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F2P Closer than we think?
MosesZD
Member UncommonPosts: 1,361
I used to really like to read the 'The Server Population is dropping..." threads. The denial and flame war... Get a bucket of popcorn and it was dead-time bit of cheap entertainment.
Now they're pretty slow as virtually all the fanboys have quit or can no longer BS due to the recent disclosure that the game has lost a lot of subs. But I'd thought I'd catch up for the heck of it. I wanted to see if the White Knights would admit their BS (they didn't, they just left, 100%of them) and I noticed these three posts toward the end of the current thread:
SeloDaoC
Joined: Jun 2011 05.12.2012 , 09:21 PM | #265 Quote
Cancelled my sub and got a survey mail.
Lets just say there were loads of "If the game were F2P" questions
getdownsb
Joined: Mar 2010 05.12.2012 , 09:37 PM | #266 Quote
Quote: Originally Posted by SeloDaoC
Cancelled my sub and got a survey mail.
Lets just say there were loads of "If the game were F2P" questions
You noticed that too huh?
05.12.2012 , 09:58 PM | #268 Quote
Quote: Originally Posted by SeloDaoC
Cancelled my sub and got a survey mail.
Lets just say there were loads of "If the game were F2P" questions
Yeah quite interesting.
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=438399&page=27
So BioWare is already exploring the possibility of F2P and is surveying people about it.... Which doesn't surprise me. My population model says the game doesn't have anywhere close to 1.3 million active players and that there are a huge number of inactive, legacy subs being counted. But, anyway....
Remember when they used to attack the 'F2P by the end of the year" people? Called them names. Told them how stupid they were... You know what, it may not be F2P by the end of the year so they'll win on technical merits. But they were far closer to the reality of this crap fest than all of the fanboys who spent all their time trolling us for pointing out the issues with this game.
Schadenfreude, baby. Schadenfreude.
Comments
Would be a step into the right direction, swallowing their pride and considering other models to make a profit.
The game is 30€ on amazon.. should they come up with a b2p version then I would buy the game and play together with a rl friend on weekends.
That was quite fun during their beta weekends - just not enough fun to justify a subscription.
Also a subscription always puts a kind of pressure on you to go level your char and use the time you are paying for.
B2p would turn this game into a nice casual weekend hobby.
for me it's realy too late.....i wouldnt go back to it if it even was F2P.
sorry.....EA blew it again.
I doubt it, they still refuse to make WAR F2P so i can't see it happening any time soon for TOR.
I dont really see the game ever going F2P, the game is not in a good place, that i don't disagree with, i think the writing is clearly on the wall as regards to which direction the playerbase numbers are going. But if they can't make this game work P2P, i really don't see how going F2P is going to change anything, if anything it would probably alienate its remaining playerbase, you could almost say going F2P would be SW;TOR's NGE moment, in that direction i honestly think stagnation and closure would be the only possible result. The game needs fixing, faffing around with payment models will not resolve the issues that SW;TOR has.
I think the game would definitely bring in more people if it were B2P, so long as they don't ruin it in the process with a horrible shop, or something.
I know I can say for sure, that I would play again without a sub. I could even see myself buying expansions/new content if they decided to do that.
I was a huge fan of KotOR I and II, and I think generally speaking, I think anyone else that is can't not want to play this game occasionally.
When you're not bound to a sub, you don't have to stick with it until you're bored of it, you don't have to rush through the content trying to make the most of your money while you're being charged. You can take your time, play when you want, take breaks. It really makes the entire experience better in my opinion.
There was never any suggestion that the game would be B2P, but of the game switching to F2P model, which would involve microtransactions, which would probably entail paying for unlocks, etc, ie.. want to go to tarsis, that will be $3.50 thank you very much, oh right Alderaan too as a bundle with hoth a cheap $10... and so forth.. F2P doesnt actually mean free after all.
Same for me.
I already thought the game was crap when I canceled within my initial 30 days. Then I played GW2 and felt like I can never go back to the typical MMO. I was bored yesterday so I fired up WoW (free account) and could only take 5 minutes of that, standing there hitting a mob, no dodge, no strategy, just hitting my 2 key three or 4 times until the mob died. I played WoW 7 years and figured I'd play MoP even if I was playing GW2 but I won't. I just can't go back to WoW or any WoW type clone. Especially one as atrocious as SWTOR lol
I was a huge fan of kotor 1 and 2 also but the problem with swtor is the total lack of reply value, even if you are playing different classes due to the side quests. You can't level up solely on your class quests and you end up forced to do the same quests. You have to go through Taris again for example, and after I got my JK through that hell hole, I couldn't get my shadow through there again, that toon never got past 14 or 15.
If the game went B2P I may pick up a couple of copies to tide me and my better half over for a bit. From what I experienced in my month, it wasn't a complete failure, but definately not worth a sub. To me it wasn't worth the box price and the free month but if it were B2P it's flaws wouldn't have been as glaring and it may have even been playable.
RIP Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan and Paul Gray.
I don't know if I would, even if the game was F2P.
Tribes Ascend, PLANETSIDE 2, GW2, Path of Exile... I think a lot of things are coming forth of high quality without a monthly fee.
Just look up my predictions that I made month before game launched
Anyway
I think its to late even for F2P to save the game.
It should have been B2P from the start up, to have any chance.
I don't believe that. If the F2P market is supposed to be more profitable, why would he not like it? I know he has a huge ego, but I am sure he likes money.
Would not play it even if it would not cost me dime. Which would not be possible propably seeing as this Swtor F2P would be made with unlocks, additional zone or story purcharses, quest packs , big cash shop and 'optional subs' propably.
But even if it would give whole content for free I still would not play it.
Why?
Cause this game is not worth my time.
It does not feel like mmorpg.
and
For single player / co-op game is not very fun as well.
Game that want to be an mmorpg but it does not feel like virtual world at all.
Offers go kill '10 boars' quests and standard mmorpg combat - so cannot really compete with single player titles if you one would want to play it as single player game.
Co-op game? Dozens of better games out there for that.
Seriously I don't know what kind of game they had planned to do...
COPRG like GW1 or DDO or countless asian titles?
This market is not as big as they think imo , is saturated to hell and offers whole diffrent gameplay mechanics than Swtor one.
---------------
I actually think they might be better with relatively small (for that hugely hyped title) P2P population of around ~ 500 k if they manage to hold that.
But well they can do whatever they wish. It is interesting for me from point of person that is interested in whole mmo market - I don't realy care what happens to this particular title.
I stopped playing it very fast and not playing to come back ever.
Unless someone PAY ME good money to play it again that is.
SWTOR still has the 2nd largest active sub base and EA says they would be profitable with 500k subs. The game does not need to go f2p.
Just because the game can be sustained as a P2P doesn't mean that it's the best option, look at LotRO. Because of how successful the "F2P" transition was for DDO, Turbine also did it for LotRO.
Not saying that SWTOR will go F2P anytime soon (Beginning next fiscal year would say they migh re-evaluate their buisness model though what with GW2 and any other noteable F2P/B2P MMOs) but going F2P/B2P is something under constant anaylsis if their buisness department is any means competent.
I understand all of this, I think my point was meant to state that I'm willing to shell out money to this game, just not a sub. It's worth burst dps, not a dot, on my wallet. I'd rather pay here and there than for my time, which I'm unsure of.
But you did play the game, at least once. You got your time in, and you could do that, and then come back say, for additional content, without a sub.
Talk to me about concurrent players. You can't because they won't release those numbers. I'd be surprised if that number topped 200k. I'm sure you'll say that doesn't matter because they're still raking in the money but you're wrong. If there's no one to play with, people leave after a few months. Why pay when you can't run dungeons or raids after all. Subs decline and game dies. They may have 1.3 million subs but the number will keep dropping as more and more people keep leaving the game. There are a couple servers with healthy populations because people are re-rolling on those servers. The rest of the servers are ghost towns. Open your eyes, the game is dying.
Originally posted by kanezfan
I was a huge fan of kotor 1 and 2 also but the problem with swtor is the total lack of reply value, even if you are playing different classes due to the side quests. You can't level up solely on your class quests and you end up forced to do the same quests. You have to go through Taris again for example, and after I got my JK through that hell hole, I couldn't get my shadow through there again, that toon never got past 14 or 15.
But you did play the game, at least once. You got your time in, and you could do that, and then come back say, for additional content, without a sub.
The game was such a huge disappointment to me that I will never come back to it unless they change it in a massive way, and by that I mean get rid of the gear grind end game, focus on stats and quest hubs. That is impossible and I cannot go back to these types of games after having played GW2. There is nothing that will make me play SWTOR again. Trust me, if I can't bring myself to play WoW for more than 5 minutes, there is absolutely NOTHING that can make me play SWTOR short of a threat of death.
who cares ? SWTOR is dead
I doubt SWToR will go F2P in the 1st year or even in the 2nd.
The game has only been in the public play for 5+ months (even though it seems longer than that) and still way to earlier to see where the mmo titles goes.
I believe they will still pull it off, but they better get on the ball quickly.
Lifetime subscription is more likely then SWTOR going F2P. I would give them up to 50€ for lifetime sub.
I cancelled 2 months ago BTW.
You know I keep seeing the occasional poster say this and I have to ask why. He gets his money regardless via licensing fees so why would he care? Is he some big mmo gamer that rants and raves about how he hates f2p? Where exactly is that coming from and why if they can show him that it would be ideal to maximize or increase their profits if he is also receiving a stipend would he ever be against it?
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
Yeah, because George Lucas is totally an spited MMO gamer and cares about the financial model...
Interesting observation that the tone of the official forum's paid shills has changed as well.
It's like they're sending a new memo around, to get an idea of the feasibility of F2P.
Bear in mind that EAware has been incredibly quiet since 1.2 and the steep sub decline.
Internal numbers would show not 1.3 million but below 400k subs around now, so it's crunch time over there.
Just end it.......