Gamescom Interview with Jeff Hickman about the future of SWTOR

Charging for expansions is what almost every game out there does and has done since the beginning of MMOs.

I'm sure that there are ways people can twist things around, that's why devs are careful about speaking publicly and interviews like this are fairly rare. And many questions are still unanswered (like "what are cartel coins really worth" or "what exactly is going to be in the cash shop" - couldn't be answered in an interview) but I didn't see any new red flags here. Jeff did seem like a good, sincere game maker.

As long as we won`t share the same view on what Pay to Win is, we will keep disagreeing. And you only have an advantage, as long as you are THE ONLY ONE, or the VERY SELECT FEW that have it. If you have access one day earlier to one gear set.. that`s not advantage.

1. I am not suggesting. I am saying that, as long as it is WEAKER than top gear , it is NOT Pay to Win. Because everybody has a fair chance at getting the same gear, or virtually equal (like Campaign and Black Hole are now).
2. How is this different than buying purple mods for any of your alts, from a wealthy main? All you need is ONE day of "dailies" to kit anything below lvl 50. How is this different than having an army of alts with 400 crafting and making your own mods? How is this different than buying a Legacy Set and move mods around?

Again... as long as THE TOP is still ingame only and ONLY the mainstream is available in the Cash Shop... nothing will change.

[EDIT]Also, PvE is irrelevant under level 50, because it`s throwaway gear. The ONLY gear that matters is level 50. So, yes, point 1 still applies. Even better, PvE is NOT competitive. It compares to how fast can you drop mobs, or how fast can you change locations. As long as you can match with REASONABLE ingame effort what the Cash Shop is giving, there is no problem. The ONLY place where you can see P2W in your example is PvP. Under 50, rule 2 applies. At 50... rule 1.

I have nothing against paying for Expansions. I have problems seeing this Makeb as one. Especially since it`s coming when it`s coming and HOW it`s coming.

Reality shows this game has virtually nothing past lvl 50. They OWE us Makeb, for sticking around and still giving them our monthly. Nickle and dime the freemiums until they drop dead, for all I care. But not the subs, which got precisely one OP / WZ / FP in 7 months, having been promised monthly content. They owe us 6 more. They give one... I`ll take the planet for the rest of 5, thank you.

So by your own admission you're fine with them selling BM and Rakata gear for real money since it is weaker than top gear?

Content upgrades will be free....

he meant, just like James Ohlen has stated, they still don't know whether or not actual expansions are going to charged or not. Meaning we might get expansion packs for free to because the subscribers will be paying the 15 dollars a month which should go towards expansions also. Meaning the big ones.

The small ones are expansions, they are called content updates. That's what he meant.

Content upgrades will be free....

he meant, just like James Ohlen has stated, they still don't know whether or not actual expansions are going to charged or not. Meaning we might get expansion packs for free to because the subscribers will be paying the 15 dollars a month which should go towards expansions also. Meaning the big ones.

The small ones are expansions, they are called content updates. That's what he meant.

That's not what he stated at all. Read more.

2. P2W means better than anything you can find ingame. As long as it is weaker than the top and comparable to gear that can be found relatively easy (by this I mean within one month, as opposed to tedious grinds that go 2+ months) it`s not P2W. Unfair? yes, since it should have been only "fluff". But not P2W.

So by your own admission you're fine with them selling BM and Rakata gear for real money since it is weaker than top gear?

As long as we won`t share the same view on what Pay to Win is, we will keep disagreeing. And you only have an advantage, as long as you are THE ONLY ONE, or the VERY SELECT FEW that have it. If you have access one day earlier to one gear set.. that`s not advantage.

1. I am not suggesting. I am saying that, as long as it is WEAKER than top gear , it is NOT Pay to Win. Because everybody has a fair chance at getting the same gear, or virtually equal (like Campaign and Black Hole are now).
2. How is this different than buying purple mods for any of your alts, from a wealthy main? All you need is ONE day of "dailies" to kit anything below lvl 50. How is this different than having an army of alts with 400 crafting and making your own mods? How is this different than buying a Legacy Set and move mods around?

Again... as long as THE TOP is still ingame only and ONLY the mainstream is available in the Cash Shop... nothing will change.

[EDIT]Also, PvE is irrelevant under level 50, because it`s throwaway gear. The ONLY gear that matters is level 50. So, yes, point 1 still applies. Even better, PvE is NOT competitive. It compares to how fast can you drop mobs, or how fast can you change locations. As long as you can match with REASONABLE ingame effort what the Cash Shop is giving, there is no problem. The ONLY place where you can see P2W in your example is PvP. Under 50, rule 2 applies. At 50... rule 1.