Star Wars: The Old Republic loses 25% of its subscribers

[TrekkiesUnite118]

The game now has plenty of maps and areas to explore. Yeah, 5 years ago when the game first launched it may have had less areas, but now it's a radically different game. Your argument is based on 6 year old information that's severely outdated.

The game now has challenge mode missions, a cash shop, as well as what they call Guardians Advanced Style. GAS allows you to expand and customize your character even further by spending AEXP on fine tuning different aspects of your character. There's now plenty of missions and areas to keep one occupied. Yeah it doesn't have the exploration that a game like WoW has, but that's because it's instance based instead of being an open world.

The game now has 84 missions spread across about 40 different areas with plenty of different map variations. There are also 36 story missions and 4 side story missions. There are 12 challenge mode missions and 2 versus mode missions. Throw in the tons of event missions that do return every now and then and the game has become rather diverse in area and mission variety.

[gamevet]

Yeah, but you're talking about a game that been around for 6 years, come August.

That is not a lot of content for a game that's been around that long. I could probably find more content in Skyrim, and even after putting in over 200 hours, I've yet to run out of things to explore.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Considering the game was limited by PS2 limitations for years it's a lot of content. In the past year the game has suddenly ballooned in content because they dropped PS2 support. There's only so much you can do when you are stuck with the same 4GB of data to work with and only have 32MB of system memory to work with for new missions/quests.

And Skyrim is a newer and completely different kind of RPG. Comparing PSU to Skyrim is probably one of the most ridiculous comparisons I've ever seen.

[Da_Shocker]

Wait there is a free PSO right now?

[gamevet]

You are comparing an action RPG, that barely qualifies as an MMO, to The Old Republic.

Seriously, you could play through TOR much like your typical RPG, while the single player experience for all of the Phantasy Star Online games I've played, leave a lot to be desired. The Phantasy Star Online games could be so much better, yet Sega doesn't choose to expand upon what they started with. Customizable equipment is hardly a big change.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Wait there is a free PSO right now?

There's been private PSO servers for years that are free to play on and typically support Dreamcast, Gamecube, and Blue Burst. Though the most popular one, schtserv, seems to be doing a lot of stupid shit lately because the people running it are completely in competent. For example an exploit was found that allowed you to get any item from certain quests that gave you item rewards. Instead of fixing the exploit like all the smaller servers did, they instead removed all quest rewards or in some cases removed the quests entirely. They also implemented an anti cheat method which all it does is search all memory for the words "Cheat" or "hack" and closes those processes. So while schtserv is the biggest one, it has a lot of bullshit going on with it.

The official version of JP PSU has a free to play option though, and PSO2 will be free to play and free to download.

You are comparing an action RPG, that barely qualifies as an MMO, to The Old Republic.

Seriously, you could play through TOR much like your typical RPG, while the single player experience for all of the Phantasy Star Online games I've played, leave a lot to be desired. The Phantasy Star Online games could be so much better, yet Sega doesn't choose to expand upon what they started with. Customizable equipment is hardly a big change.

I never compared PSO/PSU to The Old Republic. I did compare it to WoW and WoW clones though saying it has far better gameplay and if it had more content and resources it could be a serious contender. The only reason PSU is being discussed is because you said it was worse than PSO, which is utter bullshit.

As for story, PSU had tons of it. But considering you only played online for a few weeks, you probably never got to try anything beyond the offline episode 1 story. Online the choices you make in the story missions eventually will open up additional subplots that further expand characters and can even change the ending.

[sheath]

I own both Phantasy Star Online versions for the Dreamcast and Phantasy Star Universe for the 360 but I haven't finished any of them in single player mode, much less tried Universe online. Did they ever update Universe so I can use my own character design in the single player game?

[TrekkiesUnite118]

I own both Phantasy Star Online versions for the Dreamcast and Phantasy Star Universe for the 360 but I haven't finished any of them in single player mode, much less tried Universe online. Did they ever update Universe so I can use my own character design in the single player game?

Episode 1 offline you have to play as Ethan. Episode 2 and 3 story modes are online and you use your own character for it. Episode 2 was made available offline for the PC and PS2 with the release of the expansion. The story mode actually has a lot of similarities and references to events that happened in the classic Phantasy Star games.

[sheath]

They never released that patch for the 360 version? Hmm, well my PC runs games better anyway and I bet Universe is cheap now.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

It's not a patch, it's an expansion. The expansion on PC and PS2 was a retail release. On 360 it was a download that expanded the game. To save space they kept the Episode 2 story mode online and didn't make it available offline.

Episode 2 and 3 are available on 360, they are just only available online. Episode 3 is online only for all versions.

[Pulstar]

Where do people find the time to play this kind of cerebral haemorrhage?

I've seen actual pus that served better function. God have mercy on our mortal souls should nerds actually take over control.

[gamevet]

I never compared PSO/PSU to The Old Republic. I did compare it to WoW and WoW clones though saying it has far better gameplay and if it had more content and resources it could be a serious contender.

And I'm saying there's no way that it could compete on that level, with the style of gameplay it has. Has any of the Phantasy Star Online games had a online userbase in the millions? I doubt it.

We'll just have to wait and see what Sega does with this free version being offered in Japan; it'll give you an idea of just how commited Sega is to added content for a game not limited by the consoles. I still don't believe that they can maintain it at a level equal to that of Blizzard, with its huge development staff behind WOW.

The only reason PSU is being discussed is because you said it was worse than PSO, which is utter bullshit.

I never said it was worse than PSO. I said I didn't have as good of a time with the game, as PSO and I stated my reasons why.

Yeah, I understand your enthusiasm for the game. I really liked playing PSO on the Dreamcast as well. PSU, on the other hand, didn't wow me enough to keep playing it more than a couple of months.

Unless you're a fan of Phantasy Star Online, most of the gaming public probably won't take notice to it.

See what I said. When PSO came out, it felt something new on the consoles. When PSU came out, it felt like more of the same thing I'd already been through, even though there were changes made to managing your equipment and having a pad for your stuff.

As for story, PSU had tons of it. But considering you only played online for a few weeks, you probably never got to try anything beyond the offline episode 1 story. Online the choices you make in the story missions eventually will open up additional subplots that further expand characters and can even change the ending.

I've already told you I've played the thing for at least a couple of months. Now that I've looked back at my PSU file, the last day I played was March 3rd of 2007, 5 months after I'd bought the game. See my attached pictures. My last save file was at 8:59 PM on March 3rd. My last game save for the story mode was @ 4:30 PM. So, my last play of PSU was actually the online mode on March 3rd and was probably the last day of my subscription.


This guy's review pretty much sums up what I was thinking the first month or 2, while playing the game online.

http://worthplaying.com/article/2006...reviews/38006/

There's a reason this review hasn't appeared until now. When Phantasy Star Universe released, it was literally half a game. Now, it's about 2/3 of a game, and I'm far too impatient to wait for any more content to come out. So, now that the substantial amount of content that was unlocked on the 17th has been around long enough for people to play it a little, it seems like as good a time as any to write a permanent, non-Web 2.0 review for the game.

With that said, now couldn't be a more appropriate time to discuss the major controversy surrounding the game: locked content. We'll just get it out of the way right from the start, and continue with the review as normal, okay?

There is no downloadable content. It is all on the disc already. You just can't access it.

So why is this a problem? Honestly, I don't think it is at all. Perhaps some see it as an affront to pay $50 for a game and another $10 for the monthly fee, but I completely sympathize with Sonic Team's plan to release content piece by piece. Obviously, it creates excitement to have new content open up, even if our mild Gamer OCD makes our eyes twitch with anger every time we think about all of the content on the disc to which we don't have access. Think about any recent PC MMO, though, and you'll see this business plan put to good use. For one, it paces players and keeps them from burning out on the game permanently before paying for an extra month. Besides, few people complain about this model on the PC, and for a console without a standard hard drive, it could be seen as a friendly favor that this content was put on the disc. No downloads! (How's that for spin?)

For the sake of the longevity of PSU, I think we should support this concept. Besides, we didn't even have to wait a month for a massive chunk of new content to release, including an entirely new planet around which to run. This is seemingly an artificial method to keep people from leveling up too fast, but if you've read many forums discussing the game, a great deal of serious players hit the level cap long before the November 17th update. Given the slower grind in PSU – when compared to the Dreamcast and Gamecube PS games, at least – this is kind of shocking. These are the people who would have burned through the entire title in two months and left forever. Would it really be in our best interest to have a sizable chunk of an online community ditch the game early on?

The only downside to all this is that PC players won't receive the amount of content and upgrades to which they are accustomed. Going by history, Sonic Team isn't even going to try to supply basic patches to fix small glitches and help along compatibility, and some glitches, including some problems getting the game to run without the specific version of Direct-X included on the disc, have been commonly reported but not addressed professionally in any way. That, and the fact that the controls are not optimized in any way for PC play (as they were even with PSO and Blue Burst!), might turn off some potential players.

Personally, I got used to the keyboard controls very quickly, although I have adjusting issues with it whenever I transition to the PC version (which I use when I want to play side-by-side with a friend, which is possible because characters are now server-side, and work on both platforms). Sadly, the Xbox 360 version has its own servers, and while I'm excited that that version has true worldwide compatibility, I'd like to at least have the option to use my PS2/PC character on that platform, even if I can't play with the same people. But really, after the console-only Dreamcast and Gamecube versions, who am I to complain about losing just one platform with a much smaller community? For those of us trying to get away from the PS2 version's blurry, low-resolution look, the PC version is probably the way to go. You can plug in a wired 360 controller for the full experience, if you'd like.

[old man]

Where do people find the time to play this kind of cerebral haemorrhage?

I've seen actual pus that served better function. God have mercy on our mortal souls should nerds actually take over control.

ha ha ha, nerds are too busy playing crap like this to do anything proactive like "take control". I'm not going to dis another person's game too much though. I like action and twitch stuff, but I'm sure MMORGs must be fun to somebody.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

I never said it was worse than PSO.

Ok.

I said I didn't have as good of a time with the game, as PSO and I stated my reasons why.

So in other words you feel PSU is worse than PSO.

As for the rest of your post, Sega has shown with PSU they can give a steady stream of updates and new content. It's only the US version that got shafted. JP PSU has had a steady stream of updates the entire time. And it's had a free to play option for about 3-4 years now. All the content that has been added to the game for the past few years has been entirely brand new content that's not on the disc. That's the issue the 360 version is facing right now. Microsofts update policy is preventing Sega from adding new content to the game so new weapons and areas are using graphics of old content. The PC version however has been getting brand new content for years.

I'm not disputing the first months weren't a bit sparse for content. I am however saying the game changed dramatically after the first 2 events and the expansion came out. Myself and others who continued to play the game were rather annoyed the expansion didn't get reviewed because it addressed many of the issues the original game had when it launched, yet all people had to look at were dated reviews.

PSU's gameplay is significantly more advanced than PSO, saying it's the same old thing as PSO just shows you didn't really get that much into it. There were more changes than just how you managed your equipment. They way attacks and abilities worked was different and much more fluid and engaging than PSO's gameplay. The class system was completely different considering you could change your class at any time. Going back to PSO after playing PSU, it feels slow, clunky, and broken.

And it's not just some version of PSO2 that's free, the only version available is free. Considering the closed beta got updated almost every day, I think it's safe to say Sega is commited into giving updates. Also Sakai has stated that we should expect no less than 1 update a month. Which means at bare minimum, the game will be receiving monthly updates.

And again, I'm not saying PSO2 will beat WoW or be bigger than WoW, but it might just be able to make an impact. Because it's different enough and implements a bunch of new and fun gameplay mechanics.

[gamevet]

So in other words you feel PSU is worse than PSO.

No, I'm saying that I was already tired of that style of gameplay. I honestly thought I'd have as much fun with PSU, since it wasn't just the rehashed stuff we'd seen with PSO on multiple platforms.

As for the rest of your post, Sega has shown with PSU they can give a steady stream of updates and new content. It's only the US version that got shafted. JP PSU has had a steady stream of updates the entire time. And it's had a free to play option for about 3-4 years now. All the content that has been added to the game for the past few years has been entirely brand new content that's not on the disc. That's the issue the 360 version is facing right now. Microsofts update policy is preventing Sega from adding new content to the game so new weapons and areas are using graphics of old content. The PC version however has been getting brand new content for years.

I don't know. But if it was just the same 3 themes used to make the different levels, that's not what I'd call new content.

I'm not disputing the first months weren't a bit sparse for content. I am however saying the game changed dramatically after the first 2 events and the expansion came out. Myself and others who continued to play the game were rather annoyed the expansion didn't get reviewed because it addressed many of the issues the original game had when it launched, yet all people had to look at were dated reviews.

Well, that was a big part of the problem. Why would I continue to lay down cash, for content that I feel wasn't substantial enough for what I was paying? Sega needed to come out of the gates with guns a blaze and have enough content to keep even the most hardened gamers around.

It's the same problem that happened with The New Republic. Bioware spent over 3 years creating the content that made up the launch title, but didn't have enough new content to satiate those that had already blown through it.

PSU's gameplay is significantly more advanced than PSO, saying it's the same old thing as PSO just shows you didn't really get that much into it. There were more changes than just how you managed your equipment. They way attacks and abilities worked was different and much more fluid and engaging than PSO's gameplay. The class system was completely different considering you could change your class at any time. Going back to PSO after playing PSU, it feels slow, clunky, and broken.

That's the double edged sword. Do I really want to waste my time feeding my pad buddy, so I can craft shit? Not, really. Do I want to go to battle with friends, hoping to find a nice rare drop? Yes I do!

And again, I'm not saying PSO2 will beat WoW or be bigger than WoW, but it might just be able to make an impact. Because it's different enough and implements a bunch of new and fun gameplay mechanics.

That's like saying Homefront would have an impact on the COD community. It didn't happen and it sure hasn't happened with WOW and the constant list of contenders that tried to dethrone it.

Star Wars is a huge property, much bigger than Phantasy Star will ever be. But, it still didn't make people leave WOW to play The New Republic. Only when the public is tired of WOW, will something come along to replace it.