I see nothing wrong with them not allowing people to post on the forums or the technical forums.  The technical forums etc are for people who are paying for the service and with a limited staff that EA/BW has due to layoffs etc on this project, the resources ie labor need to be prioritized to the customers supporting the game.  In game tickets I am sure will be avaliable to those on the F2P model.  I am not thrilled with how the game turned out but basic business practices need to be followed if they plan to improve. 

Originally posted by rdrakken

EA is still going forward blind.

When SWTOR was made, it was made for an MMO audience yet were making a game that wasnt targetting most of them, hence its population drop off...now they are going F2P, making a shop to target the F2P audience...yet are not making it in a way to target them.

The most successful F2P games, with the MOST F2P players...dont like Paytraps. Just look at the populations of the paytraps...they dont come even REMOTELY close to the actual F2P games. The paytrap shops blow massive batha **** compared to the F2P shops that are filled with this thing called MICROtransactions....something not one single paytrap shop has...transactions yes, MICROtransactions, no.

Once again, SWTOR will miss its target audience. People will go, play part of the game for free, spend next to nothing.

 

Corporations that grow too large need to stay out of the interactive industries where you are required to be in TOUCH with your audience...they just cant do it.

True that

Look at the population of EQ2, DDO, AoC, LOTRO.....quite pathetic.

Now look at Perfect World and League of Legends population,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Perfect World is also one of the most profitable MMO around, and it is really free.

They make money because people buy equipment..................but you can still get it by playing, if you have lots of time to invest.

Western F2p are just a big con................

Originally posted by creadosk

I see nothing wrong with them not allowing people to post on the forums or the technical forums.  The technical forums etc are for people who are paying for the service and with a limited staff that EA/BW has due to layoffs etc on this project, the resources ie labor need to be prioritized to the customers supporting the game.  In game tickets I am sure will be avaliable to those on the F2P model.  I am not thrilled with how the game turned out but basic business practices need to be followed if they plan to improve. 

Is the $15 spent in the item shop any different than the $15 spent on the sub?  Funny how they're more than happy to take their money in the cash shop but treat them like second class citizens.

"we build the story lines that allow you to stay in the game for months if not years"

which brings me to my next point. don't drink the cool aid.

If you were going to spend $15 a month in the cash shop wouldn't it make more sense to just subscribe and get the same amount of content etc.

That's the rub. There's nothing in the cash shop for a non-subscriber to buy. The free part of SWTOR is just an attempt to get people to subscribe. A huge trial if you will. The cash shop appears to just be a way to further milk the dwindiling subscribers.

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Originally posted by Tensor25

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Originally posted by erictlewis He tried to sidestep the real question.  Sure you got to bring the payers in, but once they are in you got to keep them.  Something I don't see them doing. This bs that 40% said it was the sub, what about the 60% I wonder what they had to say. Yea it is all double speak at this point.  

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 Really? You can't figure this one out?

I think it's pretty safe to say that the other 60% just simply did not like the game and would not return unless it was seriously revamped.

So EA's approach is to cater to the 40% who had the stance of "yes i like the game, but i don't want to pay $15 a month for it".

It's pretty obvious that doing away with the monthly subscription is a much easier route than trying to revamp the game for a player base that doesn't know what it wants.

You're welcome for that clarification.

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more cool aid drinking.

40% saying "Ill play the game all the time if its not $15 a month." does not actually translate into those 40% playing because it's free. He also embellishes the statement quite a bit as the exit poll simply lists subscription cost as a reason for leaving. The is no option for I'D PLAY ALL THE TIME if there was not sub cost.

I think f2p will be good for swtor. It may save it from complete dismantlement ... but thats not much of a stretch .. mmos don't really shut down very often. IMO it's pretty much a wash. This game wont improve either way though as the devs are committed to non-mmo "pillars" more than actual mmo pillars.

Im sorry. But i hope i am not the only one.

But i hate his stupid, lying, face.  He is just as annoying as that Bobby Kotick from Activision. Id punch him in the face all day long.

Originally posted by creadosk

I see nothing wrong with them not allowing people to post on the forums or the technical forums.  The technical forums etc are for people who are paying for the service and with a limited staff that EA/BW has due to layoffs etc on this project, the resources ie labor need to be prioritized to the customers supporting the game.  In game tickets I am sure will be avaliable to those on the F2P model.  I am not thrilled with how the game turned out but basic business practices need to be followed if they plan to improve. 

My only problem with this is say, someone wants to try this particular mmo, then cant even log on, or has horible fps issues and can't submit a ticket. They must roam indefinatly threw treads hoping one of them has thier exact problem? 

Why would somone sub to a game they cant play or get support on.

Also their f2p platform doesn't have premium like all the other f2p platforms. Its subscribers or leaches and leaches like others have said get treated like 2nd class citizens.

Sometimes games used to inclue patched that would have bugged items or make certain items not match the id anymore so if you moused over it you would crash. Are you not allowed to get help from the forums?

IMHO, I think certain areas of the forums might be better off for subscribers or premium(which is lacking from this plateform). However technical support and general should be open to everyone. 

BW Thinks people are pissed now, I have seen what angry star wars fans can do to a company. this aint gonna end well for BW.

Originally posted by jeremyjodes

BW Thinks people are pissed now, I have seen what angry star wars fans can do to a company. this aint gonna end well for BW.

They will get what they deserve. !

It was a Star Wars IP they killed right there.

Gamers voted with their wallet.  EA deserves the criticism.

Originally posted by jeremyjodes

BW Thinks people are pissed now, I have seen what angry star wars fans can do to a company. this aint gonna end well for BW.

BW died when EA bought them.

I know it is easy to jump on the EA hating bandwagon, but you only have to look at the quality of Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3 and SWTOR, compared to previous BW games to see that everything said about EA is absolutely true.

You can't make successful games if the Marketing Director is also the game designer.................games needs to be made by game lovers.

It is very simple, but EA somehow doesn't get it.

They have to thank FIFA games which keep this company afloat.............so they can kill the rest of the industry with their mediocre games.

Originally posted by ste2000

Originally posted by jeremyjodes

BW Thinks people are pissed now, I have seen what angry star wars fans can do to a company. this aint gonna end well for BW.

BW died when EA bought them.

I know it is easy to jump on the EA hating bandwagon, but you only have to look at the quality of Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3 and SWTOR, compared to previous BW games to see that everything said about EA is absolutely true.

You can't make successful games if the Marketing Director is also the game designer.................games needs to be made by game lovers.

It is very simple, but EA somehow doesn't get it.

They have to thank FIFA games which keep this company afloat.............so they can kill the rest of the industry with their mediocre games.

Same thing happend to Square Soft they made 1 bad movie and it was game over.

Originally posted by dave6660

Originally posted by creadosk

I see nothing wrong with them not allowing people to post on the forums or the technical forums.  The technical forums etc are for people who are paying for the service and with a limited staff that EA/BW has due to layoffs etc on this project, the resources ie labor need to be prioritized to the customers supporting the game.  In game tickets I am sure will be avaliable to those on the F2P model.  I am not thrilled with how the game turned out but basic business practices need to be followed if they plan to improve. 

Is the $15 spent in the item shop any different than the $15 spent on the sub?  Funny how they're more than happy to take their money in the cash shop but treat them like second class citizens.

Maybe they will sell forum access and technical support in the item shop? :D

Originally posted by erictlewis

Originally posted by Weretigar

The fans buy it

Actually no they don't have you been on the official swtor forums today.  There have been several threads already that has been locked and some that totaly disapeared.

The people playing a game for subs are rarely the most optimistic about changes like this, my entire guild left EQ2 when it became F2P (we were a smaller guild but we were not the only one. Yet in the end SOE earned more money on it.

In TORs case I am not so sure that will work out long term, TORs problem is that it is fun for 1-3 month and then most players becames bored and quit. It just ain´t massive and social enough to have that long term MMO pull so many games have. I am not so sure changing the model will change that which mean they need a lot of new players every month to keep going.

The game should have launched as B2P from the beginning instead with more group content, just changing it to F2P half a year later is too little too late.

But dang, I really didn´t thought the game would fall so fast when it launched.

A game needs more than raiding and instanced pvp to keep people interested.

i am gonna give the game a chance and check it out and if i like it i will even sub .

Originally posted by Tensor25

Originally posted by erictlewis

He tried to sidestep the real question.  Sure you got to bring the payers in, but once they are in you got to keep them.  Something I don't see them doing.

This bs that 40% said it was the sub, what about the 60% I wonder what they had to say.

Yea it is all double speak at this point.  

 Really? You can't figure this one out?

I think it's pretty safe to say that the other 60% just simply did not like the game and would not return unless it was seriously revamped.

So EA's approach is to cater to the 40% who had the stance of "yes i like the game, but i don't want to pay $15 a month for it".

It's pretty obvious that doing away with the monthly subscription is a much easier route than trying to revamp the game for a player base that doesn't know what it wants.

You're welcome for that clarification.

There isn't a game out there now that is worth $15/mo to me.  The end of my sub time in RIFT will be the end of my P2P gaming time.  It just isn't worth it.

I'm guessing P2P is pretty much going the way of the dodo.  There isn't much of a true P2P model left anyway.

Originally posted by dave6660

Originally posted by creadosk

I see nothing wrong with them not allowing people to post on the forums or the technical forums.  The technical forums etc are for people who are paying for the service and with a limited staff that EA/BW has due to layoffs etc on this project, the resources ie labor need to be prioritized to the customers supporting the game.  In game tickets I am sure will be avaliable to those on the F2P model.  I am not thrilled with how the game turned out but basic business practices need to be followed if they plan to improve. 

Is the $15 spent in the item shop any different than the $15 spent on the sub?  Funny how they're more than happy to take their money in the cash shop but treat them like second class citizens.

Funcom tried this with AoC in a vain attempt to kiss the ass of their current subscribers.  It did not go well.  Just as you point out about the $15, so did many people on their "F2P" subforum wanting to know why they were getting second class treatment for the money spent.  I remember the AoC/Funcom community personnel being rather rude and arrogant about it too.  Wonder how they're doing now?

There's no BW, hasn't been for years. (see ME3 ending and salespeeches). I'm so glad that EA is the worst company in U.S. I also hate BW more than anything and hope they get fully consumed by EA and die. Things EA owns most oftenly DIE.