Star Wars: The Old Republic to be microtransaction-based [Updated]

This is bad news.

I don't wish to play a game in which I feel that I'm constantly being pressured to buy something: not items or conveniences, and certainly not content. "Tired of running? Scrolls of fast transport! Only 1.99!" "Want to see what's in that cave? A new adventure! Only $4!" It's not a game; it's a marketing opportunity. Even though the stuff may not be required to play the game, it still will be dangled in front of you. "Your experience could be better. Everyone else is having more fun than you. Just a few dollars. C'mon."

Let me subscribe to the service, let me play, and leave me alone.

Well, it now seems as if more than of few folks in the game news industry, as well as "us" -the fans- may have jumped the proverbial gun a bit with this one. Truth be told, if this all turns out to be a miss-understanding I will not be at all surprised.

Though I voiced my views that this micro-transaction system "could" have been as equally positive as it could be negative, the move made very little sense to me, especially in our current economic circumstance. Let's face it, everyone knows it takes a great deal of money to make a game, and what keeps the wheels moving is profit. A micro-based systems could have brought in some revenue coupled with the purchase of the actual game, i.e. Guild Wars, however, with a IP as powerful as Star Wars, "not" charging a subscription just seemed a bit...sort sighted, if I may dare to use the term, in regards to keeping the financial fires burning.

But, as I've stated previously, this is a massive machine that is still very much in the making, so, guess it's just a matter of waiting to see which way the tracks are laid.

We shall have to see where these goes. I am not all that excited with the mircro transaction model.

Remember they want our money so we will judge this business model with our checkbooks.

We already killed one bad business model, and overall useless MMO. (Hellgate London).

If TOR is not MT based and has monthly subs, then they are likely to get me for 3 months each year only, and I will probably LOVE the game,

It's because there are going to be some OTHER really awesome mmo's out their too, and there's nothing anyone can do to compete with that, except for no-monthly sub.

But whatever, if I’m wrong, so what, lol.

Hey I have an idea. Take the whole micro transaction scheme a step further: Make this a real-money economy, where players can buy/sell things from each other and a percentage of the sale goes to the house. So if I buy a light saber from Johnny Wannabe via an auction house, and it cost me 100 credits (that's like $1 in real life - which is deducted from my real-life Star-Pal account), Johnny gets $0.80 for the sale and $0.20 goes to the house. Now you have the potential for all the money-making schemes, tricks, farming, and other nonsense... the possibilities are endless, and then I can quit my day-trading job and just be a game-trader. Dude, I am SO there!!!! (of course, this could be way off and maybe illegal, but oh what fun it would be).

I believe microstranactions are fine as long as the quality is premium. I don't see any Western games using Microtransactions to compare the quality with.

Reading comments from various sites it seems many are upset. It's an observation that most players are looking at foreign games and comparing it to our standards. The computers in foreign countries can't be compared to western. Take in consideration our societies computers have much more power. And our standards for game quality on graphics are much higher. The foreign markets don't focus on graphics or the same qualites in gameplay mechanics as Western. They focus more on character and stats.

EQ/EQ2 microtransaction does not impact gameplay. Their reason was so they could add content to the games that would never have been in the game otherwise based on subscriptions alone. So the micro transactions are paying for a few extra developers to improve the game even more.

So IF SWTOR uses microtranasactions their should be a standard of quality to up hold. That is the voice I believe we should Cry that we want Quality above what ever business model is chosen.

EA is a stupid greedy company which makes decisions based on short term profit without sufficient regard to long term customer loyalty or longevity of a particular game. I can see them introducing micro transactions and killing the game.

read the very first line, IT WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING

think god it was, a MT game i will NOT play.