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With today's blockbuster announcement that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be adding a F2P option, we took the opportunity to chat with BioWares Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Matthew Bromberg, Studio General Manager, BioWare Austin about some of the new features players can expect. Read on!
Its happening, and sooner than you might think. BioWares Star Wars: The Old Republic is going F2P with a hybrid business model this fall. Players have been wondering about it, journalists have been begging for it, and it seems that all this time BioWares been listening and reacting. After being informed of the then embargoed announcement this morning, I had the rare opportunity to sit in on a call with BioWares Jeff Hickman and Matthew Bromberg (who recently took over as GM of the Austin studio. We talked about the timing, the reasons, and the way in which they believe SWTOR going F2P is just finally giving the players what theyve wanted, and breaking down the barrier into the Old Republic once and for all. The call was brief, but this is what Ive learned.
Read more of Bill Murphy's Star Wars: The Old Republic - Free to Play This Fall.
Comments
first again...
Garrett's on a roll today.
....time marches on on on.....................
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
Looks like the anonymous bioware employee dude was right on the money. to bad.
I'll get you, Gadget!
F2P i guess is the model for crap. Real games are subscription :P
It’s happening, and sooner than you might thing.
Not surprising, very aggressive move given launch of GW2 and MoP this fall too.
"any shift in staff they’ve made over the past few months has been to sort of rebuild the studio for this new F2P venture."
In other words, they were fired due to making a piss poor P2P game.
Anyway, to honor all the fanboys that have been posting to defend this great game since the last 4 months of Beta...nothing to see here, move along...move along...all is well...move along.
Such a shame, the game could have been great if so many didnt work so hard to shut down everyone that was pointing out what the game was missing.
Not that I hate the game, it wasnt for me...buuut...anyone notice the game doesn't seem to have any hardcore defenders on this site anymore?
F2P isn't the future for all games in the west. It's for games that have very little future.
Content delivery "every 6 weeks".
*eyes DCUO CE on desk
Ya, I'll believe that when I see it.
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
Oh yeaah.. I predicted this after I tried beta. I said it has to go F2P by december 2012 or go down.
Serves them right for not listening to fanbase. Crappy models, awful animations, story-based singleplayer mmorpg (o.O), and space-on-rails.. How COULD it be succesful?
NEW IDEAS that can refresh the STALE state of MMORPGs
I guess DCUO won't be as lonely anymore.
clean off your desk
I can see a lot of people that DIDN'T give the game a try trying the F2P version. I'm not so sure about those that already played tho. I guess it'll depend on what is included in the F2P matrix.
Apparantly f2p IS the future.... for games that can't hold a candle to other p2p offerings.
I was dum struck when this game launched without hybrid model... There is just so much sub the average gamer can pay for..
Just awaiting for the final pricing structure and hopefully by the relaunch in the fall bugs and balance issues would be fixed..
You sound like my wife.............
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
But wait... SWTOR was supposed to make Rift go F2p wasnt it?
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
Still won't play it......... they need to make some serious changes to the game.
Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!
Don't thing too hard. You might hurt yourself.
I still want my 80 dollars back. If I even bother to play the f2p I wonder how much of my stuff my level 50 shadow is going to lose.
Gotta stop buying mmos, I think everything I have bought lately has gone f2p....DC ..SWTOR..
Just wait a few months for the assured fail and then enjoy it.
The Stranger: It's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid.
lol.
Looking at: The Repopulation
Preordering: None
Playing: Random Games
Well, i'll certainly be going back to play the game properly if the hybrid model isn't too harsh on FTP players. Only if there's nothing better to play or I'm worn out on what there is and want a break though.
Its times like this that I would love to necro threads and highlight posts from as recent as...Last week. I also would LOVE to have a % rating on users (make a statement as fact, roll your eyes at anyone who disagrees and claim that you are a GW2 Fanboy for pointing out the obvious- This should be logged and forever follow your account for % of aaccuracy)
Many people have been saying this for Months and many defenders have been asking how tight our "tinfoil" hats are fitting... So its only fitting that those people who have posted the whole "rolling eyes", "you are an idiot" , "game is fine" should now have their posts necrod. LOL. (I am joking BTW...Kinda...)
Funny thing is, a similar thing will happen with GW2- The blatant defenders of "best game ever", "revolutionary", "OMG this changes EVERYTHING" will never have to face the music when the truth comes fully to the front (noit that GW2 is a bad game- Its just not nearly what the hype and fanbois will tell you-)
This (SWTOR) was a BAD game and not an MMORPG IMHO. This an EPIC FAIL since BETA and yet the hype was like nothing I have ever seen.
Crash and BURN, baby. This one NEEDS TO DIE. We need innovation and something with depth. If I wanted WOW I would play WOW because WOW is STILL the best version of Everquest ever made =P
-This game was the biggest dissapointment in gaming history (again this is my opinion) but the facts say "THIS FAILED"....And it couldnt have happened to a company more deserving of Failure than EA (The new SOE)