Some of you people getting irrate over this are being irrational. You are jumping to conclusions based on "beliefs" of what might be if micro transactions came to place, instead of waiting to see with an open mind what the facts are, like a mature person.
You know, there were irrate people just like you when MMORPG's announced they were charging a subscription fee, but people got used to it and those same people are paying it. Just like you'll be paying for Bioware's product if you really want to play it.
Micro Transactions are just another business model. Like others have said already, there are many examples of popular games with micro transactions. You irrational people hear "micro transaction" and scream about people buying lightsabers, instead of looking at the facts. Grow up!
Whether its official or not SW:TOR will have a form of MT. Either Bioware or the one the illegal gold farmers and power levelers set up. I see no difference between people buying illegal gold then buying items or people buying items directly off off the developers in-game. There are people who WILL pay for these services illegally or not and we have to realise they are here to stay now and i can see why developers are wanting a piece of the action (and i'd rather the money being spent went to them then the gold spammers because for all we know some of these companies could have links to organised crime). Its sad to see but times change and i sure do miss the old days when people were playing for fun for the most part.
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
Whether its official or not SW:TOR will have a form of MT. Either Bioware or the one the illegal gold farmers and power levelers set up. I see no difference between people buying illegal gold then buying items or people buying items directly off off the developers in-game. There are people who WILL pay for these services illegally or not and we have to realise they are here to stay now and i can see why developers are wanting a piece of the action (and i'd rather the money being spent went to them then the gold spammers because for all we know some of these companies could have links to organised crime). Its sad to see but times change and i sure do miss the old days when people were playing for fun for the most part.
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
It's pretty clear, huh? Yet, here we are having this discussion, not to mention there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who play F2P games with micro transactions.
Whether its official or not SW:TOR will have a form of MT. Either Bioware or the one the illegal gold farmers and power levelers set up. I see no difference between people buying illegal gold then buying items or people buying items directly off off the developers in-game. There are people who WILL pay for these services illegally or not and we have to realise they are here to stay now and i can see why developers are wanting a piece of the action (and i'd rather the money being spent went to them then the gold spammers because for all we know some of these companies could have links to organised crime). Its sad to see but times change and i sure do miss the old days when people were playing for fun for the most part.
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
It's pretty clear, huh? Yet, here we are having this discussion, not to mention there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who play F2P games with micro transactions.
over 5 million people play Guild Wars. That says a lot.
Whether its official or not SW:TOR will have a form of MT. Either Bioware or the one the illegal gold farmers and power levelers set up. I see no difference between people buying illegal gold then buying items or people buying items directly off off the developers in-game. There are people who WILL pay for these services illegally or not and we have to realise they are here to stay now and i can see why developers are wanting a piece of the action (and i'd rather the money being spent went to them then the gold spammers because for all we know some of these companies could have links to organised crime). Its sad to see but times change and i sure do miss the old days when people were playing for fun for the most part.
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
It's pretty clear, huh? Yet, here we are having this discussion, not to mention there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who play F2P games with micro transactions.
over 5 million people play Guild Wars. That says a lot.
I'm getting tired of pointing out the obvious. If you can't use your brain, I'm through talking with you. It's like you don't think before you speak. You point out that 5 million people play Guild Wars, but you fail to realize why Guild Wars can afford to run without a subscription fee.
If this game has ANY form of micro transactions for in game items, even for fluff then I will not touch this game. We need to make a stand now or we will be on a slippery slope to disaster. just say NO!!!! to MTs
IMO, you are too late, and future games will all have some form of micro-transactions, as its another revenue stream that most games w/o WOW's numbers will find very appealing. (and even Blizzard is exploring it).
Yeah, you don't have to play, but they know there's enough folk who will.
Really blizzard has already went there. I think TCG loot cards work kinda like RMT, its just a diffrent form.
yes cuz fluffy mount ( from already nearly 150 you can attain in game, or fluffy food bag, or some new non combat pet.. effects game ) its a way to promote, theirs card games.. yes you get chance for random item.. which is either mount, non combat pet, some other item, costume orwhatnot.. nothing that effects playing at all , noone got killed by spectral tiger yet.. but that new light saber for 15.99 might kill.. so its not the same.
RMT does not have to affect gameplay. Some F2P games sale mounts, costumes and other useless but fun stuff. Just because its not gear or weapons does not , not make it money trade.
It all depends on how microtransation is done in some games, like in City of Heroes the online store offers transfers/respecs/rename, then the site offers costume packs (wedding, cyborg) which doesn't affect gameplay. However when you look at the Trading Card Game SOE had shoved into EQ2 and SWG, they have hidden bonus loot that actually does affect the crafting portion, loots including vehicles and houses (which some people shelled out hundreds of dollars trying to get) and I wouldn't be surprised if they added guns and armor and takes away the value of actually earning something in a game. SOE has done a dirty move, and ontop of that the game is P2P.
Personally I don't support RMT, but if it's similar to what NCSoft did with City of Heroes, it isn't that bad.
Rocitello did announce that, but quickly after he made that statement they receded it. So, the business model has not been announced. But thats all anyone needed to start talking about it. Some feel that its a for sure thing. Some think that its not possbile and some just will wait to see. No matter what your stance is on MicroTransactions, we still do not have an idea if SWTOR will implement that. But someone on here is going to make a compelling argument. They will play the role of lawyer using logic and reasons for the announcement but..... Just remember that they receded it and they have not announced it. So that tells me its could be a MicroTransaction or it might not. Wait and see game is going to be played a lot with SWTOR.....
The EA PR pukes also downplayed Mr. Riccitiello's comments basically confirming the existence of the KOTOR MMO when he made them, too. The naysayers said it wasn't an official confirmation "because it wasn't on the EA website". LOL how much more official can you get than the company CEO saying something?
You can bank on at the time the statement was made, they were planning on some sort of MT for this game. Maybe they have changed their mind, or maybe we'll have a hybrid of the standard monthly fee + MT for fluff extras. I doubt they're going to be dumb enough to let people buy IWIN stuff with MT. I'll wait and see how it will work before saying MT is a deal breaker.
I actually hope it is a combination P2P + RMT game. Don't get me wrong here. As long as the RMT items for sale in the item shop are FLUFF only and give no competitive edge, I'm all for it. As soon as you have to buy things that make a competitive difference in the game, then I believe the company needs to drop the P2P thing and go straight RMT. Just my 2 copper worth.
Fear not fanbois, we are not trolls, let's take off your tin foil hat and learn what VAPORWARE is:
"Vaporware is a term used to describe a software or hardware product that is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge after having well exceeded the period of development time that was initially claimed or would normally be expected for the development cycle of a similar product."
If this game has ANY form of micro transactions for in game items, even for fluff then I will not touch this game. We need to make a stand now or we will be on a slippery slope to disaster. just say NO!!!! to MTs
IMO, you are too late, and future games will all have some form of micro-transactions, as its another revenue stream that most games w/o WOW's numbers will find very appealing. (and even Blizzard is exploring it).
Yeah, you don't have to play, but they know there's enough folk who will.
Really blizzard has already went there. I think TCG loot cards work kinda like RMT, its just a diffrent form.
yes cuz fluffy mount ( from already nearly 150 you can attain in game, or fluffy food bag, or some new non combat pet.. effects game ) its a way to promote, theirs card games.. yes you get chance for random item.. which is either mount, non combat pet, some other item, costume orwhatnot.. nothing that effects playing at all , noone got killed by spectral tiger yet.. but that new light saber for 15.99 might kill.. so its not the same.
RMT does not have to affect gameplay. Some F2P games sale mounts, costumes and other useless but fun stuff. Just because its not gear or weapons does not , not make it money trade.
Yeah, the devil is in the details I suppose. I started playing ROM over the weekend, and that game really takes microtransactions to the nth level. Need more backpack space, you can rent it for up to 180 days. Same with your house vault. Speaking of houses, everyone gets a free one. Oh, you want furniture, step up to the register.
I chose to play in the pvp server, and they have an alignment system that determines if you drop anything. However, if you are willing to buy the insurance, you can protect up to 8 of your items. You want a mount, you can rent them for 7, 30 or permanent time frames. There are buffs to exp of course, but also buffs to crafting exp as well that you can purchase.
But the ultimate cash shop experience has to be near the starting area when you come across a fungus cave with an npc at the door. He'll give you a quest to collect the Golden lasso or something like that, but warns that its a difficult quest, and if you will only spend some cash in the shop, you can get an extra item that will make running the quest much easier.
I thought that was a bit over the top, and I ran into another of these types of deals later on. (and I'm only level 9).
So yes, cash shops can be somewhat benign, or over the top a bit. Let's hope if TOR has this mechanic they chose the less obtrusive path.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
no official announcement on billing has been made yet. i am remaining optomistic it will be p2p
Not me, I hope they use the GW model for TOR. You can’t tell me there are comparatively more tards playing Guild Wars then are playing WoW or any other game. WoW does offer it's own version of MT, with paid services BTW. Plus there are over 5 million people playing it (GW). High population games add more diversity in types of players anyways. If I can pick up the box say for $59 and play for free, have the option to buy minor fluff items, content and expansion packs, I’ll be happy. TBH what is your $14.99 buying you these days? You still pay for expansions, and content updates in most games are fewer then you would expect. You still have to deal with the noobs, bugs, game chances, imbalances ect. Some people say MT ruins the game, but I say...um it's a game, not real life. People talking about their college finals in the cantina is more imersion breaking then game items being purchased outside the game for me.
I don’t have as much time to game as I used to back in the pre-cu SWG days, and I feel like I’m not getting as good of deal when I subscribe because I can rarely play my monies worth. You can say, how is fair that people can just go purchase fluff items you had to work for? But the other side of the argument could be how is it fair that people with no jobs no family and no life have more time to grind to get the best gear, best loot then me? I’m not saying things should be given to you, but if people are willing to pay for things so they can actually enjoy the game rather than worrying character maintenance or about how they’re gonna get another swoop, why not make it an option? A game shouldn’t feel like a second job. If people want the option to earn it, then so be it, let them earn it. There should be choices, I may choose to earn most of my gear, but I don’t think I should have to waste money paying time I don’t use and be limited to just grind grind grind for items I need.
I honestly believe this will make the game more accessible. When SWG first launched I read on forums how disappointed people were that it was subscription based, just like the KOTOR fans are saying now. They would be more apt to try it if all they needed to buy was a box. Put that on top of some solo personal quests and you may just win over a few hundred thousand more fans.
Besides the average MT consumer is a loner, they don’t like playing much with other people so let them be. Sure there are the people who want an edge, but they would have that edge whether they had to work for it or not, because they are the competitive type.
I'm not trying to influence you in any way, it's just something to think about instead of jumping on the whole "MT is bad" bandwagon. I was there once as well, but then I thought really hard about the pros and cons of F2P vs my current lifestyle and came to a different conclusion about it.
Most of the people on the fence over it will eventually try it anyways. If it is MT you will have nothing more to lose than playing the average MMO or single player RPG for a month. If the game is as good and as fun as they say it is, it will sell itself and may even put GW to shame. If it isn't, then nothing would have saved it.
There's a huge difference between Guild Wars, Item Mall games, and P2P games. First and foremost is the fact Guild Wars is centered pretty much on instance encounters and PVP. With Guild Wars there's no crafting system, no true adventuring system and the world is completely instanced and the software including every expansion remains its Launch Prices pretty much forever making it an expensive endevor. I personally found the game highly over rated from the beginning unless you love to PVP all the time and don't care if there's any depth to the game beyond PvP related mechanics making GW is a complete snore title.
Item Mall games tend to be more open world with minimal instancing, with grindy mechanics to get people to buy items, and the software is always free to download. Most P2P games have sufficient grinding, events, encounters, and etc to keep people hooked and playing, they have price deals on the software, plenty of invite your friends free deals, minimal instancing, crafting, auction house systems, housing systems, etc etc. P2P games offer more content to a wider audience and the offer chances after a time of only paying a minimal fee to get into the game along with the sub which is quite cheap considering the amount of free content that most give out yearly.
Sure Guild Wars has 5 Million people..well you know the other monster is WoW and they have what 12 million? How many of those millions are repeat customers. People come and go constantly from games like Guild Wars while a good bit of them tend to never leave WoW. That says alot more than having 5 million non paying users.
People honestly talk alot of smack about Item Mall games...most of them have never even tried them. Some are horrorfic games where spending cash is the only way to survive the game and uber grindy. Some are decent games where the items are not necessities and don't really give you an edge in battle. All of them are grindy but honestly all MMOs are grindy. All MMOs have to have a mechinac to make you come back repeatedly.
Yeah, the devil is in the details I suppose. I started playing ROM over the weekend, and that game really takes microtransactions to the nth level. Need more backpack space, you can rent it for up to 180 days. Same with your house vault. Speaking of houses, everyone gets a free one. Oh, you want furniture, step up to the register. I chose to play in the pvp server, and they have an alignment system that determines if you drop anything. However, if you are willing to buy the insurance, you can protect up to 8 of your items. You want a mount, you can rent them for 7, 30 or permanent time frames. There are buffs to exp of course, but also buffs to crafting exp as well that you can purchase. But the ultimate cash shop experience has to be near the starting area when you come across a fungus cave with an npc at the door. He'll give you a quest to collect the Golden lasso or something like that, but warns that its a difficult quest, and if you will only spend some cash in the shop, you can get an extra item that will make running the quest much easier. I thought that was a bit over the top, and I ran into another of these types of deals later on. (and I'm only level 9). So yes, cash shops can be somewhat benign, or over the top a bit. Let's hope if TOR has this mechanic they chose the less obtrusive path.
Which is why I uninstalled RoM after 6 hours of play. And really, even if this game is RMT I think Bioware can do it properly. Each game I have ever played made by Bioware passed my expectations. So if they are going to try the RMT alternative, I would be more then happy to atleast give it a shot. And im pretty sure what ever choice they make will not make a huge diffrence in game play.
If this game is micro-transaction, then this game has no need for all this hype its getting. Whats the point of having little rich kids buy the best gear and beat the average person everytime? The Devs should change this. If they don't, I will laugh at the game and never even play the free-trial..
Nothing is decided about microtransactions or monthly fees yet. Also it depends on how much the items matter (in Guildwars the best gear is just a small help) or if the game even will have PvP.
So far I had a good time with the Bioware games I played so I will give this a chanse even though I am not a huge SW fan.
Well this is Bioware!Just remember since when they released a game with serious bad design desicions? I'm pretty sure that if RTM will be there then it will be for the best of the game. Seriously I dont think bioware will be shooting themselves in theirs feet like FunCom.
Whether its official or not SW:TOR will have a form of MT. Either Bioware or the one the illegal gold farmers and power levelers set up. I see no difference between people buying illegal gold then buying items or people buying items directly off off the developers in-game. There are people who WILL pay for these services illegally or not and we have to realise they are here to stay now and i can see why developers are wanting a piece of the action (and i'd rather the money being spent went to them then the gold spammers because for all we know some of these companies could have links to organised crime). Its sad to see but times change and i sure do miss the old days when people were playing for fun for the most part.
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
It's pretty clear, huh? Yet, here we are having this discussion, not to mention there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who play F2P games with micro transactions.
over 5 million people play Guild Wars. That says a lot.
I'm getting tired of pointing out the obvious. If you can't use your brain, I'm through talking with you. It's like you don't think before you speak. You point out that 5 million people play Guild Wars, but you fail to realize why Guild Wars can afford to run without a subscription fee.
/shrug. k, not sure who you are but I don't agree.
no official announcement on billing has been made yet. i am remaining optomistic it will be p2p
Not me, I hope they use the GW model for TOR. You can’t tell me there are comparatively more tards playing Guild Wars then are playing WoW or any other game. WoW does offer it's own version of MT, with paid services BTW. Plus there are over 5 million people playing it (GW). High population games add more diversity in types of players anyways. If I can pick up the box say for $59 and play for free, have the option to buy minor fluff items, content and expansion packs, I’ll be happy. TBH what is your $14.99 buying you these days? You still pay for expansions, and content updates in most games are fewer then you would expect. You still have to deal with the noobs, bugs, game chances, imbalances ect. Some people say MT ruins the game, but I say...um it's a game, not real life. People talking about their college finals in the cantina is more imersion breaking then game items being purchased outside the game for me.
I don’t have as much time to game as I used to back in the pre-cu SWG days, and I feel like I’m not getting as good of deal when I subscribe because I can rarely play my monies worth. You can say, how is fair that people can just go purchase fluff items you had to work for? But the other side of the argument could be how is it fair that people with no jobs no family and no life have more time to grind to get the best gear, best loot then me? I’m not saying things should be given to you, but if people are willing to pay for things so they can actually enjoy the game rather than worrying character maintenance or about how they’re gonna get another swoop, why not make it an option? A game shouldn’t feel like a second job. If people want the option to earn it, then so be it, let them earn it. There should be choices, I may choose to earn most of my gear, but I don’t think I should have to waste money paying time I don’t use and be limited to just grind grind grind for items I need.
I honestly believe this will make the game more accessible. When SWG first launched I read on forums how disappointed people were that it was subscription based, just like the KOTOR fans are saying now. They would be more apt to try it if all they needed to buy was a box. Put that on top of some solo personal quests and you may just win over a few hundred thousand more fans.
Besides the average MT consumer is a loner, they don’t like playing much with other people so let them be. Sure there are the people who want an edge, but they would have that edge whether they had to work for it or not, because they are the competitive type.
I'm not trying to influence you in any way, it's just something to think about instead of jumping on the whole "MT is bad" bandwagon. I was there once as well, but then I thought really hard about the pros and cons of F2P vs my current lifestyle and came to a different conclusion about it.
Most of the people on the fence over it will eventually try it anyways. If it is MT you will have nothing more to lose than playing the average MMO or single player RPG for a month. If the game is as good and as fun as they say it is, it will sell itself and may even put GW to shame. If it isn't, then nothing would have saved it.
There's a huge difference between Guild Wars, Item Mall games, and P2P games. First and foremost is the fact Guild Wars is centered pretty much on instance encounters and PVP. With Guild Wars there's no crafting system, no true adventuring system and the world is completely instanced and the software including every expansion remains its Launch Prices pretty much forever making it an expensive endevor. I personally found the game highly over rated from the beginning unless you love to PVP all the time and don't care if there's any depth to the game beyond PvP related mechanics making GW is a complete snore title.
Item Mall games tend to be more open world with minimal instancing, with grindy mechanics to get people to buy items, and the software is always free to download. Most P2P games have sufficient grinding, events, encounters, and etc to keep people hooked and playing, they have price deals on the software, plenty of invite your friends free deals, minimal instancing, crafting, auction house systems, housing systems, etc etc. P2P games offer more content to a wider audience and the offer chances after a time of only paying a minimal fee to get into the game along with the sub which is quite cheap considering the amount of free content that most give out yearly.
Sure Guild Wars has 5 Million people..well you know the other monster is WoW and they have what 12 million? How many of those millions are repeat customers. People come and go constantly from games like Guild Wars while a good bit of them tend to never leave WoW. That says alot more than having 5 million non paying users.
People honestly talk alot of smack about Item Mall games...most of them have never even tried them. Some are horrorfic games where spending cash is the only way to survive the game and uber grindy. Some are decent games where the items are not necessities and don't really give you an edge in battle. All of them are grindy but honestly all MMOs are grindy. All MMOs have to have a mechinac to make you come back repeatedly.
And you seem to forget, TOR is a different beast, it's not a Korean made MMO. When I have more time I will explain the details to you.
I have no idea whether there will be "micro-transactions" or "advanced services".
However, EA had premium services you could purchase in Ultima Online years ago. They still do...
So its not really a new concept for EA or a game they run (and EA pay 860 someodd Million for BioWare so its EA now).
They were going to do a poll once upon a time for "premium services" to be added to DAoC. I never saw the poll so I'm guessing the reaction wasn't overly positive. Obviously WAR skipped this feature.. so no one can say The Old Republic will have it.
I'm just saying EA has far more experience with "premium services" than most US MMO companies.
If you are curious at all you can always head over to the UO home page and look through all the things you can buy.
I refuse to play any MMO that supports RMT or Micro Transactions. Either method guarantees that you will spend more than $14.99 a month and they are already making way too much profit as it is on these things. Why over feed an already gluttonous industry with more cash than they deserve.
The only way I would even remotely consider paying them more is if they actually got off their lazy asses and created an MMO that is not only revolutionary and evolutionary, but also contained a hell of a lot more content than World of Warcraft has to offer.
It's not about the cost of the game and subscription, it's about the company actually earning their profit, not just getting it on a silver platter for little to no extra effort on their part.
With PvE raiding, it has never been a question of being "good enough". I play games to have fun, not to be a simpering toady sitting through hour after hour of mind numbing boredom and fawning over a guild master in the hopes that he will condescend to reward me with shiny bits of loot. But in games where those people get the highest progression, anyone who doesn't do that will just be a moving target for them and I'll be damned if I'm going to pay money for the privilege. - Neanderthal
lets all pray that it will be p2p. micro transactions should only be in f2p games in my opinion. your already paying around $15 a month why should they add in items, even if it is fluff, to be able to buy? you should have to earn them
Comments
Some of you people getting irrate over this are being irrational. You are jumping to conclusions based on "beliefs" of what might be if micro transactions came to place, instead of waiting to see with an open mind what the facts are, like a mature person.
You know, there were irrate people just like you when MMORPG's announced they were charging a subscription fee, but people got used to it and those same people are paying it. Just like you'll be paying for Bioware's product if you really want to play it.
Micro Transactions are just another business model. Like others have said already, there are many examples of popular games with micro transactions. You irrational people hear "micro transaction" and scream about people buying lightsabers, instead of looking at the facts. Grow up!
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
Mne eto nado kak zuby v zadnitse.
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
It's pretty clear, huh? Yet, here we are having this discussion, not to mention there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who play F2P games with micro transactions.
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
It's pretty clear, huh? Yet, here we are having this discussion, not to mention there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who play F2P games with micro transactions.
over 5 million people play Guild Wars. That says a lot.
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
It's pretty clear, huh? Yet, here we are having this discussion, not to mention there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who play F2P games with micro transactions.
over 5 million people play Guild Wars. That says a lot.
I'm getting tired of pointing out the obvious. If you can't use your brain, I'm through talking with you. It's like you don't think before you speak. You point out that 5 million people play Guild Wars, but you fail to realize why Guild Wars can afford to run without a subscription fee.
IMO, you are too late, and future games will all have some form of micro-transactions, as its another revenue stream that most games w/o WOW's numbers will find very appealing. (and even Blizzard is exploring it).
Yeah, you don't have to play, but they know there's enough folk who will.
Really blizzard has already went there. I think TCG loot cards work kinda like RMT, its just a diffrent form.
yes cuz fluffy mount ( from already nearly 150 you can attain in game, or fluffy food bag, or some new non combat pet.. effects game ) its a way to promote, theirs card games.. yes you get chance for random item.. which is either mount, non combat pet, some other item, costume orwhatnot.. nothing that effects playing at all , noone got killed by spectral tiger yet.. but that new light saber for 15.99 might kill.. so its not the same.
RMT does not have to affect gameplay. Some F2P games sale mounts, costumes and other useless but fun stuff. Just because its not gear or weapons does not , not make it money trade.
It all depends on how microtransation is done in some games, like in City of Heroes the online store offers transfers/respecs/rename, then the site offers costume packs (wedding, cyborg) which doesn't affect gameplay. However when you look at the Trading Card Game SOE had shoved into EQ2 and SWG, they have hidden bonus loot that actually does affect the crafting portion, loots including vehicles and houses (which some people shelled out hundreds of dollars trying to get) and I wouldn't be surprised if they added guns and armor and takes away the value of actually earning something in a game. SOE has done a dirty move, and ontop of that the game is P2P.
Personally I don't support RMT, but if it's similar to what NCSoft did with City of Heroes, it isn't that bad.
The EA PR pukes also downplayed Mr. Riccitiello's comments basically confirming the existence of the KOTOR MMO when he made them, too. The naysayers said it wasn't an official confirmation "because it wasn't on the EA website". LOL how much more official can you get than the company CEO saying something?
You can bank on at the time the statement was made, they were planning on some sort of MT for this game. Maybe they have changed their mind, or maybe we'll have a hybrid of the standard monthly fee + MT for fluff extras. I doubt they're going to be dumb enough to let people buy IWIN stuff with MT. I'll wait and see how it will work before saying MT is a deal breaker.
I actually hope it is a combination P2P + RMT game. Don't get me wrong here. As long as the RMT items for sale in the item shop are FLUFF only and give no competitive edge, I'm all for it. As soon as you have to buy things that make a competitive difference in the game, then I believe the company needs to drop the P2P thing and go straight RMT. Just my 2 copper worth.
Fear not fanbois, we are not trolls, let's take off your tin foil hat and learn what VAPORWARE is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware
"Vaporware is a term used to describe a software or hardware product that is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge after having well exceeded the period of development time that was initially claimed or would normally be expected for the development cycle of a similar product."
IMO, you are too late, and future games will all have some form of micro-transactions, as its another revenue stream that most games w/o WOW's numbers will find very appealing. (and even Blizzard is exploring it).
Yeah, you don't have to play, but they know there's enough folk who will.
Really blizzard has already went there. I think TCG loot cards work kinda like RMT, its just a diffrent form.
yes cuz fluffy mount ( from already nearly 150 you can attain in game, or fluffy food bag, or some new non combat pet.. effects game ) its a way to promote, theirs card games.. yes you get chance for random item.. which is either mount, non combat pet, some other item, costume orwhatnot.. nothing that effects playing at all , noone got killed by spectral tiger yet.. but that new light saber for 15.99 might kill.. so its not the same.
RMT does not have to affect gameplay. Some F2P games sale mounts, costumes and other useless but fun stuff. Just because its not gear or weapons does not , not make it money trade.
Yeah, the devil is in the details I suppose. I started playing ROM over the weekend, and that game really takes microtransactions to the nth level. Need more backpack space, you can rent it for up to 180 days. Same with your house vault. Speaking of houses, everyone gets a free one. Oh, you want furniture, step up to the register.
I chose to play in the pvp server, and they have an alignment system that determines if you drop anything. However, if you are willing to buy the insurance, you can protect up to 8 of your items. You want a mount, you can rent them for 7, 30 or permanent time frames. There are buffs to exp of course, but also buffs to crafting exp as well that you can purchase.
But the ultimate cash shop experience has to be near the starting area when you come across a fungus cave with an npc at the door. He'll give you a quest to collect the Golden lasso or something like that, but warns that its a difficult quest, and if you will only spend some cash in the shop, you can get an extra item that will make running the quest much easier.
I thought that was a bit over the top, and I ran into another of these types of deals later on. (and I'm only level 9).
So yes, cash shops can be somewhat benign, or over the top a bit. Let's hope if TOR has this mechanic they chose the less obtrusive path.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Not me, I hope they use the GW model for TOR. You can’t tell me there are comparatively more tards playing Guild Wars then are playing WoW or any other game. WoW does offer it's own version of MT, with paid services BTW. Plus there are over 5 million people playing it (GW). High population games add more diversity in types of players anyways. If I can pick up the box say for $59 and play for free, have the option to buy minor fluff items, content and expansion packs, I’ll be happy. TBH what is your $14.99 buying you these days? You still pay for expansions, and content updates in most games are fewer then you would expect. You still have to deal with the noobs, bugs, game chances, imbalances ect. Some people say MT ruins the game, but I say...um it's a game, not real life. People talking about their college finals in the cantina is more imersion breaking then game items being purchased outside the game for me.
I don’t have as much time to game as I used to back in the pre-cu SWG days, and I feel like I’m not getting as good of deal when I subscribe because I can rarely play my monies worth. You can say, how is fair that people can just go purchase fluff items you had to work for? But the other side of the argument could be how is it fair that people with no jobs no family and no life have more time to grind to get the best gear, best loot then me? I’m not saying things should be given to you, but if people are willing to pay for things so they can actually enjoy the game rather than worrying character maintenance or about how they’re gonna get another swoop, why not make it an option? A game shouldn’t feel like a second job. If people want the option to earn it, then so be it, let them earn it. There should be choices, I may choose to earn most of my gear, but I don’t think I should have to waste money paying time I don’t use and be limited to just grind grind grind for items I need.
I honestly believe this will make the game more accessible. When SWG first launched I read on forums how disappointed people were that it was subscription based, just like the KOTOR fans are saying now. They would be more apt to try it if all they needed to buy was a box. Put that on top of some solo personal quests and you may just win over a few hundred thousand more fans.
Besides the average MT consumer is a loner, they don’t like playing much with other people so let them be. Sure there are the people who want an edge, but they would have that edge whether they had to work for it or not, because they are the competitive type.
I'm not trying to influence you in any way, it's just something to think about instead of jumping on the whole "MT is bad" bandwagon. I was there once as well, but then I thought really hard about the pros and cons of F2P vs my current lifestyle and came to a different conclusion about it.
Most of the people on the fence over it will eventually try it anyways. If it is MT you will have nothing more to lose than playing the average MMO or single player RPG for a month. If the game is as good and as fun as they say it is, it will sell itself and may even put GW to shame. If it isn't, then nothing would have saved it.
There's a huge difference between Guild Wars, Item Mall games, and P2P games. First and foremost is the fact Guild Wars is centered pretty much on instance encounters and PVP. With Guild Wars there's no crafting system, no true adventuring system and the world is completely instanced and the software including every expansion remains its Launch Prices pretty much forever making it an expensive endevor. I personally found the game highly over rated from the beginning unless you love to PVP all the time and don't care if there's any depth to the game beyond PvP related mechanics making GW is a complete snore title.
Item Mall games tend to be more open world with minimal instancing, with grindy mechanics to get people to buy items, and the software is always free to download. Most P2P games have sufficient grinding, events, encounters, and etc to keep people hooked and playing, they have price deals on the software, plenty of invite your friends free deals, minimal instancing, crafting, auction house systems, housing systems, etc etc. P2P games offer more content to a wider audience and the offer chances after a time of only paying a minimal fee to get into the game along with the sub which is quite cheap considering the amount of free content that most give out yearly.
Sure Guild Wars has 5 Million people..well you know the other monster is WoW and they have what 12 million? How many of those millions are repeat customers. People come and go constantly from games like Guild Wars while a good bit of them tend to never leave WoW. That says alot more than having 5 million non paying users.
People honestly talk alot of smack about Item Mall games...most of them have never even tried them. Some are horrorfic games where spending cash is the only way to survive the game and uber grindy. Some are decent games where the items are not necessities and don't really give you an edge in battle. All of them are grindy but honestly all MMOs are grindy. All MMOs have to have a mechinac to make you come back repeatedly.
Which is why I uninstalled RoM after 6 hours of play. And really, even if this game is RMT I think Bioware can do it properly. Each game I have ever played made by Bioware passed my expectations. So if they are going to try the RMT alternative, I would be more then happy to atleast give it a shot. And im pretty sure what ever choice they make will not make a huge diffrence in game play.
Nothing is decided about microtransactions or monthly fees yet. Also it depends on how much the items matter (in Guildwars the best gear is just a small help) or if the game even will have PvP.
So far I had a good time with the Bioware games I played so I will give this a chanse even though I am not a huge SW fan.
Well this is Bioware!Just remember since when they released a game with serious bad design desicions?
I'm pretty sure that if RTM will be there then it will be for the best of the game.
Seriously I dont think bioware will be shooting themselves in theirs feet like FunCom.
RMT = Real Money Trading. That's different than Micro Transactions. Example of micro transaction is paying $5 to access a new zone, whereas RMT is buying game money with real money.
Lol I'm sure that'll play over well..."Hey folks, we just finished polishing off the ice caves of Hoth and we're really proud of it. You will be able to even get the exclusive highly recognizable mount! ....*shifty eyes* buuuut fiiiiirst...*waggles hand like a doorman expecting a tip*".
Heh, even EQ2 wised up to that stuff. People don't want to pay 5$ for a new zone.
Well, think about it before you knock it. Assume you aren't paying a monthly fee. You're telling me you wouldn't pay a few dollars to get access to new content? Let's assume they are of the size of SOE's adventure packs. I always thought SOE was greedy to charge money for content updates, because they were already getting $15/mo. If a company isn't getting that $15/mo, why would it be unreasonable to pay a few bucks for a new zone or content. Let's also assume the new zone is of Bioware quality, not some sham that SOE would create.
All I'm saying is that I'm open to the idea. Bioware has made some spectacular games in the past and has earned my benefit of the doubt. I'll at least hear their proposal before shutting the door on them.
My last comment was addressing that. SoE doesn't do adventure packs anymore because they weren't selling at all.
It's pretty clear the people who play MMO's aren't interested in the Xbox generations' DLC, or micro transactions. Whatever you want to call it.
It's pretty clear, huh? Yet, here we are having this discussion, not to mention there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who play F2P games with micro transactions.
over 5 million people play Guild Wars. That says a lot.
I'm getting tired of pointing out the obvious. If you can't use your brain, I'm through talking with you. It's like you don't think before you speak. You point out that 5 million people play Guild Wars, but you fail to realize why Guild Wars can afford to run without a subscription fee.
/shrug. k, not sure who you are but I don't agree.
Not me, I hope they use the GW model for TOR. You can’t tell me there are comparatively more tards playing Guild Wars then are playing WoW or any other game. WoW does offer it's own version of MT, with paid services BTW. Plus there are over 5 million people playing it (GW). High population games add more diversity in types of players anyways. If I can pick up the box say for $59 and play for free, have the option to buy minor fluff items, content and expansion packs, I’ll be happy. TBH what is your $14.99 buying you these days? You still pay for expansions, and content updates in most games are fewer then you would expect. You still have to deal with the noobs, bugs, game chances, imbalances ect. Some people say MT ruins the game, but I say...um it's a game, not real life. People talking about their college finals in the cantina is more imersion breaking then game items being purchased outside the game for me.
I don’t have as much time to game as I used to back in the pre-cu SWG days, and I feel like I’m not getting as good of deal when I subscribe because I can rarely play my monies worth. You can say, how is fair that people can just go purchase fluff items you had to work for? But the other side of the argument could be how is it fair that people with no jobs no family and no life have more time to grind to get the best gear, best loot then me? I’m not saying things should be given to you, but if people are willing to pay for things so they can actually enjoy the game rather than worrying character maintenance or about how they’re gonna get another swoop, why not make it an option? A game shouldn’t feel like a second job. If people want the option to earn it, then so be it, let them earn it. There should be choices, I may choose to earn most of my gear, but I don’t think I should have to waste money paying time I don’t use and be limited to just grind grind grind for items I need.
I honestly believe this will make the game more accessible. When SWG first launched I read on forums how disappointed people were that it was subscription based, just like the KOTOR fans are saying now. They would be more apt to try it if all they needed to buy was a box. Put that on top of some solo personal quests and you may just win over a few hundred thousand more fans.
Besides the average MT consumer is a loner, they don’t like playing much with other people so let them be. Sure there are the people who want an edge, but they would have that edge whether they had to work for it or not, because they are the competitive type.
I'm not trying to influence you in any way, it's just something to think about instead of jumping on the whole "MT is bad" bandwagon. I was there once as well, but then I thought really hard about the pros and cons of F2P vs my current lifestyle and came to a different conclusion about it.
Most of the people on the fence over it will eventually try it anyways. If it is MT you will have nothing more to lose than playing the average MMO or single player RPG for a month. If the game is as good and as fun as they say it is, it will sell itself and may even put GW to shame. If it isn't, then nothing would have saved it.
There's a huge difference between Guild Wars, Item Mall games, and P2P games. First and foremost is the fact Guild Wars is centered pretty much on instance encounters and PVP. With Guild Wars there's no crafting system, no true adventuring system and the world is completely instanced and the software including every expansion remains its Launch Prices pretty much forever making it an expensive endevor. I personally found the game highly over rated from the beginning unless you love to PVP all the time and don't care if there's any depth to the game beyond PvP related mechanics making GW is a complete snore title.
Item Mall games tend to be more open world with minimal instancing, with grindy mechanics to get people to buy items, and the software is always free to download. Most P2P games have sufficient grinding, events, encounters, and etc to keep people hooked and playing, they have price deals on the software, plenty of invite your friends free deals, minimal instancing, crafting, auction house systems, housing systems, etc etc. P2P games offer more content to a wider audience and the offer chances after a time of only paying a minimal fee to get into the game along with the sub which is quite cheap considering the amount of free content that most give out yearly.
Sure Guild Wars has 5 Million people..well you know the other monster is WoW and they have what 12 million? How many of those millions are repeat customers. People come and go constantly from games like Guild Wars while a good bit of them tend to never leave WoW. That says alot more than having 5 million non paying users.
People honestly talk alot of smack about Item Mall games...most of them have never even tried them. Some are horrorfic games where spending cash is the only way to survive the game and uber grindy. Some are decent games where the items are not necessities and don't really give you an edge in battle. All of them are grindy but honestly all MMOs are grindy. All MMOs have to have a mechinac to make you come back repeatedly.
And you seem to forget, TOR is a different beast, it's not a Korean made MMO. When I have more time I will explain the details to you.
I have no idea whether there will be "micro-transactions" or "advanced services".
However, EA had premium services you could purchase in Ultima Online years ago. They still do...
So its not really a new concept for EA or a game they run (and EA pay 860 someodd Million for BioWare so its EA now).
They were going to do a poll once upon a time for "premium services" to be added to DAoC. I never saw the poll so I'm guessing the reaction wasn't overly positive. Obviously WAR skipped this feature.. so no one can say The Old Republic will have it.
I'm just saying EA has far more experience with "premium services" than most US MMO companies.
If you are curious at all you can always head over to the UO home page and look through all the things you can buy.
I refuse to play any MMO that supports RMT or Micro Transactions. Either method guarantees that you will spend more than $14.99 a month and they are already making way too much profit as it is on these things. Why over feed an already gluttonous industry with more cash than they deserve.
The only way I would even remotely consider paying them more is if they actually got off their lazy asses and created an MMO that is not only revolutionary and evolutionary, but also contained a hell of a lot more content than World of Warcraft has to offer.
It's not about the cost of the game and subscription, it's about the company actually earning their profit, not just getting it on a silver platter for little to no extra effort on their part.
With PvE raiding, it has never been a question of being "good enough". I play games to have fun, not to be a simpering toady sitting through hour after hour of mind numbing boredom and fawning over a guild master in the hopes that he will condescend to reward me with shiny bits of loot. But in games where those people get the highest progression, anyone who doesn't do that will just be a moving target for them and I'll be damned if I'm going to pay money for the privilege. - Neanderthal
lets all pray that it will be p2p. micro transactions should only be in f2p games in my opinion. your already paying around $15 a month why should they add in items, even if it is fluff, to be able to buy? you should have to earn them