Step back and look at the potential cost to EA/BW for them giving the free 30 days

I did unsub yesterday, I dedicated thousands of hours into this game, look at my registration year. I have right to post the truth

As I said in another post, anyone who believes the free month is anything other than a marketing promotion to try and retain as many subs as possible is delusional.

Not to say it is good or bad, but that is what it is. Companies don't give away things for reasons of charity, not even when they give to charity.

Now whether this started as a 'wouldn't it be nice to reward our players with a free month to build loyalty' or 'OMG sub numbers are falling, we need to take action right now', we'll probably never know.

I have been with the game since early access. I am disappointed that you have to have a level 50 character to get the free month.

I would have had a level 50, but when they released the Aussie Servers I started a new. I don't play everyday and so I am only up to level 42 with my Toon.

I am getting a Taun Taun pet, but so is someone who has gone away and decides to resub, so nothing extra for the loyalty of staying with SWTOR.

But this is a market ploy. People at Level 50 are likely going to look at unsubing. There isn't much for them to do. They hope to string them along for an additional month. I am hoping that means they plan to release some more content in a month, but I will believe it when I see it.

Hey guys, lets complain about SWTOR giving us 30 days free playtime. But wait, GW2 is giving us unlimited playtime at no cost?! HOW DARE THEY DO THAT!!! DESPERATE ATTEMPT!!! ARGH I'M SO ANGRY!!!!! GUILDTANIC!!!

I'm happy that they give us 30 days playtime Money saved.

I feel like everything in this game is half-assed

1. space combat
2. pvp
3. crafting
4. buggy operations
5. limited gear
6. no real future plans to fix any of it

It was a good move by EA/Bioware to reward players with game time, and a Tauntaun, people should be pleased.

Other companies don't really do things like this.

Yay, i definitively want to join this debate. And i'm wearing my tin foiled helmet right now, thanks for asking. The owls can't see me under it!

I think the first part of understanding whats going on is to actually understand the offer by Bioware. 30 days of free game time, but you don't get it right away. You 'qualify', you are 'eligible', but you don't get it! "The free 30 days will appear on your account by April 24, 11:59PM CDT" and the "30 DAYS GAME TIME STARTS AT THE END OF YOUR CURRENT BILLING PERIOD" (sorry for capslock, it's copy&pasted from the mail Bioware sent me).

So as long as you don't have an active account on April 24 you will get nothing, there will be no 'current billing period' to attach any free days to. There will be no magic reactivating of your account just so you can enjoy your 30 days of free awesome!

(man, it would be really embarrassing if somebody could prove with just one link that i'm wrong about this, and it's likely someone will. Would nullify all of this, but i don't care, enjoying myself here and if i'm wrong i have an other theory about sub numbers and earnings calls in my pocket. Paranoid much? Oh yes! )

so...

Why qualify on April 12 and redeem it on April 24?

Not really a tough one. If you created your account on release day or anywhere during the christmas holidays and had it active since, it will expire exactly now. Between April 12 and April 24. Of course only if you pay monthly or every 90 days. Everyone is 'eligible' for the free 30 days, but you have to stay at least another month to redeem it.

But why that level 50 thing?

Why would anyone who isn't level 50 and shows quite an active online time unsub? No, these guys will stick around anyway and shouldn't be baited with 30 days of free time. And on the opposite you can safely assume that everyone who doesn't have a level 50 character and nevertheless unsubbed already is gone for good. The 'under 50s' are just not a suited target market for Biowares offer.

The 'over 50s' on the other hand have shown that they are willing and able to spend time and money on Star Wars: The old Republic. Yes, you guys have proven worthy of this generous offer! You are the ones who will most likely reconsider your cancelation when beeing rewarded with 30 days of free game time. (Oh, and you are the ones that hit endgame and most likely unsubbed in such big numbers, that luring some of you back could bring more money than it costs to give one month of free time to players who would have stayed anyway)

But hey! They altered the deal and now even include the people with legacy level 6.

Mhmm, yeah, let's take a look at that. And i don't want to talk about the sh.. storm that went down here when the original offer was announced because i don't think that was the only reason. (Beware! getting really 'tin foiled' now.)

They took a whole day to figure out how to solve this dilemma of anrgy and loyal 'under 50s' and not losing to much money in the process. Finally Bioware/EA realised that they gave one day of compensation to everyone because of this very nasty serverdown on friday and in consequence every canceled subscription that would normaly run out on April 23 would now last till April 24. Dammit! These guys get the 30 free days and don't even have to pay for it!

But now that they have altered the 30 days offer, they could easily switch in a little modifcation. You no longer get your free time on April 24, 11:59PM CDT, you now get it one day later on April 25, 11:59PM CDT. There. Everybody is happy and nobody saw what they did. They traded everyone above legacy level 5 against all April 23 cancelations. (Level 6, that seemed just too random to be random)

I'm totally sure thats how it went down. Maybe. Anyhow, sorry for my english.


tl:dr
The owls are not what they seem. cooper, cooper, cooper.

I quit entirely. WAY MOAR money saved. Beat that.

The reason for free this amd free that is simple, they're trying to artificially buff their sub numbers and hide the fast that the game is bleeding subs like mad.

I'm still in awe that fanbois can look at empty servers and somehow argue differently.

30 DAYS GAME TIME STARTS AT THE END OF YOUR CURRENT BILLING PERIOD.

It doesn't say "then-current" (as in the billing period that started after april 24th) but "current" the same way it doesn't say "it will appear on april 24th" but "by april 24th". To me it basically says that 30 day bonus starts when my CURRENT subscription runs out (in my case on april 18th) and april 24th is simply the latest date for the bonus to be added (in case of your subscription ending on 26th for example) but doesn't mean that it won't be there until precisely april 24th.

Granted I might be wrong but I like to think that I understand it correctly.