SWTOR Free to Play ?

[Necrotica]

Please, we have no definitive statement by the team at BW. As of now, nothing is actually confirmed as going F2P.

I think its the excuse I needed though to just say F' it! *shrugs*

[Merie]

I'm a little surprised they didn't hold out longer, even star trek online lasted longer before caving to F2P.

[Truhan]

It appears the interview has been taken down. That's certainly interesting.

[Maruka]

Nice, i voted in a poll here once and i said it wouldnt last a year as a sub based game. I think bioware listened to the blind fanboys of this game a little bit too much. The game was shit from the start and they got a lot of false pats on the back, now they are screwed.

Another wow killer, killed.

ps- the tor community is worse than wows, which doesnt help

[Argroth]

Apparently, the page that was the reference for all of this has been removed: http://www.gamestm.co.uk/discuss/sta...lead-designer/

I'm not certain for the reason, but I'm going to try and dig to see if I can find anything.

Hopefully they came to their senses and killed that asinine idea.

how about refunding the money I paid if its going f2p...

Yea really, If they are just gonna give up then it really is a screw you to all the people who pay with the hope of a real future for the game.

[Ebildays]

Yeah, but even by your own admittance they might get you back but they won't see dime one from you, me and likely a large majority of players. How F2P is a good move is a mystery, I hardly think the game will be sustained by the few who go wild with money -that likely isn't theirs- for individual imaginary items.

It really will depend on how the items from the cash shop works. If they allow the items to be traded between players then they will make more money. Player that may never spend an dime on the cash shop may still support it if they buy the cash shop items from players with in game money. You will also have players that may use cash shop items in guild give-s-ways or site give-a-ways.

If it is a good cash shop it will offers items like:

Food Buffs
Potions
Vanity Items (pets, mounts, cloths, scars, etc)
Charater Customization
maybe Unlockable content

I don't think gear should be added to a cash shop reguardless if it can be traded.

[Vexies]

The fact of the matter is that Bioware didn't recoup enough money to continue development on the game, paying developers to create new content and improve existing content. The fact of the matter is that they are in a void where if they don't shift to F2P, they won't have any new subs coming in, and they won't have a reason to develop new content or improve existing content. If they stay with the Subscription model, they risk losing too many players because new content isn't coming out and current content isn't being improved.

And just where did you get these facts? Im not about to say it blew there expectations out of the water and is wildly profitable but its equally misleading to say this. As for not developing new content that will attract new subs.. I guess 1.3 that patch with new content that is on the testing server is just imaginary.

[Argroth]

Apparently, the page that was the reference for all of this has been removed: http://www.gamestm.co.uk/discuss/sta...lead-designer/

I'm not certain for the reason, but I'm going to try and dig to see if I can find anything.

And thats why Blizzard no longer gets any of my money. I stopped playing (mostly) after WotLK because thats when the Petstore started picking up speed from lazy blizzard reskinning a kitty and a few idiots pay $25 for it.

I never bought D3 and it sounds like it was a good idea. The launch was apparently crappy and now that the RMAH is out it's Buy to win and full of fools believing that they will make significant money off the game because of their hermit gaming lifestyle.

So as far as I am concerned, Blizzard did themselves in and no longer get any of my money.

---------- Post added 2012-06-15 at 05:22 PM ----------

ps- the tor community is worse than wows, which doesnt help

If you mean in attitude you are gravely mistaken. If you mean in population as a number then you could maybe have some credit but server to server it's being greatly fixed with transfers.

WoW community has had some of the worst people imaginable in it, personality wise.

[Lothaeryn]

The only thing I will say is that I was surprised at how many people failed to realize the copy/paste model of a system this game had from WoW. I hardly even looked up much information on it, but from glances of what this site gave me on the front page, and one or two threads I went into, I knew this game was already shooting its own foot at the gate.

Other than that, if it does go F2P I may try it out until GW2 comes along.

In my opinion, Guild Wars 2 is going down the same road. Not only Guild Wars 2, but any game that thinks NOWADAYS they can survive without REAL END GAME CONTENT. You can`t survive. Simple as that. Let games learn that. Sad to see SWTOR learn that the hard way, but it was pretty clear to see that.

I know this guy was banned, but this kinda Irked me, simply for the fact that no other MMO in the market has ever tried gameplay without a definitive end game. (And GW2 does have end game for max level, just not in the traditional sense).

In fact, I think the definitive endgame model is what is killing off the MMO market, its not because it is bad, but because most companies making MMO's make it poorly.

SWTOR is a good example of that, people were complaining within the first month of release that endgame was subpar, and that PvP was even worse than PVE.

Another problem I see with end game based MMO's is the fact that it limits the options on what is "acceptable" end game content, namely, it results in either one of two things being the dominant and most valued part of the game's level cap content: Raiding and/or PvP.

I don't know about you, but after playing wow for about 8 Years I got sick of trying to run raids with people who were so jaded that the only reason they would come to raid is for the gear itself, rather than the experience of being with friends, it then becomes apparent that the majority of raiders were in fact (IMO) just running raids for gear and nothing else, and in reality the Gear treadmill was in fact the only part of end game that kept people raiding. And WoW's pvp system is shit, anyone else who says otherwise is crock full of shit and they know it. Having 1-2 dominant specs does not create a balanced pvp system and it immediately encourages FOTM hopping for wins.


I have a feeling that the tried and true method for "end game" content has plateaued and that this type of system is in decline. While WoW has the method down to a simple formula, most if not all other MMO's who came into the market after wow with this same exact method failed at replicating that system and in result failed at being a monetary success via subscriptions. I think that only a game thinking outside the current box is the only one that is going to be a respectably successful game in the market, and my bets are on GW2.

No other MMO has actually peaked my interest with details on the alpha alone, let alone the continued updates on the beta. So we will have to see how this genre will play out in the near future.

[MugenNoKaze]

even if the game becomes free to play
i dont think i will go back
Im still having fun in wow and waiting for MoP
Swtor was just ... meh ... imo
it wasnt bad... but wasnt good also so might as well stick to wow and start another character

[Lethey Alexandros]

F2P in my experience has never been a sign of good things. Age of conan which i did enjoy went F2P but 90% of all the content I had access to when it was p2p is now locked and i have to pay to access most of the game. Alot of people I know who liked Age of Conan left at that point.

FF14 went f2p to hold on to subscribers but they ended up decideing to just redo the whole game from the ground up and relaunch as FF14 2.0

Fury which most people dont even know was a short lived online game that was p2p for all of three months then went f2p for two before its servers where shut down.

Guild wars is the only f2p title that has done well in my opinion..

So I predict SW is only trying to delay the inevitable server shutdown.

[Coldpro]

Back in January/2012, I predicted that this would probably happen eventually (sooner than later though). I'm not the only one who possessed that foresight, but I speak only for myself when I say that I am not surprised at all, to hear them now talking about it, and likely making plans for it

I also think it might actually be good for SWTOR, to go free to play. With their current number of subscribers, it makes sense that they're looking for ways to make the game more financially viable, and other titles have proven that going (or even starting in some cases) free to play can be very profitable. A free to play transition has also been known to dramatically boost revenue for a couple of other MMOs that weren't as successful as people had hoped, such as Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO), and Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO). I feel that EA/BioWare could make more money with free to play + cash shop, than they are currently

I've been thinking this would happen eventually since Day 1. I know a good many people who were bored out their minds (Myself included) in the beta because its more of a single-player experience than anything else leveling up. I've heard that there are numerous problems grouping, server imbalances, etc., so I hope that if they DO go Free To Play it increases the population. I'll certainly be giving the game another shot.

As for a boost in revenue, its quite possible, IF they do it right. I feel that if they put anything too overpowered in the store, its just going to piss people off a bit and make them not want to use it. For new players it would make them feel like the game is Pay to Win rather than Free To Play. Here's to hoping its just cosmetic items if that's the route they choose to go.

[nachoo]

Hmmmm I 'might' actually try it if it goes F2P.

as will i good sir

[Jarlathe]

Actually F2P is doing wonders mr.obao98. Many journalists were amazed by how many indie companies that are f2p are there at E3 and how much money they were making. I am sure E3 has got a plan.

Please, this is EA. Please go have look at Need For Speed Online, that is one of EA's "F2P" games that is actually pay to win. Sadly, I see the same model for SW:TOR.

I'm really not surprised at this. They are quite simply testing the waters with what subscriber base they have left and seeing if the Benjamen's would go up, or down with F2P.

[Judge Malthred]

People's reading comprehension, or possible total laziness to actually read an entire sentence is funny at first but after several pages is completely disappointing. I didn't read every post in the past 13 pages but of what I did see everyone is replying to this info as if SWTOR is going free to play. Free to play, and free to play up to lvl 15 is not the same thing.

Free to play up to level 15 is allowing people to check it out that didn't want to pay a monthly fee, and the hope is that they get addicted to the game and cave in to paying the monthly fee so that they can advance beyond lvl 15.

Is this a sign that the game is having some sub issues? Yes. But read the whole sentence before you go ranting that the game is dead.

[Lothaeryn]

People's reading comprehension, or possible total laziness to actually read an entire sentence is funny at first but after several pages is completely disappointing. I didn't read every post in the past 13 pages but of what I did see everyone is replying to this info as if SWTOR is going free to play. Free to play, and free to play up to lvl 15 is not the same thing.

Free to play up to level 15 is allowing people to check it out that didn't want to pay a monthly fee, and the hope is that they get addicted to the game and cave in to paying the monthly fee so that they can advance beyond lvl 15.

Is this a sign that the game is having some sub issues? Yes. But read the whole sentence before you go ranting that the game is dead.

I am pretty sure everyone knows that its not going F2P aside from up to lvl 15, but the announcement itself hints that the game may be opening the door to the F2P model in the near future.

I can't speak for anyone else here, but that is how I saw it.

[Drummerboy]

I love the reasoning of them considering free2play.

Quote: Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations. So we are looking at free-to-play but I can’t tell you in much detail

To paraphrase: "We can't keep up with demand when people have to pay, so we'll just make it free and we don't have to delivery as much." Such a losing attitude.

[Frozen Death Knight]

The best idea I have heard since the game launched. At least Bioware know when things do not go their way.

[Odegon]

I am pretty sure everyone knows that its not going F2P aside from up to lvl 15, but the announcement itself hints that the game may be opening the door to the F2P model in the near future.

I can't speak for anyone else here, but that is how I saw it.

I read that part of interview and it actually looked like a magazine wanted to sell alot and took some words of a developer and used them to imply something else. I bet that magazine got a call from EA's lawyers.

[Drummerboy]

A sudden surge in the playerbase? I don't see your point.

A sudden surge containing noobs (excluding MMO company, no one here is a noob)... Oh I see the point alright.