“The Old Republic” is pretty much what people want out of a Star Wars game. You pick a character, pick a quest, and start killing everything in your path. OK, so maybe you’re not killing everything in your path if you’re a Jedi, but still.
Anyway, apparently the appeal is a bit more limited than we thought, since “The Old Republic” has dropped 400,000 users since its launch. EA has put a positive spin on it, since they’ve said it can be profitable with as little as half a million subscribers.
Reports Ars Technica:
In a conference call accompanying the earnings report, EA Labels President Frank Gibeau said the drop was in line with the company’s “original assumptions” about how the game would fare after launch. Nonetheless, he added that the company “intends to increase subscribers” with continual upgrades, including new guild features, player vs. player improvements, and “elder gameplay” that keeps the game appealing to high-level player.
Still, this reflects a larger trend of massively multiplayer online games, aka MMOs, losing subscribers. Even “World of Warcraft” is feeling the pinch; it’s lost two million subscribers in the last year or so.
Maybe people are just discovering that they like going outside?
(Image via EA)