Could Star Wars: The Old Republic have multiple payment options? Maybe, on a worldwide scale.
Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, LucasArts president Darrell Rodriguez laid out the company’s plans to make Star Wars: The Old Republic a success. In particular, he acknowledged that different payment options in different areas of the world may be necessary. When asked about The Old Republic‘s possible future payment options he said: “Yeah, we’re considering it all, absolutely. You start looking at how different communities, territories such as Asia, actually play games, and we start to consider it all – especially if we want it to be a worldwide phenomenon.”
Despite not being available to the public yet Dungeons & Dragons Online‘s success as a free-to-play MMORPG is already indicated. World of Warcraft‘s domination of the MMORPG market shows how many people are willing to support the subscription model though. It will be interesting to see just where BioWare and LucasArts go with Star Wars: The Old Republic‘s payment models worldwide, though in my view a monthly subscription model is likely in many territories. Still, a (mis?)statement made by EA CEO John Riccitiello back in December could add some old fuel to this fire.
Luckily, it’s not all about money to Rodriguez, as he states: “We talk about the business curves of subscriptions, interest and investment it takes to make these games, but at the end of the day it’s about making a compelling offering for our consumers.” If The Old Republic infuses story into the MMORPG like it is hyped to, it could definitely reinvigorate my interest in the genre.
Oh, and one last thing, when asked about futher expansions to the Monkey Island franchise such as a retail console version or a MMOG, Rodriguez replied with: “There’s always that opportunity.” Threepwood MMOG with spitting puzzles confirmed!
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
