The demise of the Gold Farmer: Microtransactions in SWTOR

Source.

Much has been argued and reported on regarding the notion of micro-transactions in Star Wars: The Old Republic after EA CEO John Riccitiello said:

“”We are continuing to stick to the plan relative to building out our direct-to-consumer models which include microtransactions and subscriptions. The recent launch of Warhammer is a great example of that.”

The statement was later refuted by EA who wrote off Riccitiello’s comment as a misunderstanding.

But the fledgling SWTOR community is not one to let something as huge as a proposed MT payment model go. The numerous debates and petitions which sprang up in the wake of this report show that the community in general is dead against the use of micro-transactions as a business model.

Personally, I’m not so sure.

There are many good things that can come out of micro-transactions if they are done properly. Here are just a few of them:

Casual players.

Not everyone is an 8 hour a day Jedi. Some people like to play for a few hours a week. To them a monthly fee is a gross misallocation of funds. Some people have commented that MMO’s are not for casual players. But why can’t they be? A pay-as-you-play system would open the game up to more players and a larger fanbase which is better all round for everyone.

Look and feel.

If you want to stand out from the crowd, a feasible use of microtransactions is to use them for character customisation. Want a custom lightsabre colour? Pay for it. Want a variation on the standardised armours available? Pay. Want to change sex? Pay for it.

There are so many aesthetic variations that can be considered that people will willingly pay for and that have no impact on the playability of the game.

Content.

Every expansion pack that is released is, in effect, a microtransaction. You’re paying for additional content. I laughed at all the nay-sayers who complained about MT before they were even explained in relation to SWTOR who have probably paid for Wrath of the Lich King. This is a microtransaction. If Bioware were to release new content for SWTOR at timely intervals people would pay. For example, create a new planet with new characters and quests and charge people to be able to access it. You are not impacting the player who does not wish to pay, but those with the available income can partake in new stuff.

That’s the beauty of a microtransaction. Choice. The player can decide if they wish to be involved in it or not. They can decide if they wish to part with their money. Sounds fair to me.

Gold Farmers.

Finally, the real reason why I support a microtransactional approach to SWTOR. I recently returned to Age of Conan after a few months away. My in game mail box had an offer of “cheap AoC gold” waiting for me.

How many people have come into contact with gold farmers? If Bioware made in-game currency available to purchase for real money, it would stop the gold farmers. Why would people choose to go to an unofficial gold farmer and risk being caught if they could get gold (or credits) from an official source?

If Bioware implement this approach I can see SWTOR being the first MMO that doesn’t feature gold farmers as an integral part of the game economy. The demise of the gold farmer will be brought forward by microtransactions. That in itself is a good enough reason to use them.