Rumor: The Old Republic Set for September?

[John Funk]

Rumor: The Old Republic Set for September?

Gamers might have to wait a bit longer than expected to get their Jedi on.

Last January, EA CEO John Riccitiello dropped some hints that BioWare's highly-anticipated MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic would be launching in Spring 2011. That release date may have been pushed back yet again - "development sources" have indicated to MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/42719/Old-Republic-out-in-September] that the story-focused Star Wars MMO is now scheduled for a September release.

If true, the bad news for publisher EA is that this means another half-year of paying the salaries of a sizable development team before it starts to see a return on its wary of the title's success [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100967-Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic-is-EAs-Most-Expensive-Project-in-History], may lose further confidence in the game, and that could hurt the company's shares.

The good news is that this means another six months of development time for the team at BioWare Austin. Thus far, previews of The Old Republic have been relatively lukewarm, and half a year - an eternity in development time - to tighten up the mechanics could really help make the game better. Polish is invaluable for a new MMO in the post-WoW world, and six months of polish can only help. Not only that, but a September launch would place the title squarely at the beginning of the lucrative holiday season, with few major PC-exclusive titles to compete with.

It also means that probably more than a few of the millions of people who jumped back on the WoW train for Cataclysm will find the new luster starting to wear off the then-seven-year-old MMO. A new MMO with SW:TOR's clout could be perfectly poised to take a chunk out of Blizzard's market share.

On the other hand, NCSoft's Guild Wars 2 doesn't have a release date beyond "sometime in 2011," and if that solidifies some time too close to the release of TOR, the two anticipated games could hurt each others' chances. There's also the potential threat of Diabl - no, I can't even finish typing that with a straight face.

Of course, this is just a rumor. The Old Republic could come out in spring of this year as planned. Who knows?

(MCV UK [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/42719/Old-Republic-out-in-September])

Permalink

 

[Woodsey]

"Thus far, previews of The Old Republic previews have been relatively lukewarm,"

All the ones I've seen have been hugely positive, especially all the recent ones where people got 6 hours hands-on for the start of the game.

Anyway, with Crysis 2 and Dragon Age 2 due in March alone, I don't think EA are particularly panicking this year, and maybe they're just recognising the need for a great start if this does turn out to be true.

Also:

"It also means that probably more than a few of the millions of people who jumped back on the WoW train for Cataclysm will find the new luster starting to wear off the then-seven-year-old MMO. A new MMO with SW:TOR's clout could be perfectly poised to take a chunk out of Blizzard's market share."

This is a big reason why everyone feels it needs to be an insta-killer of WoW and why they seem to think BioWare/EA are getting arrogant about slaying it in the first month or whatever else. It's because people keep bringing WoW up, even when all BioWare/EA/LA have said is that they know they're not going to top it and it's silly to aim for that right off the bat.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

previews of The Old Republic previews

Mistake, kthxbye.

OT: Really, I can't imagine what they could be still doing with the game, but I guess I'd rather wait for a little while longer than get a Star Wars equivalent of FF XIV.

I don't know anything about lukewarm previews, John. Never seen any critisism for this title from any major publication.

 

[LogicNProportion]

Better come out in at least Summer......

I start college in September, and I wanna waste SOME time on this thing...

 

[blarghblarghhhhh]

There's also the potential threat of Diabl - no, I can't even finish typing that with a straight face.

at-least your honest haha. Im still disappointed that they made the kotor series into an mmorpg as it is. Its just another example of a game that could stand just fine on its own but they had to make it multiplayer just because they can. also didnt the original star wars mmorpg not do to well. If I remember correctly it was around for a few years but kind of faded out towards the end of its life.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

sweet, that gives me ample amount of time to rack up some major cash so i can have that set to the side for a game like this

and if they are taking more time on it then good, gives em more time to hopefully polish it off, make the haters stop hatin and th WoW killers have some actual hope.

 

[EPolleys]

I've felt pretty meh about TOR since they started showing actual gameplay. The more time they have to polish the better.

 

[lumenadducere]

Huh, both Guild Wars 2 and The Old Republic were set for this year? I wasn't expecting them 'till 2012, so this is a bump up for me. The good thing is that Guild Wars 2 doesn't have a subscription fee, so I'll be picking it up regardless. That much gameplay for that cost is a great deal. And if The Old Republic is a good game then I won't have any trouble subscribing to it because I won't have multiple subscriptions going.

The only real issue for me is time, as I don't think I'll have more than a few hours a week to devote to each. But I've always been a more casual MMO player anyways, so I guess it works out.

 

[Xanthious]

I just wish this would come out already so I could watch the game sell obscenely well then lose about half or better of it's subscribers when the free month is over with and everyone goes back to WoW wondering what all the hype was about.

Oh yes, I have a feeling this will be a failure on a scale that will have other, smaller, failures building statues of and praying to for years to come. And the fact it keeps getting pushed back further and further tells me it has train wreck written all over it.

 

[John Funk]

"Thus far, previews of The Old Republic previews have been relatively lukewarm,"

All the ones I've seen have been hugely positive, especially all the recent ones where people got 6 hours hands-on for the start of the game.

Anyway, with Crysis 2 and Dragon Age 2 due in March alone, I don't think EA are particularly panicking this year, and maybe they're just recognising the need for a great start if this does turn out to be true.

Also:

"It also means that probably more than a few of the millions of people who jumped back on the WoW train for Cataclysm will find the new luster starting to wear off the then-seven-year-old MMO. A new MMO with SW:TOR's clout could be perfectly poised to take a chunk out of Blizzard's market share."

This is a big reason why everyone feels it needs to be an insta-killer of WoW and why they seem to think BioWare/EA are getting arrogant about slaying it in the first month or whatever else. It's because people keep bringing WoW up, even when all BioWare/EA/LA have said is that they know they're not going to top it and it's silly to aim for that right off the bat.

I've heard differently from colleagues who've spent time with the game, though to be fair this was about 9 months ago and it could have improved since then.

When did I ever talk about TOR dethroning WoW? It's impossible (or at least unwise) to talk about the success of a new MMO without mentioning WoW, because that's the huge monolith that dominates the genre. Even if BioWare and EA aren't trying to topple it (which they wisely shouldn't be), it's their main competitor and biggest threat. You don't think that the release of Lich King wasn't a contributing factor in the troubles of WAR?

You can't discuss the potential success of new MMOs without looking at them in the light of "Will WoW steal back their market share"? You just can't. Period. Even if you're not trying to beat WoW, launching right alongside an expansion (for example) would be suicide.

 

[Woodsey]

"Thus far, previews of The Old Republic previews have been relatively lukewarm,"

All the ones I've seen have been hugely positive, especially all the recent ones where people got 6 hours hands-on for the start of the game.

Anyway, with Crysis 2 and Dragon Age 2 due in March alone, I don't think EA are particularly panicking this year, and maybe they're just recognising the need for a great start if this does turn out to be true.

Also:

"It also means that probably more than a few of the millions of people who jumped back on the WoW train for Cataclysm will find the new luster starting to wear off the then-seven-year-old MMO. A new MMO with SW:TOR's clout could be perfectly poised to take a chunk out of Blizzard's market share."

This is a big reason why everyone feels it needs to be an insta-killer of WoW and why they seem to think BioWare/EA are getting arrogant about slaying it in the first month or whatever else. It's because people keep bringing WoW up, even when all BioWare/EA/LA have said is that they know they're not going to top it and it's silly to aim for that right off the bat.

I've heard differently from colleagues who've spent time with the game, though to be fair this was about 9 months ago and it could have improved since then.

When did I ever talk about TOR dethroning WoW? It's impossible (or at least unwise) to talk about the success of a new MMO without mentioning WoW, because that's the huge monolith that dominates the genre. Even if BioWare and EA aren't trying to topple it (which they wisely shouldn't be), it's their main competitor and biggest threat. You don't think that the release of Lich King wasn't a contributing factor in the troubles of WAR?

You can't discuss the potential success of new MMOs without looking at them in the light of "Will WoW steal back their market share"? You just can't. Period. Even if you're not trying to beat WoW, launching right alongside an expansion (for example) would be suicide.

OK, well the most recent ones doing the rounds have been very positive - I think it's the Jedi Consular origin.

I didn't say you said about dethroning it, but you still mentioned it stealing players, which is not specific to you, but if I'm honest I don't think every piece that anyone writes about the game must also talk about WoW. People seem to be developing the impression that WoW is the only successful MMO, and that unless an MMO actively topples it's a failure.

 

[Irridium]

Good.

I'll have enough on my plate with Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Dragon Age 2, and The Witcher 2.

And September is a few months before Skyrim/ME3, so yeah, its perfect for me.

 

[Irridium]

"Thus far, previews of The Old Republic previews have been relatively lukewarm,"

All the ones I've seen have been hugely positive, especially all the recent ones where people got 6 hours hands-on for the start of the game.

Anyway, with Crysis 2 and Dragon Age 2 due in March alone, I don't think EA are particularly panicking this year, and maybe they're just recognising the need for a great start if this does turn out to be true.

Also:

"It also means that probably more than a few of the millions of people who jumped back on the WoW train for Cataclysm will find the new luster starting to wear off the then-seven-year-old MMO. A new MMO with SW:TOR's clout could be perfectly poised to take a chunk out of Blizzard's market share."

This is a big reason why everyone feels it needs to be an insta-killer of WoW and why they seem to think BioWare/EA are getting arrogant about slaying it in the first month or whatever else. It's because people keep bringing WoW up, even when all BioWare/EA/LA have said is that they know they're not going to top it and it's silly to aim for that right off the bat.

I've heard differently from colleagues who've spent time with the game, though to be fair this was about 9 months ago and it could have improved since then.

When did I ever talk about TOR dethroning WoW? It's impossible (or at least unwise) to talk about the success of a new MMO without mentioning WoW, because that's the huge monolith that dominates the genre. Even if BioWare and EA aren't trying to topple it (which they wisely shouldn't be), it's their main competitor and biggest threat. You don't think that the release of Lich King wasn't a contributing factor in the troubles of WAR?

You can't discuss the potential success of new MMOs without looking at them in the light of "Will WoW steal back their market share"? You just can't. Period. Even if you're not trying to beat WoW, launching right alongside an expansion (for example) would be suicide.

OK, well the most recent ones doing the rounds have been very positive - I think it's the Jedi Consular origin.

I didn't say you said about dethroning it, but you still mentioned it stealing players, which is not specific to you, but if I'm honest I don't think every piece that anyone writes about the game must also talk about WoW. People seem to be developing the impression that WoW is the only successful MMO, and that unless an MMO actively topples it's a failure.

Kind of reminds me of what seems to determine a movie's success.

If your movie isn't #1 at the box office on release, it "loses". Even if it makes back all its money.

 

[joshthor]

i cant wait. i also cant wait for guild wars 2. im getting them both. although, after finishing guild wars i have not found another mmo i have gotten into. so im mildly worried about both of them.

 

[cerebus23]

Dunno tor really needs to shake things up, i see previews of guild wars 2 and think wow that sounds awesome, i see previews of tor and it think eh that is cool. I am all for jedis and lightsabers and sith and troopers and stuff, and lord knows i have played enough dungeons and dragons mmos to last several lifetimes, but still when i read about what they are doing with gw2 i am more excited over that game than much i have seen about tor outside the cinematic trailers.

And how about they open up beta more soonish, bene sigend up for beta forever with not even a peep, games been in the pipeline so ,long i can barely even be bothered to check the developer news, i sort of boxed myself off from the game entirely cause it was just petering out bits and pieces here and there and a few screens. At this point most all game mechanics should be set in stone, they should have all the classes done, the planets mostly done, quests, they should be having huge reveals, giving us a deep look at the game and the game systems, and we we still getting trickles, get when the game is early on in development but now they in the home stretch, they better have more they can sit down and show and talk about when the game is due out sometime this year.

I do not want tor to be a wow killer, i just want it to be a great game, and with the state of wows community my fear is that too many of them would switch games . Wow is dying i already know long time wow players that are bored with wow despite cataclysm, it is only a matter a time before wow sheds off enough players to various games to even matter, i am sure when tor and gw2 comes out that will suck some out of the wow juggernaut.

 

[rsvp42]

I just wish this would come out already so I could watch the game sell obscenely well then lose about half or better of it's subscribers when the free month is over with and everyone goes back to WoW wondering what all the hype was about.

Oh yes, I have a feeling this will be a failure on a scale that will have other, smaller, failures building statues of and praying to for years to come. And the fact it keeps getting pushed back further and further tells me it has train wreck written all over it.

I feel like there's only so many times people can keep "going back to WoW." TOR's graphics and storytelling look way better than WoW's right now and a September release would just give them more time to improve. I suspect the one-two punch of TOR and GW2 won't go unnoticed by WoW.

On a personal level, I don't want to see it delayed 'til September, simply because I'm eager to play. But I wouldn't be surprised if this rumor turns out to be true.

 

[mythgraven]

I just wish this would come out already so I could watch the game sell obscenely well then lose about half or better of it's subscribers when the free month is over with and everyone goes back to WoW wondering what all the hype was about.

Oh yes, I have a feeling this will be a failure on a scale that will have other, smaller, failures building statues of and praying to for years to come. And the fact it keeps getting pushed back further and further tells me it has train wreck written all over it.

I feel like there's only so many times people can keep "going back to WoW." TOR's graphics and storytelling look way better than WoW's right now and a September release would just give them more time to improve. I suspect the one-two punch of TOR and GW2 won't go unnoticed by WoW.

On a personal level, I don't want to see it delayed 'til September, simply because I'm eager to play. But I wouldn't be surprised if this rumor turns out to be true.

I long since burned out my interest in this game. Ive been following it for 4 years now, and I dont even have have a confirmed release date?

Ive said it before, and Ill say it again. Far be it from me to tell EA/BW how to make a game, or demand a release date for lil ol me, but let me put something in context for you:

TOR has been hyped up for so long, a person could have enlisted in, and finished a tour, in the US Navy. Some of us dont have the time to follow a frakking game for that long... and some of us are still IN the Navy... and have blown an entire shore command cycle waiting for some word. Any word.

Hard not to be annoyed/burned out/all outta give a damn.

Whiskey Echo!!
Mythgraven

 

[Sixcess]

People seem to be developing the impression that WoW is the only successful MMO, and that unless an MMO actively topples it's a failure.

It's not so much the perception of players that matters as it is the perception of investors. EA have been going out of their way to claim that they're not trying to compete with WoW, but they're not financing the most expensive project they've ever done just to grab a small slice of the MMO playerbase. If TOR ends up stabilising at WAR or AoC numbers it's going to be seen as a failure.

I can't help but think that this game was greenlit several years ago, when MMOs were on the up and before the rush to F2P began. If there is going to be a 6 month delay then they're looking at what they've got just now and deciding it's just not good enough... and that does not inspire confidence.

 

[jp201]

IMO just wait for the release in September. This is what Blizzard does often with there games is delay to be 100% sure that the game is as best as it possibly can on release date. If the game is bugged and sucks (FFXIV for example not matter how good it may become if release sucks then player base wont ever be strong).