Poll: Which Star Wars: The Old Republic pricing model would you prefer?

[fenixkane]

I'm personally on the fence with this. On the one hand, the game looks phenomenal and really has me interested. On the other hand I have a tight budget and a paid subscription pretty much rules out a game altogether for me. If it meant I could play a game for free I'd take some non-intrusive Ads and have the option to buy some unimportant content separately if it meant I didn't need to pay a subscription fee but thats just my opinion.

 

[findler]

These games only deviate from the paid subscription method if they just aren't making money using it. They are all modeled after WoW and that's where you will see this game go. However, microtransactions could very well be a possibility if this game does not de-throne WoW or turn an anticipated profit.

 

[Korten12]

Like Guild Wars 1 and 2 will be, You buy the game and then its free but then there are some very optional micro's. ie, name change, cosmetic change, character slots...

 

[AugustFall]

Guild Wars showed that subscription free was more than possible.

 

[Amphoteric]

Buy game outright --> make free account --> play all day --> buy cheaply priced DLC. You know, how every other genre prices it's games these days.

yes But then they wouldn't be as minted.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I'm more than happy with your average MMO subscription plan. Just please please let me buy gametime with iDeal or let me buy direct-download timecards on various online gameshops.

I'll be a very very sad panda if SWTOR would be creditcard-only.

Guild Wars showed that subscription free was more than possible.

But then again, that's not even classified as an MMO. Even the devs say so.

Buy game outright --> make free account --> play all day --> buy cheaply priced DLC. You know, how every other genre prices it's games these days.

You know that MMO's are vastly different from every other genre. MMO's are a vast undertaking for any developer, much bigger than any other genre out there.

Fact is, huge servers need maintaining, patching and updating. GM's are constantly active, lots of free content patches next to larger expansion packs (or in EVE's case, just free extra content), you name it. Games are usually very costly to create, but MMO's are not only very costly to create, they're also very costly to maintain.

 

[Korten12]

I'm more than happy with your average MMO subscription plan. Just please please let me buy gametime with iDeal or let me buy direct-download timecards on various online gameshops.

I'll be a very very sad panda if SWTOR would be creditcard-only.

Guild Wars showed that subscription free was more than possible.

But then again, that's not even classified as an MMO. Even the devs say so.

Buy game outright --> make free account --> play all day --> buy cheaply priced DLC. You know, how every other genre prices it's games these days.

You know that MMO's are vastly different from every other genre. MMO's are a vast undertaking for any developer, much bigger than any other genre out there.

Fact is, huge servers need maintaining, patching and updating. GM's are constantly active, lots of free content patches next to larger expansion packs (or in EVE's case, just free extra content), you name it. Games are usually very costly to create, but MMO's are not only very costly to create, they're also very costly to maintain.

yeah but GW2 will be and MMORPG and its using the same pricing model. 0.0 so if they can do it, why cant bioware?

 

[Mr. Grey]

Like Guild Wars 1 and 2 will be, You buy the game and then its free but then there are some very optional micro's. ie, name change, cosmetic change, character slots...

If I can't have this, I'm going to go Lifetime. And if I can't have that or lifetime, I'm going to be a very sad gamer.

I mean really, if ArenaNet pulls off what it's been talking about with Guild Wars 2 and keeps it free to play, BioWare and EA have no excuse to ask for monthly payments. That doesn't mean I wouldn't mind supporting them a great deal with a lifetime, however.

 

[Cowabungaa]

yeah but GW2 will be and MMORPG and its using the same pricing model. 0.0 so if they can do it, why cant bioware?

I never looked into Guild Wars 2 that much, care to give some info about it?

If it'll really make use of the same kind of server architecture and all that jazz that gives your average MMO a subscription fee, I wonder where they get the money from to fund all that. Or they've found a way to reduce costs drastically enough to avoid needing a subscription fee, but that makes me wonder what effects that has ingame.

Project Torque doesn't seem to have any issue keeping their servers up and they don't even charge for the main game. PT is actually free to play if you don't mind not owning a real life car, buying one of those and/or certain trunk items(Aka powerups) is the only way real money changes hands.

Valve also doesn't seem to have any issues keeping their content servers running, and I'm sure Valve's content servers have a MUCH higher demand placed on them than this MMO will on it's servers. Especially this fall with Fallout: New Vegas being released.

It can be done without any problem whatsoever.

First of all, you can't compare Steam with an MMO. Steam is not even a game, let alone an MMO, and it's obvious where Valve gets it profits from to fund Steam's upkeep. As for Project Torque, somehow I doubt it's as huge as, say, World of Warcraft or EVE Online. Smaller MMO's like that usually earn their cash with micro-transactions and premium memberships.

Fact is, sadly, that this topic is very hard to discuss without knowing what kind of maintenance costs each game has, what kind of server architecture, etc etc etc, all those things that mean it justifies a subscription in the case of a big MMO like SWTOR or the reasons that the game doesn't need a subscription in the case of Guild Wars and Project Torque.

My guess is that SW:TOR will be much closer to WoW or EVE in terms of upkeep costs than a small-time MMO or Guild Wars-like game. And in that case it needs subscription fees to keep funding it, especially only shortly after launch. Sure I'd like it to be free like Guild Wars, that'd be amazing, but I doubt it's realistic for a game like that.

 

[AugustFall]

But then again, that's not even classified as an MMO. Even the devs say so.

Incredible quote fail im sure but yes I agree it's not an mmo in the persistant world type but honestly I prefer that. Are there tonnes of players who can play together? Yes. Do I have to deal with these players when I don't want to? Like when doing a quest and waiting in line or having my kills/loot stolen? No.
Honestly I prefer the instanced feel of the original GW, the multiplayer was still there but only the good parts.
But the 2nd will be persistent and still looks real nice, also should be free subscription.

http://www.guildwars2.com/en/ Check it out, looks amazing.

 

[Korten12]

snip

guildwars2.com Its too much to summ up or go on to

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Guild_Wars_2

 

[David Bray]

Free with game changing expansions like guildwars

 

[Judgement101]

Free for life but it costs ?99.99 ($129.86)

 

[wolf92]

Buy game outright --> make free account --> play all day --> buy cheaply priced DLC. You know, how every other genre prices it's games these days.
I agree with this gent

 

[wolf thing]

id want to have it free but id dont want to have adds. im okay whith paying as long as it is £10 or under.

 

[AWOL]

Just for the hundredth time, yes, make it like Guild Wars.

 

[an_luas]

Other as in every god damned thig nin it is for free! (apart from buying the game of course) so cheap bastards like me can have fun and not be singled out because the publishers want a fiver off me so i can shoot peopole with a shiney new gun or ship

 

[WaNNaBJusTLiKeU]

The same structure as WoW, I have no problems paying £8 a month every month with the amount of fun and content I have with that game.