Personally I'll go with it curing world hunger. Between the two, mine has a better chance of it actually happening.

Nice read.

I've already bought GW2 but I doubt it will keep me interested for more than a few weeks, at best. I like the revenue model and some of its features are interesting. The game my eye is most on these days is Wildstar.

Yep, I canceled back in early March, just came back, and have already canceled again. Even though there is nothing else on the market that interests me. Its your own call.

First I'm the 99% and now I'm the 40%? Make up your minds people!

Shhhh... You'll spoil the surprise.

I had flashbacks to EALouse a bit ago, finding it funny and sad at the same time.

Nice links, thank you.

Yes, but the chances of Johnny green lighting the tens of millions that it would cost are zero.

Its actually pretty smart. Make the best part free to attract people to the game. The more people trying it, the more potential money there is to make. Yes many if not most may have zero desire to spend a penny. However, those who do may very well spend a lot more than fifteen bucks a month. Its about getting the most money possible, out of those willing to pay.

Hats for everyone!

Given that TOR, reportedly, took eight hundred people, six years, and almost two hundred million dollars to make, but not even twelve months to go free-to-play. I find myself pondering what Daniel and company have to say. Not the Johnny come lately crew. I mean the guys who were designing TOR from the beginning. Do you think they blame the community? The market? Cthulhu? Maybe even sunk into a Gordon "RPG players don't do 3D well" Walton level of delusion, like he did after SWG? Probably, egos can be quite touchy things after all. Yet it would be refreshing to hear that at least some of them looked in the mirror instead.

If you are worried about F2P then just look up the various comments John Riccitiello has made about it. That should put your mind at ease. ... Yes, I was being sarcastic.

Yeah, I chuckled when I read that bit too. I don't recall responding when I cancelled last time, so how many actually did? Not to mention that "many" is pretty meaningless. So they are backing this up by addressing the issue less than half of those, who responded, mentioned as a problem and for an unknown percentage of that less than half who might come back? Really? Wow...

When I first heard about TOR back in 2008 (?) I was concerned about this but then I found out who was hired to run BioWare Austin. Both Gordon Walton and Rich Vogel had previous MMORPG experience including SWG and JTL. I was hoping that they had learned from their previous mistakes and would find a good balance between sandbox and themepark. I was wrong.

August 8th, 2010, with the Space Combat leak. That they could actually think that a single-player rail-shooter mini-game was the best option for space content in a pay-to-play Star Wars MMORPG, made it pretty obvious that they didn't "get it." Boredom brought me back, but I could already see the writing on the wall.

For me its not a matter of hate. Its more pity than anything else. TOR had everything going for it, developer with a great reputation, developers with prior MMORPG experience, just about a blank check from one of the biggest companies in the industry, and a "not till its done" attitude. Yet somehow despite, reportedly, six years, eight hundred people, and almost two hundred million dollars, this was the best they could do. A surprisingly short and linear game where ninety percent of the content is identical per faction. Lacking even such iconic parts of the game it was inspired by, as pazaak and swoop-racing. I feel sorry for the developers, publisher, and even George himself. TOR could, and perhaps even should, have been a "sure thing." Instead, its design was so flawed and lacking that its actually confusing how the design team could have even thought that this is what the post-WoW marketplace would actually want from a triple "A," pay-to-play, Star Wars massively multiplayer online role playing game. They should have known better. I feel sorry for the possibly hundreds now jobless through no fault of their own. I would hope the devs, like Danny and company, learn the right lessons from this but its more likely that they'll just blame whatever is convenient and continue obliviously onward.

Hehe... The mod is back from break. Will this thread be locked?

They should like the idea. Microtransactions open new avenues for revenue and it should be clear to everyone by now that TOR's subscriptions are still falling. Better to change course now than wait for TOR to get as empty as WAR.

TOR is an almost perfect example of it not mattering how many developers you have, how much time you take, or much money you spend. If your design is still seriously, "flawed." While products like Minecraft with few developers and little money, can still make a mint because they have a great design.

My main issue with F2P is not microtransactions themselves. It can be done well. My problem is with the mindset of the one in charge. It does not impress.

Oh damn, that's a good one.

Now now, I think they do care. Its been pretty clear, for quite some time in my opinion, that BioWare just didn't and doesn't "get it" when it comes to MMORPG's. While they may have brought this on themselves I do feel sorry for them. You know they had to have busted their butts making this game and for it to have flamed out like this? Its gotta hurt.

While they may be pretty clueless when it comes to making a great MMORPG, but EA definitely knows the numbers game. They announced F2P today for a reason. Whether it was to help Johnny keep his job or because their projections show TOR is going to sink a lot more by November? Who knows?

Well that's why they used the wording "slipped under" and "well over." For the investors' ears. They don't actually mean anything beyond less and more but they sound nicer. Slipped under and well over describe 500,001 as well as they describe 999,999.