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Blizzard acknowledges TOR's impact on WoW

by Jef Reahard on Mar 20th 2012 10:00AM

World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

109

Is Star Wars: The Old Republic affecting World of Warcraft's subscriber numbers? Well duh, according to Blizzard producer John Lagrave.

"Of course people are trying Star Wars -- our development team are trying Star Wars! I'm one of the few people who's still playing it actually, but yeah we've seen a dip in subs. It certainly has to at least be attributable to The Old Republic, but it's also attributable to people who want to wait and get Mists of Pandaria, so it's not surprising," Lagrave tells Eurogamer.

He goes on to say that Blizzard is exploring its options when it comes to extending WoW's trial (which currently tops out at level 20), and he also reiterates the fact that free-to-play isn't in the cards for Azeroth.

Source: Eurogamer
More coverage: Official site

Reader Comments (109)

I'm only here for kung fu panda.

" I'm one of the few people who's still playing it actually"

Nice back-handled compliment.

Not that I'm playing TOR myself, but I find it ironic that he goes on to assume that people are dropping subs now and so that they can wait for Pandaria. Doesn't that say something about the current state of the game? Players that aren't playing TOR are STILL dropping their subs because there's simply not enough to entertained anymore in WOW?

@AlienFanatic

My horse for an edit button on Massively!

@AlienFanatic

It's happened with every single expansion so far.

@AlienFanatic I think he is just being honest admitting that there wasn't enough in Cataclysm for some players to justify two years worth of subscription. If there isn't, it is smart of those players to stop subbing until the new X-Pac comes out. Even getting six months to a year of subs, every two years, from some players is great for Blizzard's bottom line.

@AlienFanatic back handed compliments are the best kind.

@JuliusSeizure
Actually it's never happened with every expansion. WoW has never experienced net subscriber loss until Cataclysm was release. They may have experienced it with Wrath if not for the August 2010 release of Wrath in China, but still, they didnt have net sub loss in Q1 or Q2, but then there was no LFR for ICC that made ICC a tank and spank so a lot of people were still on progression those quarters.

LOL at the people pretending Swtor is still relevant.

Its a fine MMO for those who like it, just like Allods is a fine MMO for those who like it

;)

And yes, the sub number is bleeding out despite everything Bioware does to pretend its not.

@kalipou134
Really? The last report done was that SWTOR had stabilized at 1.7 million subs so would think your source on how it's still bleeding subs would be very interesting to read so please link it.

It is interesting to note that WoW had about 1.2-1.3 million at this same point after it was released, so I guess that has only a limited audience like Allods as well?

@(Unverified)

Expansion as a whole, no, but specifically the part where the last big patch is out and the next expansion is still waiting? Yes, there's always a bit of a drop in existing players continuing their subscription through that period.. They just don't publish those numbers because no one has expected them to until now.

Also, it doesn't apply to end of Vanilla, which wasn't an expansion. ;)

@kalipou134

'I'm not playing it therefore I can't imagine anyone else is!' That sum it up?

Actually, I'm not playing it either, but I can easily imagine there's a lot of people who still are.

@(Unverified). You cannot possibly have a stabilized population after only 3 months. The big test for the game will come once another AAA title is released and those people that are playing because there's nothing else to play will have a reason to leave.

@AlienFanatic
In context, I think he means that he's one of the few WoW devs still playing SWTOR.

"and he also reiterates the fact that free-to-play isn't in the cards for Azeroth"

Ahem... (puts on best Yoda voice) "It will be. It WILL be."

@Lenn

Camping's Law

@Lenn

Hell, if you look at WoW's flash ads on sites like tvtropes, it already says it's Free to Play, with ads saying stuff like:

"World of Warcraft is now FREE. TO. PLAY!*

(*Up to level 20. Some restrictions apply.)"

If Blizzard wants to say WoW ain't F2P, try not saying it is in ads that are designed to lure people in. I know it's not actually F2P, but Blizzard needs to tell their marketing department so there's no contradictions.

"Durrp, WoW has only 6 times more people paying for it than SWToR, how embarassing for Blizzard. I bet they're going to make it free to play soon"

TOR is losing subs too... probably more than WoW. Not good when you only have 1/10th of the players and your game has only been out 2 months.

@Machineman

My son & I both left Tor & went back to WoW. I'll return to TOR once they become more seasoned with time.

@Machineman You've got to remember that WoW s somewhat of an anomaly when it comes to subscription numbers. It success is largely due to the very low minimum system requirements makign it very easily accessible.

It's also very popular in China, with internet cafe users and with more casual gaming audiences. An MMO doesn't need subscription numbers within the millions to be successful; TOR is doing very well compared to other MMOs from recent years and has attracted a large number of the core market.

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Blizzard acknowledges TOR's impact on WoW

Reader Comments (109)

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:10AM deffbee said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:12AM AlienFanatic said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:12AM AlienFanatic said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:25AM JuliusSeizure said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:39AM Furdinand said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 11:55AM Mikx said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 2:27PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 3:45PM kalipou134 said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 4:25PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 8:05PM JuliusSeizure said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 8:06PM JuliusSeizure said

Posted: Mar 21st 2012 6:15AM Snichy said

Posted: Mar 21st 2012 9:20AM Bolongo said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:13AM Lenn said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:52AM fallwind said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 3:38PM RogueJedi86 said

Posted: Mar 21st 2012 5:52AM Styrium said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:23AM Machineman said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:29AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 20th 2012 10:32AM Turel said

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