SW: TOR MSRP drop to $14.99 on Aug. 7; goes F2P in Nov.

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EA announced today in its earnings conference call TOR is going F2P (limited access) through LVL 50 in Nov. You can play the storyline quests through LVL 50, but the other types of quests in the game you either have limited or no access to as a free player. You either have to subscribe (still $15/month) or buy stuff ala carte. You are also limited in the races you can choose with a new character as a free member.

Current and former subscribers get a boost with the new currency called Cartel Coins which are used to unlock stuff, similar to how it works in other games. If you want to get some of those bonuses before Nov., MSRP of the game drops to $15 next Tuesday the 7th.

http://kotaku.com/5930586/star-wars-the-old-republic-is-going-free+to+play-up-to-level-50-this-fall
http://www.swtor.com/free
 
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SWEET! I wonder what will happen with my 8 characters I made in the first month of launch? I would love to play them all to 50 as I enjoyed their storylines. The extra stuff I can skip. Looks like my CE won't go to waste after all. =P
 
sweet! I'll have to see if my BB still has a discounted CE laying around. I'd love to get back and finish my main's storyline. :)
 
Wow. One year and F2P. Even a million+ paying customers not enough to maintain a MMO these days. Why would any company make one of these. Secret World is already doing free trial weekends. I expect that to be F2P soon also.
 
[quote name='cancerman1120']Wow. One year and F2P. Even a million+ paying customers not enough to maintain a MMO these days. Why would any company make one of these. Secret World is already doing free trial weekends. I expect that to be F2P soon also.[/QUOTE]

I think a better compromise would be cheaper subscriptions or maybe a tiered subscription per month. $15 is clearly too much for people so maybe it would work with $10 of $5 a month.
But I think it's just the sign of the times. Paying $15/month adds up when you have other bills and expenses that take priority.

On topic: I've been waiting for this day, just like everyone else expected to happen. I played the beta a while back and it was a fun (albeit generic) MMO but never thought it justified a $15 pricetag.
 
A lower subscription cost would make MMOs more sustainable IMO. Just look at runescape. It charges $8/mo and it's (now) a pretty bad MMO but the low sub price allows people to say "what the hell.. I'll give you my couple bucks"
 
[quote name='Olengie']Can't wait! I could finally try that out.

Still hoping for that KOTOR III.[/QUOTE]

A lot of people were I think. This is the closest we'll probably get and it does actually sort of work as a single player game, but who wants to pay $60 up front plus $15 a month for a single player game?

This model works better for that purpose though I'm not sure anyone solo'ing it has much incentive to buy the extras either.
 
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[quote name='cancerman1120']Wow. One year and F2P. Even a million+ paying customers not enough to maintain a MMO these days. Why would any company make one of these. Secret World is already doing free trial weekends. I expect that to be F2P soon also.[/QUOTE]
The genre is stale.... we need a new second life idea. Something that redefines what an MMO does. Loot grinding with glow sticks isn't enough any more. This may be the end of the road for the genre...
 
[quote name='gage006']They think their side quests are worth paying for? Really, the main story is all most people thought was good.[/QUOTE]
You mean I can't fly through space on rails??? what ever will I do?!? But seriously leveling up will be a chore without side quests.
 
[quote name='cancerman1120']Wow. One year and F2P. Even a million+ paying customers not enough to maintain a MMO these days.[/QUOTE]
I very much doubt they have over a million by now, even by their 'government' numbers. They'd have to be in deep shit or are projecting to lose a lot to GW2/Pandas, as I'm sure none of their campaigns to encourage growth have worked. Just sucks SWG didn't go F2P, because I would've gone back to that; not this.
 
[quote name='Motoki']A lot of people were I think. This is sort of the closest we'll probably get and it does actually sort of work as a single player game, but who wants to pay $60 up front plus $15 a month for a single player game?

This model works better for that purpose though I'm not sure anyone solo'ing it has much incentive to buy the extras either.[/QUOTE]

Have to agree with you there. But there could always be hope. And it's no bueno to pay that much if you want to experience the "single player" in a MMO setting.
 
[quote name='Olengie']Can't wait! I could finally try that out.

Still hoping for that KOTOR III.[/QUOTE]

Actually this is pretty much KOTOR III as the storyline does indeed carry over from the KOTOR games.
 
[quote name='Jodou']I very much doubt they have over a million by now, even by their 'government' numbers. They'd have to be in deep shit or are projecting to lose a lot to GW2/Pandas, as I'm sure none of their campaigns to encourage growth have worked. Just sucks SWG didn't go F2P, because I would've gone back to that; not this.[/QUOTE]

You're right. They have less than a million subscribers now but well over 500,000. http://kotaku.com/5930634/star-wars-the-old-republic-now-has-fewer-than-a-million-subscribers

I'll definitely pick up this game again in November to finish my character.
 
While it sucks that they're struggling, I'm glad it's going free to play. I hate paying for MMOs- mainly because I pay for a month... and then never play that month. I honestly wouldn't have an issue with MMOs if you had like minutes that lasted forever until you used them- like a cellphone. So then I could buy a month, not play it for several months, and come back to it without having to pay until I used up my time. I've got more than just one game to play, and many more things to do with my spare time than just sitting inside playing games at the computer. As you can tell, I'm not too fond of MMOs- or the people that obsessively play them.

Honestly, I think they should have just made KotOR III instead. I don't know anybody who wanted a KotOR MMO. Multiplayer would be a cool feature in a KotOR game, but not a full blown MMO. LucasArts has been making odd decisions lately- as in, very dumb decisions. Look at what happened to Battlefront 3 and the 'next-gen' Indiana Jones game. I was stocked for SWTOR, but never got it when it came out because I had too many other priorities and games to buy.
 
Will definitely try this out in Nov. I always thought F2P MMO were a waste of time because you eventually have to use real money to advance in game content. I was proven wrong because Lords of The Ring Online gets the F2P model perfect, I even plunked down about $30 cash, not because it was needed to advance in game but rather a convince (mount skill, mounts, extra storage, 6 new playable regions, extra account enhancements, and still have 2,000 Turbine points left)
 
[quote name='Jodou']IIRC they need 500k to be profitable, so my guess is they're not expecting to retain as much once the new MMOs hit. Yep, this was a do or die move to save their investment.[/QUOTE]

Jodou, you are remembering it wrong. They need 500k subscribers to BREAK EVEN. In other words, if they don't have at least 500k subs, they lose money on a monthly basis because of the costs of supporting the game.

The game cost 200 million to make. Who knows if they ever broke even with the development cost. We could probably extrapolate based on the knowledge that the first 500k subs paid for running the game so only subs after the first 500k could be counted towards the break even on dev costs. My guess, no.
 
[quote name='Blaster man']Jodou, you are remembering it wrong. They need 500k subscribers to BREAK EVEN. In other words, if they don't have at least 500k subs, they lose money on a monthly basis because of the costs of supporting the game.

The game cost 200 million to make. Who knows if they ever broke even with the development cost. We could probably extrapolate based on the knowledge that the first 500k subs paid for running the game so only subs after the first 500k could be counted towards the break even on dev costs. My guess, no.[/QUOTE]

Jodou maybe referencing this article where EA CEO John Riccitiello stated that TOR would be substantially profitable with 500k subs.
 
So to be clear - you'll still have to pay $15 for the game, even after November? It's only the ongoing play (after the upfront cost of the game) that's free?
 
[quote name='gantt']So to be clear - you'll still have to pay $15 for the game, even after November? It's only the ongoing play (after the upfront cost of the game) that's free?[/QUOTE]

You can download the game. You don't need the retail package.

The reason the retail package is going down to 15 bucks is that it covers the cost of the game time included (1 month).
 
Yeah... I don't know if I could even get back into this game. I played two characters to level 50, but in all honesty once you get to around the 40s, it becomes a necessity to have a guild. Otherwise, it gets boring real fast because you have to repeat 99% of the same quests to level up. There is no way the storyline requests will get you to 50.

I'd imagine that flashpoints and battle zones will be restricted to pay members too.
 
[quote name='cancerman1120']Wow. One year and F2P. Even a million+ paying customers not enough to maintain a MMO these days. [/QUOTE]
Depends, FFXI is still a huge money maker for Square even though they have no where near 500k subscribers.
 
[quote name='Blaster man']Jodou, you are remembering it wrong. They need 500k subscribers to BREAK EVEN. In other words, if they don't have at least 500k subs, they lose money on a monthly basis because of the costs of supporting the game.

The game cost 200 million to make. Who knows if they ever broke even with the development cost. We could probably extrapolate based on the knowledge that the first 500k subs paid for running the game so only subs after the first 500k could be counted towards the break even on dev costs. My guess, no.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, uh. . .they lied months ago then. SURPRISE!

Development cost is generally covered by box sales right out the gate, but with this game who knows. I doubt they'll ever reveal those numbers.
 
[quote name='Poor2More']Will definitely try this out in Nov. I always thought F2P MMO were a waste of time because you eventually have to use real money to advance in game content. I was proven wrong because Lords of The Ring Online gets the F2P model perfect, I even plunked down about $30 cash, not because it was needed to advance in game but rather a convince (mount skill, mounts, extra storage, 6 new playable regions, extra account enhancements, and still have 2,000 Turbine points left)[/QUOTE]

From what the OP stated, it sounds like EA is adopting a Turbine-like freemium model here. It could be a good thing for them and the players.
 
I am tempted to nab a clearanced CE of this but really what is the point?

I feel like the bonuses are pretty weak and not worth it if it is going f2p.

Come the time it becomes free to play that means I can get the base game for FREE and play as a free member correct? Or do I still have to pay for the base game once it goes f2p?
 
[quote name='BrolyB593']I am tempted to nab a clearanced CE of this but really what is the point?

I feel like the bonuses are pretty weak and not worth it if it is going f2p.

Come the time it becomes free to play that means I can get the base game for FREE and play as a free member correct? Or do I still have to pay for the base game once it goes f2p?[/QUOTE]

The in-game bonuses are pretty weak as far as I can tell(still haven't actually played yet), but the physical bonuses are pretty nice. The metal case for the game, the Darth Malgus statue, and the journal are all pretty nice. The map is kind of meh and the soundtrack is good but comes in a sleeve instead of a case or something of the like which is annoying.

As for the f2p it sound likes you can play the various storylines in the game but everything else seems to be pretty much cut off almost entirely unless you pay. Personally I say to grab a CE on clearance if you can. I did and I don't regret it :D
 
[quote name='Captain Urahara']The in-game bonuses are pretty weak as far as I can tell(still haven't actually played yet), but the physical bonuses are pretty nice. The metal case for the game, the Darth Malgus statue, and the journal are all pretty nice. The map is kind of meh and the soundtrack is good but comes in a sleeve instead of a case or something of the like which is annoying.

As for the f2p it sound likes you can play the various storylines in the game but everything else seems to be pretty much cut off almost entirely unless you pay. Personally I say to grab a CE on clearance if you can. I did and I don't regret it :D[/QUOTE]

I already passed up the CE at HPB for $40. The only thing from it that I wanted was the statue.

I more so meant the bonuses for already having the game/ CE once it goes f2p. From the looks of it, it really isnt worth it to grab the CE merely for the statue and the digital bonuses from having it before it goes f2p.
 
[quote name='BrolyB593']I am tempted to nab a clearanced CE of this but really what is the point?

I feel like the bonuses are pretty weak and not worth it if it is going f2p.

Come the time it becomes free to play that means I can get the base game for FREE and play as a free member correct? Or do I still have to pay for the base game once it goes f2p?[/QUOTE]

I have heard that you will still need to buy the game to play since it appears that EA will not offer it up for download.

Of course this could all be false and the game will e free to download as well, but I have not heard confirmation about either being true just yet.
 
[quote name='BrolyB593']I already passed up the CE at HPB for $40. The only thing from it that I wanted was the statue.

I more so meant the bonuses for already having the game/ CE once it goes f2p. From the looks of it, it really isnt worth it to grab the CE merely for the statue and the digital bonuses from having it before it goes f2p.[/QUOTE]

Well to be fair everyone I see selling the statue online usually doesn't sell less for $40 anyway. So personally I was happy getting EVERYTHING for $40 instead of just the statue for $40.

And yeah as far as those bonuses go they are kind of meh. I don't remember the list exactly but it was pretty much just "Cartel Coins" right? And if I remember correctly those are just for vanity items and such. A nice little bonus if you are really into the whole MMO scene but not great overall.
It is still technically better to register a CE now and get those bonuses anyway as opposed to getting a CE down the line and not getting them but really it's not some huge impact or anything. Just a chance at more vanity :roll:
 
[quote name='Captain Urahara']Well to be fair everyone I see selling the statue online usually doesn't sell less for $40 anyway. So personally I was happy getting EVERYTHING for $40 instead of just the statue for $40.

And yeah as far as those bonuses go they are kind of meh. I don't remember the list exactly but it was pretty much just "Cartel Coins" right? And if I remember correctly those are just for vanity items and such. A nice little bonus if you are really into the whole MMO scene but not great overall.
It is still technically better to register a CE now and get those bonuses anyway as opposed to getting a CE down the line and not getting them but really it's not some huge impact or anything. Just a chance at more vanity :roll:[/QUOTE]
It appears Cartel coins are for vanity items OR subscription content without paying subscription fees (like side quests and hopefully Ops)
 
[quote name='Woocls']It appears Cartel coins are for vanity items OR subscription content without paying subscription fees (like side quests and hopefully Ops)[/QUOTE]

Really? I thought it was just vanity stuff. Well I'm sure the side quest content and such will probably be horribly overcharged. Only time will tell though.
 
[quote name='Jodou']Yeah, uh. . .they lied months ago then. SURPRISE!

Development cost is generally covered by box sales right out the gate, but with this game who knows. I doubt they'll ever reveal those numbers.[/QUOTE]

Well, we know they sold 2 million copies in the beginning. Since they only had to pay retailers their portion, if we assume $60 for each of them, then they made 96 million revenue from boxed sales.

http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2011/04/29/how-your-60-video-game-is-chopped-up/
 
There's a shock. Another MMO going free to play because they can't compete against WoW, despite WoW losing customers over the years they still have a firm grasp over the market. I think that was even more apparent when EQ went free to play. It will be interesting if FF online ever goes free to play.

Now if only UO would go free to play after all these years. I'm assuming UO is very easy to maintain being a old game with all the content already there, cuz I kinda doubt UO has 500k+ subscribers still.
 
[quote name='Monsta Mack']There's a shock. Another MMO going free to play because they can't compete against WoW, despite WoW losing customers over the years they still have a firm grasp over the market. I think that was even more apparent when EQ went free to play. It will be interesting if FF online ever goes free to play.

Now if only UO would go free to play after all these years. I'm assuming UO is very easy to maintain being a old game with all the content already there, cuz I kinda doubt UO has 500k+ subscribers still.[/QUOTE]

Keep in mind EA has to pay a (probably large) lisencing fee to George Lucas so these other games where the IP is owned by the developer would have a lower break even bar.
 
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