if it is for things like ingame pets, character transfers , extra character slots.,or if the points are not bought with money but  are earned for doing ingame things or awarded say for each month of   paid subscription  they are fine.

HOLY SHIT!. NO!

Looks like they are trying to get the "Failure of the Millennium"-Award... And they'll get it with MT.

HOW STUPID CAN ONE COMPANY BE?!

Originally posted by Gnomig

HOLY SHIT!. NO!

 

Looks like they are trying to get the "Failure of the Millennium"-Award... And they'll get it with MT.

 

HOW STUPID CAN ONE COMPANY BE?!

There is an awful lot of competition for the title.

 If MTs are for RP stuff etc, then I am ok with it.  Otherwise I will not be getting this game.  Been waiting a damn long time to get the game but MTs will cause me not to get it if done for the wrong reasons.

Damn

Originally posted by Thornrage

 If MTs are for RP stuff etc, then I am ok with it.  Otherwise I will not be getting this game.  Been waiting a damn long time to get the game but MTs will cause me not to get it if done for the wrong reasons.

 

Damn

Ah, but will you quit if the game-changing items are added after you have been playing for a couple of months?

Champions Online hasn't added any yet (I believe), but they have said they will be doing so.

I suspect that SW:TOR will do the same sort of manipulation. Whether they admit it beforehand or not.

The devs know that a lot of people don't want helpful items in the cash shop, but they also know it's harder to leave a game after playing for a while than to avoid it from the start.

Well crud.  

One thing I can say at least they are doing this up front,  so laster down the road they don't change things, and upset the player base later.

Unlike LOTRO who is going MT right now with their sutff.   Buy the adventure pack get 2 extra character slots and shared bank, dont buy it and then you for k out money still for SOM and dont get sqaut.  Then they forced a lot of montly players to go multi month.  A lot of folks are upset about that.  Changing the business model after the game has been out is not good.

EQ2 has MT but all of it is cosmetic, I don't mind cosmetic.  IT is the MT stuff like DDO and what they are pulling in LOTRO now, extra character slots, extra storage. In ddo access to certain areas. I am sure in LOTRO no  more free updates.

I guess companies have decided that MT is the way of the futre.  I will still give this a try, but if you can buy armor and what not with the point system and a store well then I am not in for it.

I just hope the point system is to unlock certain ares of the game and easter eggs kind of like chronicles of riddick.

 I think microtransactions in general put a bad taste is people's mouths, especially if the title is already PPM.  There are various ways to help "sweeten" the deals, by making it less required, purely cosmetic, and controlling some of the "evil" RMT (like gold selling)...but at the end of the day a spade is a spade.

I won't outright say I won't try old republic due to microtransactions, but add it to everything else & decide (and hopefully see the bug numbers in the beta).  It is a shame when you get PPM and want to fiddle in RMT, but here is not to decide "right & wrong"...more just to hope that it is used very skillfully (like the "loose RMT" which WoW has, i.e. name changes, etc).

Ah well, whats the worst that can happen? j/k...then again this game is a flame magnet already, here comes a wildfire.

Not a fan of MT at all...

I'll wait and see though. It's a preliminary contract. It could change from now until release.

if this turns out to be true then the game needs to be free to download and free to play or i know of at least one customer who is out

The problem with micro transactions, the devs start then off with non essential items and then add and add....before you know it, you end up relying on the game store to be competitive.  I have no idea what Bioware plans to do.  I still intend to try this game out,  but the minute they add items to the store that effect gameplay, I will be gone, that includes any form of leveling help.

If this is true, its a big enough negitive for me that I will not purchase the game unless its just unbeatably groundbreaking awesome. Ya, that its gotta be that good or its a no go.

I have always been against a MT + Sub paymant plan in any form. As other posters have said it does not matter what it in the MT store its basically withholding things that would otherwise have been in the game for a few extra bucks. So MT + Sub is a big no-no for me. One of the reasons I refuse to go back and play EQ2 for example.

Some people will argue its "only fluff" items etc. Others will say that the items "are available in game anyway" so it does not matter. Bull. People like fluff items, my wife lives for the fluff items in game. Customizing her character and decorating her house are major things for her. As for it already being in game .. lets be real here. Sure it may be in game but you can be damm sure its super rare .. or why go to the effort of trying to sell it? You dont make money selling items in a MT store that are common or easy to get in the game.

So as you can see I am against MT stores in sub based games. Thats not to say that I think MT stores are evil ... in a F2P game they are what they are and its just an alternate payment method. F2P game live and die by thier MT stores and thats fine ... one or the other is perfectly acceptable to me, Milking the customer with both is just plain greedy IMO. (CO for example, EQ2 bler) Bottom line for me is that although the items start off pretty harmless ... if the company wants a cash injection you can bet your life the MT store items will reflect that with more and more desirable (read = Game effecting) items.

On the other hand .. the DDO model is fantastic. Its an either / or situation which I find it great. They have really thought about thier MT store and it is in my mind the best of both worlds. You can either use the MT store coupled with in-game points earned to play the game or you can sub-monthly and get it all. Choice is what consumers want and Turbine really came through with the DDO model.

If Bioware follows a similar model to Turbine with DDO then I dont see how they can go wrong.

It's funny watching all the chicken little impersonations as everyone runs around thinking the world is gonna end the second someone mentions Microtransactions.

I mean, sure, just about every other facet of our lives has microtransactions, including other successful video games, but clearly now the world is over.

Originally posted by Blurr

It's funny watching all the chicken little impersonations as everyone runs around thinking the world is gonna end the second someone mentions Microtransactions.

I mean, sure, just about every other facet of our lives has microtransactions, including other successful video games, but clearly now the world is over.

I don't know what you are talking about.... I have transactions of varying sizes in my day to day life, but I don't generally have them added to my regular transactions.  When I buy a meal, I don't want to be charged extra for the optional thinks like salt and ice for my drink.  I don't expect to pay a plate rental fee or pay an extra 1.99 to sit in the non-smoking section.  Micro-transactions in MMOS mean selling people things that would have otherwise been included in the original stated fee, whether that is a monthly fee or the cost of a regular boxed game.  Other "successful" games (at least in the Western hemisphere) don't have micro-transactions on top of a monthly fee. 

Originally posted by Blurr

It's funny watching all the chicken little impersonations as everyone runs around thinking the world is gonna end the second someone mentions Microtransactions.

I mean, sure, just about every other facet of our lives has microtransactions, including other successful video games, but clearly now the world is over.

I think the reason for that is most peoples experiance with MT's is via F2P MMO's where the MT's were pretty much required to advance in the game. Most people I know either accept MT's and deal or dont and stay away from F2P games.

The reason its such a hot issue atm is because some games are now adopting a MT+SUB payment method which brings out the worst in people. I myself dont care for it at all .. one or the other is fine by me and I have nps accepting a MT store in a no-sub game. Paying for content twice generally upsets people, and thats exactly how they view a MT+SUB based game.

An either / or method is fine, choice is always good for the consumer.

Most people would react better to a game being released with a higher monthly sub rather than a MT+SUB method. Lets be honest its about time monthly subs went up .. we hav'ent seen a price raise in what 3 years? The current economic climate being what it is though no game is willing to be the "first" to do this for fear of losing customers, even though you can bet that as soon as one does .. all prices across the board will raise to match it.

Newer people to the MMO scene will generally be more accepting of this dual-payment scheme than the older MMO players. Mostly because we are used to paying for our produce via a sub and that including all the content. You cant just change 10+ years of payment method and have people accept it over night, it will cause waves.

As I've said I am all for an either / or method as with DDO which I think is fantastic ... hell I'd even be willing to take several payment methods.

No sub + MT store = Buying adventure packs / extra content from the store.

$15 + MT store = Getting "most content" with the sub and leaving some "extras" in the store.

$20 = Giving you all content unrestricted with no need to use the store at all.

Pretty much just a way to "hide" and increase in sub prices, since if the game is that "good" and warrents people will pay the full sub anyway.

Welcome to the new age of MMO. People can scream scam all they want, most companies are going this way, you accept it or leave. Blizzard, SoE, NCSoft, Bioware, and Cryptics does it and probably many more.

Maybe this game is targeted more towards the rest of the player base than us.

Does anybody have a stats whether F2P earn more than P2P games? Eg, Lineage have 20 mil players?

Cant help but fell that F2P companies earn more money and with this IP which is world wide recognize, alot of players wouldnt mind if they have game changing items in store.

But if that's true, im surely out...

Originally posted by ghost047

Welcome to the new age of MMO. People can scream scam all they want, most companies are going this way, you accept it or leave. Blizzard, SoE, NCSoft, Bioware, and Cryptics does it and probably many more.

If the customers say "NO" the companies will change or go out of business. It's that simple.

I don't know about that.  My guess is that WoW makes more money than any other MMO, without using RMT.  You could be right that on average MT games make more per player than subscription based games, but I bet there are a lot of people playing F2P games without buying anything at all.  I just think that a game aimed at a western market would make more money overall by having a standard, flat rate... simply by having more actual paying customers. 

I also think that if they want to be able to crow about their number of subs, free-to-play is the way to go.  Look at free realms, it's a terrible game but they can still claim 5 million users or whatever.  They aren't fooling anyone though.  You simply can't compare subscriber numbers between free games and those with a monthly fee.

Originally posted by Salvatoris

 I just think that a game aimed at a western market would make more money overall by having a standard, flat rate... simply by having more actual paying customers. 

I also think that if they want to be able to crow about their number of subs, free-to-play is the way to go.  Look at free realms, it's a terrible game but they can still claim 5 million users or whatever.  They aren't fooling anyone though.  You simply can't compare subscriber numbers between free games and those with a monthly fee.

Maybe this game is aim at the majority of asian gamers? Plus not all western gamers hate RMT. We might be only the minority.

Ive 3 friends that play F2P games. They always told me they wouldnt play a P2P as if they dont have the time to play, than the money is wasted. But when they do have time to play those F2P games, they would spend more than $15 each month for item upgrades and fluff stuff, and some of the fluff stuff is quite important, like mounts...

Originally posted by Lonestryder

Call me old school, but microtransactions of any sort are a deal breaker for me.

 

And it has nothing to do with money.

Agree. The devs will just spend more time on items you need to pay extra for and let the normal content go. Look at swg now, not only is their trading card game getting expansions and more content than the game itself, they are taking ideas from the community and making them into cards you have to buy. Whats worse is, they are even using the graphics that people come up with for new idea's as content and putting that graphic on the cards. I agree that those people still sub'd to that game deserve everything they get, or don't get, but look for the same thing in any game that's pay to paly and MT.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by ghost047

Welcome to the new age of MMO. People can scream scam all they want, most companies are going this way, you accept it or leave. Blizzard, SoE, NCSoft, Bioware, and Cryptics does it and probably many more.

If the customers say "NO" the companies will change or go out of business. It's that simple.

You live in a dream world my friend, if you think we will all say "NO".

We have to realise that in the past 5 years, the subscription price never went up, still 14,99$/Month. So they have to find other way to get money without people say, it's too expensive, I will go play some other game at 14,99$. This way they keep the same price as everyone and you can choose to buy from the store. You see the choice is yours, they do not force you to pay more or buy from the store.

Originally posted by ghost047

You live in a dream world my friend, if you think we will all say "NO".

I didn't say "all", and I remember the collapse of the home video gaming market in the early '80s, when customers finally stopped mindlessly buying the garbage companies were shoveling at them.

It happened before - it will happen again, if the companies continue as they are.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by ghost047

You live in a dream world my friend, if you think we will all say "NO".

I didn't say "all", and I remember the collapse of the home video gaming market in the early '80s, when customers finally stopped mindlessly buying the garbage companies were shoveling at them.

It happened before - it will happen again, if the companies continue as they are.

People still goes to theatre even if the price double over the last 10 years, they still go to sports event, concert, amusement park.....everything goes up in price exept MMO, so people will accept it, it's not like it's the end of the world.