EA Controlling Old Republic Player Population for Launch

[Scizophrenic Llama]

No matter what they do they'll lose....

Limit the number of launch players = FAIL!
Potentially allowing more people in then the servers can handle = FAIL!
Buying so many servers that they will be handle the traffic and then merging them 2 months later = FAIL!

Seriously people, stop being so melodramatic. All they're doing is making very sure there's as smooth a launch as possible and preventing a hype-driven after-launch failure, like for example WAR and AoC had.

They're confident enough to count on people still buying their game after the initial launch hype has died down, how is that anything but a good thing? There's too much hype and crazy already in MMO-land. Nothing wrong with taking it a bit slower and going for the long-term, isn't that what MMOs are all about?

This pretty much covers it for me. The last point about merging servers really isn't even something to complain about, except for the small amount of downtime to merge.

Then again, whining about something like that isn't surprising when I've seen people complain about getting free games.

 

[Kingsnake661]

i can safely say from my own experience. DONT preorder mmo's. and seeing as they charge "preorder fee".... well, lets just say they made my decision that little extra easy.

yeah, im looking forward to this game, im just not willing to pay for something as stupid as "preorder fee" and limited digital copies, and tbh, explaining it with "we dont want that too many ppl screw up our servers" does not really sounds to me as a good sign. why? because it means that even they have little faith in their own product. if they truly believed that old republic would be a huge success they would invest in robust servers.

im waiting at least 3 months before i decide to try it out. unless they will offer some kind of trial.

Preordering MMO's normally has alot of advantages if your PLANING on playing the game. I don't know what store YOU shop at, but at my local gamestop, and well, all other gamestops, it's not a "pre order fee", it's a preorder deposit, that's subtracted from the final price when you pick up your game. And it's % based on the cost of the item, so, most games are 5 bucks, but a system, or a deluxe game like TOR collectors will be more, i think mine was 25. Preorder also usually come with with ingame perks, and eairly access. (I've been through a few game launches... COH, COV, Champions, STO, DCO, to name a few)

So, IF you going to play the game, and your sure, preorder, it doesn't cost extra and usually comes with perks. And, if for some reason this isn't a bluff to drive up sales (and it may not be, they've already broker preorder recordes for EA, maybe that spooked them and the relised, CRAP, we may not have enough servers for this..) your sure to get a copy.

 

[Sylveria]

The cynic in me wants to say this is a marketing ploy - "Best get your copy now or you might not be able to play come launch day".

You're probably right. I don't believe that they're actually going to limit the numbers of regular copies. But nothing moves product faster than "Limited stock, act now!"

 

[Worr Monger]

I love Bioware... but I think I'll be patient and wait... I've never played an MMO, and I'm still very hesitant to jump into a game that requires a monthly fee..

..Maybe this will give me time to think things over while the other big winter releases come out.

 

[DaxStrife]

Wait, wasn't EA sweating buckets a few months back because they were getting worried that TOR wouldn't make back the insane amount of money they've already poured into this project? And now they're limiting sales?
I guess what they're trying to do makes sense, but try explaining to the non-gamer who wants to get in on this action why he's not allowed to get a copy yet.

 

[devotedsniper]

To me this just screams "our servers are shit", if your servers can't handle the load then you should have upgraded them, obviously theres always issues when a mmo launchs (e.g. APB reloaded beta, the servers were laggy due to issues at the data center), but come on if it can't handle everyone to start with then your doing it wrong in my opinion.

 

[Echo136]

The cynic in me wants to say this is a marketing ploy - "Best get your copy now or you might not be able to play come launch day".

I think its a decent tactic actually. I think back to when Warhammer Online came out. There were server queue's, the game was laggy, and everyone complained really quickly about the lack of endgame content. It didnt take long for people to give up on it and servers got merged.

 

[FallenTraveler]

sticking to the f2p games and buying GW2 when it launches... hopefully there'll be a mac version of that...

 

[Nero09]

The marketing strategy is strong in this one.

But yeah, if it's too much like WoW I can see myself get bored very quickly.
I'll be observing the game for a while after launch before I decide whether or not to buy it, I'm not in a hurry.

 

[Marmooset]

(Not to mention if word-of-mouth turns out to be bad for this game they've really shot themselves in the foot by limiting their day one numbers.)

Well, my work has been done here by someone else.
I guess I'm off to go file for internet poster unemployment.

 

[Marmooset]

This is actually pretty smart. EVERY major MMO has launch problems. Servers get crowded, new servers are opened up, it takes a long while to settle. This way, they can have some idea of the population they will be facing and will be able to plan for it. They can release new copies at a predetermined rate as well, ensuring that the growth of their userbase doesn't outpace their server capacity.

But leave it to the jaded people of the internet to find some way to spin this into a bad thing...

Yes, they're reliable that way

No matter what they do they'll lose....

Limit the number of launch players = FAIL!
Potentially allowing more people in then the servers can handle = FAIL!
Buying so many servers that they will be handle the traffic and then merging them 2 months later = FAIL!

Seriously people, stop being so melodramatic. All they're doing is making very sure there's as smooth a launch as possible and preventing a hype-driven after-launch failure, like for example WAR and AoC had.

They're confident enough to count on people still buying their game after the initial launch hype has died down, how is that anything but a good thing? There's too much hype and crazy already in MMO-land. Nothing wrong with taking it a bit slower and going for the long-term, isn't that what MMOs are all about?

Well said, both of you. Incredible, 2 reasoned non-knee-jerk reactions on the same page of an Escapist thread about EA and TOR? I'm not sure if I believe my eyes.

There are plenty of reasoned arguments in this thread, for both sides.
I think what you meant to say was two reactions that agreed with your view.

 

[jobu59749]

It's also not like their limiting the server capacity on launch day. Read the article carefully, it's mostly pre-launch. I would rather have a smooth transition into the game than some awesome error that comes up saying that there was something wrong with an algorithm and the server will be down for the next 2 days. We've waited 3+ years....a little extra time won't kill you...if it does...more oxygen for me.

 

[Ukomba]

Already got my pre-order, hopefully I got it early enough to get in the first wave.

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

It's sad to see such a poor indie developer struggle for years and having to cut back players so their wee servers can handle the load.

And maybe if it sells well they can take one for the team profit wise and expand into more serve....

If anyone can buy servers, it's EA. This is just pitiful.

I just have to ask: how many MMO launches have you experienced? 'Cause i've been through several, including some with big money backing them, and they're NEVER pretty. The problem isn't really money, it's that they typically have no clue what the initial server load is going to be.

 

[dropZero]

If I cared about playing on launch day, or at all for that matter, I would pre-order. But since every bit of footage I see of this game makes me less and less interested, I will wait until it's been out for a few years and it's in the bargain bin for 10 bucks. That's about all its worth to me.

 

[MajorDolphin]

I'm not sure if they're being very very smart or just overly cautious.

If they have a smart and functional economy then this could be a really good thing. They also run the risk of having every StarWars nerd on the planet swarming their servers with every player trying to jump the WoW boat before it sinks. That could be quite an impact on their servers.

If you're a die hard fan you should have pre-ordered the minute it was available. The rest of us will be pissy that we have to wait but I doubt it will be the end of the world. There really is nothing worse than playing on a server full of level capped characters and with an auction house full of nothing but the highest rated gear. Not to mention the massive inflation of prices on said market that we'll see the first month of the games life.

Btw, the facebook discussions about end-game content cracks me up. Rushing to max out your character is a waste of time. Especially if the developer of the game does their job right. Maxing out your character so you can pay monthly to complete daily fishing missions is hilarious.

 

[Crazy_Man_42]

Won't matter for me I will be knee deep in the mud in an obstacle course for my basic training.

Well I least that means I can wait to see the reviews and actually see if the game is actually worth the money. I won't fall for the same trap that was called Star Trek Online.