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Star Wars: The Old Republic: Should SWTOR Go Free-to-Play?

MikeBMikeB Community ManagerAdministrator RarePosts: 6,555

In this week's Star Wars: The Old Republic column we discuss whether or not SWTOR should make the switch to the free-to-play business model.

I’ve been knee-deep in the MMORPG.com community since I came on in June of 2009, but it feels like only yesterday when our community was up in arms over the notion of some Western game going free-to-play. While some of this sentiment still remains, it doesn’t take more than a cursory glance to notice that there’s been an overall attitude shift here, and this is likely due in part to the gradual trend towards free-to-play that has been going on since DDO made the extremely successful switch back in September of ’09. This apparent shift, at least to me, speaks volumes to where things are headed and it’s got me asking myself one question in particular as of late:

Should Star Wars: The Old Republic go Free-to-Play?

Read more of Michael Bitton's Star Wars: The Old Republic: Should SWTOR Go Free-to-Play?

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Comments

  • kevjardskevjards Member UncommonPosts: 1,452
    should have been b2p nvm f2p.this game falls drastically short on all lvls,from content,gfx,etc etc..i think the list is endless..oh and btw if some fanboi wants to flame me down,just remember atm i sub to the game..not for much longer though.2 months is more than enough.
  • WicoaWicoa Member UncommonPosts: 1,637

    Swtor should have been B2P its not worth P2P or F2P.  Of course this is my opinion and apparently the permanently static 1.7 million subscribers that never ever fluctuate (the first in the history of mmorpgs) seem to enjoy it and good for them even if some of them don't exsist.

    I regret buying swtor it was over priced and under-delievered way to far.  This I will never forgive Bioware and EA for.

  • cesmode8cesmode8 Member UncommonPosts: 431

    I played SWTOR for about three months, defended it heavily on the SWTOR forums until I woke up and realized that it I was questing in a HUGE GATED dead world where I could not go off to explore and had no reason to.  No, I would not come back if it went F2P. 

    The fact that games are subscription based or not makes no difference to me.  A 15$ a month game is 50 cents per day to play.  Thats less than a bag of chips from the vending machine at work. 

    I am currently involved with TERA as it is an amazing game, and I will continue to follow GW2 (although last weeken's BWE was a disappointment).  The fact that GW2 is F2P is only a bonus, not an incentive to play.  Its the quality of the game that matters to me.

     

  • ProstiProsti Member Posts: 45

    Speaking out of context, I managed to play the weekend trial. It really seemed dead, and as much as most would my opinion doesn't matter. Im sure it mattered where it counted, regardless. I would definately give this game a try had it gone F2P or even B2P.

     

    Either way, it would be better to make the decision of where SWTOR is going soon. Lest the game completely falls down the drain.

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  • SnikzSnikz Member UncommonPosts: 120

    Im sorry, but you guys from MMORPG hailed this game and hyped it up so much that it was the biggest MMO since WoW = ?And

    What happend? No more PR money from EA?

     

    No the game should not go f2p, they should start makeing improvements for GFX + Performance and make much more content

  • GrakulenGrakulen Staff WriterMMORPG.COM Staff LegendaryPosts: 894
    If they really have 1.7 million subs (but I don't believe they do) then no they shouldn't. Why give up $60+million in revenue each month.
  • RelGnRelGn Member Posts: 494

    Buy to play is the only thing that would make me come back to this game.Im not even playing it as a free to play.

    First all free to play sucks balls.

    Secondly hey we got gw2 coming and seriously who gives an f about swtor and all other mmos.

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  • niceguy3978niceguy3978 Member UncommonPosts: 2,047

    Originally posted by Snikz

    Im sorry, but you guys from MMORPG hailed this game and hyped it up so much that it was the biggest MMO since WoW = ?And

    What happend? No more PR money from EA?

     

    No the game should not go f2p, they should start makeing improvements for GFX + Performance and make much more content


     

    No, they moved on to hyping up GW2.

  • SnikzSnikz Member UncommonPosts: 120

    Hate to admit it, but im waiting for the secret world. Thats a sub-based MMO and looking to be one the last ones for a AAA mmorpg. + It has cash shops for getting other kind of clothes wich i can live with :)

  • AnthurAnthur Member UncommonPosts: 961

    Swtor should probably go the B2P with cash shop route like GW2.

    I don't agree that there is no more place for P2P in MMO market. There definately is. But Swtor does not fullfill the requirments to be a P2P mmo.

    In the end all that counts is how much money the company can earn (and not how much money the customer must pay for an mmo). And I think that Bioware could earn more money with a B2P/cash shop in Swtor. The current P2P forces people to cancel their accounts due to lack of content which would not be the case with B2P/cash shop.

    Just my 2 cents.

  • spookydomspookydom Member UncommonPosts: 1,782
    My very first post on these forums was defending Tor. Have learnt a lot since then. I don't think it's a bad game. I pre-orderd and had an enjoyable three months playing. I didn't feel let down by it because it was everything I expected it would be.   My opinon now like many others is that it should have been/should be B2p. It could make plenty of money from a cosmetic cash shop alone and box sales. Like Mike states above in his article I am coming around to the idea that subscriptions are becoming a thing of the past. Personaly I prefer them.  I will play again one day, but right now I don't belive the game has enough going on to warrent spending £10 a month on.
  • McGamerMcGamer Member UncommonPosts: 1,073

    I love the Star Wars genre, but I don't care if BW paid me to play SWTOR, I still wouldn't . SWTOR is a pitiful excuse for pvp, mmo, and especially Star Wars. Until BW realizes its more important to stay true to the canon that made Star Wars what it is instead of being greedy, SWTOR will always be a fail in my book. 

    There is a huge difference between being profitable and being greedy.

  • ZaltarkZaltark Member UncommonPosts: 437

    Lets be honest here. Even if it did go free2play, what would keep the customers? The PvP is atrocious, the quests end at 50. Once you beat the game, theres nothing to return to. Legacy system? meh....

  • KazaraKazara Member UncommonPosts: 1,086
    Going F2P will not fix what ails SWTOR. It would provide a temporary population boon, then the problems that currently plague the game would gradually drive off the F2P gamers. It would be best for Bioware to do a lot of fixing, changing and adding to the game in preparation for going the inevitable F2P route. Bioware's immediate concern should be implementing server transfers ASAP. Waiting 7+ weeks is just waiting too long.

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  • AlusciaAluscia Member UncommonPosts: 39

    I played SWTOR until February. The unwillingness of some of BW's senior developers to listen to the overwhelming waves of feedback they were receiving from the community at large is the biggest reason why I left. I won't list all the broken systems or the ways in which the game actually got worse with 1.1, but they lost my subscription then and there.

    I have a friend who's still playing - he keeps me updated on what's going on in game (how cool 1.2 is, etc etc), but the one thing he's said every time he's talked about it: The population on our server (Krayt Dragon) is dead.

    Maybe they don't need to go F2P to spice things up. What they should do is offer free server transfers and start consolidating servers to prevent the dwindling diaspora effect we saw with WAR.

  • MisterpuppyMisterpuppy Member Posts: 18
    It inevitably will be ftp. That is like asking should,"Mike and Molly" lose a little weight. It appears that the subs are falling from the evidence. And that is how they can build them back up.

    Don't be a Menace to MMORPG While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.

  • MechanismMechanism Member UncommonPosts: 143
    Going f2p is still a risk and if there is one thing the makers of swtor will not do it's take risks.
  • ReaperUkReaperUk Member UncommonPosts: 758

    I only played SWTOR for the initial month included in the purchase price before quitting. I regarded it as being too mediocre to warrant a monthly subscription beyond that point. If it had been F2P from the start, I would probably have played longer but I don't think I'd ever go back now even if it did go F2P.

    I've already got a lifetime sub to LotRO and have pre-purchased GW2, which the weekend beta convinced me I'm going to want to play for a long time. So it will take something exceptional to get a monthly sub from me. I've got TSW on pre -order too but with a monthly sub, unless it's amazing, I probably won't stay too long there either.

    IMO, P2P is a dying business model and those games that don't adopt some kind of B2P or Freemium payment alternative are going to find it increasingly hard to survive the competition.



     

  • SnikzSnikz Member UncommonPosts: 120

    And lets be honest, this is EA we are talking about.. they are never going to let the game go free2play..

     

    they would rather close it and let someone take over their contract from Lucas

  • Pratt2112Pratt2112 Member UncommonPosts: 1,636

    Originally posted by cesmode8

    I am currently involved with TERA as it is an amazing game, and I will continue to follow GW2 (although last weeken's BWE was a disappointment).  The fact that GW2 is F2P is only a bonus, not an incentive to play.  Its the quality of the game that matters to me. 

    I'm with you on the rest of your post, so no argument from me there.

    Only one minor nitpick. GW2 is B2P, not F2P :).

  • elockeelocke Member UncommonPosts: 4,335
    At this point, with GW2 showing up everyone and not charging a sub fee, EVERY sub game should have a F2P option.  Hybrid F2P is the way to go anymore, IMO.  Plus, it makes it less painful to log into a game to check out a new patch just to realize it's not THAT big and you end up not playing for most of the month you just paid for.  This way at least, you can see the new content patches and decide from there whether to sub and get gold or premium access or to just keep it at silver or F2P access.   Everyone wins.
  • LobotomistLobotomist Member EpicPosts: 5,960

    It should have launched B2P

    With model where you buy the initial boxed game (with decent chunk of game). And later pay for additional planets/quest series (like LOTRO/DDO)

     

    Problem is. It would have worked on launch.

    Now that ship has sailed.

     

    I dont think nothing will be able to save this game.

    Not even F2P at this moment.

    And knowing EA, they rather kill games than make them F2P

     



  • st3v3b0st3v3b0 Member UncommonPosts: 155
    If they go Free 2 Play they will lose me as a subscriber.  So no.
  • fenistilfenistil Member Posts: 3,005

    F2P or Freemium? 

     

    Lol no. 

     

    This game is not made for that and besides those business model are bad for mmorpg's.

     

    SWTOR seem like 'mmorpg' lite - more like Single player game with co-op option.

    So B2P - no optional subs , whole game avabile after buying box.  New zones-packs (zone + dungeons + some  story) released as DLC's.

    No cash shop or very minimalistic one (not like in F2P / Freemium games where CS is big and infuential like in Lotro , DDO or SoE games - no this does not fit into B2P).

  • BeowulfsamBeowulfsam Member UncommonPosts: 145



    Originally posted by Prosti

    Speaking out of context, I managed to play the weekend trial. It really seemed dead, and as much as most would my opinion doesn't matter. Im sure it mattered where it counted, regardless. I would definately give this game a try had it gone F2P or even B2P.

     

    Either way, it would be better to make the decision of where SWTOR is going soon. Lest the game completely falls down the drain.






     

    Thing is, SWTOR always felt empty. I played from release on server with hours long queue at the start and I hardly met anyone...I think in the process of levelling I met 4-5 persons from opposite faction and a tad more of my own faction (not counting the space station hub). Granted, I was ahead of the curve but even after a month the situation didn't change much, felt like you're roaming desolate planets.

     

    They should make the game 50% smaller (area wise) at the start and work on other things.

     

    Oh, and not be stingy for the game engine at the start too.



     

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