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Star Wars: The Old Republic: Free to Play Option Coming This Fall

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Comments

  • PurutzilPurutzil Member UncommonPosts: 3,048
    Originally posted by terrant

    Only goes to prove my current theory about the current developer mindset:

     

    1. Launch with a "standard" box price and sub to drum up initial capital.
    2. Once the initial rush dies off, switch gears to a f2p+microtransaction system
    3. Rake in the REAL cash, slowly but surely.
     
    Mark my words, right here and now. TSW will go F2P within a year, WoW will within 3 years.

    I disagree. F2P can be called a 'rehatch' in terms of attempting to return attention to a game but its not really used as a cash rake. Its not as 'ensured' as a F2P model and companies typically want a generally 'steady' income rather then spuradic for as much as possible. 

     

    Rift still remains P2P and is even coming out with an expansion. I see F2P as ultimately a point where a game has lost a lot of momentum and needs to pick it up.

  • LangsdorffLangsdorff Member Posts: 29

    It's nice to see so many people have so much to say about TOR; a game that used to be THE MOST popular game out there. Now that TSW and GW2 have taken that spot, because the graphics are cooler or whatever, TOR is rubbish because of the F2P model. I mean there are nice games that are sometimes free, so sub games that are B2P aren't always the best way to go, but usually developers need to recoup their money in a hurry. 

    Langsdorff

  • encopittencopitt Member UncommonPosts: 36
    Originally posted by gravesworn
    I feel bad for those of us that wasted our money on this garbage.

    ^^This...

     
  • JeroKaneJeroKane Member EpicPosts: 7,097
    Originally posted by gaeanprayer
    Originally posted by terrant

    Only goes to prove my current theory about the current developer mindset:

     

    1. Launch with a "standard" box price and sub to drum up initial capital.
    2. Once the initial rush dies off, switch gears to a f2p+microtransaction system
    3. Rake in the REAL cash, slowly but surely.
     
    Mark my words, right here and now. TSW will go F2P within a year, WoW will within 3 years.

    I doubt TSW will take more than 6 months to go F2P. The kind of content in that game that people REALLY like isn't the kind of easy-to-make crap that we see regurgitated nonstop in other mmos, the grindy quests and the endless gear/dungeon grind. It's the storyline and the investigative quests that make it interesting, and I promise you they won't be able to keep up with the demands of players for more of it, for very long. People will start bitching they're out of content (if they haven't already), they'll start leaving, then whoosh...f2p. Just like SWToR

    TSW doesn't need to go F2P. They already have Sub+Cashshop.

    1. It didn't cost an astronomical amount to develop, unlike SW:TOR.

    2. And thus it needs far less subs to sustain the game and still make enough profit.

    3. It already has a CashShop directly from start selling cosmetic fluff, which already seems to be doing very well, as people are buying stuff in there like crazy. So they already make a ton of money on this.

     

  • VassagoMaelVassagoMael Member Posts: 555

    Don't care. Game is garbage.

    Free to play = content updates for the cash shop. Buy to play = content updates for the cash shop.
    Subscription = Actual content updates!

  • IllyssiaIllyssia Member UncommonPosts: 1,507
    Originally posted by JeroKane
    Originally posted by gaeanprayer
    Originally posted by terrant

    Only goes to prove my current theory about the current developer mindset:

     

    1. Launch with a "standard" box price and sub to drum up initial capital.
    2. Once the initial rush dies off, switch gears to a f2p+microtransaction system
    3. Rake in the REAL cash, slowly but surely.
     
    Mark my words, right here and now. TSW will go F2P within a year, WoW will within 3 years.

    I doubt TSW will take more than 6 months to go F2P. The kind of content in that game that people REALLY like isn't the kind of easy-to-make crap that we see regurgitated nonstop in other mmos, the grindy quests and the endless gear/dungeon grind. It's the storyline and the investigative quests that make it interesting, and I promise you they won't be able to keep up with the demands of players for more of it, for very long. People will start bitching they're out of content (if they haven't already), they'll start leaving, then whoosh...f2p. Just like SWToR

    TSW doesn't need to go F2P. They already have Sub+Cashshop.

    1. It didn't cost an astronomical amount to develop, unlike SW:TOR.

    2. And thus it needs far less subs to sustain the game and still make enough profit.

    3. It already has a CashShop directly from start selling cosmetic fluff, which already seems to be doing very well, as people are buying stuff in there like crazy. So they already make a ton of money on this.

     

    I wouldn't be so sure. AoC, another Funcom game, went to F2P model. If TSW is under 100K subs then it may have to go there too.

  • RocknissRockniss Member Posts: 1,034
    Buyer beware, the dropped box price is enticing but why make it all look so good? Could have kept the price up around $40 and made some change, the lower price is because they have a plan for the days ahead to make f2p look generous now but ream people later.
  • MataOCDMataOCD Member Posts: 54

    I'm looking forward to this game.

  • daltaniousdaltanious Member UncommonPosts: 2,381
    Originally posted by MataOCD

    I'm looking forward to this game.

    Yeah, like many you are looking to eat for free or dress for free. And i guess all alike are so generous toward others in their live giving all they have for free.

  • Zguy114Zguy114 Member Posts: 3

    1st week the game came out i predicted this & I was even correct on how long it would take to happen.

    No surprize here.

     

    Sorry no chance in hell i'd ever pay for the box eather, it will all be free soon.

    sure you wont get as many bank & backpack slots but you can see the game for free, most of it.

     
  • JoeyMMOJoeyMMO Member UncommonPosts: 1,326
    Originally posted by solarine

    The main attraction of this game is the class stories. They're giving that away for free.... and actually expecting people to spend money on the other, mediocre MMORPG features? Am I the only one who sees a flaw in this logic? :)

     Nope, posted it elsewhere too. I doubt this strategy will bring in much money. The story is all there is to and that's free. But hey, maybe they'll nerf the standard gear and make it so that you'll be wiped without operations gear which has like a 0.001% drop rate for F2P players. The joys of F2P games... Pay or die.

    imageimage
  • wgc01wgc01 Member UncommonPosts: 241
    Originally posted by terrant

    Only goes to prove my current theory about the current developer mindset:

     

    1. Launch with a "standard" box price and sub to drum up initial capital.
    2. Once the initial rush dies off, switch gears to a f2p+microtransaction system
    3. Rake in the REAL cash, slowly but surely.
     
    Mark my words, right here and now. TSW will go F2P within a year, WoW will within 3 years.

    I can go with that, even gw2 this time around is built around a MT store, b2p, get money for the box sales everything else comes out of Store and DLC's down the road.  All games will have some form of f2p at some point, what allot of the f2p haters seem to not know or care about is that there is a group of people out there that hate sub based games as much as the f2p play haters hate that model, and they will come in and take the places of the f2p haters as they move out.  I have yet to see a game fail that went f2p, the ones that did fail and go dark never tried it.  When wow goes f2p that will be the big bang of the f2p era.

    Games that have made the switch like DDO and Lotro are now cash cows for Turbine.

     
  • TheLizardbonesTheLizardbones Member CommonPosts: 10,910


    Originally posted by JoeyMMO
    Originally posted by solarine The main attraction of this game is the class stories. They're giving that away for free.... and actually expecting people to spend money on the other, mediocre MMORPG features? Am I the only one who sees a flaw in this logic? :)
     Nope, posted it elsewhere too. I doubt this strategy will bring in much money. The story is all there is to and that's free. But hey, maybe they'll nerf the standard gear and make it so that you'll be wiped without operations gear which has like a 0.001% drop rate for F2P players. The joys of F2P games... Pay or die.


    I really wonder about this myself. I played the game for the story line. It was pretty much the rest of the game that I got tired of. I am really curious as to what they're actually going to charge for.

    I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.

  • DecyberDecyber Member Posts: 1
    The game mechanics have felt like a free to play and will always do. Even with the voice acting scripted stories.
  • zsp007zsp007 Member Posts: 1
    They screwed up with an SW mmorpg second time, congratulations, please somebody give us back SWG+tuned graphics/engine/content, i want to craft/mine, just sit before the starport and buff ppl
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