News about this is growing by the day. Just yesterday it was 'a possibility.'

Curious how this will play out.

No surprise here

I know a lot of people see going to a free to play model as a sign of failure(and it probably is, definitely in this case) but I think especially in this case and also for Tera Online, it may have been the plan all along. It's not something that you can talk about if you want to sell those $60 retail boxes and I think these companies are just squeezing every last drop out of the retail market before they switch over.

As someone who bought this on launch but never got around to renewing my subscription...I honestly can't tell you how this makes me feel.

On one hand I'll be able to play the game again for free and continue on my adventures and enjoy it like I did when I got it...on the other hand smething like this irks me in ways I can't explain.

I've already bought Guild Wars 2 though and judging by the beta, there's no reason that won't be my go to MMO for years to come.

How about some Mac support!! Grrrr...

yay! my patience may have paid off.

The OP also should also note that the writer of that article hacked that quote to death from Ricitello. Sure, it sounds as if they are heading that direction, but it's nowhere near the phase of them already having a team put together to put them in F2P.

Hopefully this puts an end to the "Hay gaiz, lets make another generic WoW clone MMO and try to swindle $15 a month out of gullible people." business model.
 
I really feel sorry for the folks making the Elder Scrolls MMO.  It must be terrifying to put years into something and then watch the market crumble before your very eyes.

@Kidavenger said:

I know a lot of people see going to a free to play model as a sign of failure(and it probably is, definitely in this case) but I think especially in this case and also for Tera Online, it may have been the plan all along. It's not something that you can talk about if you want to sell those $60 retail boxes and I think these companies are just squeezing every last drop out of the retail market before they switch over.

It may have been the plan from the beginning but I think they waited way too long. They've already merged 90% of servers and laid off a chunk of their staff (including their community manager, one of the few people who acted as the voice of the players to Bioware). I think the business model of launching pay to play to milk all of the money out of early adopters, and once that money runs dry, then you switch to free to play, is a business model doomed to fail.

@TheHT said:

yay! my patience may have paid off.

If it wasn't worth buying when it wasn't going to be free, it's not going to be worth the time once it is :(

He's speaking in terms of the future due to the way MMOs are going they will have to, at some point, go free to play, or give some kind of free play time or something. He did not say it is going to be Free to Play anytime soon.

But you know, that's cool. If we imply they did that means that's what they said, right? haha

I'm not saying it wont either, the whole article is ambiguous.

"We're going to be in the business from a long-term standpoint so absolutely we're going to embrace free access, free trial, ultimately some day we can move in and embrace that model," he tells the website. Gibeau also stresses that EA is "really proud of Star Wars" and "really excited about the launch."
He stops short of sounding the death-knell for the subscription model, though. "I don't think subscriptions ever go away, but when you have an IP as broad as Star Wars, we're definitely going to look at opportunities to grow that business and look at different ways of bringing customers in and serving them," he says.

played beta got 3 months then i became broke due to comic con tickets so if it becomes free2play ill be happy its a great game and i like the direction they went with it but iv never been a fan of raids and what not o well.

now just make an Old republic movie cause id pay to see it if it made like the cinematic trailers might even see it twice haha

so... would this make it worth my time? or should i remain away from all things mmo. i like star wars...

Soon mmo's will pay players to play their game.

@Hector said:

How about some Mac support!! Grrrr...

This game is totally worth the $60 you pay for the box. It gets a little harder to recommend when there is a subscription tied to it but it is still an enjoyable experience. I am just sad if it does go down this F2P route as I am both a huge Star Wars and Bioware fan. I was really hoping this could be the next great MMO. Rather it just shows me how much story telling matters in games and just how well Bioware does it. The main quest lines in the game are absolutely top notch and deserve to be seen by people.

EA are gonna get bought by Nexon and their games turned into Korean F2P grind simulators 
 
You heard it here first

so... would this make it worth my time? or should i remain away from all things mmo. i like star wars...

Hey guys, guess how they're embracing it? Free unlimited trial/demo up to level 15, just like they announced at E3. This quote has been taken incredibly out of context by blogs/news outlets wanting to stir shit up.

@Irvandus said:

@Hector said:

How about some Mac support!! Grrrr...

@TheKing said:

@Irvandus said:

@Hector said:

How about some Mac support!! Grrrr...

@familyphotoshoot said:

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/06/15/ea-boss-swtor-absolutely-going-to-embrace-free-model/ $5 says the game will be entirely free to play with payment options like Star Trek Online by the end of the year.

BOOM.