What's the point now?

Alternatively, the developers can make the game worth 50 cents a day. Much newer, smaller games than WoW are doing this successfully right now.

It's about what the developer wants to or is capable of doing, because the market will (and does!) support the subscription model. Clearly EA wants cash shop because re-creating the SIMS in the SW universe is easier than producing MMO content and features.

I don't disagree the market can support a sub model. But the market has shifted in recent years because of WoW. WoW is so big and powerful that folks aren't willing to branch out unless there is little risk. And if you want to capture NEW people (who don't play MMOs because they don't really understand them) then you need zero to minimal risk to bring them in. TOR is not trying to capture MMO vets. Its obvious they are going for new folks. That's why levels 1-50 are so solo friendly. This is not the same market as other games.

And to your point about content. Content is not infinite. It doesn't matter if its this game or others. You need time and money to develop content.

Yet Rift thrives. How do you explain that?

Content absolutely isn't infinite and it requires time and money to develop. It also required time and money to develop the infrastructure for the cash shop, which could have been spent developing content. But EA saw cash shop as the better investment because in the end they can produce ewoks and fuzzy pink slippers and holocrons of faster experience gains with a skeleton team, where content would take a real team and real creativity and, like you said, time and effort.

Guess which category EA is going to give you much, much more of.

Rift isn't "thriving" by any means. Its surviving in the market, just like TOR. In fact, it has less subs than TOR does right now.

What you are doing is making assumptions as to what the cash shop will have. While I don't disagree that there will be some "fuzzy bunny slippers" in there, its all to drive cash flow. Once you have cash flow you can pay more people and create more content.

If you want content then you better hope the game does well. Its a loop. Content and subs support eachother. Its not a one way street.

Honestly, this is the same feeling I get with all F2P games. Now, you can either play F2P and be restricted or, you can pay a monthly fee and play with a slew of others that are restricted. Nothing like finding a great tank or healer, asking them if they want to do another FP and them telling you "No, this is the last one I can do for the week". Or something like that. How many ranked matches are you going to get in when half your normal team goes to the F2P model?

Sure, F2P will give EA more money in the bank (if other, lesser games are anything to go by), but what's the point now for us players? Honestly, when I try to play Lotro, DND, etc, I always get that same feeling. That "what's the point?" feeling. Now, since the announcement, I get the same feeling with SWTOR already. All drive to get through my Sorcerer's main quest, or level up my Scoundrel healer just disappeared. At this point, I may not even come back for F2P to finish some of the class stories. Just like with the other F2P games, the drawing power of an active, civil community just goes out the window. Heck, I fired up DnD for the first time ever, had some guy try to invite me to his guide about 8 times in a row, kept calling me a noob and I had to put him on ignore. F2P games are troll bait. Good luck to all fighting said trolls while trying to level their characters in the future....

This isn't a flame, it really isn't. But I don't understand, why are or were people pissed that they're going F2P. If You were or are already subbed it doesn't hurt or effect us in anyway. So what if people who never played the game get to play it for free (after they buy it for $15) we're the one's that get the full game with everything F2P people are the one's who need to pay out of pocket to get what we have.

I think once it goes F2P and people start finding out that it's gonna cost them more then the the $15 a month to get what the subs have, they will sub. They will never really get to play for free because every bit of content that comes out even if it is minor they have to pay for it. From what I've read there will be a TON of restrictions for F2P and I think it's gonna cost them a small fortune in the long run to get what subs have and will get in the coming months.. Just my thoughts......

Rift is thriving far more than this game is. They haven't surrendered and gone F2P. They're releasing content and features at a pretty fair clip. Real content as in raid content and battle zones or whatever they call them. Not fuzzy pets or trinkets to unlock faster experience or coin gain in the cash shop.

The thing with cash shop is, once that's where the revenue comes from, that's what gets the focus. So while you think you might get "content" if revenue increases, well, that's probably true. You'll get plenty of cash shop "content".

I don't really think we disagree all that much, but I would definitely not describe rift as thriving. Its "working". WoW is thriving. LoL is thriving. Rift is making it work.

Rift is definitely more of a HC model than TOR. TOR is a grab at non-MMO gamers. This came right from development. They want folks that want to play KOTOR 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.

That's why a F2P option works for TOR and probably not for Rift. (That said, Rift is going to offer an extended free trial soon anyway.)

Honestly, this is the same feeling I get with all F2P games. Now, you can either play F2P and be restricted or, you can pay a monthly fee and play with a slew of others that are restricted. Nothing like finding a great tank or healer, asking them if they want to do another FP and them telling you "No, this is the last one I can do for the week". Or something like that. How many ranked matches are you going to get in when half your normal team goes to the F2P model?

Sure, F2P will give EA more money in the bank (if other, lesser games are anything to go by), but what's the point now for us players? Honestly, when I try to play Lotro, DND, etc, I always get that same feeling. That "what's the point?" feeling. Now, since the announcement, I get the same feeling with SWTOR already. All drive to get through my Sorcerer's main quest, or level up my Scoundrel healer just disappeared. At this point, I may not even come back for F2P to finish some of the class stories. Just like with the other F2P games, the drawing power of an active, civil community just goes out the window. Heck, I fired up DnD for the first time ever, had some guy try to invite me to his guide about 8 times in a row, kept calling me a noob and I had to put him on ignore. F2P games are troll bait. Good luck to all fighting said trolls while trying to level their characters in the future....