Loading... Million Man March

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Posted Wed, Sep 16, 2009 by Ethec

Welcome to the 1,165th edition of Loading...

Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news, coverage, and commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.

SOE just announced the shutdown of nearly half the Star Wars Galaxies servers. Is there another hope (besides Obi-Wan) for the game? I think so, and it comes right out of SOE's playbook. Also, yet another subscription-free MMO dings the multi-million marker. Are these users well-earned, or has this become a race to see who can loosely justify their PR first? These are our topic for today's Loading... Million Man March.

The Pulse

You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is The Pulse?).

Here's today's top 5 Pulse results:

Biggest movers today:

Dark Age of Camelot (UP 4 to #15)
Star Wars: The Old Republic (UP 2 to #10)
Jumpgate Evolution (down 2 to #16)

Recent MMO Releases

8/4 - World of Warcraft Update 3.2 (content patch)
8/25 - CrimeCraft (release date)
9/1 - Champions Online
9/15 - Runes of Magic "The Elven Prophecy" (expansion)

Important Dates

9/15 - 9/18 - GDC Austin
10/1 - 10/3 - EVE FanFest

Upcoming Releases

9/9 - Dungeons & Dragons Online Unlimited (release date)
NEW - 9/22 - Fallen Earth (release date)
9/22 - Aion (release date)
10/9 - Cities XL (release date)
Early 2010 - APB

Loading... Daily

You heard it here first, SOE is planning a more casual Star Wars MMO using the engine developed for Free Realms. Between that news and the heady emphasis put on Star Wars at this year's FanFest, it surely seemed like SOE was going all in with LucasArts. Despite the hype, there's no glossing over low population numbers, which are no shame for a six year old game (especially one that came to be known more for its mistakes than its successes). So maybe the only thing more surprising than SOE having 12 servers to close for Star Wars Galaxies is that 13 servers remain.

Instead of consolidating servers, I'd much rather have seen SOE take the EverQuest tack and rollback some of these servers to SWG's launch version, minus the ghost towns and busted equipment tables. While some disparage the original SWG as being mad Raph's sociological laboratory, I personally found a lot to like about the game when it came out. Jedi were awe-inspiring instead of ubiquitous, persistent player-created structures like stores, homes, and harvesters gave the world a lived-in feel (for perhaps the first time in a 3D MMO), the Galactic Civil War felt active and real, and the class structure, while a skill-based grind, was refreshingly different than the typical experience treadmill. Scores of players formed much more of an attachment than I ever did, and would probably flock to a retelling of the original game.

As it stands, SWG is probably more widely known as the first MMO to truly break faith with its playerbase, at least in a way that a malcontent can adequately describe in the course of an elevator conversation. We'll probably never know the full story as long as LucasArts holds sway, but whoever drove the game towards the mainstream with cupcake Jedi and cheeseball interactions with the Star Wars cast did this, the greatest IP ever to grace the MMO stage, a great disservice.

Or SOE could make SWG subscription-free, as that seems to be good for a few million registered players these days. Combat Arms is the latest MMO(FPS) to join the million man march, announcing that over 3 million have signed on. SOE's own Free Realms pushed past the 5 million mark shortly before San Diego ComicCon this year, according to SOE, and KingsIsle (makers of Wizard101) likewise claimed the same number at AGDC, more than the total population of Ireland, as its own.

Note that we have no way of confirming these numbers, which come straight from the developers and likely include include a vast percentage of "Facebook" players that might register but spend no appreciable time with the game, but there's no denying that a "free game" sign works just as well as a flyer announcing free beer at your next party. For developers who, like big car dealerships, care only about volume first and quality of the customer second, it's a good way to make PR fireworks and thrill the investors. Whether it pays off in the long run remains to be seen, and I'd love to find out what percentage of these users become profitable customers. If any bizdev types are brave enough to share their conversion rates, email me and perhaps I'll eat my skepticism.

What think you of the latest Star Wars Galaxies news? Are the million-plus numbers for every free-to-play MMO that comes down the line are justly deserved or wildly inflated? Your thoughts welcome in the Loading... forum.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our WoW News Discussion

Blizzard announces next MMOG to have "broader appeal"

We know very little about Blizzard's top-secret MMO project except that it's a new IP (not Diablo or Starcraft), and it's not a World of Warcraft clone. And at the Deutsche Bank Securities Technology Conference in San Francisco, Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick announced that the next MMOG would have "a little more broad appeal."

Kotick has said a few strange things lately (like how Activision games such as Guitar Hero will likely bypass consoles altogether in the future), but he's definitely managed to keep things interesting. I'm waiting to see what Blizzard has up their sleeve when they say that their next MMOG will appeal to a broader audience--broader than the existing 12 million that inhabit WoW, that is.

Our community members have lots of ideas. Perhaps you have some, too. Make yourself heard!

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Awesome Quotes from the Epic Thread

"I like broads, they appeal to me. The new game is aimed squarely at me! Or do they mean they want to appeal to more broads? I confuse easily."

- Medeor
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Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell us!

5 new MMOG home-grown articles today! 29 in September! 981 in 2009!

Today's New MMO Coverage, Features, and Guides

Aion - New Player Resource Unveiled
Players have less than a week before Early Start and the official launch of Aion. Are you ready? To get fans prepared, Ten Ton Hammer has put together your one essential resource for your time as a new player. Keep game vital info, do a little pre-launch research, and save newbie guides all in one easy location. Just bookmark and visit as needed now and after release!
The Secret World - Combat System Q&A Video
After learning a bit about PvP and playable factions in The Secret World, two topics we definitely wanted to learn more about were the game's active combat system and the just-revealed secret society called Dragons, a chaotic faction which counterbalances the self-righteous Templars and the bad boy Illuminati. Fortunately, Funcom Creative Director Ragnar Tørnquist and Designer Martin Bruusgaard obliged us with some new answers, including how TSW's combat system compares to that of Age of Conan. Watch this brief new four and a half minute video to learn more about combat and the three playable factions in The Secret World and see some of the latest screenshots from the game!
Champions Online - Skin That Build #2
The character creation system of Champions Online is a robust and amazing tool that allows users to make just about anything their imagination can come up with. But often times, if you’re anything like me, you might not know where to start. That’s why we at Ten Ton Hammer have done some of the thinking for you.
Pre-GDC Austin Interview with Matt Firor
Matt Firor is a fixture on the advisory board for GDC (Game Developers Conference) Austin and responsible for overseeing the production track submissions for this year's conference. Ten Ton Hammer got the chance to catch up to Matt before the beginning of GDC Austin this year to get his views on the GDC Austin, MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games), and where he thinks the industry is heading.
Champions Online: An Intro to PvP - Cage Match!
Most players' first foray into PvP in Champions Online will take place in the Cage Match map for the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. This guide is here to get you in the thick of the action as quickly as possible.