The Instance: The Old Republic Edition is being cancelled. Today. (ouch…but now that the hard part is out of the way, let’s explain the state of things, shall we?)

My intent with this blog post is to be as honest as I know how to be. While some of this might sound a little harsh, especially to the ToR faithful, I feel like I owe you the most truthful post I can muster.

Why are we ending the show? Here are our reasons:

- Player interest in ToR has hit an all time low, and stuff like GW2 and other games are just making it less and less relevent. I know that many of you who still play the game will have a natural instict to deny this, but it’s true. The game simply did not live up to it’s hype, or generate the kind of long term ecosystem a MMO needs to sustain extended community involvement. (One could argue this is partially due to Bioware / EA not being willing to do what is needed in the long haul to ensure it. I think it’s more complicated than that, but that’s a post for a different day.)

- The ToR news cycle is dead. Visit any blog dedicated to the game and see for yourself. There is just nothing going on there. Bioware used to send us PR multiple emails per week. Lucky to see something twice a month now.

- Now the biggest problem: While Dills is still enjoying the game, I am finding myself with slightly less than zero drive to play ToR. I try. I’ve paid for a year. I get in, I try, I get bored, and I think about all the other games I could be playing, and I get out.

I made a bet. I bet that ToR would be able to build and sustain the same kind of community ecosystem that WoW did / does. I was wrong. (Feels good to admit it actually.) That game just does not live up to the promise. Ask me in 2007, I would have had a different answer. But in the saturated MMO 2012 world we live in now, with all its tired mechanics and over-used systems? Not a great time for ToR to be what ToR ended up being.

Continuing to do a regular show about a game that I have no more interest in, is not worth doing. Not for me, and not for you.

Dills and I are still going strong on The Instance Prime, and busy with lots of other projects. We’ll let you know if anything new and cool comes up.

Are you still loving the game? That’s GREAT! You should make a show about it! Really glad to hear that it’s the right fit for some people. I wish it turned out to be for us. Again, I made a bet. The house won.

Today it is ALL about the free to play announcement today, so tuck in and lets do this thing.

Special thanks to our sponsors this week: Doghouse Systems, and TypeFrag.com.

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Free trial is up, as is referring a friend, the game and it’s free to play future, 1.3, and the things you might have missed, some of the smaller bits as well, MMO subs might have peaked according to an analyst, where we have been for two weeks, leveling sister classes to get respecs, and MORE!

Special thanks to our sponsors this week: Doghouse Systems, and TypeFrag.com.

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Character transfers are a thing today, LFG is key, the current and future of the tools, tab targeting gets some new twists, what’s a Kurtob, dailis, slash ironfist, phasing and how it works now, and turns out you CAN get your authenticator fixed quickly should you change phones.

Special thanks to our sponsors this week: Doghouse Systems, and TypeFrag.com.

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Average pop on your server might be different than you think, 1.3 questions and answers, can a game survive when good people go, what does the drop in subs mean for the future, a fans perspective on changes, dealing with authenticator issues, and MORE!

Special thanks to our sponsors this week: Doghouse Systems, and TypeFrag.com.

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So a new episode next week. Keep an eye on twitter (@torshow) for any updates. Thanks!

Let’s have some Q and A fun, group finder questions abound in this episode, the ToR forums and the state of the people over there, how to capture the cultural spark that some games attain, a real like Moisture Farm, and the weekend pass!

Special thanks to our sponsors this week: Doghouse Systems, and TypeFrag.com.

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Today’s show includes a HUGE bunch of talk regarding free to play MMO’s and ToR’s eventual entry into that side of gaming.

Getting hung up in your 30′s. Pets in this game are kinda awesome. The EU and Middle East get some ToR love. PVP states of being. A legit damage meter. Gearing up from quests and drops. Lower monthly before going free. Economic meltdown averted. More on moisture evaporators. When your main is no longer your main. All crafiable things on display! And more!

Special thanks to our sponsors this week: Doghouse Systems, TypeFrag.com, and Camp Myth!

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Join Scott, Dills, and special guest, Garrett W! (Sorry about the weird audio glitch that started about half way through…still pretty listenable after that, but weird nonetheless.)

1.2 lands, and we talk all about it, free time, free stuff, and free love, Bioware gives some new controversy, Rakghoul make camp in Tatoonine, servers merges coming, UI mod seems great to some, not to others, is 1.2 the Jesus patch, where do we go from here, Dawn of the Jedi recommendation, ToR site redesign, and MORE!

Special thanks to our sponsors this week: Doghouse Systems, TypeFrag.com, and Camp Myth!

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Join Scott, Dills, and special guest, Brian Brushwood! (Of the awesome GameOn!)

Some clarification on what a Heroic Moment actually is, Grey Alignment NOT coming in 1.2, Darth Malgus wants to scare you when you use the bathroom in the middle of the night, TOR has an official podcast, family as companions, changing race all over the place, followup on Dills girlfriend, meters in Star Wars, Guild Bank Preview, and MORE!

Special thanks to our sponsors this week: Doghouse Systems, TypeFrag.com, and Camp Myth!

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