Warhammer sticking with its subscription model

@Ghostspeaker

Well Jacobs and Barnett have both come out and essentially bashed WAR. Barnett called it crap and Jacobs intimated that ALL mmorpgs on the market right now are subpar. If the people involved in the game have taken to being so critical then it is unlikely that anyone at EA feels the game is worth saving.

I agree though that their view on moving to a f2p doesn't line up with reality. Turbine and Fucom both claim their profits have doubled since moving to f2p. I suppose the question though is how much is double WAR's current profits?

@augustgrace

Which is sad, because it seems like the game could be really good if it just got some love. But yeah, I went back and read through old posts about WAR and it seems like they've completely given up on it. What a waste.

@augustgrace

Wow...just wow. If those two are bashing the game they helped create...then they should do us all a favor and leave the entire gaming industry competely. It's their crap they left on the floor, they should learn to clean it up instead of complain about it. Just saying.

@Utakata : to be fair, there's not much Mark Jacobs can do to clean up the crap on the floor, since EA fired him already. Barnett, I dunno, I think he got shuffled sideways, which is fair enough since he was a complete success at HIS job - hyping an unreleased game enthusiastically enough to get people interested and following it.

@TheClaw

thats what has me the most intrigued, how on earth can Barnett get a job nowadays?

he had one card and he already played it.

Everyone involved in MMOs now know he is a snake oil salesman, and that when he says its a sunny day in hell, you better pick your umbrella cuz surely its raining cats and dogs.

@TheClaw

True...but Jacobs had is chanceand he blew it. Now, if he where trashing EA being part of the problem of how War turned out, by all means. But he seems to be going after the product instead. To which he has only himself to blame.

@Fabius Bile

You're likely dead on with that assesment. He makes Bill Roper look like ArenaNet material IMO.

@Utakata

"Now, if he where trashing EA being part of the problem of how War turned out, by all means. But he seems to be going after the product instead. To which he has only himself to blame."

First, he is still under contract not to trash EA. He hasn't said anything for a long time and EA has been fair in their view of him, too. His words weren't trashy as they were *measured*. Really, from what I saw, once EA stepped in, they started throwing their weight around. Most game studios have a history of kowtowing to the buyer, like EA, even if it diverges from what they know/do well. EA has caused many such companies to sink in its past because of it.

Now, Bioware may or may not have a clause that gives them complete oversight/final-say in their games, but I already see EA's "Suggestions" taking root in some of their decisions, as with DA and ME games (like Facebook and online components). One can be a strong-willed studio against a parent company, but being in that enviroment is not as easy as "staying your course", they (EA used as an example) will always come back and ask again or may ask someone else in your group or so on. It's corporate suits vs. laid-back gamers.

@Space Cobra

I understand that. As I once inquired about Jacob's severance agreement with EA in an article a week or so back, so I am aware that something like that is being held over his head. But that still doesn't let him off the hook of dissing his own game he helped create. Whether it's full out trashing or mild crticisms of it, it's very disingenuous of him to do that when he's partly to blame for it. I lose a lot of respect for developers who do that.

@Utakata

Well, I may be wrong, but it could easily have went something like this, which I've seen/heard happen before:

Studio gets bought out by Bigger Studio. Everything is cool and hunky-dory. Bigger Studio then wants certain changes put into *your* game, that you take personal stock/pride in. Whatever those changes are (More casual content, less bunny rabbits, more facebook interactivity, whatever). Small studio takes offense at "back seat driver", but since "back seat driver"= Bigger Studio that bought you, you feel obliged/compelled to listen and implement/do as he says. Bigger Studio may even talk down to you.

Thing is, we don't know all the facts. It could be as you've said. It could be as I've said. IMO, Jacobs seems happier without EA over his head nowadays. I think he even said some nice things about early Mythic (before the takeover), so that may/nay not mean something.

@Ghostspeaker the difference is that Turbine knows how to do F2P better then everyone else. You don't have to pay for turbine points your given a chance to earn them in-game via acheivment awards. The other developers make you buy the points/cash for their games one way or another.

@Callagan It went into maintenance over a year ago. I know, I kept paying for it up until two months ago.

@Khazak

Didn't they release a patch a month or so ago? It's not maintenance mode yet if they actually change stuff.

@Callagan
It will be closed down 2 months after SWTOR is out. Thats why they put their Arena WAR as F2P.

@smartstep

cause it is nothing unusual in Asia for f2p to shut down as well.

btw. edit button would be really nice here...

@smartstep
Allready seen one f2p shutdown battleswarm shutdown this summer.