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Originally posted by Coolit
I think at this point for new games the subscription model is dead. SWTOR going f2p and of course the imminent release of GW2 shows the direction the industry is going whether people like it or not.

At this point I can't think of any sensible publisher that would launch a game as p2p. f2p doesn't mean an inferior game or service anymore and it hasn't done so for some time, I think this stigma is starting to erode now and once it does that will be it for p2p.  

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Originally posted by Burntvet

Originally posted by Ozmodan

I do disagree with the author though, a decent game will still do quite well as subscription based revenue model.  Just depends on content and design.  Theme parks run out of content fast.  Others not so much, like a sandbox design.

QFT

 

TOR's "failure" means one thing and one thing only: people will no longer pay from a crappy game. That's it.

No mysteries to ponder; no secret lessons to decipher, no loads of data to analyze.

Make a game not worth paying for, and people won't pay.

 

The rest of the stuff about "the sub model being dead" and "F2P is model of the future" as to why TOR failed, is just excuses, BS, and noise.

 

 

Exactly...

If it's a game you want to play, you'll buy it and give it a shot.

If you love the game, you'll continue to pay the sub.

If it blows, you wont.

If it tanks, then they can choose a different business model to keep it going if they want to try and keep revenue rolling in from it. Or they can pull the plug...

Originally posted by Nilah

Originally posted by Burntvet

Originally posted by Ozmodan

I do disagree with the author though, a decent game will still do quite well as subscription based revenue model.  Just depends on content and design.  Theme parks run out of content fast.  Others not so much, like a sandbox design.

QFT

 

TOR's "failure" means one thing and one thing only: people will no longer pay from a crappy game. That's it.

No mysteries to ponder; no secret lessons to decipher, no loads of data to analyze.

Make a game not worth paying for, and people won't pay.

 

The rest of the stuff about "the sub model being dead" and "F2P is model of the future" as to why TOR failed, is just excuses, BS, and noise.

 

 

Exactly...

If it's a game you want to play, you'll buy it and give it a shot.

If you love the game, you'll continue to pay the sub.

If it blows, you wont.

If it tanks, then they can choose a different business model to keep it going if they want to try and keep revenue rolling in from it. Or they can pull the plug...

I like sub games but have not subbed to any in years because theres plenty of games for f2p so I dont sub and yes I do like some of the games that have subs now including TSW but I wont go out and buy it and pay a sub if it was B2P sure but it isnt and its not freemium or F2P so no thanks I will stick to my 900+ F2P choice of games to play over the 5 or 6 P2P titles.

EA/TOR ,F2P model looking as trial without limited time not playable /enjoyable game

They should go with B2P  ,only model who  can  increase players base  no mater on game quality

It means I'm out $150 on a CE digital download on a game that should have been F2P from launch with no known benefits for those that have bought ANY version of the game.

And I have yet to see any "story" or "editorial" on MMORPG.com covering the "rights" of the players, it's all about EA.

"What does SWTOR F2P mean?"

It means the game failed. Miserably. It's boring and it's not so much a virtual world as a series of instances. The F2Pers can have it.

And really, "Actually, even though I knew there was zero possibility at the time, I expressed the opinion years ago, well before launch, that the game might be better served by redesigning it to be free to play from the get-go." - don't you say this about every. single. game.? Can you name a game you think should be designed as a subscription based MMO?

Still churning out these evangelizing F2P articles...

Like many have said above, what SWTOR F2P means is simple :

 Players are cancelling their subscriptions because the game failed to deliver expectations coming from a big I.P. developped by a big company and financed by one of the biggest wallets in the world.

They've got cocky, didn't listen to feedback, haven't learned from previous major titles that also failed for the same reasons, keeping a subscription model with a deserting playerbase is just not a good business any longer, of course F2P switch is needed to bring sheeps back into the game.

F2P is NOT a superior model at all, stop spreading your rubbish, it works because lately companies have given up their passions for creating fun games for greed quick bucks business model via item shops stripping games of vital functions aimed to rip players off to purchase features that should already be included in a game.

F2P works because players see games as a competition and most F2P games will pit players against themselves in hope they will buy their way to victory, there are loads of players who have too much money.

"Interviewing" F2P designers to support your article ...really? Of course they are going to preach the model why would they criticize their own business model they designed for themselves??

Make a good fun game, developped for the players not for the guys in suits, we are the ones paying your wages in the end!

swtor going free to play only shows how much of a poor game it was.

i was expecting at least a year before they admitted they cocked it up

I think TOR brought on a lot of unnecessary bad repoir with people expecting more. I mean people were nostop swtor this and that, much like gw2 and tera. 

Just because a game goes f2p doesn't mean it's a bad game. Personally, there are good f2p games out there. there are some rotten ones too. For me. That doesn't mean they're bad for everyone and I don't make up the concensus for all gamers out there. I think this topic combined with the fact it's TOR brings out the people that A) bought the same B) hyped it up and C) the game wasn't for them all they had hyped it to be. Look at Archeage now, people are hoping it's the NEXT BIG THING, much like the way that TOR was looked at. If you don't like a game (R.O.D.E. stands out for me) uninstall the sh*t and morve on, find a game you do like.Geez it can't be that hard to do.

I must disagree.  SWTOR going free to play means they created a crapy game and nobody wants to play crap.

Originally posted by Coolit

I think at this point for new games the subscription model is dead. SWTOR going f2p and of course the imminent release of GW2 shows the direction the industry is going whether people like it or not.

At this point I can't think of any sensible publisher that would launch a game as p2p. f2p doesn't mean an inferior game or service anymore and it hasn't done so for some time, I think this stigma is starting to erode now and once it does that will be it for p2p.

 

I wouldn't say it spells the end and GW2 being b2p isn't really that big of a deal, since well GW1 already was. PS2 might be a better argument, since it is as well, but SOE has -never- released a game in that fashion.

Too early to tell, when Rift and WoW still do have success with the model. It isn't dead, it just has a lot more competition than it did a few years ago.

Originally posted by Illyssia
Actually Bioware just announced another ops raid to come in a month or so time, so Free-two-play looks like it will see lots of premium new content too.

People on the free to play plan will not be able to access ops.  Nor all races.  Nor all the flash points.  Perhaps they will put in "fees" for opening some of the stuff that only subscribers will get. http://www.swtor.com/free/features

It is obvious from all the stuff I read about f2p sucess stories that f2p really costs more to play than subs  ... on average ... look at this article where it says something about f2p (which is a lie anyway .. it should be f2t ... free to try or f2ps .. free to play some) fitting the "impulse buying nature" of gamers.

Since a f2p game has no guaranteed income, the developers will spend more time and effort trying to figure ways to wheedle money out of the players, instead of making the game more awesome, so they can make a profit.  With 800k players (latest number I have seen) SWTOR should be making "some" money (about 12 mil a month).  Unfortunately EA is a giant Greed machine and wants more.

Swtor is my favorite game of the moment.  I really enjoy playing it and will keep on paying my $15 anyway.

SWTOR didn't fail because of the model.  They failed because they didn't provide value to their subscribers for their money.  The subscription model is perfectly viable, but if people are going to pay $15 a month you better be prepared to release high quality content frequently enough to keep your subscribers satsified and engaged in the game.

It is estimated that only 40% of F2P players ever buy anything at all, and we aren't talking reoccuring monthly purchases.  I don't know how many users buy stuff every month but I would guess that it is much lower.  Of course you have some players who spend a great deal more than $15 a month so that might offset that somewhat.  Regardless it looks like Bioware is going to have less income to develop with, if they couldn't create enough content to keep players interested when they were receiving a steady income, I don't see how they could all of a sudden be able to do so with less.  If the don't fix the real problem, you are just going to see people level up and leave without spending a dime, which is exactly what you saw with release but at least they were getting subs while people were leveling.