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BioWare Star Wars MMO Prepared to Take On World of Warcraft

by Blake Ellison, Oct 25, 2008 3:00am PDT

Related Topics – Star Wars: The Old Republic, PC

EA Games president Frank Gibeau didn't exactly dodge questions comparing BioWare Austin's newly-announced Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC) to Blizzard's World of Warcraft (PC), the big dog in MMOs. In fact, he comes across as ready for the challenge.

"Just look at the base of Star Wars fans, plus what BioWare can do. Trust me: we want to win. EA's reputation is for wanting to win," said Gibeau to VG247.

Gibeau credited Blizzard with creating a massive market for MMOs, but he feels that EA is poised to take advantage of the sweat of Blizzard's brow. "This is going to be a powerful category and there's lots of ways to compete in this category," said the outspoken executive.

EA already runs Warhammer Online as a Warcraft competitor and even still maintains Ultima Online, considered by many to be the first mass-market MMO. Even if Ultima Online's peak of 250,000 players paled in comparison to Warcraft's 10.5 million subscribers, the team behind The Old Republic thinks they can eclipse Blizzard's still-growing number.

"Our goal is to show that by bringing storytelling to the genre that we can attract an even wider audience," commented Tom Nichols of publisher LucasArts.

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38 Threads | 126 Comments

#56

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By: Reaver420 x Show Full Post

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When are these big companies gonna realise that WOW is a fluke, it's like deusex or Halo, a one time thing that gets them overly popular for no good reason but odd luck.

Oct 25, 2008 2:52am PDT

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When are these big companies gonna realise that WOW is a fluke, it's like deusex or Halo, a one time thin... : Reaver420
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 12 replies.

#100

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By: graceofdragons x Show Full Post

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this could be a great game, but to keep with wow you're going to have to make a very fluid game.
Action needs to be fast paced, fluid combat, and enough customization to trump wow. (a good character creator will help you)

and you need to consolize the interface... :(

please also keep what was good about SW:G economy. And non instanced player houses.

Oct 25, 2008 5:32pm PDT

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this could be a great game, but to keep with wow you're going to have to make a very fluid game. Action... : graceofdragons
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- ME character creator + more would take care of that part. : h0cake

#105

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By: -shadin- x Show Full Post

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World of WarCraft is a fluke. You've got a company that has an extremely loyal following in both Asia and North America with WarCraft, Diablo, and StarCraft IPs (don't know how it is in Europe, but I'm willing to bet that it's the same). Toss in the fact that they dumbed down the MMO experience from EQ and DAOC (I don't mean that in a bad way, they made it way more accessible), and spit-polished it before release, and you have the strange, unlikely ingredients for a massive success.

Unfortunately you can't have it all the ways they want it. You can make it compare to WoW, because you're touting that it's going to be storytelling oriented like BioWare's RPGs. But you can't have that and have 10+ million subscribers, because that type of gameplay is not as accessible as the simplistic WoW MMO archetype. Try and please everyone and you please no one, and if they try and compete with WoW then this is going to end up as yet another cookie-cutter MMO tossed into the pile of EQ/EQ2/WoW/DAOC/AOC/LOTR/etc..etc..etc...

Something different plz, kthx.

Oct 26, 2008 10:03am PDT

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World of WarCraft is a fluke. You've got a company that has an extremely loyal following in both Asia an... : -shadin-
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
- You bring up the asian point, and that's huge. No western company even comes close to the market penetrat... : ZombieAcademy
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  You bring up a lot of good points, mainly the one about story not translating well into a compelling game... : Porkasaurus
  - I would, but I'm weird. : h0cake

#49

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By: code-e255 x Show Full Post

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Bioware produce games with quality story, but the gameplay in their games isn't ever great. They always used rather lame and static D&D mechanics in their RPGs. Even their more recent Mass Effect has absolutely terrible combat mechanics.

A great IP, a team of good writers, great artists, solid programmer... whatever. Without gameplay that's actually fun, they won't be able to create a game that'll keep us entertained for long durations like WoW.

Oct 25, 2008 1:51am PDT

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Bioware produce games with quality story, but the gameplay in their games isn't ever great. They always u... : code-e255
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 12 replies.

#46

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By: Lukiopimp x Show Full Post

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EA is like someone trying to catch up with a rocket whilst flying a Cessna.

WoW has had had exponential subscripton numbers from start, no other MMO had this, it would make more sense to compete with MMOs that have a gradual / linear subscriber growth as for example Lineage I / II or Runescape.

Oct 25, 2008 1:19am PDT

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EA is like someone trying to catch up with a rocket whilst flying a Cessna. WoW has had had exponentia... : Lukiopimp
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- I'd be careful of your use of the word exponential. By your computations, within a year or two, depending... : Skyburst101

#55

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By: strawfake x Show Full Post

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EA talking about taking on Blizzard's GoldRush ?

Don't make me laugh.

Oct 25, 2008 2:22am PDT

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EA talking about taking on Blizzard's GoldRush ? Don't make me laugh. : strawfake
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- I wouldn't be laughing. Think of all the games EA has managed to rehash with a new player roster and sell... : Skyburst101

#118

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By: megreedy x Show Full Post

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.... i say make the skills like EvE: Online... LOL... i can't imagine learning Light Sabre V for 26 days 3hrs and 46 seconds....

LMAO

Oct 26, 2008 11:56pm PDT

.... i say make the skills like EvE: Online... LOL... i can't imagine learning Light Sabre V for 26 days ... : megreedy

#88

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By: caddytwix x Show Full Post

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It’s not impossible. I used to bullseye WOW rats in my T- 16 back home.

Oct 25, 2008 10:45am PDT

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It’s not impossible. I used to bullseye WOW rats in my T- 16 back home. : caddytwix
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
- awesome : a176
- toggle
  Don't you mean Beggars Canyon? : snot3353
  - Beggar's Canyon? Is that by Crossroads? : wwonderboy334

#110

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By: crypt420 x Show Full Post

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what people don't seem to realize is there is more heart and soul poured into every square inch of WoW than any other game, ever. Unless a competitor can make a game with that human warmth/soul element in it, the part of the game that allows it to cross borders easily, they will never be anything more than a flavor of the week.

Oct 26, 2008 3:01pm PDT

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what people don't seem to realize is there is more heart and soul poured into every square inch of WoW th... : crypt420
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- Well, that explains why those who play WoW seem to lose a part of what makes them human...their soul is t... : Skyburst101

#102

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By: derean x Show Full Post

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the only developer that can top wow is blizzard

Oct 25, 2008 9:00pm PDT

the only developer that can top wow is blizzard : derean

#37

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By: aeg1x x Show Full Post

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They're kidding themselves. WoW cuts across demographics. Star Wars is a hardcore nerd universe.

Even as someone who enjoys the star wars movies I can't say I'm very excited about a star wars mmo.

Oct 24, 2008 11:56pm PDT

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They're kidding themselves. WoW cuts across demographics. Star Wars is a hardcore nerd universe. Even ... : aeg1x
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 15 replies.

#9

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By: oneshot x Show Full Post

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No one will ever top Blizzard or even get close to the user base it has. I mean look at Warhammer that was suppose to be the one game that was going to try to make a dent in the WOW pop, it has failed along with the other POS AOC.

Oct 24, 2008 8:36pm PDT

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No one will ever top Blizzard or even get close to the user base it has. I mean look at Warhammer tha... : oneshot
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 14 replies.

#45

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By: mrwolf710 x Show Full Post

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I said a long time ago that if Blizzard took WoW and reskinned it to be Star Wars they'd have the biggest hit of all time on their hands. Don't even change the game just say instead of magic powers all this stuff draws from the force. It didn't even need to make sense. This looks like it's what EA is gonna do in a round about way. If they don't screw it up and they make a decent game it's gonna sell a bajillion copies. Will it catch up to WoW? Maybe. It has a shot...more so than most.

Oct 25, 2008 1:09am PDT

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I said a long time ago that if Blizzard took WoW and reskinned it to be Star Wars they'd have the biggest... : mrwolf710
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 10 replies.

#93

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By: noobaroni x Show Full Post

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Ya know, each new mmo that comes out seems to be backed by the developers claiming they can take on WoW. So far i've yet to see anything inovative enough to take on the big dog. With that being said, WoW is still goin on strong with another expansion on the way next month. Hey, hows conan doin? ;P

Oct 25, 2008 1:01pm PDT

Ya know, each new mmo that comes out seems to be backed by the developers claiming they can take on WoW. ... : noobaroni

#92

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By: et72 x Show Full Post

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Meh, scifi MMO with turn based combat? If its well cooked maybe but everyone keeps rushing
this crap out. Warhammer? You mean the PVP mmo of instances? WoW nailed it, now they have the momentum, its going to take a mega game with everything done 110% right to even try to take it down.

Oct 25, 2008 1:00pm PDT

Meh, scifi MMO with turn based combat? If its well cooked maybe but everyone keeps rushing this crap out... : et72

#82

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By: syn0r x Show Full Post

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"Just look at the base of Star Wars fans, plus what BioWare can do. Trust me: we want to win. EA's reputation is for wanting to win," said Gibeau

i thought EA's rep was money grubbing, sucking the life out of developers, and bad DRM?

Oct 25, 2008 8:35am PDT

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"Just look at the base of Star Wars fans, plus what BioWare can do. Trust me: we want to win. EA's reputa... : syn0r
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
- and rushing games : syn0r
- You forgot about then lying about it. : dlr(2)

#89

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By: saturn96 x Show Full Post

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Maybe if they lowered the Sub to $10 would i consider playing WOW, and SWTOR. I think they main reason most folks do not play more than 1 MMO, is that $30 a month is alot, especially in this day and age. If WOW lowered the Monthly Sub to $10 I would probably open a second account, so instead of getting just $15 from me they would be getting $20.

Oct 25, 2008 11:45am PDT

Maybe if they lowered the Sub to $10 would i consider playing WOW, and SWTOR. I think they main reason mo... : saturn96

#81

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By: Lawgiver x Show Full Post

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Bioware will show the world that it can be it’s master! they shall perfect their own race of people. A race of atomic supermen which will conquier the world!

Oct 25, 2008 8:29am PDT

Bioware will show the world that it can be it’s master! they shall perfect their own race of people. A ... : Lawgiver

#66

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By: tidic x Show Full Post

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Ah there was a time where Everquest was seen as an impregnable money making machine with 500,000 [?] subscriptions or so. It doesnt have to be WoW figures to be successful. [11m is a little skewed as the far east model is different to the NA model]

I think now there is a bigger mass of floating MMO players, even a AoC or WAR comes out, a good chunk of WoW players does go to check it out which suggests there is a market for a different flavour of MMO.

As long as they launch with polish and a ton of content, it could have a chance to do well. Just need to focus on what they do well, some mature storytelling and meaningful character choices would be a good place to start.

Oct 25, 2008 5:34am PDT

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Ah there was a time where Everquest was seen as an impregnable money making machine with 500,000 [?] subs... : tidic
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- The highest number ever reported by Sony was 450,000, and that didn't last long. It plateaued after that ... : WannaEatAvril

#6

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By: shredomatic x Show Full Post

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Hopefully upper management doesn't fuck with it to try and attract people from WoW.

Oct 24, 2008 8:20pm PDT

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Hopefully upper management doesn't fuck with it to try and attract people from WoW. : shredomatic
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 12 replies.
- toggle
  Hmm is this gonna be skill based or.... level crap/based. : Ziz
  - toggle
    It can't be "skill-based",assuming I'm understanding your point, if they want to aim at a WoW-sized audie... : ECMIM
    - toggle
      yeah like UO and SWG. You go out fighting etc and see your skills raise. : Ziz
      
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      swg lol. swg was one of the worst and most grind-heavy mmos ever : mistrmojo
      
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      but it was skill based. UO and SWG haven't been the only two (i think) that's been skill based. And i sti... : Ziz
      
      AO had levels but was skill based - as you leveled you got points to invest in raising many skills, and t... : nwoolls
      
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      really, the only skill based mmo except UO was Guild Wars (not really a mmo but close enough) no grind... : mistrmojo
      
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      You dont understand what skill based means : Tommy Toolbag
      
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      The confusion comes between player skill and the skills the character possesses. Hell, I'm not even sure... : ]aratex[
      
      I never played UO but I did play a lot of SWG. If I recall correctly, you got XP when you used a particu... : crimrOw
      
      GW is player skill based. SWG / UO are character skill based. You don't have a level on your char, you d... : razorblade79

#33

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By: Sailor of Fortune x Show Full Post

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If any franchise had the best hope for an MMO to take on WOW, it'd be Star Wars.

Oct 24, 2008 11:18pm PDT

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If any franchise had the best hope for an MMO to take on WOW, it'd be Star Wars. : Sailor of Fortune
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
- Also, it would also have to be slightly cheaper. : Sailor of Fortune
- I heard the SAME thing about Warhammer. : mizeriq

#54

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By: razorblade79 x Show Full Post

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I'm really sorry for that BioWare guy who has to tell him the truth...

Oct 25, 2008 2:03am PDT

I'm really sorry for that BioWare guy who has to tell him the truth... : razorblade79

#43

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By: AranFs x Show Full Post

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they just doomed the whole game by saying that

Oct 25, 2008 12:58am PDT

they just doomed the whole game by saying that : AranFs

#41

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By: thewindcriesmary x Show Full Post

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This MMO is already destined to fail. As soon as you start competiting with WoW, your off track completely. Love it or hate it, WoW is the best MMO of its type on the market and blizzard has the resources to addon improvements that any pretender mmo might implement.

Also the starwars IP isn't as strong as it was a decade ago. The latest movies and cartoons have seriously hurt its image. And say what you want about KOTOR (i do not like it, but it rates well amongst alot of people) i don't believe its universe is good enough to beat Warcraft.

Oct 25, 2008 12:24am PDT

This MMO is already destined to fail. As soon as you start competiting with WoW, your off track completel... : thewindcriesmary

#39

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By: Fred Garvin x Show Full Post

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Yeah... good luck with that guys.

Oct 25, 2008 12:13am PDT

Yeah... good luck with that guys. : Fred Garvin

#36

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By: wwonderboy334 x Show Full Post

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JOHN RICCITIELLO'S DREAMS
BLIZZARD BOARD MEETING 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FK5K9puJIg

Oct 24, 2008 11:47pm PDT

JOHN RICCITIELLO'S DREAMS BLIZZARD BOARD MEETING 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FK5K9puJIg : wwonderboy334

#19

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By: happynoodle x Show Full Post

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theres no way.. they have too much content for a new release to compete w/ out the gate. Blizzard is still giving reasons for players who have been playing since launch to keep playing. The best any other MMO can hope to do, is offer something new and refreshing that WoW subs will consider sub'in along side their WoW account.

Oct 24, 2008 9:36pm PDT

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theres no way.. they have too much content for a new release to compete w/ out the gate. Blizzard is stil... : happynoodle
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
- toggle
  also, new companies need to offer more of an incentive when convincing players to make the switch.. lower... : happynoodle
  - You're exactly right because $14.99 x 2 gets into the "hmm that's kind of expensive range" but "$9.99 x2 ... : Topaz

#5

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By: the archvile x Show Full Post

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EA's reputation is for wanting to win.

Among other things...

Oct 24, 2008 8:17pm PDT

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EA's reputation is for wanting to win. Among other things... : the archvile
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
- toggle
  You just know all the suits at EA are standing around and saying, "with Star Wars and OUR funding, there'... : antareus
  - Yup. It makes the cynic in me smile. : Dr_Cube

#28

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By: Topaz x Show Full Post

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I know a lot of people are bored with wow but there's just sooooo much stuff in wow compared to other MMOs. I think games like Hell Gate, AoC and WAR have proven that there's almost no way to compete head on with Blizzard on a new title. If a company thinks they can include everything wow has + extras at launch then they're just setting themselves up for a massive failure.

Oct 24, 2008 10:35pm PDT

I know a lot of people are bored with wow but there's just sooooo much stuff in wow compared to other MMO... : Topaz

#26

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By: spiderfill x Show Full Post

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WoW may not have a two meter exhaust vent

Oct 24, 2008 10:07pm PDT

WoW may not have a two meter exhaust vent : spiderfill

#25

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By: whyfacewhy x Show Full Post

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Oh yeahhhhh more star wars. Woo.This may well kill a significant fraction of mmo enthusiasts. Thank you, BioWare!

Oct 24, 2008 10:06pm PDT

Oh yeahhhhh more star wars. Woo.This may well kill a significant fraction of mmo enthusiasts. Thank you, ... : whyfacewhy

#23

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By: jonin x Show Full Post

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LOL

Oct 24, 2008 10:04pm PDT

LOL : jonin

#22

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By: Flynn x Show Full Post

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what? Blizzard will have a new MMO out by the time this one is released.

Oct 24, 2008 10:00pm PDT

what? Blizzard will have a new MMO out by the time this one is released. : Flynn

#21

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By: aznboysix x Show Full Post

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Not going to happen. Bioware's only advantage is the IP/sci-fi setting. They still need to make a game comparable to WOW. Considering how much detail/content/polish is in WOW and lead time Blizzard has had, thats pretty much impossible.

On top of that, Bioware's advantage isnt even that big considering Blizzard's fanbase. Not that it matters since its going to disappear once World of Starcraft (presumably Blizzard's other MMO) is released (which we KNOW is going to be polished as hell).

If Lucas/anyone wants to make a proper Star Wars/any MMO, he should just save everyone the hassle and pay Blizzard to do it right.

Oct 24, 2008 9:51pm PDT

Not going to happen. Bioware's only advantage is the IP/sci-fi setting. They still need to make a game co... : aznboysix

#4

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By: bored x Show Full Post

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Jebus just let it exist in the marketplace and not have to aim for the #1 slot. There are probably more people out there who'd rather play a decent sci-fi themed mmo than a fruity elf fantasy one but doesn't mean both can't exist.

Oct 24, 2008 8:14pm PDT

Jebus just let it exist in the marketplace and not have to aim for the #1 slot. There are probably more ... : bored

#3

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By: Grayman222 x Show Full Post

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That is a very lofty goal. EA better be planning the game to be viable with a much smaller user base.

Oct 24, 2008 8:09pm PDT

That is a very lofty goal. EA better be planning the game to be viable with a much smaller user base. : Grayman222

#2

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By: IndigoAK x Show Full Post

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I'll believe it when I see it.

Oct 24, 2008 8:07pm PDT

I'll believe it when I see it. : IndigoAK

#1

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By: burning eye x Show Full Post

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Blizzard: lol

Oct 24, 2008 8:07pm PDT

Blizzard: lol : burning eye

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