Interesting article adressing the current and future prospects of Swtor

[RoninaThorstone]

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/04/23/bi...g-in-to-swtor/

A short article but a good summing of D erickson's quotes over the past week.

A few points of person interest:

BioWare claims that subscriber numbers haven’t dropped, but concurrent users at peak times have. This, Erickson says, is the reason why players are noticing a lot of ‘light’ server populations – and also why mergers are on the cards, but not a priority. According to Erickson, they’re doing “anything and everything” to bring that concurrent users number up. “Nothing is off the table when it comes to making sure our communities are strong and active on each server.”

It’s in response to player demand that the focus has shifted to what BioWare call “quality of life features” – convenience updates like the Legacy update’s Guild Bank system. The next priority, according to Erickson, is a “robust” group finder.

[Kronik85]

I'm with BW wanting to develop what they want, when they want to do it. However I can't help but feel any arguement based on sub numbers is skewed though. He himself must be aware that they are giving away free time and as such the only meaningful data they can get is from the server pops at peak times......which they are deliberately ignoring because of their subs haven't dipped.

I'm fine with the EA/BW PR machine cranking this shit out to keep share holder confidence up etc but I don't think it's washing with the actual community.

[Darsithis]

I like the sound of a "robust" group finder. I find it to be a chore to spam "DPS LFG" or "heals LFG" over and over again, never to get a reply.

So definitely wanting to see that update.

[RoninaThorstone]

I'm with BW wanting to develop what they want, when they want to do it. However I can't help but feel any arguement based on sub numbers is skewed though. He himself must be aware that they are giving away free time and as such the only meaningful data they can get is from the server pops at peak times......which they are deliberately ignoring because of their subs haven't dipped.

I'm fine with the EA/BW PR machine cranking this shit out to keep share holder confidence up etc but I don't think it's washing with the actual community.

to be fair, what does wash with the mmo community?

We get offered a free month and complain about it.

I think that sub numbers are the only real way to gauge how people really feel since the online community is not only a fraction of the actual games population but the most angsty and self absorbed portion of the community. You are either posting on the forums because you: think you know the answer to all problems relating to MMOS when you don't (I usually fall into this category) or you are posting because you are upset over something.

Neither group represents the majority well so subs and concurrent players is really the best way to know what your player base feels about your game.

KISS: money talks.

[Kronik85]

to be fair, what does wash with the mmo community?

We get offered a free month and complain about it.

I think that sub numbers are the only real way to gauge how people really feel since the online community is not only a fraction of the actual games population but the most angsty and self absorbed portion of the community. You are either posting on the forums because you: think you know the answer to all problems relating to MMOS when you don't (I usually fall into this category) or you are posting because you are upset over something.

Neither group represents the majority well so subs and concurrent players is really the best way to know what your player base feels about your game.

KISS: money talks.

If I give something away then people can be pretty much guaranteed to accept it, if I try and charge them for it then unless they want it then they won't buy it. If I went on Dragon's Den for instance and said "Hey guys I've got this great magazine I've got 2 million subscribers do you want in?"
Them - "Well how much do you charge for your subscription?"
Me - "Normally about £10 a month, we've had a promotion going though."
Them - "Promotion?"
Me -"Yea we are giving away a free month at the mo...."
Them - "You come here and say you got 2 mill subscribers but none of them are paying?"
Me - "Well yeah."
"So how do we know you got 2 mill subscribers then?"
"Well.....I don't."

As far as the MMO community being beligerent and ungratreful then of course I've got to agree....it is, Blizz call it the echo chamber effect, one person makes a whine another reads it, takes validation from it and gets even more vocal about it. I don't really have an opinion on the server transfer issue, I rolled a Mara on Kellian Jarro at release, realised it was a dead server a few months ago and rerolled a Guardian on NM lands which has a decent population and I'm good, no personal interest for me.

What I do find interesting is BW choosing to base their game plan on something that is obviously inflated, if you went to a bank with that shit they wouldn't give you a loan and you wouldn't expect them to. Unless of course this is all PR and spin.........what do you think Ten Ton 21 would be saying about all this?

[Alvito]

;16548055BioWare claims that subscriber numbers haven’t dropped, but concurrent users at peak times have. This, Erickson says, is the reason why players are noticing a lot of ‘light’ server populations – and also why mergers are on the cards, but not a priority.

The last 2 times I have logged onto my first 50 and my old main on my original server there has been less then 5 ppl in fleet. So it goes well beyond peak time usage dropping. I think many ppl have paid for what are abandoned accounts, the 30 days for free cooked the books on the numbers a bit and opening up servers in Aus/Asia. I know sites like http://www.torstatus.net/ give a jaded view of numbers but my first server went from 3rd last on US west to 5th on US west and the population guide for it dropped a lot. This does one of two things makes me sad to see things turn this way, seeing it first hand logging in and two makes me feel really bad for the ppl on servers that are even slower. Hopefully the LFG tool whatever it is helps one for pvp will be great as well. In many ways this is a fun game but you are limited to what you can or cannot do based on ppl also wanting to do things.

[ZeroWashu]

Well how can your sub numbers drop if everyone with a level 50 got a free month? Just asking.

Plus I would state that for the life of the game the number of concurrent users is the most important figure they have. Its drop in numbers will only preview a similar drop in subscribers. When people who pay to play stop logging in they do stop paying as well.

[ati87]

Personally I believe what they say about less people logging in.

During my period in WoW I had real life friends that only logged every few days at best (during WOTLK) and during my free week period I noticed that he only logged on a few times (he has a annual thing). So officially he is still a paying sub but his activity has dropped by so much that for me personally it was like he was never playing.

I can imagine something similar with SWTOR on a bit larger scale but on a less personal scale then WoW.

[Deleted]

I think come the summer break for schools etc we will probly see a sub rise with some students etc having more time to give it a try ( or another try). I can't really say much about low pop servers, i play on hydian way and usually just pvp, and have met a good group of people that i regularly see online, and pvp ques are never really anymore that 5 minutes.

I think introducing a dungeon finder and server transfers will do great things for swTOR sub numbers, because they seem to be the things the community wants most, but personally I'd like to see the dungeon finder for your server only, but whatever helps the game grow i'm happy with

[Deleted]

Personally I believe what they say about less people logging in.

During my period in WoW I had real life friends that only logged every few days at best (during WOTLK) and during my free week period I noticed that he only logged on a few times (he has a annual thing). So officially he is still a paying sub but his activity has dropped by so much that for me personally it was like he was never playing.

I can imagine something similar with SWTOR on a bit larger scale but on a less personal scale then WoW.

Yeah I think that is pretty common. I got suckered into the annual pass as well. Since i started SWTOR I have logged into wow 1 time and that was to give my nephew all my gold. My authenticator has been missing for a month now lol. But officially I am still a paying customer.

Good article, but would really like to know if paid/free server transfers are on the horizon, because right now my lvl 50 war hero is just wasting away on a dead server

[shimargh]

whats the average of ppl in "standard" status?
coz when I log, every server (but fatman) is on average, so?

[RoninaThorstone]

Well how can your sub numbers drop if everyone with a level 50 got a free month? Just asking.

You had to have been an active subscriber as of the 22nd and either had a 50 or level 6 legacy.

So... Yeah.

Everyone who got a free month is a subscriber.

just saying

[ruzdu]

Well there are still people out there that want to start with the game (I am one of those). Unfortunately I am not able to play at the moment but hope that after the summer I can pick it up.

Maybe there are more poeple out there like me.

[Arlee]

Well there are still people out there that want to start with the game (I am one of those). Unfortunately I am not able to play at the moment but hope that after the summer I can pick it up.

Maybe there are more poeple out there like me.

I am sure there are. There are also probably a fair number of people who would be interested in playing but don't want to try it until it's been out for awhile and gets out of the early phase of the game.

[Profyrion]

to be fair, what does wash with the mmo community?

We get offered a free month and complain about it.

I think that sub numbers are the only real way to gauge how people really feel since the online community is not only a fraction of the actual games population but the most angsty and self absorbed portion of the community. You are either posting on the forums because you: think you know the answer to all problems relating to MMOS when you don't (I usually fall into this category) or you are posting because you are upset over something.

Neither group represents the majority well so subs and concurrent players is really the best way to know what your player base feels about your game.

KISS: money talks.

If I could "Like" a post it would be used on this one.

---------- Post added 2012-04-24 at 10:09 AM ----------

If I give something away then people can be pretty much guaranteed to accept it, if I try and charge them for it then unless they want it then they won't buy it. If I went on Dragon's Den for instance and said "Hey guys I've got this great magazine I've got 2 million subscribers do you want in?"
Them - "Well how much do you charge for your subscription?"
Me - "Normally about £10 a month, we've had a promotion going though."
Them - "Promotion?"
Me -"Yea we are giving away a free month at the mo...."
Them - "You come here and say you got 2 mill subscribers but none of them are paying?"
Me - "Well yeah."
"So how do we know you got 2 mill subscribers then?"
"Well.....I don't."

You don't know that this is how they calculate their subscription numbers. You're just guessing, and probably guessing wrong.

[Frozen Death Knight]

I believe the part about the subscription numbers the moment they release actual data showing that it's the case. Heck, they were so eager to show off their 1.7 million subscribers a couple of months ago, and now they say that a lot less people play yet are still paying for the game? Does not make much sense to me, especially when the game is as new as it is.

I usually am not into speculations, but man, I find Bioware's actions to be quite suspicious. No company would be this quiet without something going on behind the scenes.

[Arlee]

I believe the part about the subscription numbers the moment they release actual data showing that it's the case. Heck, they were so eager to show off their 1.7 million subscribers a couple of months ago, and now they say that a lot less people play yet are still paying for the game? Does not make much sense to me, especially when the game is as new as it is.

I usually am not into speculations, but man, I find Bioware's actions to be quite suspicious. No company would be this quiet without something going on behind the scenes.

I don't think they said there are a lot less people playing, but a lot less people playing at the same time. Meaning that instead of having say 80% of their subscriptions playing between 6pm and 10pm everyday, it is more like 30% playing in the mornings, 30% playing in afternoons, and 40% playing in the evenings. Obviously numbers are made-up to illustrate what I think they meant

[Kronik85]

You don't know that this is how they calculate their subscription numbers. You're just guessing, and probably guessing wrong.

At no point have I guessed how many subs SWTOR has, the only thing I have said is that whatever numbers they have are cooked. Me for instance will probably drop my sub next month, not because of any massive issue I have with the game but because D3 and GW2 make for a busy month, in truth I doubt I will have time even to play GW2 since my love for D3 is all consuming.

How can you possibly say that the current number of active subsciption is accurate when they are giving them away? Come on you got to at least see the logic in that.

[Frozen Death Knight]

I don't think they said there are a lot less people playing, but a lot less people playing at the same time. Meaning that instead of having say 80% of their subscriptions playing between 6pm and 10pm everyday, it is more like 30% playing in the mornings, 30% playing in afternoons, and 40% playing in the evenings. Obviously numbers are made-up to illustrate what I think they meant

I believe they are lying. Bioware have been stirring up a lot of drama among its playerbase for some time now. After observing the Bioware community and especially the one for "SW:TOR", if Bioware are not trying to cover up their face at this moment, it would surprise me. It's not exactly the first time a massive outcry has been made against the company, to say the least.

[Arlee]

Ok then .