You may remember several months ago when JJ Abrams kicked off Star Wars: Force For Change, with the intent of raising money for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The grand prize was a trip to the set of Star Wars Episode VII and you better believe there were a lot of fans who wanted a chance to win. Slashfilm.com has an interesting update for us, as well as some details on the “droid hand” Abrams teased in the announcement. The first video revealed a brand new creature from the world. A second video revealed the new X-Wing fighter. And now, Abrams revealed the results of the initiative and winner’s name with another excitingly cryptic photo. Is it a Episode 7 droid hand? Or perhaps Luke Skywalker’s robot hand? Check it out and read more about the Force for Change winner below. And here you can see the Tweet for yourself if you missed…
News
SWTOR Earns $165 Million Last Year
According to research and data from SuperData, Star Wars: The Old Republic remains one of the top five subscription MMOs in the world, earning $165 million last year. The ambitious MMORPG started as a sub-based model but then later adjusted to a free-to-play game with paid options and this made all the difference in the world for EA in terms of earning potential. This figure includes subscriptions, expansion packs and microtransactions and it puts SWTOR in 4th place in the world for MMO earnings. As you can see from the chart, WoW took first place with over $1 Billion in revenue, Lineage 1 took 2nd place with $253 million, TERA: Online took 3rd with $236 million. Some games to come in after SWTOR include LOTRO, EVE Online, Aion, Blade and Soul, Lineage 2, and RIFT. Since 2010, the MMO market has been changing and growing. The pay-to-play model is dying and the…
What Does It Mean to Be a Gamer Today?
What does it mean to be a gamer today? This is not a simple question. Depending on who you ask, you are guaranteed to get a variety of answers. This is because people look at gaming differently. Most of us probably agree that if you play SWTOR, you are a “gamer”. But what if you play Pocket Frogs or Candy Crush? Is one more of a gamer than the other? Who gets to set the rules about which games make you a gamer and which ones do not? And let’s cast all of that aside for a few and talk about what it really means to be a gamer today. Does it even mean anything? With gaming as mainstream as it is today, it seems everyone does it. Your grandma, that two-year-old waiting for his lunch and playing with mom’s phone. Everyone is potentially a gamer, even if they don’t…
Swtor considered 3rd best free 2 play game by WatchMojo.com
Mojo Games did a list of Top 10 free to play games (PC only). SWTOR was ranked 3rd on the list. We’re happy to see SWTOR still making Top lists like this. There are also some other great games on the list so if you have some free time, you may want to check them out as well (Planetside 2 and Team Fortress 2 being some of faves). Check out the full list for yourself and let us know your favorite – next to SWTOR, of course. Do you agree with the list or do you feel it’s missing something?
Galactic Living Livestream: Thursday July 10th
There will be a SWTOR Galactic Strongholds stream tomorrow, Thursday July 10th , at 1:30PM PDT (8:30 PM GMT). Tomorrow’s stream will cover a first look at the Coruscant Skyrise Apartments. This is your chance to learn more about Galactic living and what we can all expect from Galactic Strongholds. You will have the chance to preview stronghold customization options- something that many of us have been wondering about for a long time.
Star Wars: Battlefront – Release Date Already Pushed Back?
Shortly after the E3 trailer of Star Wars: Battlefront was shown, people began speculating a possible release date for the title. A commonly floated time-frame was the first quarter of 2015, placing the game’s release within striking distance of Star Wars: Episode 7, something which – as I have said before – would indeed make perfect sense from a marketing angle. According to some very recent rumors however, it now looks like a more likely release time-frame for the much awaited title is late 2015/early 2016. While these are indeed just rumors and nothing has been confirmed by DICE in this respect, and while such a push-back of the release date definitely pains die-hard fans of the Star Wars universe, there may unfortunately be some solid reasoning behind it all. While development has indeed begun as evidenced by the above-said E3 trailer, it may already be running late, given how…
SWTOR Summer Pass- Get it and Save!
With summer comes great things for gamers and the SWTOR Summer Pass is a fine example of that! For a limited time only, if you’re not already subbed to SWTOR, you can get a pretty decent discount on a 4-month sub with this summer pass. The 2014 Summer Pass is on sale until June 30th and you can save 33% over the standard monthly cost of a subscription for four months. Here’s what you get with the summer pass: Save 33% over the standard monthly cost for four months of subscription – one-time payment of $39.99USD / 23.99 GBP covers all four months Get unlimited game access to exciting story missions, galactic adventures and more 200 Bonus Cartel Coins to spend on valuable collectibles, XP Boosts, mini-pets and more at the in-game Cartel Market If you’re looking to bring in some friends and family to play with you, to get a discount on…
SWTOR Los Angeles Community Cantina Q&A Audio (Cana Rum Bar, June 2014)
We love to bring you updates from the Community Cantinas that take place in various cities across the map. There is always new and exciting fun to come out of these events and of course, we can’t forget the flash drive goodies. So the Q&A of this Community Cantina was with Eric Musco and you can find a full write-up of that here on 42gaming.com. You can also listen to the video below (audio only). Here is a snippet: Question: When will we know the rewards for Ranked PVP Season 2? Answer: “We do not like to present the rewards and requirements till at least halfway through the Season” Question: Will classes be able to use weapons that are not intended for the class, i.e Jedi using a blaster? Answer: No, one of the reasons is to allow others to identify the enemy’s class in PVP. Question: Will there be…
Video Game Franchises and a Star Wars Legacy
While recording a podcast for my gaming community tonight, we were discussing E3 this year and the announcements that were made. An interesting topic came up; one that I think could use a little more exploration. Basically, we were talking about video game franchises and in particular, franchises that include more than just a line of video games. We have many popular game franchises that started off as movies, comics or books. And there are some that were later turned into movies and books and even TV shows. When a title takes off like this, we are looking at much more than just a series of games. What we’re really looking at is a brand. And the developers who create these games want to keep the fans interested in their brand. They want to take those loyal gamers and turn them into lifelong fans. However, this tactic is not as…
Happy Father’s Day Star Wars Style!
Today is a day for celebrating the men who brought us into this world- our dear old dads! Thousands of fathers will be kicking back and relaxing today, or grilling up their favorite meals in the sunny backyard. Some will be lazy-ing around in the recliners or taking a dip in the pool. Still, others might go fishing or out to their favorite restaurant for dinner.
Unofficial GTN App (/w Mobile Support) – Coming Soon!
Do you ever wish you could check in with the Galactic Trade Network while away from your PC? Well, you might be able to do exactly that here very soon. There is a GTN app in the works and the developer posted on Reddit to explain the details. Hello everyone! I am pleased to announce one of the latest projects I have been working on – The Galactic Trade Network (app). This is a simple GTN tracker of popular items (such as materials and gear) that shows you price over time for your server. As of this post, the initial framework is in place. The overall design is placeholder at best and will change. Data currently shown is NOT ACTUAL DATA, this is an early preview! What’s coming before release? The ability to select a server that has available data A submission form to allow automated data submission More items…
Minecraft Huttball! Check it Out
Do you love Mincraft? Are you a fan of Huttbal? Now you can have the best of both worlds- sort of! Here we have Huttball maps in Minecraft, thanks to Joevahskank. This is actually really cool and I know the creator spent a lot of time on it and trying to get it right. He had this to say: “I did more work after I posted my last album earlier, so here’s the replacement. The first picture is of the foundation. The second is behind the stands… hoping to get some concession stands out there. The third through last? Well, you can see the arena’s nearly finished!” It’s coming along nicely and I, for one, enjoy Minecraft and will have to check this out. Check out some more images of Huttball in Minecraft:
New SWTOR Event and New Alien Species on PTS
Will we soon be seeing a new alien species in SWTOR? Data-mined info says it’s possible, although little more is known at this time. Here are some images of a potential new race (playable?) that we might see coming with a future content update that is also supposed to bring a new SWTOR event. swtor_miner explains some of what the data shows about the model, “”These new aliens fall into the Bothan semi-custom model category, and not the full-custom model Wookiee one. This means they share animations with regular humanoid species.” I agree that I don’t think this will be a playable race based on what the datamining found. Probably they will be NPC models but perhaps this shows us what the new event or some of the new content will be about. Of course, this early in the process, the whole thing could be scrapped. We can never depend…
Wookieepedia Issues Official Canon Policy
Wookieepedia has posted their new canon policy for us to see. Most of this is not very surprising at all but it is very important to Star Wars fans and to anyone who uses the site as a resource. From the official policy page: Wookieepedia strives to be the Internet’s foremost comprehensive resource for Star Wars canon information. To this end, Wookieepedia adheres to the canon doctrines set forth by Lucasfilm Ltd. and its subsidiaries. On April 25, 2014, Lucasfilm announced that all Expanded Universe material is now reorganized under the non-canon “Legends” banner to make way for the “new canon” to take place. The new canonbegan on screen with the Star Wars Rebels animated television series and in print with the novel A New Dawn. Under the direction of theLucasfilm Story Group, all elements of Star Wars canon now operate in a unified and collaborative storytelling setting. They go on to explain “new canon” which is the Lucasfilm Story Group connected universe as of April 25, 2014. They explain…
Are Double XP Weekends Helpful to SWTOR Community?
So we talk about SWTOR Double XP weekends a lot here, for obvious reasons. But let’s consider for a moment if they are not really as good for the community as they may seem. Just for the sake of discussion, let’s look at it from another perspective. What happens during a double XP weekend? Generally, more players flock back to the game who never got around to leveling up alts. Some might bring their friends as well. Or you might even get some brand new players to the game who just want to take advantage of the opportunity to level up fast. Double XP from the event combined with any other Cartel Market boosters or guild bonuses and you can get level 20 before leaving the planet you’re on. You could get to max level in one solid weekend of playing, even if you just created the character. So this…
Former LucasArts President Joins Dungeon Defenders as CEO
Independent developer Trendy Entertainment has hired former LucasArts president Darrell Rodriguez as its new CEO. Trendy Entertainment, best known for its action-RPG Dungeon Defenders, is hoping the former LucasArts president will help lead their company to future success. Rodriguez tells Game Industry Biz: “When I first visited here I saw tremendous potential–both in Dungeon Defenders II and their cross platform backend and technology, Playverse, and needed to be a part of it. Working with talented, passionate people and putting them and customers first to help unlock Trendy Entertainment’s potential is why I’m here,” Rodriguez said. “I have been extremely fortunate to work with some of the most talented and passionate people across various creative industries and at some of the most renowned companies in the world. I am equally impressed and blessed to work with the passion and skill that exist at Trendy.” He also discussed that Trendy Entertainment will…
Developer Blog: What’s New in Season Two?
Hello PVP fans! If you enjoyed Season One, you might be excited to know Season 2 is coming. This most recently Developer’s Blog has some great info for us about what to expect in Season Two:
Game Update 2.7 – The Invasion is Here!
CALLING ALL FORCES TO THE SITH ACADEMY AND JEDI TEMPLE! Welcome to Game Update 2.7: Invasion We are very excited to see the release of Game Update 2.7: Invasion today. In addition to many bug fixes and other updates, we also get to experience some great new content. We get a new story arc: Forged Alliances, new Flashpoints, Nightmare Mode for the Dread Fortress, Ranked Warzone Season 1 ends and you can start pre season for season 2, and we see Quesh Huttball Put, a new warzone that looks to be a lot of fun. Bounty Contract Week will be making a comeback and there is a new Galactic Starfighter Domination Map: Denon Exosphere. Developer Blogs explains: We believe this game update captures some of the key elements that make Star Wars™ special: the struggle between galactic factions; engaging in dangerous and difficult trials that push you to the limits of…
Bioware Austin is Hiring
SWTOR Community Manager Eric Musco also shared it on the SWTOR forums. Their web team is looking for a Front End Web Developer to work on SWTOR in the Austin studio. They say they are looking for someone who is passionate about SWTOR and wanting to work on some cool new things. The job listing says you’d be working on “the customer-facing web applications and the web site” for SWTOR.
SWTOR Double XP Weekend Coming Up! 4/11 – 4/13
It’s that time again! Time for another double XP weekend in SWTOR. You may remember that there were some issues surrounding the last double XP weekend and Bioware promised us they would “make good” with another one soon. So here it is: 4/11 – 4/13 That’s next weekend so get your Mountain Dew and Hot Pockets ready because this is a great time for a gaming fest. SWTOR Community Manager Eric Musco took to the SWTOR forums to announce this and also to explain a little about the confusion that happened at the last weekend event. Here’s part of that post: “You may remember back when we ran our last double XP weekend that there were a lot of forum reports around that Kuat Drive Yards was not issuing double XP. Once we realized that, as a “make good” to the issue, we would do another double XP weekend so you can…
Darth Vader for President: Ukraine
Darth Vader for president! Nope, it’s not a joke. Darth Vader is now running for president in Ukraine. The official announcement of his candidacy was made my Vader this weekend, where he was supported by Stormtroopers as he declared, “I alone can make an empire out of a republic, to restore former glory, to return lost territories and pride for this country.”
We Hit 35K Followers on Facebook!
We have some very exciting news to celebrate this week- we have 35,000 fans/followers on Facebook now. We know a good number of those are you so we wanted to take the time to tell you all a very big, genuine THANK YOU. It has given us a great deal of pleasure to bring you Star Wars and SWTOR news for all of these years and our Facebook page is one more place where we bring you our updated blog posts plus other tidbits, news and cool stuff. If you have not spent time on our Facebook page yet, you might not know that we share more there than just our blog posts. Not only can you stay updated on all of the news and info we share daily but you’ll also connect with other SWTOR and Star Wars fans. You can communicate with us directly, send us messages or…
SWTOR is now OFFICIALLY on Instagram
If you are a SWTOR fan who also loves Instagram, then you’ll be happy to hear this news. SWTOR is now officially on Instagram!
STAR WARS: EPISODE VII to Start Filming in May 2014
Have you been as anxious about Star Wars: Episode VII as we have? We have been waiting to share with you some good news and it’s finally here. Disney and Lucasfilm are excited to announce that principal photography on Star Wars: Episode VII, directed by J.J. Abrams will begin filming in May 2014 (just 2 months away) in London’s historic Pinewood Studios.