As bad as the NGE was, it has been confirmed the game was losing 10k subs a month prior to it happening. So while the NGE was an obvious fubar, the preNGE game wasnt doing very well either.
i already replied to this but i forgot to quote it so people would understand what i was talking about.
swg only lost sub at that rate after cu. before cu swg had the record number of subs out of any mmo at the time before wow.
Maybe, maybe not. I highly doubt SWG ever surpassed EQ. Either way, the point is the game was in decline before the NGE. Sure, it was SOE's fault, but the NGE isnt what sent the game downhill. That was already in progress.
you are right, nge wasn't what sent the game down hill, it was the cu
And so it is that a flawed game meets a flawed end. The sad fact here is that due to the free game time for long gone SWG vets, the servers are actually fairly busy right now, and many returning players seem to be enjoying the current state of the game. The irony, and where the flawed ending arises, is that a game that was decimated in 2005 by a joint decision between LA and SOE to "fundamentally transform" the game to play like WoW, managed to survive (barely) another six years only to be killed by LucasArts in order to usher in a new Star Wars game that COMPLETELY copies Blizzard's model.
Here's hoping that LucaasArts and EA learn a lesson with TOR that should have been obvious with the decline of SWG: that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. SOE took a major hit to its reputation with the NGE, but LA escaped the historic debacle relatively unscathed. LA then took the same idea of reskinning WoW with Star Wars over to BioWare. BW not only bought into it, but hired the likes of Dallas Dickenson and others who were instrumental in bringing about the NGE. EA then bought up BW, bringing truckloads of cash to pour into this awful plan.
Soon, SWG will be gone, replaced by a game that has been designed to succeed where SWG:NGE failed. No amount of polished graphics, voice acting, story, or snappy animations (and TOR's animations still look terrible compared to SWG's preNGE animations) will cover up the fact that the entire game has been designed to mimic WoW, just like the NGE.
The only good that may come of this entire situation is that SOE may decide to save more money by turning out the lights out on John Smedley's employment along with the SWG servers, and that EA dumps Dickenson and the rest of the NGE fugitives they hired six months after TOR launches, when the subscription chart trajectories are ironically more similar to that of SWG's a few months after launch rather than WoW's.
I knew this was coming..... thats why I didnt bother to start playing again. With the release of the new Star Wars game it was ineveitable that this was to happen.
One other note this is why they dropped there all access pass to $19.99 because there games are lackluster anymore. Vanguard is on the chopping block next which then leaves only Everquest and Everquest 2 left. I dont see Sony surviving the next couple of years unless they can make Everquest next a real success and do it right and go back to the oldschool. GL Sony youll need it.
Is anyone truly surprised about this announcement?
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
It's sad to hear but figured it would happen eventually. Too bad to see this one go before Vanguard or 90% of the crappy mmo's out right now. I still resubbed every few months or so to check it out. Don't even care for the flames but I'd like to see this new project that they are working on, I'm sorry I know they ruined this game up and down but you know, they know what they did wrong, clearly, and I got a good feeling that through the rampant flaming they received from the nge that they know what they have done wrong and know what to do with something new. Call me crazy but find me another game that offers half of what SWG offers and we'll talk. Granted it's not the most flawless game out there but seriously take a half hour out of your life and write down the things they offer in this game as it is now, then, compare it to today's mmos. Sure they tried to clone the pop. games but they still had things like an amazing crafting/housing system and a great community, can't forget space either fun as hell. Too little too late unfortunately.
More people played AFTER CU, so you "vets" need to just get over yourselves. This game sucked from the beginning, the updates helped but it was never a good game.
Of course EA and LA wouldn't want people to confuse SWTOR with this unfinished pile of garbage.
lol nice try but no, when cu hit, swg listed a record 150,000 loss in the first week and hemoraged at an average of about 1k every week after untill around 2 months in where they started gaining subs back. then they hit with nge which knocked the subs down to a total of just under 100k subs. let me put this in perspective for everyone. at it's peak swg had a player base of around 500k active subs. after the cu on a single friday night it was reported that there were only 10k playing server wide. you and your "more people played after cu" just got shut down. and for those who will say "omg raging vet you should of payed the game in cu/nge and found out how much better it was etc. etc." i played even after cu hit and after nge hit and have been playing to this day off and on, the only saving graces in the game is the exploration, the bounty hunter missions, and the cool people that i'v known for years because of the game.
i understand that people are tired of vets crying and i'm sorry; But to us this game was the greatest mmo we had and ever will play for many reasons you can read anywhere or listen to just by mentioning swg to a vet. did it have it's problems? yes it did but what game doesn't? on a different tact reguarding your post, a few games that sucked in the beginning and still do fo everyones enjoyment.
World of warcraft-Pvp sucks and is skill-less
Rift-weak wow clone
Everquest-didn't suck but all i can say to describe it is mediocrity
Age of conan-i shouldn't have to explain this one
now those of you who read that and are about to post "OMG I LOVE THAT GAME YOU ARE SO WRONG IDIOT" remember this is my opinion that i am free to have which is my main overtone of my entire post; To quote cory taylor "dig what you dig. Don't take any fools madness, dig what you dig"
Although, I'm quit surprised this game has been around as long as it has after the CU, but I suspect that was due to more of pride on smeds part then it was for the game being a success.
I Reject your Reality and Substitute it with My Own!
SWG will forever live in the annals of MMO history for what not to do to during a game's development cycle.
And ironically CCP seem to be following the same path, wonder how that will play out.
However it's sad to see the MMO that brought me to my current guild (who I still remain with after 8 yrs) disappear, though I have the feeling it's to free up valuable resources for EQNext and Planetside, well thats my speculation anyway .
Me and SWG parted ways a few years back due to the NGE, anybody who did not see this coming has a skewed since of reality. The truth of the matter was most of the folks left a long time ago. The rest kind of wound up on starsider.
Oh well I figured they would wait until swtor nailed them I guess they had the since to see they no longer had the player base.
I think that if they still have vanguard going then SWG could still stay affloat. I have a feeling this has more to do with Lucas not renewing the license with SOE. Or at least not at the reduced price that they had been running it on for the last few years, especially with KOTOR coming out, why would they feel the need to? I have a feeling it wasn't SOE's decision.
It's a strange feeling, just a couple of day's ago I activated my 45 day's of free play, though didn't have much time to get really into it yet.
But regardless the issue's the game had/has in both pre-cu, the CU and the NGE, Star Wars Galaxies is still the only MMORPG that I personaly felt was what I think a MMORPG should be, obvious without the issue's but knowing the magnitude of the game, the feature's, the options, the content, no MMORPG has even come close to the experiance I have gotten from SWG.
Shame we have certain wanna-be gamers on this forum that salut the closure of the game, but then again it shows that certain people have this "me me me" mentality and don't give a d### about other gamers who might have enjoyed or still enjoy the game.
"I could sit here and list off websites and game magazines that praised WoW, I can also show you user rating from wow that put SWG to shame."
lol appealing to the masses to compare WoW to SWG is hilarious I remember SWG being buggy as hell, but quite enjoyable since my toon mastered several professions and explored the worlds before retiring as a Master Weaponsmith, building up a reputation for my weapons, having folks to rely on for materials - other than what my machines were gathering, hosting free weapon giveaways (was making some of the best blasters and sledges), crafting best weapons possible for random beginners, and then changes were introduced.
Played WoW back in the day too, it was decent, but I never really had to think to play or felt like my character was anything special or had any role in his world. I guess simplicity rules
SWG was dead to be long ago, finally adding the headstone I see.
I don't care what anyone says about SWG vets being 'whiny LOL!1!!!!' and needing to 'get over it ROFLMAO!!!11!', when a game like pre-CU / NGE SWG can make national news because someone unlocked a feature, (i.e. their 1st Jedi character slot,) let me know.
While you're at it, if you can tell me when that same game has such strong outcry from the playerbase about drastic changes made to the game that they leave en masse to the point where THAT also makes the national news, I'll be more willing to take your 'get over it LOLPWNED!!1!!!' comments about the 'whiny L2PNO0B!!!!1!!1!!' SWG vets more seriously.
Comments
And so it is that a flawed game meets a flawed end. The sad fact here is that due to the free game time for long gone SWG vets, the servers are actually fairly busy right now, and many returning players seem to be enjoying the current state of the game. The irony, and where the flawed ending arises, is that a game that was decimated in 2005 by a joint decision between LA and SOE to "fundamentally transform" the game to play like WoW, managed to survive (barely) another six years only to be killed by LucasArts in order to usher in a new Star Wars game that COMPLETELY copies Blizzard's model.
Here's hoping that LucaasArts and EA learn a lesson with TOR that should have been obvious with the decline of SWG: that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. SOE took a major hit to its reputation with the NGE, but LA escaped the historic debacle relatively unscathed. LA then took the same idea of reskinning WoW with Star Wars over to BioWare. BW not only bought into it, but hired the likes of Dallas Dickenson and others who were instrumental in bringing about the NGE. EA then bought up BW, bringing truckloads of cash to pour into this awful plan.
Soon, SWG will be gone, replaced by a game that has been designed to succeed where SWG:NGE failed. No amount of polished graphics, voice acting, story, or snappy animations (and TOR's animations still look terrible compared to SWG's preNGE animations) will cover up the fact that the entire game has been designed to mimic WoW, just like the NGE.
The only good that may come of this entire situation is that SOE may decide to save more money by turning out the lights out on John Smedley's employment along with the SWG servers, and that EA dumps Dickenson and the rest of the NGE fugitives they hired six months after TOR launches, when the subscription chart trajectories are ironically more similar to that of SWG's a few months after launch rather than WoW's.
I knew this was coming..... thats why I didnt bother to start playing again. With the release of the new Star Wars game it was ineveitable that this was to happen.
One other note this is why they dropped there all access pass to $19.99 because there games are lackluster anymore. Vanguard is on the chopping block next which then leaves only Everquest and Everquest 2 left. I dont see Sony surviving the next couple of years unless they can make Everquest next a real success and do it right and go back to the oldschool. GL Sony youll need it.
Is anyone truly surprised about this announcement?
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
Is it bad if I cheer and shout yay?
It's sad to hear but figured it would happen eventually. Too bad to see this one go before Vanguard or 90% of the crappy mmo's out right now. I still resubbed every few months or so to check it out. Don't even care for the flames but I'd like to see this new project that they are working on, I'm sorry I know they ruined this game up and down but you know, they know what they did wrong, clearly, and I got a good feeling that through the rampant flaming they received from the nge that they know what they have done wrong and know what to do with something new. Call me crazy but find me another game that offers half of what SWG offers and we'll talk. Granted it's not the most flawless game out there but seriously take a half hour out of your life and write down the things they offer in this game as it is now, then, compare it to today's mmos. Sure they tried to clone the pop. games but they still had things like an amazing crafting/housing system and a great community, can't forget space either fun as hell. Too little too late unfortunately.
Nope.
The King says:
lol nice try but no, when cu hit, swg listed a record 150,000 loss in the first week and hemoraged at an average of about 1k every week after untill around 2 months in where they started gaining subs back. then they hit with nge which knocked the subs down to a total of just under 100k subs. let me put this in perspective for everyone. at it's peak swg had a player base of around 500k active subs. after the cu on a single friday night it was reported that there were only 10k playing server wide. you and your "more people played after cu" just got shut down. and for those who will say "omg raging vet you should of payed the game in cu/nge and found out how much better it was etc. etc." i played even after cu hit and after nge hit and have been playing to this day off and on, the only saving graces in the game is the exploration, the bounty hunter missions, and the cool people that i'v known for years because of the game.
i understand that people are tired of vets crying and i'm sorry; But to us this game was the greatest mmo we had and ever will play for many reasons you can read anywhere or listen to just by mentioning swg to a vet. did it have it's problems? yes it did but what game doesn't? on a different tact reguarding your post, a few games that sucked in the beginning and still do fo everyones enjoyment.
World of warcraft-Pvp sucks and is skill-less
Rift-weak wow clone
Everquest-didn't suck but all i can say to describe it is mediocrity
Age of conan-i shouldn't have to explain this one
now those of you who read that and are about to post "OMG I LOVE THAT GAME YOU ARE SO WRONG IDIOT" remember this is my opinion that i am free to have which is my main overtone of my entire post; To quote cory taylor "dig what you dig. Don't take any fools madness, dig what you dig"
about time this died. Its been dying since the NGE hit it a few years ago.
could have been avoided if SoE wasnt sooo stubborn to not make a pre-nge/cu server over the past few years....
For the past few days i've been thinking of returning to SWG
Dont put to much faith in E/A lets not forget what they did to EARTH AND BEYOND !!!!!!!
HAHA, see ya suckers!
Although, I'm quit surprised this game has been around as long as it has after the CU, but I suspect that was due to more of pride on smeds part then it was for the game being a success.
I Reject your Reality and Substitute it with My Own!
And ironically CCP seem to be following the same path, wonder how that will play out.
However it's sad to see the MMO that brought me to my current guild (who I still remain with after 8 yrs) disappear, though I have the feeling it's to free up valuable resources for EQNext and Planetside, well thats my speculation anyway
.
Ten Years since i first read about SWG, it was my first MMO. Feels weird its gonna shut down.
Dont think the future for sandbox MMOs looks even darker now.
Good luck to that new "WoW Star Wars game".
I agree with this..
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
It's a strange feeling, just a couple of day's ago I activated my 45 day's of free play, though didn't have much time to get really into it yet.
But regardless the issue's the game had/has in both pre-cu, the CU and the NGE, Star Wars Galaxies is still the only MMORPG that I personaly felt was what I think a MMORPG should be, obvious without the issue's but knowing the magnitude of the game, the feature's, the options, the content, no MMORPG has even come close to the experiance I have gotten from SWG.
Shame we have certain wanna-be gamers on this forum that salut the closure of the game, but then again it shows that certain people have this "me me me" mentality and don't give a d### about other gamers who might have enjoyed or still enjoy the game.
What a well thought out response to my post.
Normally I would say go back to SWG but you know.
I don't care about innovation I care about fun.
"I could sit here and list off websites and game magazines that praised WoW, I can also show you user rating from wow that put SWG to shame."
lol appealing to the masses to compare WoW to SWG is hilarious
I remember SWG being buggy as hell, but quite enjoyable since my toon mastered several professions and explored the worlds before retiring as a Master Weaponsmith, building up a reputation for my weapons, having folks to rely on for materials - other than what my machines were gathering, hosting free weapon giveaways (was making some of the best blasters and sledges), crafting best weapons possible for random beginners, and then changes were introduced.
Played WoW back in the day too, it was decent, but I never really had to think to play or felt like my character was anything special or had any role in his world. I guess simplicity rules
SWG was dead to be long ago, finally adding the headstone I see.
I don't care what anyone says about SWG vets being 'whiny LOL!1!!!!' and needing to 'get over it ROFLMAO!!!11!', when a game like pre-CU / NGE SWG can make national news because someone unlocked a feature, (i.e. their 1st Jedi character slot,) let me know.
While you're at it, if you can tell me when that same game has such strong outcry from the playerbase about drastic changes made to the game that they leave en masse to the point where THAT also makes the national news, I'll be more willing to take your 'get over it LOLPWNED!!1!!!' comments about the 'whiny L2PNO0B!!!!1!!1!!' SWG vets more seriously.
'KTHXBAI!!!!1!1!'
Actually no, in it's NGE form it was merely a broken and unpolished version of WoW, with a good space flight sim tacked on.
Seriously, the level of delusion some (soon to be ex) swg players have is flabbergasting.
"Come and have a look at what you could have won."
Strike up the band!!
RIP. The best MMO I played in the last decade.
RIP, (before the CU/NGE) the best MMO ever and one of the best games ever.(Top 5)
Oh the memories.
Played: SWG-FFXI-EQ2-Aion
Anticipated in order of Hype:
ArcheAge
GW2
TERA
SWTOR
Not enough info, but looks promising:
Blade & Soul