SWTOR won't launch unless "it's solid"

By Johnny Minkley Published 26 August, 2011

"We're trying as fast as we can."

With EA yet to pinpoint an exact release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Bioware has said its "main focus" now is making sure the game is "solid" enough to "pull the trigger".

Speaking to Eurogamer at Gamescom last week, BioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk reiterated the official line that his studio was "targeting holiday" for the launch of the ambitious MMO.

But he explained that it was vital from day one - whenever that may be - to ensure the game was "available, reliable, [and] really solid".

He said: "We're doing our very best to get it out as fast as we can. With a game like this, getting it all right, getting all the server stuff right is just as important as getting the game right."

Seeking to ease fears that the game would slip into 2012, he added: "We're trying, as fast as we can. That's the reality. It's literally live right now; we've been doing a lot of testing with a lot of people behind the scenes.

"At any one time there are thousands of people playing the game. Starting next month [when public beta weekends are scheduled] we're really going to start expanding that testing cycle."

Zeschuk acknowledged that the challenges BioWare was dealing with for the MMO were new territory for the company.

"It's one thing to get the game done, another to ensure you can login thousands of people a minute," he said. "It's a different sort of requirement. The things you need to get done to ship this are very different from a standard game. A standard game, this is like five of them, right?"

Despite producing some of the biggest franchises in gaming, Zeschuk admitted SWTOR was "kinda daunting", adding: "This game's launch is going to be one of the biggest launches ever in the history of gaming.

"Our job is really simple: making sure it's great when it comes out. We're going to do the right thing for the fans, for the product. It's a big deal but we're doing our very best to get it out as fast as we can."

Picture of Johnny.

About Johnny Minkley

Johnny Minkley is a veteran games writer and broadcaster, former editor of Eurogamer TV, VP of gaming charity SpecialEffect, and hopeless social media addict.

Read more articles from Johnny by visiting the Johnny Minkley archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 9 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Mellissa #1 9 months ago

    "another to ensure you can login thousands of people a minute,"
    Haven't MMOs been doing that for years though... not exactly a new invention.

  • dangercopperfield #2 9 months ago

    @Mellissa true enough but not in BioWares case. This pressure wasn't around when WOW launched so it's understandable they don't want to release a broken game and then for it to tank.

  • Kanselier #3 9 months ago

    Is this the place where people can leave their 'Does not matter. Dead within 6 months' comments? If so, let me grab a couple of beers and popcorn.

    /beers
    /popcorn

    There, all set.

  • Totza #4 9 months ago

    This game looks awful lmao

  • Totza #5 9 months ago

    so bad

  • JoeGBallad #6 9 months ago

    When I was 6 years old, watching Star Wars over and over again on tape, recorded off STV no less; if you'd told me I'd get to play a videogame one day where me and thousands of people like me were all flying around shooting eachother in the Star Wars world, it'd be like asking me if I wanted to visit Santa Claus.

    Fastforward 18 years and it looks like that dream game, that ultimate 6 year old fantasy, is going to take place in a universe that is nothing like the films I fell in love with when I was wee (honestly, the mere mention of the word 'republic' in relation to Star Wars is enough to bore me to tears). What a missed opportunity. Instead of flying X Wings and Millenium Falcons wround, you're stuck in a game where everybody's a fucking jedi.

    Controversial but true statement: The reason everything involved with Star Wars apart from the original films is rubbish is because there are too many jedi, and hence, too many lightsabres. In the original films, lightsabres were used sparingly, dramatically, and elegantly. A pin drops in the universe of the 'old republic' (yawn) and a million lightsabres light up.

  • Subdominator #7 9 months ago

    "This game's launch is going to be one of the biggest launches ever in the history of gaming."

    Wishful thinking. I hope it bombs hard, because I don't want the future of singleplayer games to be that I have to pay 50 bucks for the game and another 10 a month to actually play it. I know it's supposed to be a multiplayer game but I played it and the reality is it is as much a singleplayer game as KoTOR. The online part is best described as what coop is for singleplayer games. You never get the feeling that you're in a world full of real people, because you aren't. TOR is a shame for both MMOs and singleplayer games.

  • George-Roper #8 9 months ago

    @Subdominator

    Couldn't agree more. I'm amazed more people, especially here can't see how hard this is going to fall. It's like they can't, or won't see past the Star Wars title.

    Just like EA and Bioware.

  • WinterSnowblind #9 9 months ago

    Until it's "solid" about sums it up for me.
    Everything about this game makes it seem the development philosophy was "yeah, that'll do".

  • nickthegun #10 9 months ago

    holding onto one anothers hands

  • FortysixterUK #11 9 months ago

    "Fuck you star wars haters . This game is going to be brilliant. Bioware, take as long as you need"
    **exits fan boy mode**, reaility strikes like a cold, night time November wind to the face after an evening in the pub.
    The Star Wars littany is uttered quietly, relentlessly. The hope of a generation lives or dies with you .
    please be good
    please be good
    please be good......

  • Raznilof #12 9 months ago

    Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.

    open door ; ) but I also won't judge until I played it.

    also @joe, so true!

  • HurbleBurble #13 9 months ago

    Have to agree with Joe, yes, it's a prequel title but the point about lightsabres and Jedi was that they were rare, unique and ridiculously powerful.

    Having watched a couple of playthroughs, I'm sorry but it's bland, not particularly attractive and the first thing anyone will do is roll a force-wielding character just for a lightsabre. It's not as though sabres will be partiularly unique bar colouring and so won't have the aesthetic impact of different weaponry found in WoW for example. It is just going to be 'Land of Lightsabres' - or LoL if you will. (Apologies to League of Legends fans).

  • Darkbeat #14 9 months ago

    The launch plans for this game is so... Weird.
    I wonder if it'll be one of those things where they'll keep the launch a surprise right up until the date. "Hey guys here's a batch of new screenshots and a trailer... oh yeah, the game comes out tomorrow. Have a nice weekend"

  • ollyn #15 9 months ago

    I was ready to take the plunge and give this MMO a go, I like Star Wars but can't really consider myself a fan as such (at least not in comparison with many of the hardcore fans at least). However when I saw the price they were charging for pre-order I was frankly a bit amazed. It's not that I could't afford it, it's more that i don't think it's worth that much let alone with continued subscription.

    Whilst I am sure Star Wars fans will love it there will be very few others willing to pay £45 (Standard version) and whatever else per month in addition to play an MMO which thus far whilst looking fairly good doesn't look particularly amazing. Hopefully they will lower the price and that the pre-order price is set to get the fans in early and not overload the servers with the less committed but still.

  • gmmonkey #16 9 months ago

    I loved star wars galaxies, and I loved knights of the old republic. Those two games are jostling for my favourite games of all time with Zelda: OT and TES: Oblivion and, thus, this game should blow my mind. However, I'm getting the feeling Bioware don't 'get' what an mmorpg is, and what makes people play them for years. From what I've read, it just seems to be singleplayer game with some multiplayer components tacked on that you have to pay a monthly fee for. There doesn't seem to be much of an end game. Re-rolling and trying new character classes is apparently and end game. That'd be fine if it was a completely separate story, but apparently character class story accounts for about 10-15% of your overall story. So you just end up doing the same content you've done before. In addition to this, I've found not many people want to re-roll a new character as they've invested tons of time into their first character, and have grown attached to it. The real test for EA/Bioware is the retention of the subs. From what I've read I'm not convinced there will be enough things to do at the end to keep players. Anyway, I'll still be buying it.

  • orren #17 9 months ago

    @ollyn

    45 GBP is roughly 50 euros. That's what it would cost me to buy deus ex HR, or really any new AAA single player game on steam. So i'd say that's a pretty standard box price.

    "But you also have to pay a monthly fee!"

    Well.
    I pay 50EUR for a single player game, play it for 2-3 weeks, then it's done and i can throw it away.
    I pay 50EUR for a MMO, play it(for the initial price) for 4 weeks, then i can either throw it away or buy another month(if its fun)

    What's the better deal? I think that purely from the cost-effectiveness perspective, MMO's are hard to beat.
    Edited by orren at 26/08/11 @ 13:50

  • scoop #18 9 months ago

    "we're trying as fast as we can"

    And that, good sirs, may be half the problem.

  • jools #19 9 months ago

    @orren

    Ahh? Just bought Deus Ex HR for £21.50 and installed it on Steam...

  • orren #20 9 months ago

    @jools

    I'm comparing the price of SWTOR preorder to a standard AAA single player game price. I went with steam because that's as close to standard as it gets. Sure, you can get a better deal on deus ex elsewhere, but then so can you on SWTOR. The point is, there's no big difference between the two.

  • scoop #21 9 months ago

    Oh no, my wisdom was downvoted. Is there a fanboi, or someone from marketing, in the house?

    Let me tell you something. You either take your time and do things properly, or you rush to meet deadlines and try in vain and rush to meet that precious "X" that EA Marketing are so fond of, and consequences be damned.

    True enough, there are people who want the game now, and people who want it done right, but you can't please everyone. In those circumstances, you could at least try to please the ones who aren't idiots.

    This is what marks developers like Blizzard and Valve apart from the rest. They don't promise dates, they don't even talk about it, until they're sure of themselves and their product.

    But of course, this will get downvoted because it's on a gaming news site, and here I am advocating news blackouts...:p

  • Quixz #22 9 months ago

    In other words wont be out till next year.

  • Mono_X #23 9 months ago

    @Joe

    You're correct about the films, but a game has to be different.
    The thing is that Jedi and the Force are what made Star Wars different and stand out. So people are going to want to play a Jedi. Yes you can play a bounty hunter or a smuggler or whatever, but what's so special about that - it's not like you get to be Han Solo is it.

  • Ryboy #24 9 months ago

    The amount of hate for this game is just pathetic. Maybe, just maybe we should all judge it for ourselves when it's finally released. How's that? Oh, sorry you're right, that is far too adult.

  • Inmediasress #25 9 months ago

    Titanic comes to mind.

  • bemaniac #26 9 months ago

    Going to need a free trial before I'll buy.

  • Morvah #27 9 months ago

    @Subdominator

    Your saying you've played it and it doesn't feel like an mmo. Maybe as its beta and you wont run into as many players. I mean the game isnt even out and your saying things like that. Is it so hard to think before you even type things out.

    The game enviroment is obviously going to be different in beta. If you ARE a beta tester, you should be testing and not playing it as a finished product, expecting a solid community with lots of people around.

    Saying you hoping it bombs hard is funny as people like you still have to come on the forums of the game and whinge instead of finding something better to do lol

    But thanks for the laugh ;)

  • orren #28 9 months ago

    -----------------------
    "I hope it bombs hard, because I don't want the future of singleplayer games to be that I have to pay 50 bucks for the game and another 10 a month to actually play it."
    -----------------------

    And how many single player games have you bought for 50 bucks that lasted you longer than a month? Most of what's coming out these days lasts me around two weeks, maybe three.
    The MMO which you pay the same 50 bucks for will last you four weeks minimum(as that's the free month included in the box price). How is that a bad deal?
    Edited by orren at 26/08/11 @ 20:01

  • mmopig #29 9 months ago

    This game is going to be awesome. How do I know? I watch gameplay videos and read and its an mmo that looks really awesome and fun. Don't listen to the haters they're just bitter this isn't a console game and/or a multitude of other reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of this game as an mmo, which is what it is.

    Was WoW ever considered a great game? No.

  • ollyn #30 9 months ago

    @Orren

    The quality/worth of a game is not really defined by it's longevity. I preferred and would pay more for Portal 2 than LA noire for instance. I don't think many MMOs are great value (Some are) as you are essentially repeating many quests over and over at different levels and whilst most computer games retain a level of repetition MMO's are one of the worst at hiding this.

    That said I feel MMO's live and die on their subscription holders not their initial buyers and by putting the buy in price at this level will prevent the more fiscally minded from taking the plunge. people such as myself.

  • orren #31 9 months ago

    -------------------
    "It's a bad deal if it only lasts that long because it relies on repetitive grindy content."
    -------------------

    I did not say it will last that long. I said it will last MINIMUM that long, because that's the amount of time you have pre-paid with the initial purchase of the game. I'm comparing the value you get for $50 when buying a single player game and when buying an MMO. And for $50, you get a month. That's why it's the minimum you get.

  • orren #32 9 months ago

    @ollyn
    ------------------
    "The quality/worth of a game is not really defined by it's longevity."
    ------------------

    I am not disputing that. I am simply stating that, assuming both games are equally fun, you get more (longer) entertainment from $50 invested into an MMO than $50 invested into a single player game, as long as the single player game will be finished within a month of purchase(which most of them are)

    Thus your complaint that the initial purchase of an MMO is too pricey "because you also have to pay subscription" is off. The subscription only comes into play after the first month, a point when most single player games are already done and offer no further entertainment, while MMO's still offer some, if you are willing to pay $15.

    Look at it this way: To continuously fund your gaming hobby, you can either spend $50 a month buying single player games, or spend $50 the first month and $15-$10 a month after that as long as the MMO is fun. IMHO, the MMO comes a lot cheaper.

  • Gylfi #33 9 months ago

    I agree with most of you, especially one Tjtj who said LA should do like Disney did and go back to its roots, in their case go back to point&click adventures.

    i don't see why people should continue playing after they're done with one campaign. Do they seriously think everyone will start a new character in THE SAME GAME? Story may be different(who cares about story, c'mon), but mechanics aren't.

    And waht's going to be so good and awesome about the story anyway? PLEASE tell me. Is it the choices? How do choices work?

  • ruddiger7 #34 9 months ago

    dont think theyd want to make square enix's mistake either and launch a half-finished mmo

  • kazuya69 #35 9 months ago

    "It's one thing to get the game done, another to ensure you can login thousands of people a minute,"

    Um, what happened to all the experience acquired through Mythic? I recall them making an MMO or two...