PotBS drops seven servers, four remain
by Kyle Horner 
Apr 15th 2008 at 7:00AM
Filed under: Pirates of the Burning Sea, MMO industry, News items
Out of the 11 total servers PotBS was running with, it's now down to just four. The upshot of this news is that servers will be far more dense with players -- which is the main reason Flying Lab gives concerning the shutdowns. Another reason given us is that recent updates have allowed for more characters per server.
When you're shutting down more than half of your servers, it's never a completely good thing. We feel like this is a sign that, unfortunately, PotBS missed its projected launch numbers by a good margin.
Of course, we also feel like this could be better for the community that's still playing and enjoying the game. Could PotBS be one of those MMOs with a highly dedicated community? We certainly think so and hopefully the upcoming changes to the game will help bring some more players into the fold over time. For information on how the server change will happen, the official announcement has the gritty details.
[Thanks, Nuleren]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jst8 said on 10:03AM 4-15-2008
While technical explanation of "we're now able to support more users per server" may be true, it feels like they're searching for a way to avoid saying "we're dying a slow and painful death and can't justify two-thirds of our server farm."
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funcro said on 1:13PM 4-15-2008
When you miss your projected launch numbers by a good margin, lower your client price. Your premium pricing has obviously failed to convince consumers that you've produced a premium product, so let go of the charade.
LotRO, Eve, and Tabula Rasa each got at least a few months of subcription revenue out of me this way. I've even maintained an active subscription to LotRO since they lowered the price of their client. I want to try PotBS at some point, but not while the client still costs $50 for the download edition. Give me a $20 download edition and we'll talk.
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Ultima said on 4:38PM 4-15-2008
WTF they can merge POTBS servers that have only been around a few months but somehow they can't reconcile merging SWG servers that have been dead for years.
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Scott McMillin said on 10:30PM 4-15-2008
"They" in your post are actually two different companies. Flying Lab would be responsible for the merging of PotBS servers as they are its developer. SWG was developed by Sony Online Entertainment and as such are responsible for its servers.
Both MMOs use the SOE Station user account system, launch/patch client. SOE is also the publisher of PotBS. I think initially LucasArts was the publisher of SWG but my memory is failing as to whether they still are.
Point being that SWG and PotBS don't really share a common server architecture or anything.