What's with the odd link to the AoC forum post? Or is that just inserted by the system?

Why would they go a DLC model for an MMO? That kinda tends to exclude the player base the more DLC you put out as not everyone is willing to buy every single piece.

Lets just hope that Lucas doesn't change their mind after 6 months and want a more iconic feel to it.

NGE all over again :D

Your logic, Sir Brlito, is quite agreeable.

@RichardBlaine
"It's sad that it'll probably be a month to month price model (a design intended to drain your bank account), otherwise I'd consider picking it up."

Yeah, how dare they charge $15 for up to 240 hours of entertainment (8 hours a day for 30 days - high but not unheard of).

Something else to consider is if you do well in MMOs, you can make a decent amount of money back when you quit, by selling your account. I've actually done this a few times in WoW and I've made enough money to completely offset my boxed game costs + monthly fees for nearly 5 years.

I would suggest that those of you reading this who are against monthly payments need to think about it rationally for a while, and re-evaluate your decision. It's going to become more common in the future, and taking a hardline stance will mean you miss out on some great gaming experiences.

After seeing this article below, I'll try out the demo/trial to see how they do things as I'll be working more in the game industry soon, after that the whole SW franchise to me is dead after Kotor2.

http://io9.com/5496171/george-lucas-wants-to-make-jedi-babies-tv-series

@RichardBlaine; I understand that some people don't wish to pay to play, but from my experience I've found MMOs to be far and beyond the value for money of most games, especially more modern ones. I spent £20 on BioShock 2 and I've gotten ~7-8hrs out of it, whereas £9 on WoW for a month and I'll get well over 7-8hrs a week. Mass Effect 2 cost me £40 (DDE FTL) whereas, like with BioShock 2, just £9 on WoW will, to me, be a better purchase.
I don't like to think of it as "renting a game"; I like to think of it as paying for constant support, frequent bug fixes and semi-frequent content updates. Aside from maintenance times and the very rare server crashes, I do get to play on my own terms, as does everyone else who plays.
There are people who play the game despite having a job and other responsibilities, it's not just a "genre" for unemployed social-rejects with nothing better to do. Hell, WoW is actually made in the way that playing for long amounts of time doesn't get you any real benefits over someone who doesn't.

As for TOR, will it get 2M subs? Easily. If they market it correctly, then I think it'll do fine. It's got the Star Wars brand and it's got BioWare behind it - I see no reason why it cannot go on to get at least 1M sales in the first month.

@RichardBlaine: I completely agree.

@ TewDee

I meant DLC as far as new outfits, new species, new ship skins, whatever. There are tons of free MMOs which support themselves ONLY on these things, no retail profit at all.

For this game, with a likely $50-60 cost up front and probable $40 expansions down the line, along with those DLC profits you would think it could work.

And perhaps that is me being stupid, I don't know their costs, I just know I am not spending $15 a month to play a game.

@coldalarm

"There are people who play the game despite having a job and other responsibilities, it's not just a "genre" for unemployed social-rejects with nothing better to do."

Never meant to imply that. My comment was specifically a response to brod's in which he reasoned that by being able to spend up 240 hours a month playing, paying a monthly fee was a good deal. I don't have an issue with MMO's in and of themselves. However, there are some MMO's that seem to suggest that expansion models and micro-transaction models can also be financially viable.

"I don't like to think of it as "renting a game"; I like to think of it as paying for constant support, frequent bug fixes and semi-frequent content updates."

That's a good point but companies like Valve have shown that you can pay for their product once and still get new content, updates, bug fixes, etc and all for free (if you own a PC). And as for your argument about only getting 7-8 hours out of normal retail games, like Bioshock 2. That's valid but I guess I like that I can play it whenever I want and however long I want (again and again if I feel like it) with only having paid once. I appreciate your perspective (and friendly tone, unlike brod's), but I disagree with it. I think there are other price models that are more fair for consumers.

@RichardBlaine

Your entire argument is negated by two words, which you failed to originally read, so I'll repeat them:

up to

You don't have to play for 240 hours - that just represents the peak value - even an extremely low playtime of 30 hours a month is still better than any other form of paid entertainment.

@ Richardblaine,

"That's a good point but companies like Valve have shown that you can pay for their product once and still get new content, updates, bug fixes, etc and all for free (if you own a PC). "

You're really going to try and compare the Left 4 Dead DLC (which they charge for Xbox) with the content that an MMO such as, say, LOTRO has produced? Seriously? You're just pulling our legs, right?

I don't even play MMO's (although I will play TOR).. but I find it so bizarre that people actually care that much about the $15 a month when god only knows how much they've blown on their hobby already. That seems so paltry in comparison.

@brod

It's not negated and if you had not "failed to read" my response, you would have seen that I did acknowledge your phrasing. But to humor you, you also have "as little as" 0 hours a month for $15. It's all semantics. We just have an irreconcilable difference of opinion.

@runtheplacered

I don't play any MMO's, so I apologize if my comparison to Valve's free DLC was inadequate. As for $15 a month versus hundreds of dollars a month, I guess I'm an anomaly in that I usually only buy about 5 games a year. I pick titles that seem to have the "Game of the Year stamp" in their future or sequels from franchises that I'm particularly fond of. Otherwise, I'll rent a title if I'm interested (which is infrequently). Considering I'll sometimes buy those titles used, or after they've been marked down, you can see that we have different spending practices for our shared hobby. Not judging, just letting you know where I'm coming from and how I'm forming my perspective.

I have always thought that WoW should offer by-the-hour purchases as well as monthly subscription. Have the bth rates be more expensive, so if you spend more than a few hours a month online then you should look at a subscription.

I think having thos option would allow TOR to access more of the market because I for one don;t have the patience to play one game continuously.