Star Wars: The Old Republic May Go Free-To-Play

Status
Not open for further replies.

Ragnar-Kon

Distinguished
Apr 13, 2010
517
0
18,990
"Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations"
EXACTLY!!! Nailed it on the head.

"So we are looking at free-to-play"
Apparently you really don't get it. Becoming free-to-play does not create content. Create quality content, and people will play. Free-to-play will get them to try, but they aren't gonna stay without content.
 

amk-aka-Phantom

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
3,004
0
20,860
Despite its success at launch, the MMOG shed 25-percent of its player base between February and the end of March: down from 1.7 million subscribers to 1.3 million.

400K Mass Effect 3 players are not happy with the single player :D (and no, this has nothing to do with the endings)

[citation][nom]Ragnar-Kon[/nom]"Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations"EXACTLY!!! Nailed it on the head.So we are looking at free-to-playApparently you really don't get it. Becoming free-to-play does not create content. Create quality content, and people will play.[/citation]

I disagree. I won't pay for an MMO, I don't have enough time to play one, but if it's FTP, I'll play it and there will be more than enough content for me.
 

kcorp2003

Distinguished
Aug 30, 2010
468
0
18,780
[citation][nom]DroKing[/nom]I hope you crash and burn EA.[/citation]

that will be bad for gaming in general and for studios who needs money to make their big games. Publishers are in a middle of a transition trying out new things to gain money in this difficult economy. and gaming in general is going thru a transition too.

the extra credits show is a real eye opener you should check it out.
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits
 

Kami3k

Distinguished
Jan 17, 2008
990
0
18,980
[citation][nom]kcorp2003[/nom]that will be bad for gaming in general and for studios who needs money to make their big games. Publishers are in a middle of a transition trying out new things to gain money in this difficult economy. and gaming in general is going thru a transition too. the extra credits show is a real eye opener you should check it out. http://penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits[/citation]

Lol yea ok.

The use to be good studios are now trash thanks to EA, Bioware, DICE, etc. All trash now.
 

tolham

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2009
347
0
18,780
[citation][nom]Ragnar-Kon[/nom]"Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations"EXACTLY!!! Nailed it on the head.So we are looking at free-to-playApparently you really don't get it. Becoming free-to-play does not create content. Create quality content, and people will play.[/citation]
i think you have a point, but making the game free-to-play makes it easier for people on the fence to pick it up and end up paying for stuff in other ways. i have no real interest in this game but my one friend says its really great. i have no intention of paying for the game, but if it beomces free-to-play there's a much greater chance i'll start playing and then maybe ill buy something in game later on which is money bioware wouldn't have seen otherwise.
 

rad666

Distinguished
Feb 20, 2010
362
3
18,915
[citation][nom]Kami3k[/nom]The use to be good studios are now trash thanks to EA, Bioware, DICE, etc. All trash now.[/citation]
Not to mention all the good studios EA purchased, ran into the ground, and killed off like Pandemic, Origin, Westwood, etc...
 

invlem

Distinguished
Jan 11, 2008
580
0
18,980
It doesn't help that people play these games 8 hours a day, and pretty much blow through the content in a matter of 1-2 weeks.

SW has a ton of content, and quite frankly is one of the most polished (at launch) MMO's I've ever laid my hands on. They did a good job, but couldn't keep up with their customers who eat content at a ridiculously fast pace.

I think succeeding in the MMO market is much harder now than back when AC, EQ, WoW made their debuts, the gamer has changed, they expect more content, and they fly through content much faster than they used to.

It also doesn't help that most MMO's today are made to be super easy, you used to have to work to get the high content stuff done, it would take multiple, many attempts to kill a boss. Now all the developers do is bow to the forum spam of crying gamers citing that the content is too hard.

The challenge is gone because the have to appeal to the crying masses, then the content runs dry because people can get to the end without having to putting effort (and time) into getting through the content.

That's my rant, summary:
1. People whine
2. Content is made easier
3. Everyone flies through easier content
4. People whine because there's not enough content
5. Developer screws them self over in a vicious cycle, they can't keep up with new content demands, they lose subscribers.
 

xerroz

Distinguished
Jun 15, 2010
447
0
18,780
F2P would definitely lengthen this game's lifespan and help EA recoup that massive cost. I played GW2 beta recently and if I was to buy that game I would feel very enticed to buy the boosts they offer in their shop. There's boost that increase the amount of exp you earn or even increase the chance of finding magical items, among other cosmetic stuff and little things like items that summons a vendor or repair npc. I tried the SWTOR beta and thought it was a great game but I can't find myself paying $15 a month since I wouldn't be getting my money's worth because I don't always have time to play so if it went F2P I would definitely start playing it and maybe buy whatever stuff they sell.
 

Efrayim

Distinguished
Oct 16, 2008
79
0
18,630
[citation][nom]invlem[/nom]It doesn't help that people play these games 8 hours a day, and pretty much blow through the content in a matter of 1-2 weeks.SW has a ton of content, and quite frankly is one of the most polished (at launch) MMO's I've ever laid my hands on. They did a good job, but couldn't keep up with their customers who eat content at a ridiculously fast pace.I think succeeding in the MMO market is much harder now than back when AC, EQ, WoW made their debuts, the gamer has changed, they expect more content, and they fly through content much faster than they used to.It also doesn't help that most MMO's today are made to be super easy, you used to have to work to get the high content stuff done, it would take multiple, many attempts to kill a boss. Now all the developers do is bow to the forum spam of crying gamers citing that the content is too hard.The challenge is gone because the have to appeal to the crying masses, then the content runs dry because people can get to the end without having to putting effort (and time) into getting through the content.That's my rant, summary: 1. People whine2. Content is made easier3. Everyone flies through easier content4. People whine because there's not enough content5. Developer screws them self over in a vicious cycle, they can't keep up with new content demands, they lose subscribers.[/citation]

^This
 

vilenjan

Distinguished
Aug 22, 2010
514
0
19,060
If you want the casual players $$ than you have to make content casual friendly. Games like EQ, AC and DAoC were not casual friendly, and the best of them picked at less than 5% of WoW's subscriber base.
And yes casuals want the content to be easy and accessible, and yes casuals get bored much faster than the hardcore. But if you want all that $$ than you got to play by those rules.
SWOTR had a great leveling experience, but the end game was inferior, outdated version fo what WoW had.
 

Antimatter79

Distinguished
Jul 24, 2009
293
0
18,810
Well damn, if there is a chance it may go F2P, I guess now I'll have to wait b/c I was gonna buy it. I wonder how many new subscriptions they've cost themselves just by saying that. If they're gonna go F2P, I guess they should give some nice in game items or something to players who have purchased the game in maybe the last 30 days from the day they make the switch. Maybe a really cool set of in game items and currency for those who have maintained a paying subscription without lapse since day 1.
 

hijaxhfx

Honorable
Jun 10, 2012
167
0
10,690
Well i know that if it does i wont play it anymore f2p just seems cheap to me and it then turns into a lot more other issues that i don't wanna see or get into .. i am willing to stick it out for them to fix the mess they made, cause i do love playing the game.
 
I'm glad the game is spiraling down. With the abysmal number of players I guess this goes to show most KOTOR fans refused to get this bile. Although I doubt they will ever make a KOTOR III. One can always hope. Maybe after this flop and Galaxies they will realize that Star Wars and MMO do not mix.

I'm at least looking forward to the fan made KOTOR III using the KOTOR II framework to build it. From what I have seen it looks pretty good and has some voice actors. Hopefully this will get finished.
 

Kami3k

Distinguished
Jan 17, 2008
990
0
18,980
[citation][nom]ScrewySqrl[/nom]no surprise here. I predicted SWTOR would go free-to-play within a year of launch. the subscription model of MMO is dying.[/citation]

I'll go tell CCP that, oh wait....
 

amdfangirl

Expert
Ambassador
[citation][nom]velocityg4[/nom]I'm glad the game is spiraling down. With the abysmal number of players I guess this goes to show most KOTOR fans refused to get this bile. Although I doubt they will ever make a KOTOR III. One can always hope. Maybe after this flop and Galaxies they will realize that Star Wars and MMO do not mix.I'm at least looking forward to the fan made KOTOR III using the KOTOR II framework to build it. From what I have seen it looks pretty good and has some voice actors. Hopefully this will get finished.[/citation]

Appeal is the problem. KOTOR 1 & 2 vs. TOR

KOTOR: You are Revan Sith Lord, redeemed Jedi Master who saves whole Republic... etc. = Super Awesome
KOTOR 2: You are the Jedi Exile, commited genocide and won the Mandolrian War... etc. = Awesome
TOR: You are a generic jedi/sith/bounty hunter/soldier who fights a cold war as a little pawn = Meh

The subscription model doesn't help. P2P subscription means people want to grind through the game asap to save money from having to subscribe again. That means 8 hour gaming days. To stop this, devs need to make more grinding. More grinding = less epicness. I would rather have HQ content with tons of epicness that I can play whenever I want without the pressure of "I got to finish the game before the next monh to avoid the sub fee".
 

Kami3k

Distinguished
Jan 17, 2008
990
0
18,980
[citation][nom]amdfangirl[/nom]TOR: You are a generic jedi/sith/bounty hunter/soldier who fights a cold war as a little pawn = Meh[/citation]

You are certainly not a generic jedi or sith.
 

airborne11b

Distinguished
Jul 6, 2008
466
0
18,790
[citation][nom]Kami3k[/nom]Lol yea ok.The use to be good studios are now trash thanks to EA, Bioware, DICE, etc. All trash now.[/citation]

Funny, because a lot of the really great games have been backed by EA. Ultima Online, Command and Conquer series, Sim City series, The Sims series, Medal of Honor, Battlefield Series, Crysis series, MASS EFFECT TRILOGY!!!, and Deadspace just to name a few good ones.

Battlefield has been some of the best online gameplay of all time, it's pretty legendary, and BF3 is amazing, especially the new CQ content.

You haters need to stop ragging on EA.
 

airborne11b

Distinguished
Jul 6, 2008
466
0
18,790
[citation][nom]velocityg4[/nom]I'm glad the game is spiraling down. With the abysmal number of players I guess this goes to show most KOTOR fans refused to get this bile. [/citation]

SWTOR sold more copies than KOTOR(2.1 million VS 1.5 million), and when you consider KOTOR sold on multiple systems, and SWTOR is a PC only game, that's pretty damn good.

Also, abysmal numbers? SWTOR is one of the most successful MMORPGs launched over the past decade.

If you don't count F2P games, and Asian games. SWTOR Sales/Subs is superior to most of the competition.

You kids need to stop using the mindset of "If it doesn't have as much/more than WoW it's a failure" or "I didn't like the game so it's a flop"

SWTOR sold over 2 million copies and still has over a million subscribers. half of the top 50 highest selling PC games of all time sold about ~1 million copies. Only a handful are above 2 million.

Play less blizzard games please, maybe your brain cells will regrow.
 

zachusaman

Distinguished
Dec 5, 2011
102
0
18,680
[citation][nom]kcorp2003[/nom]that will be bad for gaming in general and for studios who needs money to make their big games. Publishers are in a middle of a transition trying out new things to gain money in this difficult economy. and gaming in general is going thru a transition too. the extra credits show is a real eye opener you should check it out. http://penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits[/citation]

publishers are an outdated evil that has been useless for quite some while. Look at how horrible bioware is, honestly these companies are gone, just the names remain.
 

jkflipflop98

Distinguished
[citation][nom]Kami3k[/nom]You are certainly not a generic jedi or sith.[/citation]

LOL wut? Yeah, you are. You're just like the other 10,000 Jedi/Sith of the same class standing next to you.
 

mazty

Distinguished
May 22, 2011
176
0
18,690
This is not a surprise in anyway. In fact I'd be more surprised if didn't go free to play within 18 months of launch. Every other WoW clone has had to do so, so why would SW:TOR be any different?
This game will be the nail in the coffin of WoW clones.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.