The main reason The Old Republic is failing to meet expectations is the same reason nearly every other big-name MMO released since WoW has failed to meet expectations, or even survive in some cases.
You can't beat WoW by trying to out-WoW it. World of Warcraft just has such a massive lead, in both subscriber base and developer experience at this point that trying to do what it's done "but better" is just not that viable. It's just like how trying to beat Call of Duty or Gears of War by doing the exact same thing "but better" just isn't going to work. You gotta bring something unique to the table, or people are generally going to stick with the more polished, more popular game.
That's why I've stuck with EVE Online myself. For all of it's flaws, and occaisional annoyances, it has legitimately tried to do its own thing, and not conform to the common rules and norms of nearly every other MMO out there. It doesn't have millions upon millions of subscribers, sure, but the player-base is generally passionate and the devs work closely with their players to provide regular patches and the twice-yearly free expansions.
You gotta try to bring something new to the table these days. That's why, as much as a truly dislike the idea of an Elder Scrolls MMO, I have to at least give The Elder Scrolls Online some credit for seeming to try something a bit different with their PVP Imperial City conquest thing. Hopefully they'll roll with that, and other elements and not just try to be WoW re-skinned as The Elder Scrolls.
