EA Blames Casuals For Falling Old Republic Subscriber Numbers

[shintakie10]

If I knew exactly what WoW did "right" that allowed it to pull in so many users, I'd be making games myself. Some of WoW's popularity is down to momentum yes, but it needed something special to start that momentum in the first place. I don't think that "x" factor that turns a game from a product to a social phenomenon is something you can quantify and repeat. I mean, Angry Birds is a pretty good well-designed physics puzzler, but I couldn't explain it, of all the games in that genre, was the one to go nova.

For Angry Birds i would say in order of importance:

- Luck
- Character design
- Good implementation of the gameplay

They did nothing new, but it was a well executed game that got very lucky and was targeted at the right market at the right time.

And yeah, WoW did a bunch of things right, go play Everquest, Asheron's Call or DaoC, all of them were big way before warcraft so inertia is not the right answer. I know it sounds vage, but i think it's doing all the baiscs good from start and trying to polish them as much as they could, from the casting animations to the implementation of their Global Cooldown, just compare the level desing for places like the (old) barrens to tatoine. I dislike most of Blizz politics, and i will never play WoW again, but as a mmo? It's the pinnacle of a decade to say the least.

That honestly can't be it for WoW because I was there when Wow first launched. It was awful. Game mechanics were poorly explained. Stats made absolutely no sense. Quest progression was a clusterfuck to say the least. There was no end game. There were very few dungeons and the dungeons they did have were complete messes. It took them over a year to get their shit together enough to actual make decent content and it took till the first expansion to get game mechanics to make sense.

Really I'd say the biggest point towards WoW was the Warcraft and Blizzard names. People that didn't care to know had no idea what Everquest was, or DAoC, or any of the first MMO's. However they did know what Warcraft was and they had played Blizzard games before so they gave it a shot.

 

[nodlimax]

Seriously even though WoW had its flaws, it was still fun. In addition the concept was new to many players. Hell I even went to Scholomance 30-40 times to get my T0 helmet. But that concept doesn't work anymore like it did with WoW classic.

In addition, you don't even need to go that often into a FP to get an item. Within 1-2 weeks can be fully geared in SWTOR (even in PVP)

Oh and btw. I think the dungeons in WoW worked pretty well at EU release - Strat, Scholo, BRD, BRS were alright as dungeons, Dire Maul was even better (Patch 1.2).

 

[Tanakh]

Really I'd say the biggest point towards WoW was the Warcraft and Blizzard names. People that didn't care to know had no idea what Everquest was, or DAoC, or any of the first MMO's. However they did know what Warcraft was and they had played Blizzard games before so they gave it a shot.

Fun trivia: Lieage II got to 2 mill in 2 years, WoW West took the same ammount of time. Hell, Lineage II and EQ II grew faster than WoW the first year.

And yeah, WoW launch was chaotic in performance and without endgame that's why i didn't mentioned those in my post as strenghts, for the rest i disagree.

But that concept doesn't work anymore like it did with WoW classic.

I am not sure of that, maybe the merciless grind of WoW vanilla and EQ won't retunr; but if arenanet keeps some of the long therm grinding of GW 1 you won't run out of content in a couple of weeks, at least i hope they do because that was one of my problems with ToR too.

 

[FoolKiller]

Medal of Honor made money?

[sub][sub]Must... not... add... "u"... to... "honor"[/sub][/sub]

Why the fuck do you wanna misspell it?

We could ask the same about Americans

the whole damn english language is adaptations and misspellings from other languages... way to turn this into a nationality issue.

although, to be quaint, this is an american based website, if you really wanna nitpick, it's gonna be honor.

(although the prick you quoted probably didn't realize most words are spelled different across seas, rather than all english being the same.)

Actually, if you want to nitpick, it's honor and not honour[/b] because its the name of the game. An American game.

Oh... and I'm from Canada where we would normally spell it with the u.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I wouldn't mind them doing what STO did. Make the Free 2 Play, but keep the monthly fee for those of us who want the "full experience"

 

[Abedeus]

Hey, wait a minute now, I'm the guy who's supposed to be blaming the casuals!!

If EA blames the casuals... that means... it's the hardcore crowd that left TOR after finishing it and going back to WoW... Yeah, must be it.

 

[templar1138a]

*facepalm* EA, you're not helping.

 

[grigjd3]

In other news, EA realized that scapegoating piracy is kind of stupid when you are talking about a pay to play MMO. Hmm, EA realized something. Imagine that.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

EA Blames Filthy Casuals For Falling Old Republic Subscriber Numbers

Really, Greg? Really?

Come on. I know the Escapist has been diving head first into shock titles to get readers into the news articles lately, but that's just blatantly unprofessional. The really stupid straw that broke this camels back, mayhaps.

Wait wait. This was the straw that broke the camels back and not the one where Carter called someone a homophobe in another article with absolutely no proof that it was true? This then lead to so many people comin into the article with lines like "At first I felt bad for him, but then I read he was a homophobe and think he deserved it."

You have weird standards for what is too much.

Woah, woah, what? could you possibly link that to me if you remember which article it was? I don't believe I read that.

EA Blames Filthy Casuals For Falling Old Republic Subscriber Numbers

Really, Greg? Really?

Come on. I know the Escapist has been diving head first into shock titles to get readers into the news articles lately, but that's just blatantly unprofessional. The really stupid straw that broke this camels back, mayhaps.

EA Blames Filthy Casuals For Falling Old Republic Subscriber Numbers

Really, Greg? Really?

Yeah, Greg. Really?

Oh yes, please do point out a misspelling and offer nothing of substance. The line back there--you see it? That's the line between edgy and childish.

Dude I'm as angry as you are. Greg really crossed the line this time. The line between edgy and childish, like you said.

I's funny, because your behaviour would see a user warned. You've gone out of your way to intentionally avoid the point and have resorted to passive aggressive trolling. Nice to see the standards are so very high for professional conduct around here. Then again, I wouldn't expect someone who refuses to engage in any form of intelligent discourse once they've been criticized to be anything of a well worded journalist.

A shining beacon for Themis Media. I'll have to pass on my praise.

Make sure you address it to Greg.

I'm laughing so much right now.

 

[Mandal0re]

I really can't stomach spin, I know big businesses feel they have to but it's just such bullshit. I remember before launch when they where all like 'this game will have such a wide appeal, to MMO fans, fans of Bioware's previous offerings and to Star Wars fans who may not even be big gamers', and yet when they fail to captivate a good chunk of that audience they say 'oh well it's just the casuals who gives a fuck?' Surely the goal is to make a game compelling and interesting enough that even if I'm not really an MMO fan maybe I'll become one and want to keep playing the game long term, subscriptions are subscriptions and this game is hemorrhaging them fast.

Seriously, when will developers and publishers learn that the MMO market is one market where emulating an already successful product just won't work. And yet they keep trying, TES online will be the next one to break the hearts of nerds everywhere with it's inevitable mistreatment of that worlds lore, crappy WoW gameplay and still birth onto the market. Fuck the idiots who keep commissioning these games.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

Medal of Honor made money?

[sub][sub]Must... not... add... "u"... to... "honor"[/sub][/sub]

Why the fuck do you wanna misspell it?

We could ask the same about Americans

the whole damn english language is adaptations and misspellings from other languages... way to turn this into a nationality issue.

although, to be quaint, this is an american based website, if you really wanna nitpick, it's gonna be honor.

(although the prick you quoted probably didn't realize most words are spelled different across seas, rather than all english being the same.)

HEY THANKS, BUDDY.

And I'm not the one who started it.

This [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.374462-EA-Blames-Filthy-Casuals-For-Falling-Old-Republic-Subscriber-Numbers#14508767] is the one that started it.

I'm not really seeing what Zhukov started *looks a bit closer* hmmm, it's as I suspected, he started nothing!

Seriously, he said "must not add "u" to honor" because us across the pond spell honour with a "u". Just like we spell colour with a "u" and Americans don't. It was clearly just a joke and you're the one who got all serious and jumped down his throat about it. You, sir, are the one who started it.

 

[Kargathia]

Mr. Riccitiello, when will you ever see this industry as something other than a way to make money?

Probably some time after his job description ceases to be exactly that: making money.

Not to mention this is him addressing shareholders, also known as "these people who give us money so they might make a profit". Unless, of course, you have convincing evidence that a majority of their shareholders bought stock with the sole purpose of being a patron to the arts.

 

[DeMorquist]

I can see it now.

"Sir,we need a reason why we lost 400k people subs!"

-jumps on desk-
"FILTHY STINKING GOD DAMN CASUALS!"

"Casuals? Alright...I'll tell them that.."
-sighing-

Really...Thats your best answer....I "CASUALLY" leveled my ass to cap...and was not impressed...and by "CASUALLY" leveled with a friend 6PM-9:30PM every night and logging in almost 3-4x that on Sat + Sun... And I wasnt impressed.. killed Baras...no LFG system...and the fact when you your story it says GO BACK TO THE FLEET AND WAIT FOR A GROUP! FOR THE EMPIRE!

Once you beat the game....which is SP meets MMO elements... its...ya know...WoW...sitting in town with my thumb up my ass alt tab'd out...

 

[Marudas]

My friend convinced me to get starwars and play with him, as he's a huge Star Wars fan. We played up to level 50, then both of us, not just me, decided that all in all the experience was...well, not entertaining. The story was the only really fun bit and the only thing that dragged us to 50. Every single other part of the game reeks of mediocre MMO gameplay. Its not...bad. Its just not what I've come to expect from MMO's and does literally nothing to push the boundaries of the gameplay aside from the story elements. In fact, many of the systems in the game feel like they were lifted from an MMO one might have played 4 or 5 years ago. And that's not really meant as a compliment.

I imagine many people feel like I do. They enjoyed their characters story, but once they were done, the game held little other interest for them. EA calls us casuals, I call us bored.

 

[Treblaine]

Um... hasn't Star Wars been beaten to death in the past 10-20 years? I mean what if ANYTHING has added real value to the brand in the past decade? There were those prequel films that were variously described as "The worst thing ever" to "not the worst thing ever but definitely not good". Lucasarts can't even re-release the original films without fucking that up.

SWTOR is a mess, it has so little of the feel and fun of what made Star Wars enjoyable.

My personal issue remains the light-sabres: there aren't any. Oh yes, there may be "weapons" in the game that are labelled as lightsabres but they are nothing but oversized glowsticks from what pitiful damage they do.

A lightsabre is supposed to be an all powerful cutting weapon that can slice through steel and here I am running up to some big insect (that can't have any sort of shield) and whacking away at it for hours, i might as well we using a whiffle bat.


That's what it's like.

Being a Jedi should be all about the huge challenge of getting close without getting shot but once close it's one slash and they are dead.

SWTOR just doesn't feel like a star wars game because Star Wars is about more than just owning all the copyrighted names and character designs, it's about the FEEL, the challenge, the swashbuckling adventure. What does it mean to be a Jedi? I don't think everyone can be a Jedi, it's not about being a soldier or killer.

 

[BodomBeachChild]

Think I'll just stick with EVE online, casuals don't honestly exist in that game.

Indeed. For a game that is 9 years old and to still be the only MMO with a growing fanbase that shiat says something.

Fly safe o7


And for those who think EVE is a boring spaceship game I bring you
http://tacticalentertainment.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/eve-wtd.jpg

 

[Skratt]

No EA, its not that the ones who left were casuals, its that you made a game that could be "completed" in a month to 2 months time casually and people should not continue to pay subscription fees if they have already completed the content.

Its literally just that simple. Its what you get for trying to make the game "accessible"

I think if any MMO can be beat in 2 months, the people playing have either too much time on their hands or are better at playing games like WoW and TOR than the rest of us. WoW max level can be reached in how many days now by an experienced player? 7? 14? How long it takes to chew through content is player specific. I highly doubt every player beat TOR and quit because there was no more content to chew on.

From the quotes, it sounds as if EA expected something like this to happen and are not really surprised. Unless EA is dead set against FTP, TOR will be FTP by Christmas is my prediction. WoW in space is not enough incentive to give up years of established play-time. And that's really what any MMO has to compete with.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Isnt that what happens with new MMO, loads of people try it and then leave back to WOW. lol. Trust EA to blame anything other than the fact that some people just dont want to play their game.

 

[bluecrimson]

EA, mind telling me how a casual's 15 bucks is different than a non-casual's 15 bucks?

 

[viranimus]

I think if any MMO can be beat in 2 months, the people playing have either too much time on their hands or are better at playing games like WoW and TOR than the rest of us. WoW max level can be reached in how many days now by an experienced player? 7? 14? How long it takes to chew through content is player specific. I highly doubt every player beat TOR and quit because there was no more content to chew on.

Well you might be right. I know I have been involved with MMOs since UO and EQ, And I am a soloist But I am also a student and was involved in trying to restore/repair a former crack house and then an extensive move since the game was released in December. I still have yet to top 50 in the game, but again, I went over a month and a half not playing it(plan on running from 40-50 before the 20th when sub ends now that I dont have distractions)

But its not an uncommon thing to be done. Seriously I know players who ran 1-50 in 2 weeks time. And its not as if its making alts that quickly as people running their first toon have done it. It was that same ease of the game that basically killed the guild I was in as there was half the guild with multiple alts at level 50 and the rest basically never logged in and this was back in Feb/March. So its not entirely that the game is too easy, its that the game is so easy that there is no reason to have reliance or even find friends. Without the need to involve others in your affairs your really not going to build those relationships and if you dont build up guild relationships that removes yet another reason for people to keep playing (social dynamic) If the only "content" for players to enjoy once you hit 50 is to build a new toon, then your killing off the potential of the guild dynamic to foster long standing friendships that older MMOs benefit from.

The game IS too easy. And no end game challenge has been one of the biggest complaints about the game thus far. Yes its about personal ability with content, but at the same time its actually inverted with it being unusual to find someone who cant finish a run from 1-50 in 2 months or less even playing casually.