Star Wars: The Old Republic, now with microtransactions

by Ross Miller on Dec 9th 2008 9:55PM

Hoping to turn midi-chlorians into monetary maneuvers, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello revealed in today's investor call that BioWare's upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic will be "a mid-session game, microtransaction-based. You'll be hearing more about those in the February [conference] call." According to ShackNews, EA has previously deemed FIFA Online and NBA Street "mid-session" games.

We're not convinced that it means SW:TOR will be offered sans subscription, so we'll wait until February rolls around to see how the publisher plans to Force Pull your money.

Update: Statement from EA via ShackNews: "No statements have been made about the Star Wars business model." The rep also claimed Mr. Riccitiello's comments were misunderstood.

[Via Massively]

Source

Tags: breakingnews, ea, electronic-arts, js-twitter, microtransactions, old-republic, star-wars, swtor, the-old-republic

Reader Comments (49)

Noooooo....

i think you mean: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Honestly i'd much rather pay a flat fee than this "pay for content" bullshit

Sounds like you get both: the subscription and the microtransactions. To me that says they have a lack of confidence in the product, that it won't merrit long term subscribers, and they have to wring as much money out of the players while they can.

hopefully (though not likely) they will just be exp rate bonuses or new outfits with no stat advantages

What's so bad about microtransactions? As long as they don't let you purchase goods that give you an unfair advantage (EA probably wont after Battlefield:BC), there's nothing wrong with it.I know that this argument has been echoed everywhere, but it's not like they're forcing you to purchase the content, and it's been proven to be a successful system by games like MapleStory.

If the content did give you an unfair advantage, then it shouldn't be there in the first place, as balance is important in MMOs.

Right now all I'm worried about is the quality of the game... and the art style >.>

"What's so bad about microtransactions? As long as they don't let you purchase goods that give you an unfair advantage?"

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what it would become within 15 minutes. No American MMO with "micro"transactions has ever ended up being anything different. The only successful games in this vein are the "free" Asian, unemployed-teen-targeted MMOs which, while some are financially successful, few reading this website (especially quality-hungry Star Wars fans) would have any interest in actually playing.

And

Honestly i'd much rather not have yet another MMO

@benjor0x0r

I'm with you. There's so much shit out and very little of it seems to be sticking. Lately I've found myself back in mostly single-player and smaller group multiplayer games.

The investors must've dialed into the call from the death star, because that move is surely that of the dark side of the force.

the size of that lightsaber bothers me

Is just the Viagra working its magic.

Oh you meant the sword.

(Like if this is the worst offense towards a lightsaber. I think not being able to cut through regular swords in Soul Calibur takes the cake)

There are supposedly going to be a variety of lightsaber loot drops and lightsaber crafting system in the same. The weapon models are intentionally made large so unique/rare sabers can be seen more easily.

Its basically lightsaber porn.

right now, lightsaber models are the least of my concerns for this game.

I get that you'd want to see your custom-made saber, but it doesn't matter; that thing is just too freakin' big, no matter the excuse. But I guess that isn't all; the whole game looks like a cartoon. Prince of Persia, Stargate Worlds, Star Trek Online, Diablo 3, Clone Wars, and now The Old Republic; all cartoonified. I don't mean to sound, uh, OUTRAGED or anything, but... The "franchise 'toon-up" trend really, really needs to stop.

Those are just alpha shots. they wont be nearly that big.

I'll play devil's advocate for a second and defend the cartoony art style.

The style makes sense for MMO games, and Diablo. The style generally looks better when scaling between good and bad gaming rigs. The style also seems to stand the test of time better.

As for the Prince of Persia game, I guess they just wanted their game to look unique... or not look like Assassin's Creed.

I'm not saying the toon style is good or bad. I'm just sayin' is all.

No worries, that is one of the very first screens and the game looks nothing like that anymore.

Here is one of the more recently released screenshots:

http://www.swtor.com/media/screens/dark-and-light-clash

I think it looks great, but I'd still MUCH rather have KOTOR 3. Had to fucking make it a MMO... what a bunch of fuckers...

I knew EA was going to find something to screw it up.

I KNEW there was a reason I didn't like red sox fans.

Well, that pretty much seals the deal for me. Years of waiting ending in disappointment.

Shut up, we all barely know nothing about the game and we surely know little about this situation and with the little details you have this is a deal breaker for you?
If it is then obviously it wasn't a big deal to begin with

Micro transactions are always awful.
The game already looks like crap based on the few screen shots they've released, and the interviews aren't making me feel much better.

Have fun with your stupid giant lightsabers though. That looks real good.

That is an OLD screenshot. They reduced the size of the lightsabers in more recent screenshots, get your information right before flaming people.

Same... Wasn't sure if I was going to anticipate this game yet, but I know now I won't even bother getting excited. I'll give it a few months until after release, definitely won't buy the day it comes out.

Just gonna jerk mah knee in a reactionary fashion...
*kicks leg*
yep. that'll do.

Oh EA, even if you side with the light on the 'mirrors edge' and 'dead space' side quests, they're all for nought if you go dark on the main quest.

Pfff they only did the light quest for the EXP.

i really hope this come out for the ps3 and/or 360. we need some good mmo games on console. i think the agency & dc universe online are going to be coming next year and they fit that bill.

Microtransation MMOs never work.

They seem to do quite well for those crafty Koreans.

I'm all for a MT KOTOR if it means no subscription fees.

Then again, I'd rather have a true KOTOR...

Microtransactions are bullshit.

Congratulations on trying to get people to try and pay *more* during hard economic times EA! Brilliant idea!

IT'S A TRAP!

This deal is getting worse all the time!

This screenshot is ridiculously outdated.

Bioware has polished the visual style a lot since the initial slew of images. That aside, I worry about micro-transactions - they're usually attached to games that can't stand on their feet from a player base alone.

good because it resembled that new clone wars tv show. the one that resurrected jar jar. damn you cartoon network! damn you to hell! err....mustafar!!!

Jar Jar actually is more enjoyable in the Cartoon Network show.

http://darthno.ytmnd.com/

I love Star Wars. I love KOTOR. I love BioWare. I really enjoy a good MMO as well.

I don't however like this notion of micro transactions. Granted I have never played a game that uses them but it doesn't sound good.

I will however reserve my judgment for this February conference call. Perhaps we will learn more and it will turn out alright. It could be correctly, but it also could be done horribly. I will wait and see. I still have faith in BioWare.

that's my thought exactly, i was really looking forward to this until now, now i'm not so sure

That does not sound cool

I'm not sure why there's so much hate of microtransactions, if it means we don't have to pay a monthly subscription fee, I'm all for it.

Guild Wars took this route, of releasing big expansions that we had to pay for every few months, as well as a few smaller pieces of content. And yes, in the long run you're likely going to end up paying just as much as you would if the game were subscription based..

But the difference is you dont NEED to buy all the content, if you want to stick with the base game, you can pay the $50 and never worry about needing to spend another dime on it. Like-wise, you don't need to worry about paying a subscription for something you've put aside for a few weeks/months to play something else.

As long as they don't go overboard with it, this is great news. Unless it turns out there's a subscription and microtransactions.. In which case - the game has already failed.

You forget, this is EA we're talking about. We'll see AT LEAST 10 expansion packs, if not more. The Old Republic: Livin Large anyone?

Didn't they claim this would be the game to dethrone WoW? Those odds just went from 1% to 0. Good job EA!

Why couldn't they had just made KOTOR III? Microtransactions are the last nail in the coffin for me. This game is is officially dead to me. Thank you. Good night.

A Bioware rep on the forums has made a post regarding this. He doesn't outright deny it, but does claim that it's inaccurate.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=6018

Again.. Microtransactions that break the game by making players who spend more better than those who dont, would be awful. But I'd far prefer a Guild Wars style model over a subscription based game. Yes, I have a job, but I just can't justify spending $15 per month on a game.

Guild Wars only made us pay for expansions and it still recieved far more, and bigger free updates than the majority of subscription based games.

I must admit.. this news is a pretty massive yellow flag. Let's see what they do.

I wonder if it will be possible to play as droids in this?

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Star Wars: The Old Republic, now with microtransactions

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