Star Wars: The Old Republic might already be on the downslide. A new analyst report from Cowen and Company has is suggesting that the ambitious new MMO has been facing a decline in subscriptions, with a peak of 1.7 million players in February down to a forecasted 1.25 million at the end of the fiscal year.
Analyst Doug Creutz believes that EA’s heavy marketing could be a sign that a decline is a very real threat. Including offering free trial subscriptions and free-periods for already invested gamers, this has been causing quite a stir within the fan community.
“We believe that the apparent decline in subscribers is most likely due to a lack of ‘end-game’ content for the title, meaning that players who hit the level cap have few compelling options in terms of ongoing game play,” he noted. “While the game got off to a good start, the relatively light amount of end-game content does appear to be taking a toll.
“We believe EA is attempting to address the end-game content issue, including a recent major game update, but momentum appears to have stalled and we believe it is prudent to adopt a more conservative forecast on subscribers at this time.”
Electronic Art’s outlook is looking quite good, according to Creutz. The publisher has steady revenue coming in from PopCap, EA Sports and its continued push in digital sales through Origin. EA will be looking at a positive end to the fiscal year.
Source: gamesindustry.biz