Originally Posted by SeanDahlberg
Hey everyone, sorry for not chiming in right with this but I wanted to confirm the accuracy of what I was going to say before posting it.

This unfortunately was a big misunderstanding and I want to be clear: we have made no official statements about the business model for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

When we do have information as to business model for The Old Republic, we will definitely share it with all of you and you’ll find that information here on the official website.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=9509&page=25

I call BS on the "misunderstanding". This is EA marketing up to their usual shenanigans. They're clearly testing the waters to get an early reaction to a MT model. I hope they got the message: The west does not sit in grimy cyber cafes all day fiddling around with pennies, nickels and dimes.  We like to play from the comfort of our homes and earn our gear/items.

All MT games are nothing more than virtual shopping stores and havens for lost souls who instead of striving to get a real job, have fallen into virtual hell. The whole thing is a tragedy when you really think about it.

Originally posted by WootNation

 Lost all interest in the game.

 

GG.

Same here. I will never  play an item mall game. Takes all the fun out of playing for me.

Log on, hand the company a thousand bucks, look at your new shiny character with all the cool stuff in the game, log out, done in 5 minutes, no need to ever play again. Great game.

I've already seen the updates, but the mere fact that they even mentioned it (no way in hell this was a misunderstanding) makes me want to stay far far away from this game.

Already from what I've seen nothing about this game is even close to remarkable or interesting. The same old crap with a different skin. But hey, you build your own lightsabers!

Screw it. I'm tired of these games.

this is an unsubstantiated roumor...

http://www.massively.com/2008/12/09/star-wars-the-old-republic-to-be-microtransaction-based/

I'm right behind this idea. I think it's time that I, as a working class man with limited time on his hands, can make up for my lack of playing time with an option to buy the gear I need. Hey, I'm not saying that it's great, but it just offers a way to have the office workers, as well as the kids, playing the game.

This has WoWkiller written all over it.

Originally posted by xaldraxius

I'm right behind this idea. I think it's time that I, as a working class man with limited time on his hands, can make up for my lack of playing time with an option to buy the gear I need. Hey, I'm not saying that it's great, but it just offers a way to have the office workers, as well as the kids, playing the game.

This has WoWkiller written all over it.

I don't get it. Then why bother to play the game? Just log on, buy everything, and log off. Or is that the game, shopping for virtual items, like the virtual edition of the shopping channel.

I don't need to actually do anything, except log on, and shop for shiny stuff for my character. Bleh.

Originally posted by Somniferous

Originally posted by xaldraxius

I'm right behind this idea. I think it's time that I, as a working class man with limited time on his hands, can make up for my lack of playing time with an option to buy the gear I need. Hey, I'm not saying that it's great, but it just offers a way to have the office workers, as well as the kids, playing the game.

This has WoWkiller written all over it.

 

I don't get it. Then why bother to play the game? Just log on, buy everything, and log off. Or is that the game, shopping for virtual items, like the virtual edition of the shopping channel.

I don't need to actually do anything, except log on, and shop for shiny stuff for my character. Bleh.

take a look at the newest F2P on the block, Atlantica Online.  Its not like that at all, you only buy stuff that helps you in a way, like licenses, and some of those Ive gotten as drops.  The armor, weapons, I dont even see those for sale, you have to quest them.

I will never touch a game with a cash shop for items , fluff or gamebreaking otherwise...I feel instead of being lazy I can go do the game content and get it myself but instead the MMO industry thinks this is the future of gaming well if that is so then I wont be a part of it , time to turn to the indie developers and hope they produce a solid sandbox game now, cause it looks like this game is going to bomb if they are going to do this...

Then again this game is looking more fail cause of its solo -friendly, jedi-lovin, next to nothing crafting, spaceless Star Wars game... how much does it take to get it into peoples heads dont buy into this games hype cause its SW? And a update the EMU is very close to being done.... I suggest go play that and its free...

Originally posted by xaldraxius

I'm right behind this idea. I think it's time that I, as a working class man with limited time on his hands, can make up for my lack of playing time with an option to buy the gear I need. Hey, I'm not saying that it's great, but it just offers a way to have the office workers, as well as the kids, playing the game.

This has WoWkiller written all over it.

The last 2 big name games labelled as "WoW Killers" were Age of Conan and Warhammer Online.  If you want your TOR game going that same route  of glory, by all means...

I'm telling you, the company WILL make it's money off you despite the game being "Free to Play."  That's the first hook they get you with.  Then there's subtle, low cost benefits you can get here and there from a Cash Shop sort of deal.  These benefits / buffs / whatever will be good.  Next thing you know you're picking up more and more of thing in a short amount of time.

One example:  You start the game brand new.  You progress at a rapid pace.  You notice in the cash shop that there's a Buff to 20% experience gained for a duration that you can pay for.  You're moving along nicely, so you don't need it.  Then you get to a certain level where the grind begins.  The XP requirements SKYROCKET to progress to each level.  You're questing and grinding, but progress is slow.  It's brutal.  Oh, but wait... you just remembered that XP buff you could buy for a few $$$.  Nah, you'd never buy that.  You're playing for free.

You get to the next level finally.  It took forever, and you're about halfway to another one.  The grind was horrendous (well, not quite Lineage 2 horrendous).  Not looking forward to grinding like this the rest of the time.  But then you remember the XP buff you can buy.  They also have some stuff to boost your HP / MP by a considerable amount.  Oh look, there's something there to buy in-game currency from the company also.  Wait, look at that nice piece of armor / weapon in the cash shop.

(Tempted)

Nah, I'll just get the XP buff for now.

BAM

Got you.

Hook, line, and sinker.  Break out your wallet and bend over, and get ready to take it from behind while screaming "But it's Free To Play."

Originally posted by firefly2003

I love your sig.  That is all...

The sad thing is that every other industry is beginning to offer their services for flat fees while the video game industry, in regards to MMOs, is moving towards dividing up the service (that we've paid for with flat fees for the past decade) into chunks each with their own fee.

hehe run whiners, RUN!

I think my soul will die just a little bit more if this actually happens.  F2P Item Mall games have their place...Triple A titles made by big companies like EA, SOE, Bioware are NOT one of them.  If Bioware wants to give us some cheap shotty grind game like Most Item Mall games then I can see this model working....but a Triple A title you know they'll charge us for the software? Fuck that.

Star Wars: The Old Republic has one weakness....

Item Mall

Face it guys and gals, the moment bioware was sold to EA they ceased to become and independant entity.  They have no control over what they do anymore, EA owns them lock, stock and barrel and has the final say over everything.  After numerous mmo failures and EA's love of micro-transactions it should be no surprise that EA is going via this route, it means that they get to include the massive casual (and I'm not talking about mmo gamer casual) and kiddy audiances as potential customers.  This will not be a mmo connosoirs game, I think EA has given up on that market after recent disasters.

In future when you see the word Bioware read it as Electronic Arts.

I was pretty interested in playing this game.  Seeing the news about the most recent issue with micro transaction, it is definitely a turn off.  I think I will stay pay the 50 bucks to try the game IF the game looks promising before release.  However, just like other games that requires player to pay for "elite" items, I just do not know how long it will hold my interest.  It is likely that I will pay for the excitement of a new game, and perhaps give up after dissatisfaction of not being able to achieve the same level of success of those that pays for items.  I am certainly not going to spend one red cent more than the box.

EA made a smart move to make it F2P by the looks of it and intro RMT main reason they look upon the state of the global market not just fans.

Beocz of this recessison and global slowdown... msot peeps wont be playing 15$ games  per month as they wont have a regular cut on their hard earned cash for fun ...but if they are fans if will bring them on to a F2P ...before the BOTS enterd SRO ...itself made huge amounts of Money though it was F2P ...and the game was designed in such a way that IT isnt like a Person who keeps buying stuff from ITEM Mall will have extreme edgge.

It wud be a small edge like Faster in lvl up's or skill based a few items that give them a simple edge wioch can be always be counterd down to 2 vs 1 easily..2 free players agsint teh paid guy.

ANd those who usally  pay 15 dollars a month wont have much probvlems coz the game devs hell sure wont make a huge difference...it would be more like SRO type being a free palyer will take a long time to equalise but u pay a little u get all the stuff u need .

in category format. i cud put it as 3 states:

* Rich guys prolly having best gear in 2 months

* Some payment guys in 4 months

* Free guys 8-10 months  to reach equal to rich guys stuff.

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c/d it can get more complicated than this

Where does it state that this mmo is F2P??

Oh.. F2P mmo have the worst, vile and disgusting communities ever.