But even if I had, that’s not marketing to get new players, which is what is needed. An actually marketing campaign on TV, magazines and social media would have done wonders for this game over the years. Alas, it was never done.

Not an e-mail, an actual add on a page be it on YouTube or whatever site I was browsing at the time had the Origin bundle for SWTOR being advertised. Yes it is needed, but TV? Magazines? Meh, let social media handle it.

Um well you have to go to "My Account" here on the website and click the box to receive updates, promotions etc, its in the Basic Information tab. There also was the 1 month free sub if you have ticked these boxes. After you have those you get stuff from time to time about Origin bundles, sales etc.

I've had those checked since they gave everyone an incentive specifically to tick off the boxes a couple (few?) years ago. I haven't received "promotional emails" after that point either.

I get the same thing Trixxie does from SWTOR--cartel coin grants, and CS ticket responses. Nothing "promotional"

Nothing in the Junk/Spam folder, either.

But why would EA want to take over something that just barely is worth maintaining?

It's a minimal maintenance cash cow.

The only emails I’ve ever received from swtor have been one time password, confirmation of subscription / CC Payments, Gneric CS droid bot response from a CS ticket.

 

Not once in 6 years have I seen a marketing email. But even if I had, that’s not marketing to get new players, which is what is needed. An actually marketing campaign on TV, magazines and social media would have done wonders for this game over the years. Alas, it was never done.

If you have an account that isn't subscribed you get emails sent to you whenever an expansion or really big patch is coming out to try to get you to Subscribe again. I've gotten many emails on a 2nd account I bought at launch and have long since canceled due to the fact I can have so many characters on one account now I simply had no more use for it.