Buy Game Time for CC + Buy/Sell CC on GTN = WIN

Hmmm, all I read was 'I don't want to pay for a subscription, so I'd rather someone else pay for it and I'll buy the CC from the GTN and not have to use my money to play the game and still get the benefits of being a subscriber.' Did I get that right?

So basically get Bioware allow in game players to be the next group of Gold Spammers. I for one will be against this.

1. Buy cartel packs

2. Sell for credits

3. ???

4. PROFIT!!!

All that the proposed features do is make a kludgy exchange that is already happening easier and more direct to carry out. It also allows a certain class of players who have a lot of money to more easily spend more of it on the game, and as a result it allows another class of players who have very little money to purchase a subscription where before they could not. By doing so it increases the appeal of the game to two classes of players: (1) those who play a lot; and (2) those who spend a lot. The end result is more subscriptions paid and a new means of revenue capture for Bioware, both of which only make the game better for everyone.

What came first, chicken or the egg. The issue is no NEW revenue will result.

I understand what you are saying in the fact that the Cartel Coins are not self generating. I took this as you would buy Cartel Coins directly from Bioware (instead of buying with real money, we would simply give them in game credits).

Only way that works is to A) stop giving away free Cartel Coins to subscribers B) make the rate of subscription via Coins to the point where it approaches the cost of subscription. Thus you would get a point of stagnant growth where income from coins was equal to the point of subscriptions which is why we went to CM in the first place. Right now your best income source are people who buy Coins AND Sub, thus subsidizing the ftp people who do not purchase coins in any form.

I still feel this is a very bad idea as it essentially leaves one type of currency irrelevant. Just use one currency and only one. Again a previous response said what I still feel is true. The OP wants the benefits of a subscription without having to pay it, instead have someone else subsidize his game play.

I pay for a subscription every month, and as a result I give Bioware $15 a month. If these features happened, I would still pay for a subscription, but I would give them a lot more than $15 every month, because I would buy a lot more cartel coins than I do right now. In fact I'd probably pay for two or three subscriptions total, but they would be for accounts that other players would get to enjoy. And in return I would spend more time doing what I like to do during the limited play time that I have.

This is going to sound a little bit peculiar, but doing this would destabilize the volatile nature of the GTN, which is a stock market. Right now only the bean counters who have carefully studied the situation understand the relationship between dollars, cartel coins, and credits. The rest of us aren't paying as rapt attention, and as a result the GTN is more volatile than it otherwise would be. This proposal would put the two markets in lock step with each other. It would be much more difficult to "buy low" on the Cartel Market and "sell high" on the GTN.

Right now both these things are subject to manipulation by players and BWEA alike. Witness this summer's removal of certain cartel Packs and the Gold Scalene Armor set from the Cartel Market. What happened? The armor set price began to rise because of the artificial scarcity of its removal and resultant attention from players. Before the last Gree Event a set was selling for upwards of 5 million credits on the GTN. Suddenly BWEA re-introduces Gold Scalene and the price on the GTN dropped in half in a day. It now sells between 2 and 3 million credits. Why? Because the "Me, too!" people want to jump on the bandwagon. Now that the Gold Scalene is gone again, the price will gradually rise as the Me, too guys sell off their sets and it once again becomes scarce.

Also right now, once you convert dollars into cartel coins, there's no avenue to get dollars back out. There is no "real world value" to credits. Everything you "own" in SWTOR actually belongs to Bioware, including your characters. Those who doubt that ought to read the ToS; it says so in there quite clearly. But if you establish a way to convert credits and coins into real world currency, or even pseudo-currency in the form of the ability to pay for the game with credits, it's a whole new ball game. If you think 'gold farming' is a problem now, just wait until you create this back channel for turning credits into dollars and euros. Not only that (and we've seen this before) we will attract the attention of people like the IRS, who will see this as a revenue source. In other words, this scheme will generate a whole lot of unintended consequences.

Best to let this sleeping dog lie, I think.

I highly doubt it. If you are so magnanimous, why don't you just find some F2Pers and start paying for their subs? My suspicions are that you would actually quit paying your sub and begin purchasing CCs from the GTN to pay your sub. In fact a great many people would, it would actually cost Bioware subs.

Those "free" coins cost you $15 to get. And at 2,750 CC for 30 days of play time (around $20 worth), a coin subscription is MORE expensive than one paid using a credit card (about 33-50% more, depending on what payment plan you choose when you buy a sub using real life dollars).

Actually I want to subsidize someone else's game play. But I'm sure the ones who would be subsidized also would appreciate the concept.

For just $.50 a day you too can subsidize a SWTOR player. Once a month we will send you a letter describing the actions of the character over the course of his/her month of play including screen shots of important accomplishments. There are people who are DESPERATELY wanting to sub but can not afford the basics and are forced to suffer day in and day out a F2P model. Please subsidize someones game play today.

It sounds to me like he just wants a legal way to buy credits. Of course he already can if he understands how the services/items work that can be sold on the GTN after being purchased for CCs. It's just not set in stone as to their value.