BioWare considering free-to-play Old Republic

Well... this is very disappointing but it is also very unsurprising.  Bioware took absolutely no risks with this game, and it shows.  They made a crisp WoW clone, and then completely ruined it as soon as it went Live.  They have added nothing to the game that shouldn't have already been there in the first place.  They have added ZERO content in nearly 8 months, other than a single WZ map.  The Legacy system is... pointless.  It's a special title put on a pretty basic achievement system most other games already have.  There is no guild support.  PvP is a total wreck (it was the FIRST thing they screwed up.)  "Space" is a total laughing-stock waste of time.  Ever since the game launched, all they've done is redesign and nerf what made it through Beta with a pretty unanimous "thumbs up" from the players. The worlds, while numerous and somewhat expansive, are dull and boring with "tileset" written all over them.  It was fun while it lasted, but there is nothing about it that I felt was going to stand the test of time.  I think the problem with MMO's is not that a P2P business model doesn't work or that F2P is "becoming very competitive"; it's the fact that Themepark MMO's do not work with P2P models.  F2P models are where failed MMO's go - and Bioware even considering it tells me that's exactly what they think about it.  Not even a year into it, and they're jumping ship.  To be fair - I think this is EA more than anything.  MMO's as a P2P game worked a lot better back when they were more like Sandboxes - that's what this genre needs: a good Sandbox title with some budget behind it.

Honestly, I will play the shit out of tOR again if it goes free-to-play.

I think that would make SWtOR epic, no monthly fee, nice hope it goes through

What? Ooooh EA games wont like this anything that is free for us is bad for them, at any rate, I would like a KOTOR 3 instead

They need to just make a damn KOTOR 3 for consoles.

The biggest issue with MMOs is the time commitment for achieving a goal. This is especially true of TOR. You may be able to hang on to the young crowd who can line up 4-6 hours in a row to get things done, but when you're looking for something quick and fun to do in SWTOR, you can't find it. It takes you 15-20 mins just getting to where you need to go before something starts happening. Server populations were dwindling to the point where getting a group together was a joke. With the best license in the world (Star Wars) they still can't make the game enjoyable for those of us with a real life. Sad.

The market is changing with more and more momentum towards F2P.

EA was stupid to sink 100's of millions into this fiasco. Dollar for dollar the biggest MMO flop of all time? Didn't even have a honeymoon period the game was so unfinished. Ohlen is the luckiest man alive for still being employed. His boss must owe him money or something.

I wouldn't go back even if it went free to play.

the problem with when a game goes free to play they start charging for stuff that used to be free with a sub.  take STO for example they release a new ship and charge you $20 to $40 for the ship i would much rather pay 15 a month for the months i want to play it and get all that stuff for free

yup saw this coming, that is why I only paid for the game then never continued to sub to it.

Just got in to KOTOR 2 years ago, took a year off, and now I'm finishing up the second one. I would buy this game, but only once. I'm not even paying for Xbox Live anymore, just because I'm playing free games like Tribes, or LOTRO (Still need to get back into that game)

But BIOWARE needs to make this game Buy To Play. I would buy it, and so would many other fans who aren't willing to make a monthly commitment. 

Just my thoughts.

Of course the game will be F2P, when no one is willing to pay for a crappy product - duh! EA's Chief Ignorance Officer, Peter Moore has more insights on how not to make fun games and disintegrate share-holder-value: http://www.gamespot.com/news/microtransactions-will-be-in-every-game-says-ea-exec-6383445

I like MMOs, but not enough to pay a monthly subscription of 15? (or how much it is). If it goes F2P, though, I can promise I'll definitely play a lot, and bring my friends in, too. Because, although not many of my friends like pay2play MMOs, almost everyone (myself included) would pay a small fee for items, cosmetic or not.

BioWare, think seriously about going F2P. You can always have a Silver/Gold Premium subscription model, with more inventory slots and the usual stuff MMOs give, but add something more to it so it attracts people.

"Consider" free to play/? If a online game's free there's bound to be ads, sales for cool stuffs and so on

the game was good until you beat your class story, after that the game just drops from there for me.

if they make this free to play then i will come back

I don't think they need to do this just keep releasing more end game content and the people will stay come back and new one's will come no need for a F2P model.

I don't hate swtor as much as it seems the average gamer does, but it's pretty obvious the game spent a LONG time in development and all the ideas they had planned seemed great back in 2006, but not so much anymore.

I just renewed my sub to check out 1.3 when it comes out and it's been fun getting back into it for a bit, but I fear my interest will wear before the patch even releases. F2P sounds like a horrible idea imo, I hate the idea of microtransactions, but at least it might save a sinking ship.

That would be a lot better. And if they really wanted to make money with this, then it could be just a one-time fee just like 90% of the games already out there.

Yeah so what happened to "500 thousand subscribers and the game will be profitable.  Over a million and it will be VERY profitable"?  According to EA's own words this game is 300 thousand subs over it's high mark.  Yet they are already hinting at some form of F2P?

Not surprised. It's the only way they'll get me or any of my friends to play it

They should do that.. sadly..

If it DOES to F2P, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  It's great to go "I told you so", but ANOTHER 'failed' mmo just makes me sigh.

I hope thay make it free to play becouse that well be the only way i well play it.

Bioware just needs to make the MMO buy 2 play instead of free 2 play cause nobody going to buy new armor/lightsabers or blaster with real money anymore.

Would like to add, that I was in the beta for the game at a late stage, and the falloff in subscribers was something I predicted to family and friends because the game ignores all the advances that WoW made over the years in making the game less business focused and more fun focused.  For example, in Cataclysm the whole questing is fully soloable and transport is abundant, whereas in SWToR you are trekking over vast empty spaces to and from quest objectives and a LOT of the mobs are elites or "strong" as the terminology used by the game. 

Not to mention the forced socializing to get cosmetic gear... DUMB to say the least.

Free to play kills MMO's, and it's sad to see them considering this route rather than fix the problems with the game itself.  Whoever thought it was a good idea to let me solo kill the emperor as part of my Jedi Knight campaign - wrong, and this story proves it.

As much as I'd love to see the subscription-based model die, I like its heir-apparent, freemium, even less.  

f2p is and was the future since a while those 2p2 title cant hold the ppl since the market got bigger. too much p2p games fight for the monthly subscriptors and there number isnt rising so the subscription lenght is shortened :-) i think in 3-4 year the last p2p games will dissapear

I was actaully looking at buying this until this announcement.  Fail.  The only game that I've ever seen do free to play right is Runescape....  As sad as that sounds..

TORanic.. is there no end to you cataclysmic and endlessly entertaining crash!!!

Sure EAware, let's blame it on the "genre evolving" rather than the fact you screwed the pooch big time and your game just flat isn't worth paying a monthly fee for.