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Star Wars Galaxies: Celebrating 1 Year!
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Lucas Arts announced today that they are proudly celebrating the 1st anniversary of Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided. They mentioned some impressive facts. Notably that SWG now has 500,000 registered users and that 115,000 people log into the game every day. They have made the following press release:
Marin County, Calif. - June 28, 2004 - LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online (MMO) gaming, are proud to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the launch of Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided. Launched a year ago, Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided quickly became the fastest growing massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) in North America and today boasts over 500,000 registered users, with more than 115,000 players logging into the game every day.
During its first year, an impressive amount of new content was added to Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided. November 2003 saw the introduction of player cities, incorporated townships that allow players to own homes, construct public buildings and elect mayors. A variety of creature mounts and player-crafted vehicles including the familiar speeder and swoop bikes were added to the game in December 2003. Early 2004 saw the addition of the Geonosian Bio Lab, Deathwatch Bunker and Corellian Corvette adventure areas, adding numerous hours of high-end content and depth to game play.
LucasArts and SOE are currently working on the first full-scale retail expansion to the franchise, Star Wars Galaxies(r): Jump to Lightspeed(tm). Scheduled for release in October 2004, Jump To Lightspeed will add a whole new level of twitch-based space combat to the game and will feature 15 starships, four space-based professions, and two new playable species.
"While we will continue to aggressively expand the game for all players, we also will be rolling out a series of special items reserved exclusively for our long-standing community members," said LucasArts Producer Haden Blackman. With the launch of Jump to Lightspeed, players who have maintained an active account for at least six consecutive months will be given special access to a luxury starship. "This luxury starship will allow veteran players to venture into space with their friends and explore in comfort and style," Blackman added. The space yacht, which is used in Star Wars(r) fiction by wealthy and dashing characters such as Lando Calrissian, is only the first of many rewards planned for veteran players.
- MMORPG.COM Staff -
- MMORPG.COM Staff -
The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.
Comments
Congrats to the folks over on the SWG team for one year of completely sending a perfectly decent game to hell in a handbasket!
Bravo!
Shit... they must be doing something wrong if there's 500,000 people.
Don't you like EQ and EQ2? Same people who destroyed that game too... also has over 400,000 people...
They must being doing some horrible! PLEASE NO! STOP THE PAIN!
What will he do next?
Most of those people have absolutely no content in their lives, so they're very apt to wasting it on a game with similar attributes.
Also, SOE did not develop the EverQuest games. They simply distributed them.
And another thing, the article says SWG has 500,000 registered users. This implies that there are quite a few people still paying for a game that they don't even play (kind of like me with FFXI--I can't find the damn ID code to unsubscribe). Notice the last part of that sentence, too: "...with over 115,000 users logging in every day."
So...
Beta'd: Neocron, Planetside, ShadowBane, Horizons, City of Heros, Saga of Ryzom, Lineage II
Played: EQ, Shadowbane, DAoC, SWG, Anarchy Online, Asherson's Call 2. Earth and Beyond
Playing: City of Heros, EQ
Beta'd: Neocron, Planetside, ShadowBane, Horizons, City of Heros, Saga of Ryzom, Lineage II, WoW Stress Test
Played: EQ, Shadowbane, DAoC, SWG, Anarchy Online, Asherson's Call 2. Earth and Beyond, City of Heros, EQ
Playing: WAITING FOR WOW and EQ 2
Actually that last little bit about how many user login is impressive. Its better numbers than DAoC is getting. And that's users per day - that's to say that people who missed a day wouldn't be counted. I certainly don't login every day and imagine a lot of other people don't either. I'm just glad the game has a large subscriber base. More money flowing in means more money to be spent on development and improvements to the game.
- m o n t h i g o s -
www.avixiva.com
- m o n t h i g o s -
My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of MMORPG.com
Oh no, SWG couldn't POSSIBLY have that many accounts cause I don't like the game lol.
I'm sure it's not 500'000 players, but I'm also sure 400'000 of the accounts aren't just poeple who just haven't canceled there accounts lol.
The devs said recently they hit there record of 50'000 simultanious logins, thats far more then most MMORPG's get even at peak time. So that should give a hint at how big the game actually is
So while you may dislike the game, I think SOE has proven that there is a segment of players who enjoy an open ended MMORPG that doesn't focus entirely combat and l00t.
Oh and to say that people who play it just do cause they have no life couldn't be more backwords. I'd say the majority of players are semi-casual gamers.
Oh, and another thing, it is 500'000 registered users, but thats how EVERYONE counts it. EQ 460'000 REGISTERED USERS, CoH 100'000 REGISTERED USERS.. thats how they all do it.
Just a friendly reminder, your opinions are just that, opinions. Oh, and a few that you stated here, are just play wrong
Jedi Knight is a religion is 3 countries. I'm sure part of going to "church" is your membership to that game.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1589133.stm
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/27/1030053053578.html?oneclick=true
I don't know about you, but I for one will have to stop critizing SWG. If 500K people play it, then that means it must be the best game ever, SoE has turned themselves around and finally made a quality game, bug free, perfectly balance, thin, every class usefull and fun to play, and completely stable.
I'm sure the same geniuses will go into EQ2 making it every bit as good as SWG if not better.
-=-=-=-=-
"We're a game that's focused on grouping and on solo play, you know, more group oriented, more solo play..."
John Blakely Senior lead for EQ2. Link
Bartle: A: 93% E: 55% S:3% K: 50% The Test. Learn what it means here.
-=-=-=-=-
Achievers realise that killers as a concept are necessary in order to make achievement meaningful and worthwhile (there being no way to "lose" the game if any fool can "win" just by plodding slowly unchallenged). -bartle
Bartle: A: 93% E: 55% S:3% K: 50% The Test. Learn what it means here.
Clever can you name a single MMORPG that is bug free and perfectly balanced? Especially one as complexe as SWG (well.. thats unfair, SWG is the most complexe MMORPG on the market, but still)
500,000 registered users, what the heck does that mean ? I am sure that it is NOT active subsriptions, but means people who at one time or another registered but ate not necessarilly active. They haven't announced numbers since about the 3rd month when they hit 300k and now suddenly they have 500k.
When you don't have anything good to announce, manipulate the numbers .....
The last official word was at the end of August, announcing 275k, if registered users meant paid subscriptions, do you really think they would of missed announcing : 300k, 350k 400k etc.... They would of taken all the abuse they have been getting without fighting back if they really had those users..
Sorry I don't believe, nearly feel like paying a month to be able to ask the question on the official boards, not that I would get an answer.
Red Rider,
they have 500,000 active subscriptions.
MANY people play this game, its a very popular mmorpg.
Just becuase you dont like it, doesnt meen that 500k people arent allowed to lol.
Like the statistics or not, they are real.
They have sold a LOT more than just 500k boxes lol.
And if we were couting unactive subscriptions im sure EQ has over a million.
after 6 or so years, I had to change it a little...
So your point is: If everything sucks, then it's o.k. for something suck?
Although I was pretty sure I said SWG was bug free, not full of bugs.
How could 500K people wrong? I think we all need to stop being so critical of something and blindly support the masses. After all if everyone is doing it must be the correct thing to do.
-=-=-=-=-
SWG and SOE are the greatest things to ever bless the gaming industry. I love them and sing their praises.
Bartle: A: 93% E: 55% S:3% K: 50% The Test. Learn what it means here.
-=-=-=-=-
Achievers realise that killers as a concept are necessary in order to make achievement meaningful and worthwhile (there being no way to "lose" the game if any fool can "win" just by plodding slowly unchallenged). -bartle
Bartle: A: 93% E: 55% S:3% K: 50% The Test. Learn what it means here.
Sorry it doesn't add up, if they had 500k active paying subscriptions, they would be the top North American MMORPG, and you can be sure they would be capitilizing on it. In August 2003, when they hit 275K, they immediatly called themselves the second biggest MMORPG, so why no mention if they are first ?
Back when EQ and others were giving numbers, peak simultaneous play always equaled 20-25% of the active playerbase. SWG says 115k play every day. I imagine that if they get 115k (23% of userbase) loggons per day, peak play must be around 25-30k, even if you push it to 50k, it still doesn't seem to add up.
Maybe the fact that people can play the trial without a credit card, does some strange things to the stats.
If I believed for a second that 500k people were paying to play, I would be sure that they had fixed a lot and would resuscribe in a minute. But having worked with numbers for many years, I know you can make they say many things....
What bugs could you have you found Fion? I think the general point of message here is that 500K can't be wrong it must be a good game.
500K people wouldn't play something bug ridden where classes could use weapons needed by that class, or items dissapearing off vendors when you handed off to another sever?
I'm sure in SWG no ever has made a class completely run by macro's while they go off to the store or do something else. Landspeeds dispearing, never happens. Lag not a problem. PvP? Works as intented and problem free. Shuttles waits a joy! Crafting fun beyond belief! Content is limitless!
Any problems they had were just momentary gliches, the game is prefect, SoE is prefect.
-=-=-=-=-
"We're a game that's focused on grouping and on solo play, you know, more group oriented, more solo play..."
John Blakely Senior lead for EQ2. Link
Bartle: A: 93% E: 55% S:3% K: 50% The Test. Learn what it means here.
-=-=-=-=-
Achievers realise that killers as a concept are necessary in order to make achievement meaningful and worthwhile (there being no way to "lose" the game if any fool can "win" just by plodding slowly unchallenged). -bartle
Bartle: A: 93% E: 55% S:3% K: 50% The Test. Learn what it means here.
Ah ha! I knew you were being sarcastic!
I would be the first to admit this game is far from bug free. There are really no game braking bugs in it, but there are tuns of little annoying ones that I've personally asked SOE to take some time and fix after they get all there planned changes out. (JtLS, Jedi revamp, Combat revamp, CGW revamp, most of which is intended to improve the game in areas you suggested were lacking, as well as making macro advancing a thing of the past because nobody will need to grind through 20+ professions anymore if they don't want to).
SWG is not perfect, not by a long shot. However, it is a MMORPG that has broken some boundries set by other games in the genre. It is a MMORPG that takes things to the next level and actually pays attention to people besides the power gamers. It is a MMORPG that, while not loaded with content like EQ or AO or AC, has an open ended gameplay that no other can rival... and THAT is why so many people play it.
It's not everything to everyone, and it isn't bug free, and it isn't the PvPers heaven, but it's improved almost daily, with devs that actually listen to the players and communicate quite thuroughly on a daily basis, It's not perfect.. but for many people around the world it's still a hell of a lot of fun. Like it or not.