Some of you make good points. I for one don't have much faith in the game for a few reasons.
1. I don't have a clue about the deal the Ea has the Lucus arts. Do any of you?
2. I believe that Starwars fans will not except a sub-standard game that goes against starwars lore.
3 How much control does Lucus arts havei with the story line, classes, and new content?
4. I believe that Lucus arts had a huge hand in the demise of Starwars Galaxies. I can't prove it but it is my gut feeling.
5 If this game is so expensive how much will Ea need to charge for subscriptions inorder to pay off Lucas arts, the investors and EA employees? With so many free to play games and all the new game that have hit the market in the last few years can this game survive if it is not as good or better than WOW? I hate to use the WoW killer comparison but I have a feeling the fixed cost of paying Lucas Arts their royalties and their meddeling in the game design will sink any chance investors have of recouping their investment or making a profit.
6 If I was a banker and Ea or Bioware and came to me to borrow money I would have to know all the deals and what strings all the parties have with bringing a game like this to market. Even then I would probally pass on a deal unless Ea has some serious collaterial because of the risky nature of this type of investment.
1)EA/Bioware are paying royalties to LA for use of Star Wars License. How much is hard to say. Probably a flat fee and a small percentage of future profits.
Is that right? I heard it was a joint development based on a revenue split.
2)Bioware made the lore for this era, so shouldn't be too many problems here.
No, LA owns the lore and characters - they may have been developed by Bioware but only under licence by LA.
5)Can't see EA charging anymore than the going mmo rates. Expect $10-$15 per month. I'm guessing closer to $15. If they could just hold 1 million subscribers for a year at $15 per month. That's $180 million dollars. Thats how profitable a successful mmo can be.
I thought the rule of thumb was - after launch, for ever five boxes sold, you lose four sunscribers. It's only after three months that subscriber numbers stabilize and, if successful, start to rise.
6)Its EA. They have serious collateral.
It's also losing a billion dollars a year and its share price has fallen from $60 to $15 in four years.
1)What I described is a revenue split of sorts.
2)I didn't say Bioware owned it. I said they created it. Which is true.
5)I'm just throwing numbers up to show how quickly money can be made. Obviuosly it's going to be hard to hold 1 million subscibers for a year. This also doesn't count intial box sales.
6)Can't argue that losing 1 billion last year isn't pretty.
I think the whole game was a huge miscalculation. Cataclysm isn't exactly going over so well with the WOW fanbase, for a game built to vampire off of WOW subscribers, a decline in interest over WOW clone themeparks isn't really a good thing.
The official forums are a carefully manipulated police state, the games hype is dead and has little interest outside of hardcore Bioware fans. They better advertize this game to death because it's impact will be like throwing a needle into a bucket of flour.
Some of you make good points. I for one don't have much faith in the game for a few reasons.
1. I don't have a clue about the deal the Ea has the Lucus arts. Do any of you?
2. I believe that Starwars fans will not except a sub-standard game that goes against starwars lore.
3 How much control does Lucus arts havei with the story line, classes, and new content?
4. I believe that Lucus arts had a huge hand in the demise of Starwars Galaxies. I can't prove it but it is my gut feeling.
5 If this game is so expensive how much will Ea need to charge for subscriptions inorder to pay off Lucas arts, the investors and EA employees? With so many free to play games and all the new game that have hit the market in the last few years can this game survive if it is not as good or better than WOW? I hate to use the WoW killer comparison but I have a feeling the fixed cost of paying Lucas Arts their royalties and their meddeling in the game design will sink any chance investors have of recouping their investment or making a profit.
6 If I was a banker and Ea or Bioware and came to me to borrow money I would have to know all the deals and what strings all the parties have with bringing a game like this to market. Even then I would probally pass on a deal unless Ea has some serious collaterial because of the risky nature of this type of investment.
1)EA/Bioware are paying royalties to LA for use of Star Wars License. How much is hard to say. Probably a flat fee and a small percentage of future profits.
Is that right? I heard it was a joint development based on a revenue split.
2)Bioware made the lore for this era, so shouldn't be too many problems here.
No, LA owns the lore and characters - they may have been developed by Bioware but only under licence by LA.
5)Can't see EA charging anymore than the going mmo rates. Expect $10-$15 per month. I'm guessing closer to $15. If they could just hold 1 million subscribers for a year at $15 per month. That's $180 million dollars. Thats how profitable a successful mmo can be.
I thought the rule of thumb was - after launch, for ever five boxes sold, you lose four sunscribers. It's only after three months that subscriber numbers stabilize and, if successful, start to rise.
6)Its EA. They have serious collateral.
It's also losing a billion dollars a year and its share price has fallen from $60 to $15 in four years.
1)What I described is a revenue split of sorts.
2)I didn't say Bioware owned it. I said they created it. Which is true.
5)I'm just throwing numbers up to show how quickly money can be made. Obviuosly it's going to be hard to hold 1 million subscibers for a year. This also doesn't count intial box sales.
6)Can't argue that losing 1 billion last year isn't pretty.
Ok, let me get this straight, did they lose a billion OR make a billion less than the year before. There is a big difference between the two. If they lost a billion then that means they made no profits and lost a billion besides. If on the other hand they made a billion less, then they still managed to make a profit even though it is less. Now if they lost a billion, I might be worried, but if they just made a billion less . . . well I for one have actually been watching what is going on with the American and pretty much Global eceonomy and I don't think there is much to worry about since they still made a profit.
"If half of what you tell me is a lie, how can I believe any of it?"
My oppinion based purely on speculation and gut feeling.
SWTOR is a dinosaur that will be born a bit too late, in the dawning of a new era of a differnt kind of MMOs.
STARWARS is no longer a "cool" thing. It's something of the past, and a bit cheesy already.
MMOs in general, are past their prime. The social phenomenon that is, or was, WOW won't happen again. MMOs have lost their "magic" and that's fatal to any kind of game.
So i don't think SWTOR will do too well, and with the money invested, it will be a major disaster.
Maybe i'm wrong. But i think the guys responsible of this project are a bit short sighted. Hope i have to eat my words.
Comments
1)What I described is a revenue split of sorts.
2)I didn't say Bioware owned it. I said they created it. Which is true.
5)I'm just throwing numbers up to show how quickly money can be made. Obviuosly it's going to be hard to hold 1 million subscibers for a year. This also doesn't count intial box sales.
6)Can't argue that losing 1 billion last year isn't pretty.
I think the whole game was a huge miscalculation. Cataclysm isn't exactly going over so well with the WOW fanbase, for a game built to vampire off of WOW subscribers, a decline in interest over WOW clone themeparks isn't really a good thing.
The official forums are a carefully manipulated police state, the games hype is dead and has little interest outside of hardcore Bioware fans. They better advertize this game to death because it's impact will be like throwing a needle into a bucket of flour.
Ok, let me get this straight, did they lose a billion OR make a billion less than the year before. There is a big difference between the two. If they lost a billion then that means they made no profits and lost a billion besides. If on the other hand they made a billion less, then they still managed to make a profit even though it is less. Now if they lost a billion, I might be worried, but if they just made a billion less . . . well I for one have actually been watching what is going on with the American and pretty much Global eceonomy and I don't think there is much to worry about since they still made a profit.
"If half of what you tell me is a lie, how can I believe any of it?"
My oppinion based purely on speculation and gut feeling.
SWTOR is a dinosaur that will be born a bit too late, in the dawning of a new era of a differnt kind of MMOs.
STARWARS is no longer a "cool" thing. It's something of the past, and a bit cheesy already.
MMOs in general, are past their prime. The social phenomenon that is, or was, WOW won't happen again. MMOs have lost their "magic" and that's fatal to any kind of game.
So i don't think SWTOR will do too well, and with the money invested, it will be a major disaster.
Maybe i'm wrong. But i think the guys responsible of this project are a bit short sighted. Hope i have to eat my words.
So i understand the investors, i'd do the same.
An honest review of SW:TOR 6/10 (Danny Wojcicki)