It's a progressive step from EA/Bioware and I think it will work out for them. The casual crwod can just F2P and pay for stuff they might want by credit-card game access. After all SWTOR is Star Wars and I think there is definitely a long-tem place for the game in the mmo market. 

Originally posted by UsulDaNeriak

I am afraid the future is:

Pre-purchase beta, subscription at launch and an architecture that allows switching to hybrid on the fly whenever needed without a major effort.. Thats max profit, imho.

Well, max profit would be a good game. But they never will listen. 

I get the feeling that a free2play backup plan was well in motion even before the game released this has happened so quick. Cash in on the popularity of the IP and Bioware and then if subs fall down quickly flip to a freemium model, nice business sense but can other games follow this in the future or will they end up just having to go freemium from the off as players wise up to this new development in how an MMO is launched.

Originally posted by klar10

Why is there so much hate on this game, its actually pretty fun for the time being. The only thing i see they did really wrong is confineing you to the fleet at the end, and illum (and world pvp ends up being a zerg fest dominated by the bigger mass anyway) but overall i would say its really not that bad. I get it, it has its problems but there is seriously so much hate its rediculous we get it you guys think bioware failed move on go play something you do like.

The game is created by a company that before SWTOR was considered one of the best RPG developers. The game also cost an insane amount of money to produce and all we got was something "really not that bad," when it should have been "friggin amazing!"

Originally posted by Illyssia

It's a progressive step from EA/Bioware and I think it will work out for them. The casual crwod can just F2P and pay for stuff they might want by credit-card game access. After all SWTOR is Star Wars and I think there is definitely a long-tem place for the game in the mmo market. 

I agree.

They should've made KOTOR 3. Such failure. Sad pandas all over.

I hope this is a serious wake up call to anyone in the industry. People voted with their wallets and it was a resounding "No."

What a waste of all those billions of dollars.  This failed harder than the actual Titanic, and cost more to boot!  Let's hope this the end of sub-based MMOs.

Originally posted by GrumpyMel2

The saddest thing about this is that the take away the "industry" is going to get from this is going to be...

"We really need to release games under the Free 2 Play business model."

RATHER then...

"We really shouldn't be spending 200 million dollars on designing mediocre games."

 

 

 

 

Offering a F2P version of the game is the future for any MMO that has a sub model. anyone who disagrees is fooling themselves. I am a fan of SWTOR and have been surprised they didnt do this sooner. It worked great for plenty of other games and is gonna do great things for SWTOR as well.

F2P isnt a bad thing, its the standard now.

So those of you who want SWG back, which version do you want?  Pre or post revamp?

I thought this game would go a full year before going FTP.  Surprise, surprise!  I am going to play again, mainly to go thru all the storylines, which was the main draw of the game for me.

Originally posted by nilden

I hope this is a serious wake up call to anyone in the industry. People voted with their wallets and it was a resounding "No."

 

I very much doubt any other sub based game will survive sanbox, sandpark, themepark, themebox this is the market now people don't want to deal with subs and did not John Smedly predict that SW:TOR was going to be the last major sub based game? I feel they knew this and just cashed in on the box and 6 month subs already knowing they would have this as backup it has nothing to do with the perceived quality of the game.

Originally posted by Calerxes

I very much doubt any other sub based game will survive sanbox, sandpark, themepark, themebox this is the market now people don't want to deal with subs and did not John Smedly predict that SW:TOR was going to be the last major sub based game? I feel they knew this and just cashed in on the box and 6 month subs already knowing they would have this as backup it has nothing to do with the perceived quality of the game.

EXACTLY

Originally posted by Calerxes

Originally posted by nilden

I hope this is a serious wake up call to anyone in the industry. People voted with their wallets and it was a resounding "No."

 

 

I very much doubt any other sub based game will survive sanbox, sandpark, themepark, themebox this is the market now people don't want to deal with subs and did not John Smedly predict that SW:TOR was going to be the last major sub based game? I feel they knew this and just cashed in on the box and 6 month subs already knowing they would have this as backup it has nothing to do with the perceived quality of the game.

It has everything to do with the quality of the game.

somewhere in san diego, john smedly is laughing his balls off right now

How is Star Wars going free to play but WAR isn't?

Originally posted by ThaneUlfgar

How is Star Wars going free to play but WAR isn't?

WAR has 2 servers it wouldn't be worth spending the resorces to convert it to F2P.

It begins. Nicely done, ArenaNet. :)

Maybe Aventurine should have shown EA how it is done.

Originally posted by heartless

Originally posted by klar10

Why is there so much hate on this game, its actually pretty fun for the time being. The only thing i see they did really wrong is confineing you to the fleet at the end, and illum (and world pvp ends up being a zerg fest dominated by the bigger mass anyway) but overall i would say its really not that bad. I get it, it has its problems but there is seriously so much hate its rediculous we get it you guys think bioware failed move on go play something you do like.

The game is created by a company that before SWTOR was considered one of the best RPG developers. The game also cost an insane amount of money to produce and all we got was something "really not that bad," when it should have been "friggin amazing!"

The Freemium model is probably the model that sutis SW:TOR the best anyway.Whislt the game was fun and worth the box price for the original levelling content and maybe a month after for it's bite size PvP and PvE end game.But after that no way.

Whilst the die ahrd fans will point to th enumber of content patches since launch,that content added up does not amount to much because SW:TOR's small and large group instances are tiny with only a challenge here and there and PvP there's not a lot either.However as a F2P game it's easily digestible small bites of content makes it perfect for the casual or tiem poor consumer.