There is no good reasons why subscribers have to pay cartel coins in 2.1.

If I give you a ten spot to buy some ice cream, did it cost you 10 dollars?

If I give you a ten spot to buy some ice cream, did it cost you 10 dollars?

Eh, I don't understand why people thought WoW as a game was worth the money. I stayed with it for so long because I had friends that continued. I had more fun in FFXI -- but had friends leave that too quickly to move over to the next games that came out.

I think the problem is BOTH on the customers AND on the companies. The games they are making are certainly half-assed (most of them, not all). But at the same time -- the MMO customer base is the hardest of them all to please.

We're locusts. We will always jump ship to the next biggest thing, only to realize it isn't as good as we thought. I think the problem is how much hype the community makes about things before they happen (both in a negative and positive way).

I have seen many many comments on the swtor forum to the effect that - I started with a bunch of friends or my guild form another game and now I am the only one left. Yes, some people do play a game because of friends but a poor game will not keep their friends for long.

Yes again, some mmo players are locusts that hop from game to game. But many are like my wife. She is a sw fan and wanted to find a home here forever. She is reaching the point that she wants to leave. Actually most people have a tendency to stay in familiar surroundings where they are comfortable. They amass good pixils (characters, crafting skills, pets, armor weapons, credits, etc.) and they do not want to give them up. Unfortunately, my tiny mind sees what is almost an insane desire of designers to drive people away rather than keep them. Just one expample is crafting. Many many people love to craft and play just for that. 2.0 has all but destroyed crafting in swtor - which was not all that great in the first place. There is a TESO video out where crafting is discussed. They recognize the fact that a number of people play to craft and are trying to put together a system that will appleal. I don't know if they will succeed, but at least they are paying lip service and are trying.

In the end, WOW is sub based because to millions it is worth a sub. Swtor and the rest of the games on your list are not sub based because they are not worth a sub. Easy.

Totally agree.

The devs of TOR seem to have made the assumption that BW solo games are popular and WoW is popular so merging the two into one would be twice as popular.

Many of the design decisions of TOR show they just don't understand the MMO consumer. The barbershop is a pretty glaring example of this. Customization is huge for many "real" MMO fans.

No I dont think it makes any difference. Features should not cost a subscriber extra. If they want to go that route then they should be B2P, like GW2 is, not F2P.

As much as I love Star Wars -- This is my assumption:

EA is only throwing money into this game still, so BW can test things out. BioWare was recently announced to be the new driving force behind EA's MMO market, so there is probably something in the works for the future.

Both EA and BW have NO experience with MMO launches. EA has bought a few that were already running, and BioWare hasn't developed anything like this before.

The optimistic side of me says "They recognized defeat in this game, and are just going to bleed it dry until they can put something else out, using the experience they've gained in ToR."

The pessimistic side of me says "They're finding new and exciting ways to bleed people dry. Profit Profit Profit!"

Nonsense. Many games thrived for many years under a subscription only model.

If the customers think the product is worth the price, they will pay for it. If they don't, they won't. It really is that simple.

I appreciate all the feedback this thread has brought, but I feel like some people are missing the point.

Giving us a 'monthly allowance' doesn't justify adding a feature that we, the subscribers, have to pay real money to use. This is not a cartel market item/pack/acessory or anything of the sort. It's an in-game feature.

If they charged us coins on changing things besides the basic hair/hair colour/facial hair, maybe even scars and tattoos, I could understand. I can't just go to my local barber and tell him to make me 6 foot 8 and give me an extra 50 pounds of muscle. I can ask him to give me a shave and a haircut.

Bottom line however is that, once again, this is about principle. This is a feature. Many of us are subscribers such as myself. We should not have to pay for something that seems like a basic amenity these days with many games having it.