is it time for the sub model to be removed ?

[fushnchips]

Would no sub make SWTOR a better game so they do what ESO done a sub is optional but not needed if you want to do all content this is how ESO boomed and continues to do so maybe this game can learn from other MMO's.

 

The game is on life support in a big way they are getting new players but once all these players get to endgame it's the same old story imagine them in 3 years complaining about running the same content over and over they need to release content for all players on regular cycled patches I still have hope for swtor but as of now it's a rotting corpse.

[Toraak]

Would no sub make SWTOR a better game so they do what ESO done a sub is optional but not needed if you want to do all content this is how ESO boomed and continues to do so maybe this game can learn from other MMO's.

 

The game is on life support in a big way they are getting new players but once all these players get to endgame it's the same old story imagine them in 3 years complaining about running the same content over and over they need to release content for all players on regular cycled patches I still have hope for swtor but as of now it's a rotting corpse.

 

No.

 

$15 a month is cheap. Most people pay $10 for 2 hours of entertainment to watch a movie. Paying $15 a month for as many hours of entertainment as you want is cheap. Play 2 hours a week, and your paying less then $2 per hour you play. That is some cheap entertainment.

 

Let's face it most people play far more then 2 hours per week.

[ThanderSnB]

It might not be EA's choice. Disney sees Star Wars as a premium brand and SWTOR having a subscription maintains that reputation. Putting it another way, Disney would see removing the subscription as "cheapening" the Star Wars brand, something they won't stand for.

[SteveTheCynic]

Would no sub make SWTOR a better game so they do what ESO done a sub is optional but not needed if you want to do all content this is how ESO boomed and continues to do so maybe this game can learn from other MMO's.

What do you propose that BioWare would offer as incentive for us to pay for anything?

[TexasMarine]

Except ESO isn't F2P like SWTOR is, you still have to buy the game. You also don't get access to ALL the content, just the major expansions. The DLCs, like Dark Brotherhood, have to be bought separately either with real money or their premium currency or you get access by subscribing. If you don't buy the DLCs and your subscription ends, so does your access to the DLCs. The difference between ESO free accounts and their sub accounts are similar to SWTOR in many ways as well.

[Falensawino]

throwaway thread, little info from OP to go on

 

SWTOR expansions are no longer one off purchases, price of new content is already rolled into a subscription.

what exactly you think bioware/swtor/ea can do to monetize the game by dropping a subscription model

 

there's no advantage to anyone

people already refuse to subscribe thinking it's too much. Now you want people to pay for individual content upgrades, when 15 for EVERYTHING was too much.

 

every company or gaming platform wants a subscription model now. Playstation +, Xbox gamepass, EA Play, Ubisoft+

it worked so well for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video streaming services, now gaming brands want subscription revenue

Edited April 20, 2022 by Falensawino

[Floplag]

No, plus ESO no sub is extremely limited and it basically requires the plus to be a complete game like every other free to play.

The free to play is a teaser, if you stick around, sub.

[DarthCasus]

Of all things I feel ESO did right, their sub model was not one of them. But I have to admit, as cheap as Swtor's sub model is (and the getting all content permanently), there are issues with it that only become further exacerbated when you (1) are a veteran, and (2) do not see reason to engage in the content treadmill. Having long periods of time without frequent or even substantive content releases really leaves us time to sit and ponder whether our money is worth it if we're feeling like it isn't. People that are happy with the game seldom have reason to ask if they're getting their money's worth after all.

 

If anything, the Preferred (freemium) model may need some adjusting to remove the more knickle-dimey tactics that hold it back or substitute the poor, long outdated ones (hide headslots and escrow still?) with old preferred ones (Ops passes, credit cap increase 'rentals', and ranked access passes). If GSF cosmetics weren't so insultingly expensive and per-character, I'd imagine I would have had them all by now, since it became my primary activity besides RP for the last few months, but that's just not where dev time or discussion goes I guess.

[cjmarsh]

I really hope they don't remove the sub. It is a built-in incentive for the devs to focus on core gameplay issues that will result in people playing more rather than padding out the cartel market with more items.

[OlBuzzard]

What do you propose that BioWare would offer as incentive for us to pay for anything?

 

YIP!

 

IMO this sort of thread has an odd undertone to it to begin with. Seems like there's a name for this sort of thing. For the life of me I can't remember what it is called though!

 

Sorry! Having a senior moment right now!

 

(man I hate getting old)

[SithKoriandr]

No.

 

$15 a month is cheap. Most people pay $10 for 2 hours of entertainment to watch a movie. Paying $15 a month for as many hours of entertainment as you want is cheap. Play 2 hours a week, and your paying less then $2 per hour you play. That is some cheap entertainment.

 

Let's face it most people play far more then 2 hours per week.

 

^This.

 

50 cents a day is not expensive (yes, it would be better if they updated more/better) for a game.

 

Not to mention, we have a way to play for free.

[Syal]

sub for cosmetic ?

[xordevoreaux]

is it time for the sub model to be removed ?

Isn't this the same question everyone asks on the forums whenever someone wants to unsubscribe but not be penalized by losing subscription-only capabilities?

 

If people resent the game's micro-transactions now, wait until it's totally FTP:

Want to run more than 50 meters at a time without being rooted in place for 10 seconds? 600cc.

Want to remove that expensive augment from a piece of gear? Forget credits, that's now a 100cc hit each time.

 

Careful what you ask for.

Edited April 21, 2022 by xordevoreaux

[AdjeYo]

ESO has DLC's that you have to pay for though, and a bunch of them. Swtor doesn't have enough of those to sustain the cost of keeping the game running. The current cash shop + subscription model has kept the game afloat for all this time. Changing to ESO's model, without the tons of paid expansions ESO has, would be suicide for swtor. Edited April 21, 2022 by AdjeYo

[Codename_Force]

I personally think having a subscription isn't a bad thing but I think the price is a bit too high for how little content they release. If you had a 1 month sub running since the last expansion you payed around 360€ for an expansion that 2 hours in length roughly. Ontop of that add the very expensive item shop and some pre-order / collectors edition upgrades for the new expansion. Server upkeep should be nothing for EA, it's not a super big population and EA makes insane amounts of money from games like Fifa but we have to face it: even if EA could cut down the sub prices a bit they would never ever even consider doing it because they will try to squeeze out every last bit of money. That's why things like hiding your helmet is a payed feature.

That's how businesses work and since people are still subscribing a lot EA sees this as kind of an agreement with the prices.

Edited April 21, 2022 by Codename_Force

[Pricia]

Then you'd have to pay for extra content.

 

Just imagine if people had to pay $40 for LotS...

[Jamtas]

Removing the subscription model would be great for players, terrible for their Bioware and their business model. Don't expect it. They are trying to get every last cent they can from this game and in no way is cutting a line of revenue from the game part of that model.

[Shwarzchild]

Removing the subscription model would be great for players, terrible for their Bioware and their business model. Don't expect it. They are trying to get every last cent they can from this game and in no way is cutting a line of revenue from the game part of that model.

 

It's kind of a catch 22 it seems. I would gladly pay 40 dollars for a true expansion. Without hesitation. Here's my money. Do I need to gift wrap it? Add a card? I'd do it!

 

But yeah I mean if the expansions are like this one, or if they can't actually produce an expansion that just in general of greater scope then no way would I pay for it. They would need to really really really prove it first since they've been unable to do much in the content release department. Paying for only a gear grind and one hour of story is a laugh.

[joshuadyal]

$15/month is pretty cheap in absolute terms, I suppose. Not so sure that it's cheap in relative terms, though. Depends on what other kind of entertainment you consume. Until a few months ago, Netflix costed about $15/month (it's still less than $20, IIRC) and it offers CONSIDERABLY MORE entertainment value than SWTOR does. Usually when I see this proposed, it's a false argument offered in bad faith, making comparisons that are completely invalid. You can either compare the subscription cost to other services that have a similar subscription cost, like Netflix or Disney+ or whatever, where you'll find that relatively speaking SWTOR's subscription isn't cheap at all in terms of what it offers for the same price, or you can compare it to other games, most of which you buy at considerably less money than two or three months worth of subscription but then have forever. Or get them for free and it's funded by microtransactions. As SWTOR itself is done.

 

I don't know why everyone always goes to movie tickets. Movie tickets, compared to the alternatives, aren't cheap. That's exactly why the movie theatre model has been slowing imploding for a few years now, and they've had to reinvent themselves as some kind of boutique experience.

 

Personally, most of my entertainment comes from reading used paperbacks, library books, or movies that I bought on DVD or blu-ray years ago, or again, get from my public library. I don't know how much of my property tax goes to funding the library but either way, all of those options are much cheaper than a SWTOR subscription, and they give me more value for my money too. And then my other main source of entertainment is hiking, which is free, other than the gas it takes me to get to the trailhead.

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm obviously subscribed or I wouldn't be able to post here. I think the subscription is worth the cost and I'm not complaining about it. But it does kind of chap my hide to constantly see it compared to movie tickets as if that's supposed to be valid evidence that the subscription is "cheap." No, that's not valid evidence, and no, compared to the alternatives that are actually good comparisons, it's not.

[Falensawino]

I don't really have a pony in the race, I'll be subbed for a long time no matter what

but some of the potshots I'm leaving on the forum are getting kinda mean, I'm sorry

 

if no one is going to say it:

 

Then you'd have to pay for extra content.

 

Just imagine if people had to pay $40 for LotS...

 

yeah $40 dollars buy you:

 

-7.0 downgrade

-an IOU that the rest of the expansion is coming later throughout the year

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by Falensawino

[Toraak]

I personally think having a subscription isn't a bad thing but I think the price is a bit too high for how little content they release. If you had a 1 month sub running since the last expansion you payed around 360€ for an expansion that 2 hours in length roughly. Ontop of that add the very expensive item shop and some pre-order / collectors edition upgrades for the new expansion. Server upkeep should be nothing for EA, it's not a super big population and EA makes insane amounts of money from games like Fifa but we have to face it: even if EA could cut down the sub prices a bit they would never ever even consider doing it because they will try to squeeze out every last bit of money. That's why things like hiding your helmet is a payed feature.

That's how businesses work and since people are still subscribing a lot EA sees this as kind of an agreement with the prices.

 

No you paid for the ability to play all content with no limitations for every month you paid. Your subscription does not pay for anything other then that.

[DarthCasus]

YIP!

 

IMO this sort of thread has an odd undertone to it to begin with. Seems like there's a name for this sort of thing. For the life of me I can't remember what it is called though!

 

Sorry! Having a senior moment right now!

 

(man I hate getting old)

 

Some might think entitlement but I see buyer's remorse. Often enough to have seen this discussion play out ad nauseam. At times, it really feels like all the money isn't going toward further production of a satisfying product but rather some exec's bonus. Sure, people can unsub, but are we really that surprised that people would express dissatisfaction with the game in it's current state while being subbed?

 

I think the current sub cost is fine but part of the issue is the content its giving access to and the quality of said content during different iterations of the game's life. I don't blame anyone for questioning whether or not the game is worth the current sub price because the experience ingame will always vary from person to person and right now, the fatigue is seeping into veterans and newbs for understandable reasons.

 

I never question my patreon subscriptions because the content is of expected quality. That's been the opposite of my experience with this game at numerous points.

[KumbayaGOD]

Would no sub make SWTOR a better game so they do what ESO done a sub is optional but not needed if you want to do all content this is how ESO boomed and continues to do so maybe this game can learn from other MMO's.

 

The game is on life support in a big way they are getting new players but once all these players get to endgame it's the same old story imagine them in 3 years complaining about running the same content over and over they need to release content for all players on regular cycled patches I still have hope for swtor but as of now it's a rotting corpse.

 

if you dont pay how swtor staff each make a living ? beg ?

usd 15 is not much for entertaintment usd 0.5 per day , think about it

[HectorCasan]

Would no sub make SWTOR a better game so they do what ESO done a sub is optional but not needed if you want to do all content this is how ESO boomed and continues to do so maybe this game can learn from other MMO's.

 

The game is on life support in a big way they are getting new players but once all these players get to endgame it's the same old story imagine them in 3 years complaining about running the same content over and over they need to release content for all players on regular cycled patches I still have hope for swtor but as of now it's a rotting corpse.

 

No, in fact i would argue that there should only be an up to act 1 trial, then everything should be for subscribers

 

$15 with today's inflation is peanuts.

 

Cant get a free ride pal, sorry....

[Real_Dark_Lord]

There is way to little incentive to sub.

IMHO they should place much more restrictions on the F2P mode.

Let's face it: the game doesn't need free players, it needs money - desperately. If you don't pay you might as well leave and stop wasting server resources.

Edited April 24, 2022 by Real_Dark_Lord