Star Wars: The Old Republic has lost 400,000 subs since February

But strong digital sales help EA back into annual profit.

[NYC_Gamer]

I guess that explains all the half off deals every weekend

[Relientk77]

Yea I've been seeing those going around

[Blacktric]

They should've just made a proper Knights Of The Old Republic 3 instead... Considering how a new IP like Mass Effect fared, a KoTOR 3 would've sold even more...

[NYC_Gamer]

EA wanted to be greedy and thought they would do Wow numbers because of the Star wars brand name

[ATi_Elite]

1. Star Wars The Old Republic has sold over 2.5 million units with a large number of those units sold were on Origins which means EA was getting the full $60 per unit sold (EA got $20 per Store unit sold)

2. All SW:TOR needs is 450K monthly subscriptions to be successful. Many MM0's have been going strong for years with only 300K-350K so no need to panic until that number drops under 450k (or until Guild Wars 2 is released)

3. 5 months of 1.7m scribes plus 2.5m units sold, SW:TOR has made it's money back (all $300m of it) so from here on out it's pretty much all profit!

4. The drop in scribes is due to TERA (which is fantastic) and the impending Diablo III on May 15th and The Secret World on June 16th PLUS WoW's Pandaria Mist and Guild Wars 2 will pretty much kill SW:TOR altogether or force it to go F2P!

5. Sw:TOR is just a cash grab (like Origin) and I feel EA didn't do the things necessary to make SW:TOR go the distance like WoW, Eve Online, or Guild Wars. EA is headed in the wrong direction with their games and business model as everything is made to just make a slight profit instead of innovation and quality.

6. EA has lost it's sight of quality and SW:Tor will not survive Guild Wars 2 and all the other FANTASTIC MMO's releasing in the next 6 months.

[kreate]

Can the other fantastic mmos survive if they all come out within the next 6 months?

[joab777]

cash grab? They brought in 4.14 billion for a net income of 76 million? Last year was a loss if 240 billion. That isnt a great percentage where one would consider it "rakingin the dough". Id love to see what they spent 4 billion on?

[Relientk77]

It could potentially lose even more suscribers in the near future because Diablo III is coming out.

edit @ below: yea they might not have much of a choice,

I know I'm getting Diablo III. Guild Wars 2, and Tera are another two big ones too u mentioned. EA have a lot of competition headed their way

[NYC_Gamer]

I really think TOR will be going the F2p model real soon....because many users will hop over to these games/run back to Wow...

Diablo
Tera
GW2

[FlashXIII]

1.3m subscribers and you think TOR will go F2P with that much money coming in each month? I don't get where this obsession with the f2p model has come from but take it from me as an MMO gamer of over 10 years, TOR won't be going f2p for at least a year.

[Blacktric]

Also don't forget about Diablo III's new PvP mode which was something people wanted for years and I'm sure Blizzard will make sure to implement it in a way to keep the game fresh enough for a very long time. And personally, since The Old Republic is still a sequel to the Knights Of The Old Republic games, I can't wait for it to go F2P so I can finally play it.

[Pandamobile]

If they can keep roughly 750,000 players subscribed for a year (providing they sell 2-3 million digital/retail copies of the game, then SWTOR will break even and start generating a substantial profit for the duration of the lifespan of the game. It's not all doom and gloom for the game that cost a reported $200,000,000+ to develop.

The handy thing about subscription based MMOs is that every penny of subscription fee goes back to the publisher/developer.

[kevnb]

i dont think it cost them nearly that much. Its all just speculation.

[StayStatic]

Not played it myself but if the game is any good then I expect a massive increase when they drop an expansion pack or something.

Happens in wow all the time , patch day people you haven't seen in months suddenly log on and say "LFG" in guild chat.

[Giru017]

Problem is, the game isn't good. It's riddled with issues and most players left exactly because of this. With Diablo 3, WOW, TERA and GW2 around, TOR really has not space in anyones time slot save for the most dedicated fans... and even then it's not worth the $15/mo price of admission for not doing anything better than the competition.

[StayStatic]

Very disappointing to hear , thanks for the input :)

[admiralthrawn87]

i own the game simply becaue i'm a star wars fan. I did not play after the 30 days free. It is terrible on so many levels and does not feel like star wars at all. I used to take up for this game before it came out, but i totally agree that KoTOR 3 should have been made instead. This game needs to drop the sub. fee and have some major design philosophy changes.

[InTheLab]

The $15 subscription model is dead.

[FlashXIII]

Way to show once again that n4g crowd are completely clueless about MMORPGs (7 agrees at the time of typing).

Seriously you think $15 a month is dead? Not by a long shot! Many MMO gamers would rather pay a monthly fee for a premium service. People talk about how great GW2 will be being f2p and all but cash shop advantages plus the fact all the kids will be attracted to it seeing as they won't need Daddy's credit card has me more than a little worried.

[silvacrest]

i left because i have just gone off MMOs all together

[Letros]

Yea I feel the same way, the next MMO I play will not be the cookie cutter stuff that keeps being shoveled out.

Planetside 2 will be a warm welcome to both the MMO and the FPS community.

[silvacrest]

i hear you

when i heard about oblivion online, i thought i was on to a winner but now we have some info, im not sure

i think anyone who has played a "normal" MMO for years will eventually need something totally different, i went from city of heroes (4 years play time) to champions online (3 months), DC universe (1 month), SWTOR (2 months)

they were all to similar

what i want is skyrim with a proper online infrastructure but like you said, not with a typical MMO flavouring

[Letros]

Yea man, when I heard ES:O, I was going nuts, "Skyrim + MMO??" then i read some more, and a big "WTF" came out.

[V0LT]

I bought it, played it and canceled. It was hyped up way too much IMO. MMO"'s aren't as we once knew them.

[Drazz]

Guild Wars 2 FTW!

[ATi_Elite]

Star Wars The Old Republic is gonna get Force Choked when Guild Wars 2 is released.

Tera is already making some huge dents into Star Wars:tor and Rift! The game is very very good (after you get out the nooby area)

I just don't see EA making the right moves to keep SW:tor going strong and competing with the NExt Gen of MMo's like Tera and GW2!

[Spinal]

From playin the Guild Wars 2 beta and having played swtor for a month. Yes GW2 is miles above and better than swtor. The beta alone crushed everythin i experienced on swtor beta. Its only fair to compare beta to beta. I have a sith assassin an marauder at 50 and cancelled my sub back in Jan.

Cant wait for Diablo 3 next week an Guild Wars 2 and lets not forget mista of pandaria ret pally an a human monk ftw.

[Tzuno]

Wait for Diablo 3 to come out to see real quit from many games in favor of Diablo 3 hahaahahahhhhh!!!