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.

-----

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.

Originally posted by Cabe2323

Jeffrey Steefel:  For people that want to have a more casual relationship with the game, and just have fun a couple of hours, a couple of times a week, right now I think we have a difficult value proposition. They're paying a premium price to get a whole bunch more than they actually want.

This nicely states what I've always seen as one of the issues that modern MMORPGs will need to address.   It's nice to see developers recognize it as an issue.   

The original rumor has been labeled as such but it would be interesting to see what new kind of pay models evolve.     The current microtranaction models really aren't that appealing, there must be better ones that could be made.

So this is the game EA is dumping 170mil into.

MIcro-transactions? why the word "Micro"? do you really think EA is gonna let you off for under $15 a month?

So the more money in  real life you give to EA the "better" you charactor and gaming experience will be. Sorry, this is just milking the gamers.

EA just got as slimy as SoE

I wish Mythic would Dump EA greedy mitts, but that is another game

I won't touch The KoTOR game.

People don't wanna play because they wanna pay more? hmmm

Originally posted by Samuraisword

Originally posted by Gameloading

Hopefully this will remove the nay sayers who argued micro transactions can't be a successful business model.

 

Not successful in attracting me as a player. I refuse to play any game with microtransactions. I don't play MMOGs to compete with my wallet.

   Exactly....QFE

   As stated by others in this thread, reality is not necessarily something tangible, something that can't be averted. If the target customer group decides MT is not the way to go and this view is underlined by decreasing subscribtions and customer retainment then MT will not succeed. Reality is not our opinions on this forum, reality is failing revenue - the only reality those Sith-lurking-carbine-sucking suits understand.

No cash for loot.  Period.  None.  Not in any way, shape or form endorsed by the owners.  I will not pay, I will not play.

If they find a way to make microtransactions work, I'll go for it.  Guild Wars was essentially Microtransactions - you paid to unlock new missions and areas.  This works for me.  Money for things that are a headache/unnecessary (name changes, etc.) is fine for me.  If they limit hours, I might consider it - box gives you 500 hours + 20/month, $10 gives you unlimited playtime, yeah, that works for me. 

Originally posted by WootNation

 Lost all interest in the game.

 

GG.

I have been vocally against the RMT model ever since I heard about it a few years ago.  What I don't like about it is pretty simple - you pay money to win the game.  Now, the thing is, I could care less if someone paid money to win if there was no PvP involved.  I mean, we all will get to the end eventually.  My problem with RMT is that it can be exploited to take advantage of players who do nothing but PvP, and will eventually be just another thorn in the sides of those players who don't wish to participate in PvP, because let's get real here - PvP participants will always be the voice of your game if the game offers PvP.  Always has been, and it always will be that way.  PvP can single handedly make or break a game.  Usually, the game fails if there is no PvP, and if there is... sooner or later, PvP production will take over the focus of the game.

I was really hopeful for SWTOR... just the fact that it was a new Star Wars MMO was enough to get me excited.  But this really does bother me.  I was just telling my brother the other day that if they go this route, it will probably be the only thing that would deter me from playing it.

I mean, the way things look now, I probably won't have a choice but to participate with RMT models eventually, but I for one still see monthly subs as viable.  The trick is to just make a decent game and quit dicking around with the design.  Just try something new for a change... people will play it if it is polished.  If it is polished, and it works... the subs will be there - I promise.

If this proves successful, it will become the new standard of MMO money making.  I just see this as an overall bad thing for the players, and most of them don't even see it coming.

Folks, remember... you get what you pay for.  If you don't pay, then you don't get it.  In other words, if you don't pay the money to win - then you don't win.  It's just that simple...

Both the people who post such rumors, and the people who listen to random things said by nobodys on the intrawebs with no proof, really are dumb.....

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

Sure seems like they have no said anything about it. But than again, youd rather all get your panties in a bunch than actually check real info. Right? This way you can feel better about yourself.

I really doubt I will try the game. Microtransaction games are absurdly expensive. Just look at SOE's new cash shop. I'm sure EA will make it so that its extremely tedious to level, and that will entice people to buy XP potions.

No, thanks.

lord this issue has cut the hype in half

western gamers do not want Item Shops......

The Hype is gone...From this website at least....

good going SWTOR    game is not worth trying if it sticks to item shop......

Seems like people would rather pay for half assed retail box games and pay a monthly fee while bitching and complaining on mmorpg.com instead of getting expansions and the retail game for free and using a "pay-as-you-go" method...

Both have pro's and con's.. but majority of the "GG, I quit" so called fans here are the ones who cry about other P2P mmo's sucking and how they are canceling their subs to every game available..

lol..I guess the fact that they cannot scream "I CANCELED MY SUB!" gets underneath their skin a little bit? Because in a F2P..umm.. what sub?

You guys do understand where this is coming from right? The mass MMO market has or is in the process of moving AWAY from america... World of Warcraft is looking to be the only thing that can generate subs over here, while many asian and even european mmo's using the F2P method generate lots of income using the micro trans model... Most of the rest of the world has already changed and adapted to the F2P style of online gaming and it seems that the ol' pay monthly and buy the box and expansions gig is going up in flames...

I'd rather get the game for free myself and only pay for what I use..

my own personal stock value in this game (MOPSVITG) just did a funcom and went from 50 to 2.5

why.... WHYYYYYYY lol

idiots!

Wonder when people will realize EA has already said this is false...

Originally posted by Vyeth

 even european mmo's using the F2P method generate lots of income

Could you name some of those European f2p mmo that generated huge amount of cash?

This is great.  Do the F2P supporters really think their wallets will get off easy and still remain somewhat competitive?  Especially in PvP?

EA / Bioware WILL get their money from you.  Not much at first.  Not alot of times at first.  But they WILL hook you and begin to take far more than what you'd pour $15/month with a normal subscription.  Your need will be subtle, and it will build up, and you will eventually shell out the money (eagerly).

And God help you if you want to PvP against guys who shell out money for massive buffs and whatnot, and choose not to buy things from a Cash Shop.

It sounds like they're thinking of RMT and subscription fees at the same time.  Hmm.  Well, the only way I would go for that forumla is if the RMT items are guaranteed not to give you advantages.  In other words, they'd be like City of Heroes' RMT costume pieces.  You can make yourself look cool, even get an energy surf-board to move around on.  The idea here is that you don't have to buy the latest RMT loot to remain useful in PVE or competitive in PVP.

As soon as they have subscription fees and RMT loot that gives you advantages, they can manipulate you to spend more than you'd like to.  If you don't get the latest gear to keep up with your friends, you've just wasted your subscription fee.  To avoid wasting this investment, you "have to" keep buying the latest, greatest RMT gear.  There would be no way in hell I'd play a game set up that way.

Even a free-to-play MMO with an item shop could be set up just to hook you into buying more and more gear to remain competitive. 

Probably the worst RMT model would be if you paid a subscription fee, needed to get the latest RMT loot to remain competitive, AND had to gamble real money for it.  That's what LucasArts and SOE are doing in Galaxies right now.  Maybe LA wants to milk StarWars fans in two MMOs now instead of just one.  I'll pass.

There are plenty of online options available now and coming up in the future that are not set up primarily as cash grabs.  I'll keep playing City of Heroes for now, and I've got my eye on Champions, as well as StarTrek and Stargate. 

Until I see assurances that RMT gear will be optional and cosmetic only (e.g. cool looking lightsabers, vehicles, robes etc.) this game goes off my list of things I want to try.

     It really depends on the type of game involved...If its a PVP game where the items in the shop make it to where the non-donor has no chance then its a bad idea......If its items like boosted XP, easier travel, cool looking clothes, nicer houses, better modes of travel, etc then Im Ok with that........If its a PVE game and they are not hurting other players then let them have that uber sword for a few bucks and have their fun......

Well we should wait and see I guess.. EA has had micro-transactions in Ultima Online for years.  It was probably the first MMO I saw them in.

Get your advanced character template now!!

 http://www.uogamecodes.com/store/prod_detail.asp?ProdID=UO10THCOMBO&CartID={C55B8A17-C71B-47C8-B1C5-1D0A2840FA27}&PromoID=996

should you want to reference the kinds of things EA sells for cash in UO.

*edited to add link*

http://www.massively.com/2008/12/09/star-wars-the-old-republic-to-be-microtransaction-based/   Seeing as no one has pointed this out yet, the microtransaction model supposedly chosen by EA and Bioware was bad reporting and nothing more.