Since Star Wars The Old Republic (SWToR) changed its subscription model to Free-to-Play (F2P), a lot of opinions were raised about whether it was the right thing to do or not. Some quickly labeled SWToR as a failure that didn’t live up to the hype , while others saw this as a necesary change that helps the game’s long-term growth. Whether this change was successful or not remains to be seen, however first indications as reported by James Ohlen and the recent EA investor’s call are positive. Free-to-play might not be such a bad thing after all! A new article over at Gamasutra.com, argues that non-paying players, actually help the growth of such games. The author of the article cites three major reasons for opening up a game to freeloaders. Among other things F2P players help bring in other new players that eventually will turn into subscribers, they show their appreciation…
free to play
Electronic Arts launches new cross-game pet promotion!
In an effort to draw more attention to other Free-to-play (F2P) titles, Electronic Arts (EA) recently started a new cross-game pet promotion for Star Wars The Old Republic (SWToR). EA’s catalogue of free games is quite extensive and using a popular game like SWToR certainly makes sense. To get these pets, all you need to do is register with the games listed below by April 1st and you will receive an in-game pet. The mini-droid pet you get for Battlefield It’s worth noting that this listing is incomplete since only the following games have been confirmed. This doesn’t mean that other EA F2P titles aren’t eligible. (In parenthesis is the name of the pet) Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances (2C-TA Commander) Battlefield Heroes (J9-BH Mercenary) Battlefield Play4Free (BF-4F Warrior) Need for Speed World (N4-SW Runner) Lord of Ultima (LU-20 Builder) Does this mean that SWToR’s conversion to F2P is yielding the expected for EA results? If…
5 Reasons You Should Be a SWTOR Subscriber
If you’re still holding back on the decision to become a SWTOR subscriber, it might be a good time to go ahead and take the plunge. When you look at all the benefits that come with a sub, you just might ask yourself why you didn’t do it earlier. Honestly, if you’re really into the game and play on a regular basis, it just makes sense to subscribe. Here are five reasons you should be a SWTOR subscriber: Subscriber Benefits in the Cartel Market: Another reason you should be a subscriber is for the Cartel Market benefits. You get access to all 6 quick bars, a minimum of 500 Cartel Coins per month to spend, 10 additional character slots per server, unlimited access to all warzones, flashpoints, space combat and operations, earlier access to sprint and speeder piloting, ability to queue your crafting items and much more. You Get 50%…
Free-to-Play Preview Episode 3
In a new video from BioWare, Cory Butler delivers an overview of Star Wars: The old republic’s free to play preferred status program. In the video he explains details regarding “Preferred” status, and highlights several options available for players a the Cartel Market. At the end of the video he briefly speaks about the limited time Life Day items available. We’re always listening to player feedback and we’ve already made some substantial changes,” Butler says before going on to mention an increase in the number of available hotbars and character slots. View the vid below:
The Importance of Player Feedback with the New Free-to-Play Option
Jeff Hickman posted a news update yesterday regarding Free to Play restrictions. Looking at the Feedback BioWare got from the community with the New Free-to-Play Option, BioWare are making changes starting yesterday: Starting today, Preferred Status Players will see an increase to their default Quickbars from two (2) to four (4). If you’ve already purchased additional Quickbars, don’t worry: we will be refunding your Cartel Coins for any Quickbar-related purchase. Additionally, in an upcoming patch (no exact date yet, but players won’t have to wait long), Preferred Status Players will be given four (4) additional character slots, which means that they will have a total of six character slots. As always, Free-to-Play Players can reach Preferred Status simply by purchasing anything from our online store or purchasing a physical copy of the game. Last but not least, I wanted to share the news that the 50 character limit on Global Active Characters for Subscribers will be…
BioWare do listen – 4 quickbars for Preferred Status Players
Yesterday, Community Manager Joveth Gonzalez revealed that due to feedback ( huge an ongoing QQ’ing), Preferred Status Players will receive two extra Quickbars to use when playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. I honestly think they could have given only one extra bar and it would have made 90% of the people happy. The extra bar is just icing (yes, some will argue they never should have been restricted at all). I’m all for constructive criticism when it’s needed, but I hope people will stop and give credit when it’s due. They obviously are trying to appease the fans, while still maintaining a successful business model. As you know, we take player feedback very seriously and we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for being a part of our Free-to-Play transition. When Game Update 1.5 was on PTS, we heard your feedback and increased Quickbars for Free-to-Play Players,…
Free to Play Tips and Tricks
Since many new players are joining the game with the free to play launch, they’re going to be looking for answers on how to play and enjoy the game. Seasoned vets of SWTOR know their way around things but what they may not know is how things have changed since the free to play model launched. Sometimes we also forget that the things that seem common to us may be confusing or unknown to a new player. We all were new once and it pays to take the time to help someone out. You never know who you might meet in one act of kindness and besides, we just think it’s good gaming karma. F2p players get only 5 self-revives total and once you run out, you will need to buy more from the store or rez at a med center. This is a good reason for f2p gamers to…
Cartel Coin Reward Program Extended
BioWare announced that former subscribers coming back to Star Wars: The old republic to try thee Free To Play version of the game, have until December 20th to re subscribe and still obtain their Cartel Coin rewards! Check out the full announcement below: Today we are excited to announce that the global launch date of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Free-to-Play option will be November 15, 2012. This release will be simultaneous across all of the territories and countries The Old Republic™ is available. If you’re a paying Subscriber at the launch of the Free-to-Play option on November 15th, you will be granted all of the Complimentary Cartel Coins currently listed on your Cartel Coin Ledger page, plus a one-time grant of 250 Complimentary Cartel Coins! Additionally, we are extending the Rewards Program! All former subscribers who reactivate their subscription by the new date of December 20, 2012 at…
Blaine Christine answers questions regarding Free To Play
Senior Producer Blaine Christine took on the forums today, to answer questions regarding the upcoming Free to Play system, implemented into Star Wars: The old republic. BioWare have neem coellecting questions from the community the last week and now we get some more answers. The full Q&A can be found at the official forums, or as a copy/ past below: Hi folks! Now that the Cartel Market has hit the Public Test Server, we wanted to open up this thread to give you the opportunity to ask any lingering Free-to-Play questions that you may have. After we’ve collected your questions, Sr. Producer Blaine Christine will try to answer as many as he can. Please be sure to be respectful and courteous and also remember to report any Cartel Market issues on the PTS thread. Thanks! Update: As promised, Sr. Producer Blaine Christine has taken time out of his crazy schedule to answer some of your Free-to-Play questions!…
SWTOR- What Does F2P Mean?
Everyone is talking about SWTOR going free to play. It seems everyone has a theory and an opinion on the topic and whether or not it’s a good thing for BioWare/EA. The big question seems to be whether or not the F2P model is chosen because SWTOR flopped on release or just because it makes more sense and is better for the current economic market in the world today. MMORPG.com had a few words from Richard Aihoshi on the topic. In addition to this, they did a poll with some other experts in the field: Hendrik Klindworth is the Founder and Managing Director of InnoGames (Forge of Empires, Grepolis et al) Jay Choi is the Chief Operations Officer at Gravity Interactive(Ragnarok Online, Dragon Saga et al) Jungsoo Lee is the Vice President of Live Development atSG Interactive (formerly Ntreev; Pangya Golf, Trickster Online et al) Flaviio Daneil Caracasis the Chief Marketing Officer at Rock Hippo Productions (Brawl Busters, MicroVolts) Here…
SWTOR Could Attract 50M Monthly Players with F2P Model says Pachter
We all know that SWTOR going free to play is big news. But what we don’t know yet is just how big it might be for the game itself. I personally know a lot of people who say they will play if it goes free now it is. Star Wars: The Old Republic could attract up to 50m monthly players says Wedbush! This could be very good news for the company which has been suffering a stock loss since November. Investors want to see some results and they expected a lot from this game so the new model may be just what is needed to get numbers back in the positive direction they want to see again. Michael Pachter, industry analyst for Wedbush says: “We remain incorrigibly positive on the EA story. Despite a relatively low number of packaged good releases this year, we expect EA to grow revenue and…
SWTOR Free to Play is on its Way!
EA and BioWare announced today that it will be expanding Star Wars: The Old Republic by adding a new free-to-play option this fall. And for everyone who plays between now and then or who was previously subscribed, there will be benefits by way of Cartel Coins. Players who choose to engage in free-to-play will be able to experience a majority of the game for free, including the first 50 levels and all eight classes. BioWare did state that there will be restrictions, but those can be removed with microtransactions. SWTOR announced: Now is the time to play The Old Republic™! Over the coming months there will be more frequent Game Updates, including group content like Flashpoints, Warzones, Operations, and dynamic in-game events and more included in your subscription. They go on to show what the rewards will be, including a vote for “player’s choice” rewards. The Developer Blog explained the…
Play free to level 15 coming July 10th
SWTOR’s Facebook page updated their timeline cover photo to this today. No statements form the official website yet, but below image speaks for it self: We will update this post as we learn more.