Why a $150 Million Star Wars Game is Going Free
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The Old Republic, which launched in late December, was supposed to be the next Warcraft. It started off strong, attracting more than 1 million players in its first three days -- a record pace. But within a few months, the subscribers began drifting away. EA won't comment on the game's current paying audience, saying only that it's north of 500,000.10 million players? That sounds a bit too ambitious to me, but I suppose it's possible without an entrance fee.
"The message from players exiting the game is clear: 40% say they were turned off by the monthly subscription, and many indicate they would come back if we offer a free-to-play model," Electronic Arts (EA) CEO John Riccitiello said on a recent call with investors.
It's a straightforward economics problem. The subscription business model cuts off casual players, who can't justify paying $15 a month (particularly in this tough economy) for a game they only touch on occasion. That leaves the hard-core players, who are often reluctant to split their time between more than one or two MMOs at a time.
So EA and its rivals are trying out plan B.
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By dropping its subscription fees, Star Wars could attract upwards of 10 million players a month, according to Michael Pachter, a well-quoted video game industry analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities.
