Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Micro-transactions of The Old Republic

First, Star Wars: The Old Republic has started taking applications for Closed Beta.

Secondly, the Galactic Holofeed blog has dug up some interesting information out of the Terms of Service (ToS) in regards to possible micro-transactions in SW:ToR.
(I) You acknowledge and agree that all items acquired for points during the Game Program are non-refundable and non-tradable.

(K) You acknowledge and agree that BWA reserves the right to change/add/remove points rewarded in the Game store at any time and without warning.

(M) You acknowledge and agree that points acquired during the Game Program cannot be saved up for or used in the commercial version of the Game.
Kill Ten Rats has commentary here.
What are these points that can be traded for items? Earlier in the Terms of Service, they explain that BWA is BioWare Austin, and that “Game Program” refers to the beta test, but the “points” were never explained. Perhaps you get some kind of point-based reward for submitting bugs? I don’t know, but it does sound an awful lot like beta testers will be testing out micro-transactions.
A year or so ago, and I would of have started crying foul right about now, but I'm no longer afraid of micro-transactions. When done properly they can work as a business model. In this case, just like the actual game that will be SW:ToR, we need details and Bioware is sparse (at best) with those.

3 comments:

  1. Graktar1:03 PM

    I'm not worried about microtransactions, I just wish their beta application would work. I tried submitting an application 5 or 6 times before work this morning and every time it would reset part way through and I'd have to start all over. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Force is strong in this one....


    ... but it's even stronger is THIS one if you pay just $5.99 more!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nicely put, Stabs.

    As long as micro-transactions don't affect whether players are more powerful than each other, then it works. Using the system for cosmetic upgrades (hairstyles, armor/clothing colors and looks, etc.) is fine with me.

    ReplyDelete

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