Business, Marketing, Free-to-Play, and All Things SWTOR - TORWars

Hello again, TORWarriors! It has been a while, and much has happened since you last read an article of mine! As Star Wars: The Old Republic becomes free-to-play, I feel that it?s important to examine the reasons for coming back to SWTOR, especially after I left the game after feeling incredibly disillusioned.

Return of the Jedi Knight

Technically, I only lost the ability to play since August ? when my subscription ran out, but realistically, I stopped playing back in March. I stopped playing because things just weren?t right, the population was spread thin and the general feeling was of disappointment; especially after the highs of launch went away. I also felt that some promises weren?t fulfilled, and never were going to be fulfilled. The burden of paying for something month after month, when I felt I wasn?t being offered sufficient quality for doing so, was heavy.

In reality, as a student, a subscription is currently beyond me anyway. So in many ways, if SWTOR was still subscription, I?d have the option to eat or play SWTOR (not that I get a great deal to eat anyhow!), but when a free-to-play model exists, that all goes away. It?s also about a different mindset, a different understanding of the game.

When something is for free, its value only grows exponentially. It also grows in your estimation. It?s hard to be frustrated, it?s hard to complain, or hard-er at least, when you?re getting something for free. Arguably it?s similar to psychological pricing, where a product is priced at 9.95 or 9.99 rather than 10.00, the intended effect is that you feel you?re getting more for a lot less. But what about other free-to-play games and their business models?

This data was collected through multiple stealth operations by independent agents

Guild Wars 2 is free-to-play and runs a micro-transaction model through a gem store. The crux of this invention is that gems can be bought with cash or in game money ? but at no point are the gems exceedingly expensive, so there?s no real need to spend cash if you?re somewhat active and do things that pay on a relative scale, such as events, dungeons, and PvP. Therefore, GW2 is free-to-play with no content restrictions and the micro-transaction model can easily be worked around by putting a fairly low amount of time in.

Lord of the Rings Online had a much different approach, similar to what SWTOR is adopting now. LotRO had content up to around level 35 for free, then you had to use Turbine points to unlock areas, quests, and various other things that are kind of crucial to have, such as mounts. So there was a free-to-play option, but it was an option that was severely restrictive to the point that it became unplayable and frustrating. It was a strategy designed to let you get emotionally attached enough so that when content is restricted, you?re too invested to stop, therefore you?ll pay the fee ? beware of the marketeer mind tricks!

SWTOR seems to be enacting a balance between the business strategies of LotRO and GW2. SWTOR is offering story for free, which comes with its own inherent values ? it apparently being a ?BioWare? worthy story, which is a qualifier only the player can determine, but then SWTOR limits the amount of PvP you can do, it blocks your participation in Operations, as well as restricting other things. You can also ?rent? things with cartel coins, rather than buying them out right; much in the same way GW2 operates its micro-transaction system, except that you get to keep what you buy in GW2, rather than rent it out.

SWTOR is doing this so that it can have its cake and eat it at the same time. It holds onto subscribers (or brings in subscribers) by playing on the community and guild aspect, as in, blocking PvP and Operations to those without subscriptions, whilst aiming to bring in new players with the free-to-play aspect, as well regain some of their lost players. Ultimately, the end goal is clear. Get the player emotionally involved then lock off content, so that their need to play this content can only be fulfilled at monetary cost. Whilst it is only locking off the more communal aspects of the game, PvP and Operations, it?s a strategy that relies on people making friends and joining guilds, where the temptation to team up for Ops and PvP is strong (in marketing it?s known as influencers). So it?s nowhere near as restrictive as LotRO, but nowhere near as open as GW2.

Choking off content

So why am I re-downloading? I miss it. Marketing and sales tricks aside, I simply miss it. I miss the combat, the music, the game itself, the way it makes me feel, the way that it allows me to express myself. The free story also holds a small grip on me. By no means is any of the story, in my mind, overly amazing, or comparable to Mass Effect or KotOR. But it is, nonetheless, engaging and fun to pass the time with. It?s something you don?t necessarily have to be committed to, it?s something you can do in your own time ? much in the same way you?d play a single player game.

Arguably there will only be two kinds of players left playing SWTOR. Those that pay and treat it as an MMO, and are fully involved in the day-to-day events. Then those that play for free because they can, and like passing the time with SWTOR. I will be part of the latter; it?s not to say that the second type of people can?t be involved in the day to day activities, it?s more likely that these players play just because they can. It?s just nice to have SWTOR there, when you want to feel the soul of Star Wars ? it also helps that there is no other viable Star Wars game out there currently to challenge it.

The issue with SWTOR was that it was never a true MMORPG, and this recent division of business strategy only exemplifies that. Those that pay get the MMO, those that play for free, get the RPG. The MMO crowd can still get the RPG aspect, but for all intents and purposes, it is more single player than ever; after all, a valid mind set will be that it is now officially a single player game for free. Sometimes the marketing tricks work, and if you join a guild the temptation to subscribe and do Ops and more PvP will loom over you, but if you refrain from taking part in the community, then you effectively remove the MMO, leaving only the RPG left.

The drive to team up with other players is always low in MMOs, unless it?s for mutual benefit, however, when there is a monetary barrier to cross, the drive to team up will be even less, and ultimately, that?s why I?m re-downloading.

I get to play for free, and it?s basically a single player game with a heavy RPG aspect. And if I fancy doing a flashpoint I can always dip into the community pool then dip right back out. This new model allows you to do that, if not actively encourages you to do so if you don?t want to pay.

Free to play was enough to get this Jedi curious to look at the explosion behind!

In conclusion, I?m re-downloading because I?m curious, and also because if it?s free, why not? Will I resort to resubscribing? No. Will I ever purchase cartel coins? No. Will I become a part of the community on my server? No. In short, EA will hate me (smiley face!) because they?re giving a product away for free and I?m taking it, whilst not submitting to their business strategy, but the real question is, how many people will be lured in by the ?free-to-play? system, and will they submit to eventually subscribing, or will they make heavy use of the micro-transactions?

There is only one certainty: this iteration of SWTOR couldn?t be any further from EA?s and BioWare?s original plan. If this adaptation of business strategy fails to meet the demands required, it?s highly likely it will linger on in the same way LotRO has. In marketing there is one key phrase that must never be forgotten: some companies wonder what happened. And sadly, BioWare must be feeling this with the recent departure of the Docs and the Borg like assimilation with EA.

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Source: http://torwars.com/2012/11/14/business-marketing-free-to-play-and-all-things-swtor/

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