Matt Brobmerg interview on free-to-play

[Skirata_Kal]

Happy with the game and its current state, and happy that they're transitioning to F2P so quickly instead of sitting around on their butts doing nothing about it.

 

People are making a stink about how many people left the game, but how do you know why they all left? Where are you getting your information from, and what's the size of your population sample?

 

EA's own words. 2.3 million copies sold, 1.7 max subs, now down to 600k-800k (a guess based upon "greater than half million, less than a million"). 40% left citing the sub. What about the other 60%? Saying that most people left due to the sub is misleading and inaccurate. Now, yes the remaining 60% probably left due to a variety of reasons, but it still makes "F2P is going to save the game" types look ridiculous.

[kirdapeswtor]

You don't lose most of your customers if your game is even half decent to begin with!

 

Releasing an unfinished product and spending the greatest part of your first year in damage control mode desperately trying to make features available that should've been in at launch, while ignoring the content side.... Is why we're where we are imo.

 

Started playing with 16 people in December. 1 is left. Me. Rest left because of various reasons. Some valid, some subjective (wasn't their type of game etc.)

 

For myself my chars basically die at 50 because nothing in end game PVE or PVP really has been satisfying or interesting. The PVP gear grind, class balance issues, expertise and way too fast TTK made PVPing crap. No more stories, nothing left to explore, no world PVP. Daily quests so boring I could stand them a few days then ditched them since the time invested and rewards didn't add up for me. Done datacrons, done crafting. All professions maxed on various toons. 1-49 the game is great, but I agree that once you hit 50 it's game over.

 

I'll keep my sub for now, but am moving on myself to check out the pandas. The interview was indeed sad.

 

F2P I have little problems with as it's either that or shut the game down and start over.

[Paintcheck]

On the other side of that though how many people didn't pick up the game at all because of the subscription fee? I know several who were interested but saw the subscription fee and said "Nope". F2P may not bring the people who quit back but it does have the potential to bring plenty of new blood in.

 

Although the devs better make good on their "Frequent content" or else they will pick up a bunch of freeloaders who have no incentive to pay for anything and will lose the subscribers who don't get anything for their money. Which is what it's like now, except without the freeloader part.

 

I am cautiously optimistic about F2P simply because I am an RPer and not having to pay a subscription fee anymore to RP make me happy since my current subscription money clearly isn't being used to actually develop more for the game.

[uziforyou]

I'm pretty damn sure they didn't leave because they couldn't afford $15/month like EA is saying. FCS, they paid $60 for the box knowing about the $15/month fee.

 

We will probably never know for sure since we don't have the data in front of us but Bioware has consistently said (meaning several times) that in the survey filled out by those that left the game (many didn't fill out this survey of course) 40% of them sited the monthly fee as the reason they left.

 

Now you can choose to disbelieve Bioware's contention about that but it's wholely the source of their justification for going F2P and even that most players still around are generally happy with the game.

 

As I was getting at, we can speculate all day long as to why we think people left and chastise Bioware for not seeing that reason but at the end of the day we'll never know exactly what Bioware knew/recognized or didn't know/recognize.

[chuixupu]

Yeah, this is a fairly worthless interview....I didn't learn anything from it.

 

But I guess it's better than complete silence. And I guess, saying "I don't know" is perfectly honest. It just sounds like he doesn't have much confidence in it. It doesn't instill any confidence in me.

 

As for people buying the game and then not wanting to pay, you'd be surprised.

 

A LOT of people I encountered different places were completely surprised that they had to pay when they got the game (many were given as christmas gifts) since they didn't have any experience with that type of game before. Also a lot of my friends who did understand that, simply couldn't fit it in their budget, and with so many F2P MMOs popping up, they would rather stick with them and just said "I'll wait for SWTOR to go F2P, you know it will".

Edited August 31, 2012 by chuixupu

[Hestis]

This here is odd to me. I read in a different thread how they weren't going to the Star Wars convention thingy (Celebration) and instead only went to Gamescon.....but.....if the subscription is the problem and there's lots of star wars fans that would play it going F2P....and it's about making it easier for a Star Wars fan to get into the game....why wouldn't you go to a Star Wars convention to tell them that?

 

I'm in the group of people that really enjoy the game, but think there are many ways in which they are dropping the ball. This is one of the biggest ones I've seen. You've got a large convention dedicated solely to Star Wars. A rather sizable amount of your target audience is all gathered together in one place, and you don't take that opportunity to show off your product? That's a terrible decision.

[DarthTHC]

We will probably never know for sure since we don't have the data in front of us but Bioware has consistently said (meaning several times) that in the survey filled out by those that left the game (many didn't fill out this survey of course) 40% of them sited the monthly fee as the reason they left.

 

Now you can choose to disbelieve Bioware's contention about that but it's wholely the source of their justification for going F2P and even that most players still around are generally happy with the game.

 

As I was getting at, we can speculate all day long as to why we think people left and chastise Bioware for not seeing that reason but at the end of the day we'll never know exactly what Bioware knew/recognized or didn't know/recognize.

 

I believe 40% of the people cited the monthly fee as the reason they left. However, the correct interpretation of that is that the game is not worth the sub fee, not that the player would refuse to pay it regardless.

 

Once you have the correct interpretation, you then can make the right adjustment. One adjustment would be to implement content and features that would make the game worth it. Another adjustment is to lower the subscription fee.

 

EA went with the third option - spend the development staff's time implementing a free-to-play option instead of the content and features that would make the game worth the subscription fee.

 

That's exactly a bass-ackwards decision for the reality of the situation.

 

Then they went ahead and said that the parts of the game that are actually worth playing - the stories - would be the free part and the part that's not worth paying the sub fee for - the endgame content - would carry a fee. How exactly is that business model supposed to make money? Answer: It won't make much.

 

So then what will EA do? They'll put "boosts" in the cash shop (note: 2 EA managers have already said boosts are on the way). As these boosts sell, they'll ramp up the capability of the boosts to optimize the monetization of the cash shop (note: EA has a want-ad on their site for a person to do exactly this analysis).

 

They could have gone the route of creating content and features. They didn't. They diverted resources from that to make the cash shop infrastructure. Once that infrastructure is in, what rational person would believe they'll commit any significant level of resources back to content and features?

[Styxx]

BROMBERG: We looked at where the market opportunity was, and it seemed clear to us that a game as big and broad as Star Wars was well suited for the free-to-play model.

It is obvious and very clear, beyond any reason of a doubt! That is why it launched with a sub! Pure genius.

 

Well we looked at it and thought, what is the size of opportunity for your brand? There are tens of millions of Star Wars fans, how many have tried our game? How many would like to try it?

Tens of millions? That is why only 2.4 bought the game, from which only 1.7 actually played it. Tens of millions! It is all so clear now...Oh, just remembered. Wasn`t this game not launched in some countries, because it would bottleneck them? Some traffic jam we have now...

 

We did a lot of research and found that people who gave it a try but left found the subscription to be the biggest barrier. So it was a pretty straightforward decision for us.

The biggest barrier was the lack of any "game" past the 1-50 level. Not the sub. There was no reason to pay it, because the game has nothing to show past level 50.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Styxx

[kevlarto]

I have watched interviews and so forth, and I just get the feeling they are missing the point, I don't think people left the game because of the sub, most left it seems because they were bored, I don't think going f2p is addressing the core issue as to why people left the game, I can only hope that the increased revenue from f2p is used to generate some cotnent or the f2p surge will be short lived as well. Time will tell.. /shrug

I know they use that 40% on the exit survey, but what about the 60%, we never hear about ? I am sure it is a mix of things..

Edited August 31, 2012 by kevlarto

[Tickdoff-Tank]

We seem happy?! Who's giving them this feedback? It's one of you reading this because he specifically says subscribers.

 

And Matt...1 thing every 6 weeks is most certainly NOT "very frequent".

 

Thank you for the link...but Matt sounds clueless from what I read.

 

His response of "They seem happy" was based on the proposition of the new hybrid payment model and specifically the reward of Cartel Coins based on previous time played. To the best of my knowledge, most people seem happy with that proposal. So his statement was accurate, if a bit narrow.

 

He was not talking about the general state of the game, if he was then he was indeed a little bit too optomistic.

[Kubernetic]

I'm pretty damn sure they didn't leave because they couldn't afford $15/month like EA is saying. FCS, they paid $60 for the box knowing about the $15/month fee.

 

My second part of the question was what you failed to answer. How do you know this? How many players did you interview?

 

BioWare interviewed every single customer that cancelled their subscription (except for a few stragglers that just gave a gift card and forgot about it).

 

How many people did you interview directly?

[Kubernetic]

I'm in the group of people that really enjoy the game, but think there are many ways in which they are dropping the ball. This is one of the biggest ones I've seen. You've got a large convention dedicated solely to Star Wars. A rather sizable amount of your target audience is all gathered together in one place, and you don't take that opportunity to show off your product? That's a terrible decision.

 

It wasn't large, and there's no guarantee as to how many of those attendees were even interested in video games.

 

GamesCom was literally 11 times larger in population, with a far greater spread of media personnel there to report on the attendees (and thus provide press coverage for the games represented). The press attendance alone at GamesCom was estimated to be approximately equivalent to a full ONE SIXTH of the attendance at Celebration.

 

You actually had a terrible analysis.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Kubernetic

[Icestar]

I'm happy.

 

But firstly, I don't play end-game, and really have no intention to, and secondly I've decided I'm not going to get upset about F2P until they actually release it.

 

I loved this game while I actually got some levels left to take. With eight level 50 characters I can only wait until they release the option to get a new slot. I will not start over on another server since legacy is bound to one server.

 

The endgame content though.......well I will leave it at that

[Soluss]

My second part of the question was what you failed to answer. How do you know this? How many players did you interview?

 

BioWare interviewed every single customer that cancelled their subscription (except for a few stragglers that just gave a gift card and forgot about it).

 

How many people did you interview directly?

 

I wouldnt call their limited question survey a good interview. The questions lacked the depth for them to understand why people left.

 

When you say "I left because of the sub" That could mean... they left because they couldnt afford 15 bucks a month OR they left because they didnt feel the game was worth 15 bucks a month. Which is more likely. If your answer is they couldnt afford 15 bucks a month .... then how do you think they are going to afford a cash shop?

 

You guys always try to find excuses but you dont think them through. If a player cant afford 15 bucks a month then he cant afford to spend 15 bucks in the cash shop every month either. IOW ... that player is still dead weight to the company.

[Cakellene]

YOU!!!!

 

Lemme ask...are you happy the game is going F2P, or are you happy with the game?! It sounds more to me like you're simply happy with the game. That's not what he's saying...he's saying subscribers are happy about the game going F2P...not with the game.

 

As for me, I am happy it's going FTP. It's what drove me to go buy game.

[Spiritinblack]

I wouldnt call their limited question survey a good interview. The questions lacked the depth for them to understand why people left.

 

When you say "I left because of the sub" That could mean... they left because they couldnt afford 15 bucks a month OR they left because they didnt feel the game was worth 15 bucks a month. Which is more likely. If your answer is they couldnt afford 15 bucks a month .... then how do you think they are going to afford a cash shop?

 

You guys always try to find excuses but you dont think them through. If a player cant afford 15 bucks a month then he cant afford to spend 15 bucks in the cash shop every month either. IOW ... that player is still dead weight to the company.

 

I don't know why you keep trying. Unless you have written proof right in front of people, they will never think that is why people left. And even if you did get that proof had it right there for them to gaze upon.... it still would not be good enough.

 

The sub was the problem. Because the game was not WORTH it to most of them. ( sure some maybe could not afford it.... but as was just said, how does that help with them going free to play).

 

It was posted by alot of people that the game was not worth it to them. They were told pretty much don't let the dorr hit you in the butt by the forums. Don't know how that helped ANYTHING.

 

People can have a blind eye to what is going on. Your opinion is just that. Just as mine is this.

[MajikMyst]

We seem happy?! Who's giving them this feedback? It's one of you reading this because he specifically says subscribers.

 

And Matt...1 thing every 6 weeks is most certainly NOT "very frequent".

 

Thank you for the link...but Matt sounds clueless from what I read.

 

It is called business 101.. Never say anything negative to the press.. It can also be called politics..

 

So while he is not out of touch in the least.. We are for not being able to read between the lines.. Well.. Some of us are..

 

Do you really expext him to get in there and say.....

 

"Everyone hates our game, or forums are a melting pot of negativity.."

 

"People hate our games so much that the most active threads in our forum are about GW2.."

 

Seriously?? What did you expect him to say?? What did any of you expect him to say??

 

Yes there are some folks that are happy about the F2P model.. There are also some folks that aren't and some who do not care one way or the other..

 

In the end, the article doesn't say much, just like this thread doesn't say much.. Hardly worthy of creation in my opinion.. It appears to me that people just want to show their lack of understanding about business and or politics..

 

Have a nice day..

[DarkSaberMaster]

Did I go back in time to 3 December 2003 and start playing SWG all over again? It sure seems like it with how this game is handled. Out of touch development team and producer. Fanboys swearing up and down that the game is fine and doing great and plugging their ears screaming LALALALALALALAL!!!! when the people are leaving/have left in the multitudes. People that are dissatisfied with the game begging for the devs to listen and to fix the problems, but getting ignored.

 

I swear history is repeating itself.

[SOULCASTER]

I think my favorite line is:

 

Do you think you'll make more money converting to this model?

"I don't know."

Edited August 31, 2012 by SOULCASTER

[DarthOvertone]

Lemme ask...are you happy the game is going F2P, or are you happy with the game?! It sounds more to me like you're simply happy with the game. That's not what he's saying...he's saying subscribers are happy about the game going F2P...not with the game.

 

I don't care if the game is going F2P. It's certainly not a good sign that EA/BW wasn't able to sustain the game on subs alone. However, the market has changed and EA was pressing BW to go F2P even during Beta so I'm really not the least bit surprised.

 

So my feeling isn't excitement or happiness. It's really apathy. But as a player that mainly just PvPs and doesn't do much of the PvE stuff, aside from the class stories, F2P could be a real boon for me.

 

Here's why. One thing F2P does is it creates different opportunities for accessing the game. It may be entirely possible that I will be able to simply PvP in this game for a lot less than the $15/month that I currently pay. Now $15/month is not a lot and I honestly don't mind paying the sub. However, if the opportunity arises that I can pay less for the content I really want, then of course, I will seize that opportunity.

 

Another thing is that the monetization of the different elements of gameplay also give the developers a clear idea of the type of content players want. For instance, if hordes of peeps are paying for WZs, but not buying Ops, BW will develop more WZs and PvP content. All the developer/publisher has to do is follow demand to make peeps happy. The metrics are a lot more clear.

 

 

In regard to the interview itself, these were the statements that stood out to me:

 

Bromberg- We did a lot of research and found that people who gave it a try but left found the subscription to be the biggest barrier.

 

I remember the exit survey he is referring to and I believe the feedback they collected was reliable. I see no reason to dispute this conclusion.

 

Bromberg- But it's not just about how we are charging people for the experience; we are also looking at creating very frequent content updates as well.

 

This statement bothers me. Does he mean that without F2P there would be no frequent content updates? Were the funds for development already tapped out? Many of us have been faithfully paying subs since the early access. It's a serious snub to us to say no updates were possible when we were told said updates would be available every 6 weeks.

 

If I apply some spin though, I think what Bromberg really meant to say is that F2P will help them decide what content to produce based on demand, and this will be more frequent. That makes more sense, but is an apologist's reading of the statement and probably a serious stretch.

 

Bromberg-

It just so happens that the business will naturally grow as more people come to play the game, but we're not trying to squeeze every single penny out of it.

 

I like this statement. This helps to alleviate my P2W concerns somewhat. It points to F2P in SWTOR being more of a supplementary source of revenue than the be-all-end-all. If that is truly the case, then the store won't easily fold to the demands of P2W, which are primarily driven by the player base.

 

Regarding SWTOR as an F2P game, I don't see why SWTOR won't be the biggest F2P title in the industry. I have no doubt that it will blow up. The game is far from perfect, but it presently is a very good game and does possess a sheen of integrity. However, F2P is a slippery slope and I hope BW is able to maintain the integrity of the game under the pressure of EA to completely sellout like a dime store h*.

[Valkirus]

Honestly I'm just fine with it. It would be very helpful if we knew more of what they were planning, of course. I mean, F2P can mean so many things, and without any concrete details the gossip around here does get pretty bad. Really though, as long as my $15/month remains a good value, I'm happy to let them do whatever they see fit.

 

That is cool. And you feel you are getting your money's worth each month from playing the game. Nothing wrong with that. The only reason we should ever subscribe to a MMO.

 

However, on the topic of the thread, the subscription base for the game is not really a "barrier" to playing the game as those in EA may think, it is the fact that for many, the game was simplly not worth the subscription each month.

[MbaxterBeau]

The sub isn't the problem with this game. The problems are bad devs, no new content, bad game engine, bad cs, horrible community, unbalanced pvp, resolve system that only works for the AC that are the FOTM, not testing patches before they are implemented and bugs, bugs, bugs and more bugs, loading screens that are pointless, orbital stations that only serve as an excuse to place another loading screen before reaching a planet, cost of removing mods from gear, ridiculous legacy credit sink that doesn't transfer with account, no guild perks, no sandbox features, linear planets etc....

 

Oh and all the CC, stuns and roots and snares.

[Deewe]

Thank you for the link...but Matt sounds clueless from what I read.

Not defending the guy but maybe have a look at his other interview.

 

Guys seemed honest, did not avoid hard questions either. And well regarding he just got a leaking boat to manage in the middle of a storm, I'd say he did well.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Deewe

[Tiravus]

Every interview I read from the developers seem to be answered off the same cue cards handed down from the higher-ups. Subscription wasn't the reason so many people left the game. It's the fact that they felt the game in its current form wasn't worth the subscription fee. I love how EA handles it too. "Let's not fix the game breaking bugs and implement all of the features that people who play MMOs come to expect and deem standard. We'll just give the game away instead. Oh, and we won't listen to the community, we'll just make stuff up to tell them why we're doing it this way."

 

Seriously?!

 

I still pay my sub and I don't even raid or do flashpoints. I mainly log in level an alt a bit and do my PvP dailies. I have no problem paying a sub. I want bugs fixed, classes balanced, a FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE ui with addon support and a macro system. Jeez. it's not rocket science MAKE THE GAME WORTH PAYING FOR AND PEOPLE WILL HAPPILY PAY FOR IT !!! And.. if you pull it off you can still ding us on micro transactions too =p

 

At this point I'm just biding my time waiting for them to get a clue and make this game as awesome as it should be then I'll start taking advantage of the PvE.

 

The people that don't want to pay a sub are the FPS crowd and console gamers that came over to play because it's Star Wars. The real MMO crowd knows why we pay subs to play MMOs. Unfortunately EA doesn't seem to know why either =(

Edited August 31, 2012 by Tiravus

[Lord_of_Mu]

However, on the topic of the thread, the subscription base for the game is not really a "barrier" to playing the game as those in EA may think, it is the fact that for many, the game was simply not worth the subscription each month.

 

I think that is the truth. The marketing team had to put a positive spin on an otherwise flat out core issue with the game.

 

Star Wars the Old Republic is like a children's fairy tale book. No really, it is. You open the book and the world comes to life around you. It's amazing and for three chapters of story you're immersed in this wonderful fantasy world. Then suddenly you run out of pages and the facade instantly drops dead.

 

The game lacks deep meaningful game play. Game play, not story! No, they're not one and the same. TOR is suffering from an identity crisis, it doesn't know if it's Star Wars or World of Warcraft with a good story.

 

Wake up Bioware, yes this game is a Business. But you have to work on the depth, quality and uniqueness of your product. Otherwise you're just another copycat MMO trying to replicate the success of the industry leader. Guess what, the industry leader was the product of a perfect storm. You're not. Time to make yourself stand out and I'm not talking about story.