They are already discussing milking the subscribers

[Soluss]

8. For those who have access to the VIP/Collectors Edition vendors, will we see any new items added to them in the future or is the focus primarily in the cartel market?

 

Most of our development effort will focus on keeping the cartel market fresh and full of awesome stuff to purchase. That being said, I definitely have it on my to-do list to revisit these secondary vendors in the future.

 

Lolzzzz

Edited November 21, 2012 by Soluss

[GarfieldJL]

For the individual that stated that $15 a month is standard for most MMOs, that's not exactly true, especially when we are talking about hybrids that are F2P/P2P.

 

An example to illustrate my point (not advertising, I'm simply providing an example to demonstrate I know what I'm talking about): As cruddy as Nexon NA is as a company, their game Mabinogi for instance for just standard inventory boosting and private shops well online is only $7.90, their allowing people to having housing is only $10.90, and you only approach the $15 a month when you look at their VIP service...

 

Though you do end up having to spend money on pets (which is probably where they make their real money (pets have their own inventory space and are permanent, that and rebirths), and often have to put up with a cruddy customer support staff.

 

Fact of the matter is since bioware is going hybrid, F2P/P2P; the one thing that you Bioware should not do is charge Subscribers any extra for any game updates or expansions of new planets, warzones, etc., it's a surefire way to start annoying the paid subscribers.

 

Jagex (I believe they run Runescape), last I checked (haven't played runescape in over 2 years) do not charge their paying subscribers any additional fees when they add new content, Nexon doesn't unless it is a cash shop item (or their new costume shop) or a pet (if you have to do a quest to get said permanent pet then it is pet that people can get without paying money for it), I think there are numerous other hybrid F2P/P2P games ran by companies that follow a similar practice...

 

Old Republic follows the Jagex method of running things more than Nexon's, but there are some Nexon elements thrown in, but I digress.

 

I think Bioware's management needs to understand that paid subscribers are already paying for everything, and if they are going to do an expansion or simply adding a planet, that nickel and diming the subscribers when they are already footing the bill is a surefire way of getting subscribers to stop subscribing, especially in a bad economy. If they want to charge F2Pers something in order for them to have access to new content, that's perfectly acceptable, but the paying subscribers have arguably paid for the update already through the monthly fees, and it would be seen as double billing by a lot of people.

[Urael]

I think Bioware's management needs to understand that paid subscribers are already paying for everything, and if they are going to do an expansion or simply adding a planet, that nickel and diming the subscribers when they are already footing the bill is a surefire way of getting subscribers to stop subscribing, especially in a bad economy. If they want to charge F2Pers something in order for them to have access to new content, that's perfectly acceptable, but the paying subscribers have arguably paid for the update already through the monthly fees, and it would be seen as double billing by a lot of people.

 

^GFT ...

 

Indeed.

[Arkerus]

I love when people make assumptions. Shows them for the true *** they are. I like the game.... not the direction or management of it.... nor the fake updates they have had and the lack of desire to actually flesh out the base game but rather add fluff to the cash shop and same generic content updates.

 

You like the game but nothing about it or around it? Logic sense it does not make.

 

I like Call of duty but because of the direction and management and the BS updates to the same formula every year...I DON'T Play it.

Edited November 21, 2012 by Arkerus

[Soluss]

You like the game but nothing about it or around it? Logic sense it does not make.

 

I like Call of duty but because of the direction and management and the BS updates to the same formula every year...I DON'T Play it.

 

Your reading comprehension is lacking

[Surakis]

As for industry standards.... there is nothing industry standard they are doing here. 1 planet with 5 levels is not an industry standard expansion, sorry.

 

If they charge 39.99, you might have a point.... until then you're just hating as you've always have.

[Soluss]

If they charge 39.99, you might have a point.... until then you're just hating as you've always have.

 

If they charge 5.99, you might have a point..... until then you're just being a blind fanboy as you always are.

[Surakis]

If they charge 5.99, you might have a point..... until then you're just being a blind fanboy as you always are.

 

I know you are mad because you continue to pay for something you don't like. That's your fault, not mine. You need to stop projecting and own your own mistakes.

 

Just saying.

[Soluss]

I know you are mad because you continue to pay for something you don't like. That's your fault, not mine. You need to stop projecting and own your own mistakes.

 

Just saying.

 

As I said numerous times, Im not paying for anything. I cancelled my sub on the 15th. I said I would give the game a chance to show what its going to do until F2P hit. They have shown me their direction, I dont like it and I cancelled. Im prefectly in my rights to post my displeasure. If you dont like that, then thats too bad. Dont be a hypocrit.

Edited November 21, 2012 by Soluss

[Surakis]

As I said numerous times, Im not paying for anything. I cancelled my sub on the 15th. I said I would give the game a chance to show what its going to do until F2P hit. They have shown me their direction, I dont like it and I cancelled. Im prefectly in my rights to post my displeasure. If you dont like that, then thats too bad. Dont be a hypocrit.

 

You paid through the 15th, crying on these forums the entire time. Simple fact.

 

PS: You're using hypocrite wrong. It doesn't mean what you think it means....

[Soluss]

You paid through the 15th, crying on these forums the entire time. Simple fact.

 

PS: You're using hypocrite wrong. It doesn't mean what you think it means....

 

Paid - past tense true.

 

Continue to pay - present tense false.

 

I know exactly what hypocrite means and that you are.

Edited November 21, 2012 by Soluss

[Surakis]

Paid - past tense true.

 

Continue to pay - present tense false.

 

We'll never know, now will we. You did pay for a game you clearly dislike. Wouldn't be unprecedented that you continued to do so.

 

I know exactly what hypocrite means and that you are.

 

What game do I dislike that I pay a sub for?

[Soluss]

We'll never know, now will we. You did pay for a game you clearly dislike. Wouldn't be unprecedented that you continued to do so.

 

Last time Im going to tell you that you are wrong. Ive told you numerous times i dont dislike the game. If you are going to continue to be deaf them Im just going to put you on ignore.

 

What game do I dislike that I pay a sub for?

 

Not what I was referring to.

[Arkerus]

As I said numerous times, Im not paying for anything. I cancelled my sub on the 15th. I said I would give the game a chance to show what its going to do until F2P hit. They have shown me their direction, I dont like it and I cancelled. Im prefectly in my rights to post my displeasure. If you dont like that, then thats too bad. Dont be a hypocrit.

 

Lol. Who's the hypocrite? The folks talking constructively about the game (or IN game) or the guy who paid to play for 11 months and now spams the forums about how much he hates it...yet still here.

 

Oh...thats rich.

[papragu]

all i can say is that alot of game developers/publishers should take an example of CCP they made EvE Online, since the release the game had several huge updates content aswell as missions and every single one of those updates was for free.

 

Alot of ppl dont even pay for the game anymore cuz you can buy game time with ingame money.

 

BWs biggest mistake was to voice over every single quest in the game, which makes every single expansion expensive. It would have been totally enough to only voice the story quests. But we all learn out of our mistakes.. well most of us.

[tolaf]

MMMKaaaaay... they cried poverty hence the reason for the switch.

 

As for industry standards.... there is nothing industry standard they are doing here. 1 planet with 5 levels is not an industry standard expansion, sorry.

 

Agreed, it would be laughable for them to call Makeb an expansion, it's an update and let's leave it at that.

[Andryah]

Agreed, it would be laughable for them to call Makeb an expansion, it's an update and let's leave it at that.

 

None of us have enough information about Makeb to know one way or the other. So your perjorative directed at the developers is premature and without supporting facts.

 

Personally, I am happy to wait until we actually see what Makeb is/is-not before buying a ticket on the doom train.

Edited November 22, 2012 by Andryah

[tolaf]

None of us have enough information about Makeb to know one way or the other. So your perjorative directed at the developers is premature and without supporting facts.

 

Personally, I am happy to wait until we actually see what Makeb is/is-not before buying a ticket on the doom train.

 

It's one planet, and unless that planet is the size of 5 planets put together Makeb is not an expansion.

[Andryah]

It's one planet, and unless that planet is the size of 5 planets put together Makeb is not an expansion.

 

Like I said, we don't know enough about it to do anything other then guess and bluster.

 

We don't even know it's going to be an expansion, or if Makeb is a project name for much more then just a planet added to the galaxy...or if it will be free or cost coins, or.... etc. etc. etc.

 

TL;DR we don't know squat about it yet.

Edited November 22, 2012 by Andryah

[tolaf]

Like I said, we don't know enough about it to do anything other then guess and bluster.

 

We don't even know it's going to be an expansion, or if Makeb is a project name for much more then just a planet added to the galaxy...or if it will be free or cost coins, or.... etc. etc. etc.

 

TL;DR we don't know squat about it yet.

 

But we have videos, statments from developers and we can use past experience to draw conclusions, that's how predictions work, of course we can't know anything but we can use logic to draw a conclusion about a future event, you know, like normal people do?

[mothear]

But we have videos, statments from developers and we can use past experience to draw conclusions, that's how predictions work, of course we can't know anything but we can use logic to draw a conclusion about a future event, you know, like normal people do?

As a matter of interest what previous 'experience' do you have on SWTOR releasing new planets to suggest that it will be a paid expansion? I ask because as far as I know they have never released a new planet.

[tolaf]

As a matter of interest what previous 'experience' do you have on SWTOR releasing new planets to suggest that it will be a paid expansion? I ask because as far as I know they have never released a new planet.

 

I never said we would have to pay for Makeb, some have said it will be an expansion, i was just pointing out the fact that Makeb was a single world and would most likely be the same size as every other planet, so it would be an update and not an expansion.

However if they did charge us for it and called it an expansion, Makeb had better be a very large planet.

[Arodin]

There are too many unknowns to get in a tizzy over Makeb already.

 

Will it be free for subscribers or a paid expansion? We don't know.

If we have to pay for it, how much will it cost? We don't know.

How big is the planet Makeb? We don't know.

What else will be included with the release (operations, flashpoints, warzones, new space missions, new species?) We don't know.

 

We don't know much, and you're just going to drive yourself crazy by making up doomsday predictions and getting really upset over them. Since we really don't have anything to go on, I'd rather "predict" that Makeb is going to be extremely awesome. Both predictions are probably not entirely accurate, but at least my prediction doesn't make me all crotchety and depressed.

[Tuskin]

I'd gladly pay, not using my Cartel coins on anything else.

[mothear]

I never said we would have to pay for Makeb, some have said it will be an expansion, i was just pointing out the fact that Makeb was a single world and would most likely be the same size as every other planet, so it would be an update and not an expansion.

However if they did charge us for it and called it an expansion, Makeb had better be a very large planet.

 

Well looking on the LotRO quest packs they seem to cost around $9 or maybe 900CC coins in SWTOR money.

 

So if the quest pack (not an expansion) cost everyone say 600-700 CC, i.e. one month of free subscriber allocation are you really saying that a subscriber is still being charged?