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SW:TOR Business Model NOT announced!
xXSeraphielX
Member Posts: 107
People need to relax a little, I came upon this this morning on the official forums...
<Link>
EDIT: I appologize, I had not seen any thread to this but as I was browsing another thread I found someone had posted this info already. Well at least now it is up from and people can see it.
SeanDahlberg
12.10.2008, 09:14 AM
The STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™ Business Model has not been announced
I posted this in the other thread but wanted to make sure everyone saw it. Here is a repost of that:
Hey everyone, sorry for not chiming in right with this but I wanted to confirm the accuracy of what I was going to say before posting it.
This unfortunately was a big misunderstanding and I want to be clear: we have made no official statements about the business model for Star Wars: The Old Republic.
When we do have information as to business model for The Old Republic, we will definitely share it with all of you and you’ll find that information here on the official website.
Update: Original thread (that has since been closed due to length) can be found here
Sean "Ashen Temper" Dahlberg
Follow us @ http://twitter.com/swtor
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I hope this settles some fears....
xXSeraphielXx
Comments
Shacknews doesn't just make up quotes by CEOs. I'm sure he really said it and meant it and that they were just testing the waters to see how it would be received.
I'm sure it's still on the table.
The Official God FAQ
This will be a game breaker for me if it is indeed true. Already I think the game is "Broken" to me but I will wait it out and see what developes. I can handle eight classes (thought it would annoy the living hell out of me), I can indure a somewhat linear game world, but I will not spend extra money just so I can advance in a game.
_____________________________
At the turn of the century...
In 2008...
Cracked.com voted Roosevelt as the most badass President of all time.
This is his story....
More and likely micro transaction is EA's prefered business model for the game..as said it's on the table but bioware and lucasarts also have a say in who does what and how it's done.
Riccitello jumped the gun thinking his and EA's ideas will win through, it's not the first time EA have put their foot in it.
Old news and as sad as it is, totally wasted on this forum. Couple of reasons for that:
1) People here have a tendency to want to believe the worst.
2) People don#t even have a clue what MicroTransaction in this context means.
3) People like to bash EA.
So, see? Three reasons why this thread will only result in pepople saying that the game is doomed as it is.
I'm posted my thoughts on this in one of the other threads announcing this. Stakeout. Nothing more, nothing less.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
we don't want to hear that, we want to hear that the "Microtransaction" crap will NOT happen
we don't want to hear, after an informational slip, that the company doesn't know what its going to do
company: "We're going to do the wrong thing"
crowd: "A:SLDKFJ:LSKJFLSKDJ:FLKSJF"
company "We don't know what we're going to do yet"
crowd "grumble"
...
just not a good thing, this mess (funny how something so unimportant seems like life and death on a different level)
Just when you think you have all the answers, I change the questions.
At this point, this isn't really worrying me. I have high doubt that a company like EA or Bioware would be ignorant not to know that microtransactions are simply inferior to monthly fees in terms of business practice. They ruin an MMO, if I may be so blunt.
If it is officially announced that microtransactions are the business model for the game (I don't think online gossip is enough to verify) then I will lose all interest in this game, and I'm sure many others would too judging by the outrage shown just from the small hint of microtransactions being the business model.
Hah, this reminds me of this old thing, back in July, when the same CEO, Riccitiello, said that they have a KOTOR MMO in the works, and suuure, that also was "no official announcement".
Problem is that Riccitiello obviously likes to make statements that are true, albeit in-official.
There is hope that MTs are from the table, but I would not be too sure about it.
This microtransaction information came from a conference call between the CEO and the owners of the company, there is no way it's not going to happen. It doesn't matter what Bioware says, they are a wholely owned subsidary of EA and this info comes from highest possible source. At the end of the day these guys have the power to fire or hire anyone working at Bioware and have the final say about absolutely everything, if they have made up their minds there is nothing Bioware can do about it.
I love how you constantly say the community is bad thats why they won't listen.
The problem is an EA CEO said that SW:TOR will be MT, this statement made by the CEO has NOT been retracted in any way yet. The only thing we have been told is that there is no official announcement yet.
As has been pointed out also an EA CEO made a similar statement about SW:TOR and Bioware said there has been no official announcement yet........... here we are on the SW:TOR section of MMORPG.com discussing another non official announcement made by an EA CEO...............
To me it feels to much like spin.
If they truely wanted to squash the concerns of the community they would say that SW:TOR will not be MT based.
Until that happens I do not see the communities concern over this issue to derive from the fact that they are as bad as you say. I see it as they know what BS smells like lol.
If the MT statement is ever OFFICIALY retracted I will change my stance, until then EA and Bioware are the reason I believe what I believe. They put the idea in my head by saying point blank that SW:TOR will be MT , and have yet to tell me it will not be.
Realize that this rep from Bioware, other than saying plans weren't announced for the business model, is vague as a MOFO.
He did NOT dispell any of the worries players were concerned about.
Not a single d**n thing, not even the prospect of Microtransactions with this game.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
I love how you constantly say the community is bad thats why they won't listen.
The problem is an EA CEO said that SW:TOR will be MT, this statement made by the CEO has NOT been retracted in any way yet. The only thing we have been told is that there is no official announcement yet.
As has been pointed out also an EA CEO made a similar statement about SW:TOR and Bioware said there has been no official announcement yet........... here we are on the SW:TOR section of MMORPG.com discussing another non official announcement made by an EA CEO...............
To me it feels to much like spin.
If they truely wanted to squash the concerns of the community they would say that SW:TOR will not be MT based.
Until that happens I do not see the communities concern over this issue to derive from the fact that they are as bad as you say. I see it as they know what BS smells like lol.
If the MT statement is ever OFFICIALY retracted I will change my stance, until then EA and Bioware are the reason I believe what I believe. They put the idea in my head by saying point blank that SW:TOR will be MT , and have yet to tell me it will not be.
Funny how you did not adress a single one of my points.
I already said what -I- think it was. A marketing stakeout. A not very nice way of testing the waters. I will never defend this rumor or the way it was presented. nor will I defend EA, who, in my eyes, are doing their best to screw up BioWare.
But I will say what is obvious. And that is the three points I listed. It doesn't matter what people say. Read through the threads. most people have already concluded that there will be "Pay-To-Win" and RMT, just from the mention of a possibility of MT's.
No one takes the time to actually think what MT means and can mean. People have made up their mind.
So, post wasted.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
Very insightful comment in my view, QFE. I'm waiting to hear that this StarWars MMO will not use RMT to milk players like SWG is doing right now. If there are two StarWars MMOs that try to screw their players, I will be content to play zero StarWars MMOs. There are plenty of other options, and some nice new sci-fi titles coming out.
I love how you constantly say the community is bad thats why they won't listen.
The problem is an EA CEO said that SW:TOR will be MT, this statement made by the CEO has NOT been retracted in any way yet. The only thing we have been told is that there is no official announcement yet.
As has been pointed out also an EA CEO made a similar statement about SW:TOR and Bioware said there has been no official announcement yet........... here we are on the SW:TOR section of MMORPG.com discussing another non official announcement made by an EA CEO...............
To me it feels to much like spin.
If they truely wanted to squash the concerns of the community they would say that SW:TOR will not be MT based.
Until that happens I do not see the communities concern over this issue to derive from the fact that they are as bad as you say. I see it as they know what BS smells like lol.
If the MT statement is ever OFFICIALY retracted I will change my stance, until then EA and Bioware are the reason I believe what I believe. They put the idea in my head by saying point blank that SW:TOR will be MT , and have yet to tell me it will not be.
Funny how you did not adress a single one of my points.
I already said what -I- think it was. A marketing stakeout. A not very nice way of testing the waters. I will never defend this rumor or the way it was presented. nor will I defend EA, who, in my eyes, are doing their best to screw up BioWare.
But I will say what is obvious. And that is the three points I listed. It doesn't matter what people say. Read through the threads. most people have already concluded that there will be "Pay-To-Win" and RMT, just from the mention of a possibility of MT's.
No one takes the time to actually think what MT means and can mean. People have made up their mind.
So, post wasted.
People are concerned by LA's use of RMT in their other StarWars MMO. To hear that RMT may find its way into this StarWars MMO is going to create anxiety, and people are going to lose interest in the game. This is unavoidable.
For this MMO to be successful, it needs to distance itself as much as possible from the jaded history of SWG, and it's current business model shift towards RMT.
StarWars MMO gamers have also already been burned too many times to count by marketting misdirection. This also should be completely avoided.
Give StarWars MMO gamers a game that works and is enjoyable at release. This will lead to a great celebration, and incredible word-of-mouth marketting. What a change from SWG. Give them some sandbox type features along with fun quests and interesting stories, and once again, this will be gold. Tell them straight up exactly what they will get when they purchase and/or subscribe to this game, and then DO WHAT YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO DO, EVERY TIME. You will have a very popular game, with an incredibly loyal fanbase. Make sure that ongoing development has the pulse of current players as well as potential players, never one group at the expense of the other.
In most service industries, these points are taken as self-evident. In the MMO genre, they seem to be the exception. Notice how millions throng to one game that seems to embrace these basic principles. It's not a fluke. It's good business.
Do Asians like Star Wars? They probably do.
Maybe they're thinking, screw the North American audience, there are more Asians and they don't mind micro transaction games. We'll go for the Asian market.
Alright. I'm going to spell this out again.
First of all, nobody has any notion what kind of MT Model was or is or has been under discussion (if it still is, who knows). Let me explain before everyone jumps down my throat.
What is MT? Have you asked yourself that before crying and yelling "MT IS TEH EVIL!?!"? Did you really sit down and think what MT can be? (I'm not directing this strictly at the quoted post, but at the general MT-Doom crowd). First of all, MT is a broad term, describing about a thousand different methods of offering additional services to the customer. What these services are, varies from game to game. In some games, you will get super-items, double-XP potions, in-game currency, etc from cash-shops. This is one MT Model. Other games offer various services for real money. Such as Name-Change, Server Transfer, Appearance-Change (EVE Online), Certain Mini-Expansions (EQ2) and the like. This is also MT.
Now, the latter model is used by many successful MMO's today. EVE Online, hailed as one of the best sandbox-MMO's out there (and right now more or less the only one if you don't count Ryzom), uses MT even to the extent that you can gain in-game currency, by using RL money. So that is a legalized RMT system right there and guess what...no one complains about it.
I like to dub these different systems as 1) Pay-To-Win: Which is anything where you use Real money to buy yourself an advantage over your fellow players that they have no way of catching up on/getting etc. Weapons, Armor, Potions and the like as well as to a certain degree in game currency.
2) Pay-To-Play: This can include any of the following: Minor modifications of the character that are purely cosmetic (name-change, appearance-change etc), Buying Game-Time in smaller increments (like maybe pay by the hour instead of paying per month (as long as a normal subscription is still offered as an alternative)), buying content upgrades that deserve to have a price-tag attached to it (an entire new area, new classes, stuff like that).
You see the difference? The second scenario is basically one that is in place all over MMO's, and no one complains about it. WoW offers countless MT-Things on their Account Sites. EVE Online offers MT's, EQ2 offers them and so on and so forth. I haven#t heard anyone complaining about EVE's system...ever, even though it is the only game where you have a fully Dev-endorsed RMT going on.
Now, what I find funny, especially on this site, is that people have made up their mind about what -kind- of MT the head-honchos have been thinking about. Granted, seeing as it is EA, it is easy to see the devil in everything, but I see countless posts that already foretell the future in glorious item-shop fantasies.
Only a few people have taken the time to actually think what the term could mean and to see beyond the immediate nerd-rage that was unleashed by the "announcement".
Personally, I would consider keeping a wary eye on the FAQ on the game and see when they update it with the actual business model. I know EA is a money-grubbing pit of stupidity. It is easy to hate on something like a big corporation. But I am still not willing to believe that the Dev's at BW -want- to ruin their game and judging by the, at first heated and then constructive (mostly) discussion on the official site, the community has told them more or less exactly what they can and cannot do.
Time will tell and as with many things there is no sense in getting your hopes up too high. But just as well there's no sense for certain people to claim they already know how the game will turn out and exactly what methods of payment will be offered and exactly how the game will play and yadda yadda yadda.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
im not worried about it 1 bit. Bioware, while an ogranziation with the intent to make money, has always had the same goal during its course of creating games. they want to create great games that will be top rated and people will want to play while making money off of those great games for people. they don't however, wanna make a game, milk it for pennies so that nowhere near as many people will play it.
this is Bioware. not EA. not SOE.
Bioware unlike the previous mentioned game companies, have yet to screw over or even disappoint there customer base.
Just as an FYI, I saw not ONE person from EA in that doc video. The 2 guys who started BioWare must still have enough control over BioWare. Not to mention it all comes down to what Lucas Arts will allow, not what EA wants.
What I don't understand is, everyone and there granny has been pleading for bioware to make an mmo.
Everyone roared on about how awesome it would be for bioware to step up and take the challenge.
Now when they actually do...all everyone can do is flame and slam them.
WTF?
This is SW its LA's IP. Bioware might be owned by EA but when it comes to this game LA gets the final say. If EA wants RMT and LA doesn't to friggin bad for EA.
Hold on Snow Leopard, imma let you finish, but Windows had one of the best operating systems of all time.
If the Powerball lottery was like Lotro, nobody would win for 2 years, and then everyone in Nebraska would win on the same day.
And then Nebraska would get nerfed.-pinkwood lotro fourms
AMD 4800 2.4ghz-3GB RAM 533mhz-EVGA 9500GT 512mb-320gb HD
The beauty is in the details. You may try to get what you want, but are you willing to pay a certain price for it?
For me, the Microtransaction thing was the last straw. But the very lengthy PC Gamer article on SW:TOR contained enough information for me, and alot of questionable comments by the Bioware staff (IMO) that TOR's gameplay will not be to my liking. Alot of the language they used was eerily similiar to what reps from SOE said regarding SWG as the years progressed.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
lol forgot I had already replyed with the same thing.
Hold on Snow Leopard, imma let you finish, but Windows had one of the best operating systems of all time.
If the Powerball lottery was like Lotro, nobody would win for 2 years, and then everyone in Nebraska would win on the same day.
And then Nebraska would get nerfed.-pinkwood lotro fourms
AMD 4800 2.4ghz-3GB RAM 533mhz-EVGA 9500GT 512mb-320gb HD
if EA, rushes production, or has any say. the game could be ruined.. (hint hint: warhammer)
i'm pretty sure that this game is going to be ruined.
I think there are going to be some fantastic ideas, but much of this game already sounds expiremental as far as technology.
Adding microtransations on top of it, more than likely will be a deal killer. MT games usually work out so that those who spend the most are the most powerful and no matter what anyone else tries.. unless you spend more than what a monthly fee usually is, you won't compete.
MT games are an ideal way to make more money than subscription based games, sadly too many people don't understand that nickel and diming someone to death is a much smarter way of making money (aka the crap you buy at radio shack for $1-3) stuff has about a 95% markup but because its so cheap.. no one objects to paying the premium.
Thats why radio shack stays in business, it has very little to do with the big items they sell.
Same thing here, just a different version, MT is best for the company, not best for the consumer.
eesh, <Mod edit>
dont u people read anything before?
i doubt bioware would want to do anything against member likings. and i doubt they would do MT.
there not even in beta, what makes u think they would be already decided on bussiness model.
and MT or not, u dont even know how the game will be..
Or If they did MT. what kinda of items are they going to sell. might not sell gear, but somthing for people who cant play as much due to work, like EXP enhancers, Speed enhancers, Defense, Atack, minion. who said it would typically be gear?
In other words: stop judging a game before its even in beta... play the flippin beta before any real bashing. TY.
(angry mood- just woke up from a nap , ZZZ)
I know that RMT/MT is a dirty word in the MMO circle, but MMO's such as WoW have already incorporated RMT and no-one bats an eyelid.
Blizzard charge for server transfers, name-changes, character customizations and expansions (on top of the subscription fee) .. and have also incorporated the acquisition of in-game items from external sources like attended Blizzcon or via the Warcraft Trading Card game .. and again, no-one seems to cares.
I think the smartest thing is just to wait and see how it pans out.
Personally, I think if handled correclty a F2P+MT model could be the way forward for MMOs.
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift