Star Wars: The Old Republic

[Reldan]

Heh, "Limited Access" to travel options. Considering what Full Access entails, I can only imagine. My prediction is that you won't get Quick Travel or Fleet Passes and will be restricted to only a tier 1 speeder.

DKD: Despite our apparent disagreement on most things SWTOR and GW2, I also am honestly annoyed by this, if for no other reason than I'm thinking this means they aren't going to be releasing an Act 4 any time soon. The one thing I enjoyed that I'd probably come back for (at least for a little while) would have been continuing my story and my companions stories, and this is a shame.

[stusser]

New content is extremely expensive, since it's fully voiced. Any new content will be cross-class and most likely cross-faction, like the new HK droid companion, or new flashpoints/operations. And you'll be paying for it, unless you subscribe. New class stories won't come until an expansion pack, which at this point seems unlikely to happen.

The F2P transition is scheduled for "the fall", which incidentally is when Guild Wars 2 and the new WoW expansion drop. So that's kinda crappy timing on their part. Releasing at any time after August 28th and before late November won't bring in the numbers quickly.

[JD]

In case anyone cared:

Star Wars: The Old Republic currently has less than a million subscribers, publisher Electronic Arts said in an investors call today.

[KevinC]

Well don't be too specific or anything, EA. I'm guessing if it were anywhere near a million they would have stated the numbers?

EDIT: Didn't see the "Well over 500,000 subscribers" part.

[stusser]

TOR needs a Turbine-style turnaround, and quickly. If I was EA, I'd be headhunting Turbine producers right now. They need to do it right.

[MrPerson]

Yay, free bag of flaming dogshit!

[instant0]

TOR needs a Turbine-style turnaround, and quickly. If I was EA, I'd be headhunting Turbine producers right now. They need to do it right.

No! We need them for LOTRO.

EA would just destroy Turbine if they ever got their paws on them.

In case anyone cared:

So the XFIRE numbers did not lie then?

[malkav11]

As usual, I'm left wondering how much of the stuff free players don't get by default will be purchaseable and on what terms. I really strongly feel that a model where subscribers get significant features that free players simply cannot access is doing free to play wrong. It should be an alternate way to structure paying for the game, not trying to channel people into subscribing. That said, the 1-50 story content is the entire reason I was playing TOR and why I would be interested in playing it again, and they're apparently giving all of that away free, which I applaud on one level but seems like a strange thing to do from a "getting people to pay for your game" standpoint.

[stusser]

I really strongly feel that a model where subscribers get significant features that free players simply cannot access is doing free to play wrong. It should be an alternate way to structure paying for the game, not trying to channel people into subscribing.

That's completely right, and that's why they need to headhunt some Turbine producers rather than trying to fumble their way through it themselves like SOE did. They have hundreds of millions of dollars sunk into this product, and if they transition to F2P correctly it can remain viable and even competitive for years to come.

If I was EA, I'd do my damndest to headhunt Scott Hartsman from Trion too. They put him on the executive team, so he may have ownership and be impossible to get, though.

[Brad Wardell]

I have tried to get my sons back into playing (And I won't play on my own) and the consensus is (And one shared by my friends) is this:

1) Missions way too repetitive. How many malfunctioning droids can there possibly be in the galaxy?

2. Extremely inconvenient to get people together. Should be like Diablo 3 where your friends can just beam to wherever you are. Getting a party of 4 together can take half an hour eliminating casual questing.

[Mark Asher]

The travel thing could be irksome. The rest of it doesn't seem so bad for players who will play it casually. Man, WoW continued to sell and be a top ten seller for a number of years. Now SWTOR won't even be a boxed game sale anymore.

I remember Bioware said they already have something like 1.5 years of content already voiced. They may be able to repurpose that and sell it as adventure packs.

[Nephrinn]

The travel thing could be irksome. The rest of it doesn't seem so bad for players who will play it casually. Man, WoW continued to sell and be a top ten seller for a number of years. Now SWTOR won't even be a boxed game sale anymore.

I remember Bioware said they already have something like 1.5 years of content already voiced. They may be able to repurpose that and sell it as adventure packs.

I really hope that this is true because I'd love to jump back on my 50 sorcerer and continue his story. I'm still miffed about the seasonal content to character stories they promised never coming to fruition.

Maybe they've been saving it all for the free to play transition to entice players to purchase the adventure/story packs.

[maxle]

I wonder if they will give "founders" anything extra when it does.

Looks like

Starting today, you’ll be earning rewards as part of our new rewards program, making your current subscription more valuable than ever. Current and lapsed subscribers will earn 200 Cartel Coins for every paid month prior to today (July 31, 2012) and until the Free-to-Play option launches. For those who purchased the Collector’s Edition, we have an additional bonus reward of 1000 Cartel Coins for you. With Cartel Coins you can purchase convenience items, boosts, visually unique gear, collectibles, and more. The new Cartel Market gives you the option to add to your game play experience with items that fit your play style and allow you to customize your character.

[ineffablebob]

F2P, huh? That didn't take nearly as long as I was expecting. I figured it'd be 2013 before they went there. The Slashdot summary says "Players using the F2P option will be able to reach the level cap and play through the full class stories..." which is all I really wanted anyway. I'll probably try it next time I have a few days off in a row.

[Lazy Shiftless Bastard]

Man, poor Bioware. Is this the fastest full subscription to f2p transition ever?

[Malkroth]

DC Universe Online released on Jan 11 2011 for NA but was F2P worldwide by Nov 1 2011, less than 10 months (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Universe_Online). I cannot think of a game that was quicker than that, so unless TOR makes it to October 10th or so, I'd say yes to LSB's question.

[charmtrap]

What little I've played of SWTOR has been fun, if obviously heavily influenced by WoW. If they transition to F2P in the right way and give a way for free players to pay for access to the good stuff, I could see myself dropping a few bucks on it.

[Sean Tudor]

Give us an EXPANDED horizon - like freeform space trading/piracy and an Ilum worth PvP'ing in.

A dynamic freeform space trading/piracy/exploration concept would be a massive addition for me. I would definitely add SWTOR back in to my game rotation for this.

EDIT: Or at the very least an instanced space combat system like that in STO.

[Woolen Horde]

So will this finally be the straw that breaks Riccitiello's back? Waiting for the investor backlash. This is pretty much admitting defeat.

[Ed Solomon]

i'm just shocked Lucas will allow it to happen. I was sure he'd have insisted on a kill-switch provision to avoid "diluting the brand."

[Mark Asher]

i'm just shocked Lucas will allow it to happen. I was sure he'd have insisted on a kill-switch provision to avoid "diluting the brand."

The Lord of the Rings IP is F2P. So is D&D. So is Star Trek. It doesn't carry the stigma it once did.

And I doubt EA would have invested multiple hundred of millions in the game if Lucas had the right to kill it.

[Jag]

They need to rethink the limited travel option if they want keep players even for free.

[rei]

That "feature" is what led so many people to drop the game in the first place.

[malkav11]

It bothers me that transitioning to free to play is still seen as a sign of failure, rather than jettisoning a business model that really no longer suits today's MMO market.

[Ed Solomon]

The Lord of the Rings IP is F2P. So is D&D. So is Star Trek. It doesn't carry the stigma it once did.

And I doubt EA would have invested multiple hundred of millions in the game if Lucas had the right to kill it.

F2P may not carry a stigma now, but didn't they sign the licensing agreement years ago before anyone ever thought of F2P for AAA MMOs?

[Jason Becker]

i'm just shocked Lucas will allow it to happen. I was sure he'd have insisted on a kill-switch provision to avoid "diluting the brand."

I doubt Lucas cares about "diluting" the brand considering the masses of toys, books, and such he lets companies slap the Star Wars name on.

[Nesrie]

The problem is they usually limit the F2P access pretty severely and don't provide a way to buy your way out of those limitations without a subscription. SOE has the same problem... you can't buy your way out of the limitations.

[stusser]

It bothers me that transitioning to free to play is still seen as a sign of failure, rather than jettisoning a business model that really no longer suits today's MMO market.

The market hasn't changed. The economy isn't great, but MMOs are great entertainment values. If TOR was a better game, it would have retained more subscriptions.

And yes, it sounds like they're heading down the same hole as SOE. That's why I said they need to headhunt from Turbine and do F2P right. F2P should be a completely valid way to pay for the game, with no drawbacks.

[karnisov]

A dynamic freeform space trading/piracy/exploration concept would be a massive addition for me. I would definitely add SWTOR back in to my game rotation for this.

yup me too.

i doubt it will happen though, bioware is too enamored with their own story driven approach to give any alternative gameplay aspects serious consideration. they're a one trick pony imo.

[Nesrie]

yup me too.

i doubt it will happen though, bioware is too enamored with their own story driven approach to give any alternative gameplay aspects serious consideration. they're a one trick pony imo.

It's not a bad trick pony though. As much as I enjoy GW2 gameplay, the stories blow, and are severely lacking when you compared them to SWTOR.