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[Interview] The Secret World: Joel Bylos On the 'Buy to Play' Change
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
With the announcement earlier today that The Secret World would be going 'buy to play', a lot of questions have been raised as to the whys of the decision. Game Director Joel Bylos has a lot to say in our exclusive interview. Check it out!
MMORPG.com: When will the revenue model changes occur? Will this tie in to the End of Days ARG you've recently announced?
Joel: The changes went live today, you can now play The Secret World without paying a subscription! It was imperative for this to happen before the world ends on the 21st of December. We really want to let as many people as possible enjoy The Secret World before they all perish and suffer a horrible, horrible death. Am I scaring anyone? Sorry… but the end really is near.
Read more of Victor Barreiro Jr.'s The Secret World: Joel Bylos On the 'Buy to Play' Change.
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Comments
LOL
TSW - AoC - Aion - WOW - EVE - Fallen Earth - Co - Rift - || XNA C# Java Development
IS THIS A GAME TO YOU!?
I don't want to die.
I wanna.... break free!
Relevant:
A writer and gamer from the Philippines. Loves his mom dearly.
Can also be found on http://www.gamesandgeekery.com
This was probably the best move Funcom could make with TSW!
I´m really happy with their new model,very well done (unlike that horrid FTP model by swtor making you pay for skill bars...lol)
I´ll be buying TSW ^^
Well, i doesnt sound too bad. I'm still a bit sceptical, but we will see how this evolves. For now i will stay with my monthly membership.
But anyway. Its far better than the awkward SWTOR FTP system.
Hodor!
LoL
Smooth move on their part. Though I wonder why they didn't use this as a tie in with the advertising campain launched earlier in the month?
Still, hope this bodes well for The Secret World.
I will probably be buying TSW as well. I liked the game, but I didn't want to feel like I had to rush through content because of the sub fee. I really like that they haven't gone with a full-on F2P model.
Here's to hoping it works out well for them. :-)
** edit **
I liked what that Joel guy said about trying a subscription, it didn't work, so now they're trying something else. That was a point where you would expect some corporate double talk, but it was a minimal BS statement.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Well thought out decision from Funcom. Especially when they make sure we are comparing their model with SWTOR.
To play SWTOR properly you will need to pay something.
To Play TSW you will need to pay something.
But you will feel less scammed when you pay for TSW.
I like this change very much. Just checked and as a lifer I already have FC points and an item for this month. As long as free points will cover new content I'm really happy with this change. Also playerbase should grow significantly which is a good thing for every MMO.
MMO devs and publishers are slowly learning that you need to maintain a certain mass of people to make these games enjoyable.
VERY pleased with the model, FAR FAR above that of TOR...If TOR did what funcom is doing, id be back there is a second.
Well if this proves as or more profitable than their F2P model, this might just happen with them as well
I do hope this change does influence other MMO companies. I'm not a cash shop spender but when a company creates good will towards the customer I'm much more inclined to consider the cash shop for furture content. This is the direct opposite of the feeling I had towards the punitive ftp model for SWTOR.
I'm glad they went B2P, I think it's a good game but not sub-worthy so I didn't play after the first month... I'm downloading patch 1.5 now. Assuming I make it back from Europe after Xmas I will give it another go.
I was wondering, even though it doesn't affect me, but can lifers use any unused Funcom points on AoC assuming they camn link their accounts. I have a lifetime sub on LotrO and have it linked to DDO, I can use all my unused Turbine points on DDO ot LotRO. Might be worth further investigation.
This is a great game. The problem it has keeping players has little to do with the subscription, and more to do with the fact that they made it a themepark dungeon grinder that gets old after 30-90 days of play.
They need to start adding more gameplay systems and stop worrying so much about story content. People want a reason to hang out in this game because they love the theme, setting and other things. However, when they get bored, they leave and it becomes increasingly difficult to find a reason to log back in.
I wouldn't mind at all paying a full subscription for this game if there was more than story and dungeons to do.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
I called it, on August 29th of last year I made a post on the MMORPG.Com TSW Forums that asked the simple question: How long before FunCom makes The Secret World F2P?
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/4420436#4420436
"Possibly we humans can exist without actually having to fight. But many of us have chosen to fight. For what reason? To protect something? Protect what? Ourselves? The future? If we kill people to protect ourselves and this future, then what sort of future is it, and what will we have become? There is no future for those who have died. And what of those who did the killing? Is happiness to be found in a future that is grasped with blood stained hands? Is that the truth?"
Joel, Shut up and take my money.
B2P is the best model imo and TSW did the most correct choice they could have made and i applaud them for it. Joel answers questions very sincerely it seems and it doesn't feel like PR speech. I hope they will get the success they deserve.
I'm buying the game right away.
You and everyone else has been discussing this about TSW and every other themepark MMO to come out for the past five+ years. You aren't special.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
This B2P model looks really good. Now I can shop around for update packs that look interesting. New weapons, dungeons and zones are a must, packs with 5 new missions etc not so much for me.