I play sometimes, but I quit my guild due to its inactivity and haven't found a good replacement. The game's all right to play without any social element, but I doubt i can keep it up unless I find a guild and make a change. My friends who were interested either didn't jump on it in the first place or quit early.

I'm still subscribed...I've got some old WoW friends that play occasionally, but there's currently not much to do at level 50 if you're not part of a big enough guild to do end game content. The Empire on my server farmed all the best PvP gear through means I myself haven't taken the time to figure out, so PvP is basically unplayable since I do no damage to most of them (only a slight exaggeration) and they kill me in 3 or 4 hits. With no real LFG system, I just don't have the patience to sit in the fleet spamming general chat to find groups.

I recently realized that I apparently forgot to unsubscribe from WoW since the last time I "quit" (which is doubly weird considering I don't recall it ever showing up on my credit card statement in the past few months). So I installed it and booted it up about a week ago, and since have spent about 10x as much time in WoW as in SWTOR. It's just so much easier to hop on, queue for a dungeon run one or two, hop off for the night and feel like I've made some sort of progress. Even if I don't get any drops, I've got badges that I can save towards buying loot in town that's much better than the stuff I've got.

Granted, these are all systems that WoW developed long after its initial release, and maybe SWTOR will get there eventually, but for now it's a huge advantage. That kind of easily accessed, bite-sized content is just plain fun, and SWTOR has it, but it's just a lot harder to get to at the moment.

@Styl3s: If you're opposed to building it yourself, there's ibuypower. You'd be better off buying your own parts to assemble, but for about $800 they'll make something much more powerful than a crappy m18x

I've no interest in The War of Stars so I didn't really give this a second look. What I do know is that an MMO is about who you play it with because going at it alone, even if it's a story driven game, eventually becomes extremely boring. I'm not the friend making type but that is what kept me playing WoW for so long, random 'friends' I made along the way. When I lost that, I stopped playing.. Now the time thing is also a factor and I just wouldn't commit to something as time consuming as an MMO, even if it's free to play.

I'll play it when they put pandas in it. I'm not really into MMOs that don't let me be a panda.

From what I hear, people totally are.

I am because 5 of my friends play it and it's a good laugh with everyone together. However, I don't think I could play it without any of my friends either... After 3 years or so of wow on and off, 'hardcore' raiding through some of it, I just wanted to relax with star wars. So far so good on that front, I really like the amount of heroic quests, various mob difficulty levels and a pretty decent story which is keeping me happy. I may be interested in the other classes later on when I max out the level, and I'm interested in the legacy features they've yet to add. On that note, this is where I find my biggest problem lies with the game: It fails to include such simple options like UI customisation and a combat log. Ive read up and seen they are adding these features soon, but if they don't add these features, among others soon, I can see me quitting pretty soon after my 1st paid month...

Thought about picking it up when it launched, but ultimately decided not to, kinda glad I didn't.

I finished my Scoundrel's story and now I've got a 33 Juggernaut. I plan on playing every class -- alternating between Republic and Empire, with decent breaks from the game between each one. I may even do some classes twice if I find the opposite light/dark options tantalizing enough. Playing a Light Smuggler, I wasn't impressed with the dark side options, but as a Sith Warrior, those dark side choices I'm missing out on look tempting.

As far as end game goes: it's like ordering dessert at a Chinese restaurant.

Still playing and still really enjoying it. I could see myself playing this for a while. I'm not particularly interested in "end game" stuff, but I am interested in playing the different classes and seeing the story lines on both sides. The game has problems and things I'd like to see improved, but i still have fun playing it. The real test for me will be whether I go back after taking some time off for ME3 and other upcoming releases. That's what usually kills an MMO for me, taking some time off and just not feeling motivated to go back. I think the more story driven aspect of SWTOR will draw me back in, though. I feel more attached to my characters in this game than pretty much any other MMO.

Played the beta and remembered why I hated WoW so much. Couldn't be bothered with the construct of running around in vacant worlds with terrible UI and even worse gameplay mechanics, just so I could experience a 5 hour story spread out to 100+ hours. No. Thank. You.

@ashriels: I think you're looking too much into what he said, he didn't say much about it. The article seems to be more about how the game left Jeff feeling after he was done with it.

I'm enjoying the game a lot, but I went into it with the mindset that it's going to be a single player experience. I'm really enjoying all the quests and storylines, and I figure once I've levelled a Sith and a Jedi to 50, I'll probably be finished with the game unless there's some major work on the endgame content.

Played the free month, got to level 42 and dropped out. It was fun but they spaced the good stuff too far apart. Also the pvp was only good in huttball and even then wasn't amazing.

I still have an active subscription, but my playtime has dropped dramatically. I only log on once a day to raid with my guild, really, but we've even blown through all of that content. I used to be a hardcore MMO guy, I played WoW on and off for five years, and I'll usually throw a month or two at any given MMO that comes out.

The whole voice acted story did nothing for me. I usually skip voice acting and read the subtitles in games, even Mass Effect. I'll occasionally watch it if it's an important story bit, but for the most part, I find watching CG characters mime around while spouting dialog is just a waste of time from actual interesting content.

Star Wars also doesn't really do anything for me anymore. I liked it when I was younger, but... it kind of seems bad now.

I am but just barely I'm pretty much done once the SW story arch is over. It's worth seeing once maybe twice but slogging though that content 8 times? No way in heck will I do that. Maybe after a while I'll come back and run though another class story.

Kotor 1 and 2 are some of my favorite videogames of all time. I couldn't NOT get The Old Republic, the promise was so high. I don't like MMOs (and the parts about TOR that resemble an MMO are the worst parts by far) and the KOTOR-esque parts of The Old Republic don't feel quite right. It's all an approximation of the videogame that I want but it's close enough that I want to see the story through to the end. I care about my Sith Warrior (and hopefully I'll care about the other characters too) but not enough to play after I'm through with the story. But fuck me there's a lot of walking. 30% speed increase? IM ON A SPEEDER. I WANT 100%!

It's really quite a shame. This game squeaked onto my 2011 top ten since it was so fun and exciting in beta and early release. I played it a ton until last month and then I began to seriously question my interest in it.

Without creating a wall of text I think that it's mostly turned out to be a good single player adventure with optional multiplayer content. As a veteran of MMOs I thought this was neat at first blush but then came to realize I has having some difficulty getting around to doing any group content. It just wasn't doing it for me in my MMO niche.

As an interesting aside, I've noticed that when I canceled my subscription the launcher will no longer let me start the game. Even though I have game time left on my account it will not let me play unless I have an 'active subscription'. I guess there's not much left to say, then.

Still playing, still enjoying.

Preorderd it (I never preorder games). Played a lot the first two weeks. Then I just got bored with it. Didn't pay the subscription and have no urge to ever play it again. I think I'm just bored with mmo's in general, have played a lot of WoW over the years. There's so many other awesome games out there that I can't be bothered with an mmo right now.

Yes I am. Enjoying the end game. You know the bit you really need to play before judging a MMO:)

From EA fiscal

Star Wars: The Old Republic Has More Than 1.7 Million Active Subscribers

“We are pleased to report a strong holiday quarter driven by Battlefield 3, FIFA12 and a strong showing by our digital games and services,” said Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello. "Star Wars: The Old Republic is developing a committed community of players with more than 1.7 million active subscribers and growing.”

-Star Wars®: The Old Republic™ has generated 1.7 million active subscribers and sold through more than 2 million units in a little over one month.

I'm still playing on and off, enjoying it well enough. I feel a pretty long break period coming on, though. Maybe pick it up again in March, when there's supposed to be a substantial content patch.

Reading some other posts, it seems I'm not the only one who's basically sticking with it because they play it as a coop game and not as a solo or even "mmo" (meaning playing with random players you meet looking for group in chat) game. In fact, this game seems to really discourage random grouping other than specifically to defeat heroic quests and flash points, because you end up having to wait around a lot or wait for other people to finish class quest stuff or get mad when someone you don't know won't spacebar through the quest dialog you've seen 5 times because they haven't seen it yet. When you're in the same room with someone or at least good friends already, you're a lot more likely to put up with their bullshit in the game. Breaks in the action are an opportunity to get more snacks or a beer from the fridge, rather than an interruption in your valuable play time.

Did the same thing I did with all mmos I shell out cash for. Game + 3 months.

I made it a point to never even start KOTOR. All of my MMO pals keep talking about it and want to buy it or already have, but fuck that. We played WoW for, what, 8 years and all kind of ultimately dropped out of that over the course of 2011. Now they're all hyped up to play WoW in space? I'm afraid that I have befriended a band of crazy people.

Anyway, this seems quite reminiscent of the weeping peon thing that Blizzard uses in an attempt to guilt you out of canceling your Warcraft subscription. This one at least has a sexy alien lady on it.

You know what I miss? Games calling you a fucking pussy when you try and quit. "Oh I'm too difficult for you is that it? Gonna go play with your dolls instead? Fuck you."

Now it's all wub wub your companion misses you :'((((((. What a crock of shit. It's pretty much everything that's wrong with kids today.

I played for the free month. I leveled my toon to 50 and then quit. The story kept me around, but the end-game was horrible.

I think this would have been better if the article had a poll in it. There are plenty of comments that I don't feel like sifting through to get an answer though.

Mine is a definitive no. It is exactly like every mmo except it has a novel companion/crafting element.

Whoopdy-doo.

F2P in a few months, yay!

I'm still playing. I have a level 16 sith warrior and a level 38 jedi consular.

100 hours sounds like you got your moneys worth

@Kidavenger said:

@Vodun said:

@Jeff I'm not playing it like an MMO, I'm playing it as a co-op single player RPG and I'm still having fun.

I think you have the right idea, I was really mad at this game from the beta for it not being a good MMO, but I think if you go into this playing it like a regular non-MMO game you could have some fun with it. I'll give it another shot one of these days...

Then why the $15 a month? That's pretty much the only thing preventing me from picking it up. If i'm paying $15 every month in addition to the $60 retail, i'd want that to be justified. IMO that's too much moolah for a non MMO experience.

I've got a couple of friends who still play this fairly religiously, they're trying to get me back so we can start a guild. I really just can't take it anymore, I'm definitely not cut out for MMOs, but I will say, for me the best part about it was the Cut Scenes for the quests; with other MMOs the quests were just beacons to killing or collecting etc. whereas this game actually got me somewhat interested and intrigued about the missions I was going on. As for my friends, I think they see it from the point of view of camaraderie, it's something a bunch of us can sit down and play without having to go to one another's houses. They told me the other night they didn't really have any drive to play any other game at the moment, while I drift off and play all my shiny new games, or old ones I want to catch up on.

The sheer fact I have so many unfinished games, and so many more coming down the pike is another major reason for departing from TOR. I mean, I feel that having all these games sitting half or less complete is just silly, and to drain so many hours into one game that doesn't necessarily have an end, well I just can't do it. Forget about the nay-sayers, they were in this looking for TOR to be the WoW-killer, and frankly, I don't think there will be until Blizzard's next MMO. Even then, WoW may not be gone just yet. So, I feel that those folks are holding it up to a very specific standard and the folks who are really dedicated must A) be okay with the style, and B) Love the Star Wars universe and stories. I mean, Galaxies went on for years with its niche didn't it?

I dont think this game should of been an MMO. Maybe a multiplayer game with a good campaign but MMO? Maybe not.

I started playing Star Trek Online when it went f2p if that counts...

...probably doesn't, but I just wanted to be a part of the conversation.

bigger flop than gw2?

I'm still playing, I enjoy the guild community.

To be honest, the actual game of SWTOR serves mostly as a "thing to do while listening to podcasts" and a fun chat-room.

I've realized after years of WoW and now TOR that what I want from an MMO, if I want to play seriously, is actually something closer to EVE, or even the original Galaxies, where combat wasn't the focus. You could be a trader or a builder and that is perfectly fine which I think MMO's need, diversity. As it is right now, I am waiting for Planetside 2 to come out, as Planetside is one of my favorite games of all time.

I like it. It think it makes some smart choices, and some dumb which, i think, are not that much relevant for endgame servers. Who cares if leveling zones are empty in the first place when they will be empty on any mature server.

MMO guy or not is the question.

I loved the game when I was playing it, even enjoyed Hoth, but got to around level 45 and just stopped playing. I didn't have anyone to play with so I just kinda died out playing it. It was fun, but an MMO it shouldn't be. I have sixth months to get to 50, but i don't know if I'll get back to it unless they add some stuff to the game that makes it worth wild.

still playing and very much enjoying it. Don't see what the fuss is with such an email, all MMOs tend to automatically send out such things to try and drag people back.

I'm still playing. hoping to at least see the end story for the inquisitor.

I'm at around level 30 right now. However I'm fairly under-leveled because I've stopped caring about the side quests which I have lost any interest in completing.

I still feel lied to when I was told this was going to be KOTOR 3-10 because I really don't care for MMO tropes but I like a good bioware story and if I can co-op through it with a friend, even better.

I don't know though... Its getting pretty exhausting going through all this filler and running through empty places.

All that being said I've played this MMO longer than I've stuck to any other one.

Nice blog, but, don´t post this on swtor forums Jeff, or you gonna get your ass ban for "trolling".

Yep, still playing

Someone should make a twitter account for Jeff's abandoned companion.

For me personally, SWTOR is an enigma. I've played several MMOs over the years. But I'm not much into multiplayer (except Halo and Trenched!) so I don't usually get much out of the games and I have never ever paid for a month of service beyond the intial 30 day trial that came with my game purchase. WoW, DCUO, EQ, Champions, City of Villains. None of these managed to hold my attention past about lvl 10-15.

Then along comes SWTOR. I loved Star Wars before it was "improved" by Lucas. It was an influential part of my childhood, Star Wars references in other films always made me feel connected to the characters because it seemed we shared interest and I understood where the writer was coming from. It's been an important part of my geek life since 1977 (I was 5 then).

I hated Galaxies. It did all the same things the other MMOs did and I was not a fan. But SWTOR's story driven gameplay has managed to keep me interested. I can no longer say "I've never paid for a month of service past the inital 30 days". I've built all 8 classes and forged characters out of all of them. With a couple of exceptions, I've gotten all of them to advanced classes. The only reason my playing has slacked off in the last 10 days is work related. I haven't had time to focus on it and I don't want to play half heartedly.

But I will be returning. I'm nearing the end of my project and it looks as though I'll have some time to dedicate back into it soon. And I'm looking forward to it. I still don't like MMOs as a concept. But SWTOR is the exception to the rule. It's engaged me. The snap of a lightsaber coming to life is exciting. Blaster fights are exciting. The hum as you enter hyperspace, you guessed it, is still exciting. And SWTOR lets me have a meaningful Star Wars adventure that does not have the stink of Lucas and his retcons all over it.

The real test will be Feb 7th and the release of Amalur. That's the next big AAA game that I've been waiting for. If SWTOR can hold some of my attention while I play that as well, I'll likely be interested for many months to come. If not, well at least I managed to have my first positive MMO experience and that makes SWTOR something special. It's MMOs made the way I always wanted them to be. A story, combat that is interesting and looks cool, enjoyable questlines, and all packed onto a loot and crafting system that I've really come to enjoy.

Nope, I canceled just before the 30-days were up. The game never was able to grab my attention. Turns out that I just don't like the WoW style MMO.

I'm still playing and enjoying TOR. I'm not sure what's so "gross" about the email you received. It's not any worse than the pleas to subscribe at the top of the Giant Bomb website that I see when I'm not logged into my paid account.

@Tennmuerti said:

@Kidavenger said:

@Vodun said:

@Jeff I'm not playing it like an MMO, I'm playing it as a co-op single player RPG and I'm still having fun.

I think you have the right idea, I was really mad at this game from the beta for it not being a good MMO, but I think if you go into this playing it like a regular non-MMO game you could have some fun with it. I'll give it another shot one of these days...

Then why the $15 a month? That's pretty much the only thing preventing me from picking it up. If i'm paying $15 every month in addition to the $60 retail, i'd want that to be justified. IMO that's too much moolah for a non MMO experience.

They will be building this game up over time, think of it as DLC, I don't think paying 15 a month on an ongoing basis is worth it and I'm not playing it right now, but if I do start playing it, I think I'll probably just pay for one month a year go in and see all the new stuff, maybe do a new class to 50. I'm still of the opinion that this game is a complete failure as a MMO, but I think I've also come to the conclusion that I don't really want to play MMOs anymore, if this game can give a good story, that's enough for me.

I am still playing and I got one of these emails today. I'm guessing because I haven't played my Vanguard in weeks, Aric Jorgan misses me.

YEP still playing don't plan on stopping..well once the gaming season starts up again i'll cut down on my gametime.

At least jeff still has his Star Trek to go to now