Not 100% true. F2P saved SW:TOR and D&D Online. They made more money in the first month of being F2P than they did in the time they were Subscription based. Planetside 2 for example was released F2P, still is and is still going fairly strong. The model has worked for some MMOs exceptionally well in the past. I image we'll still get Free2Waaaagh at some point in the future. Not any time soon, but eventually.
In regards to SW:ToR, no, that isn't F2P model. It achieved as much as blizzards unlimited trial did, you can't progress at all without paying, hell you aren't even allowed to put all your skills on action bars or hide your helmet if you don't pay, you aren't allowed to get items from quest rewards or even full currency and exp rewards. You're also completely locked from end game content and if you play more then 5 hour a week or like specific part of the game that isn't about killing mobs over and over, you're completely fucked. Can't say much about D&D online. PS2 was MADE to be F2P, low graphics(not bad, but hardly breathtaking) so as many PCs can handle it, systems designed for endless grind with boosters and ability to buy instantly most things you want and so on.
And yet SW:TOR still pulls in more money every month with it's current model than it ever did, even at launch, with subscribers. Even with all those limitation. Now I agree, as far as I'm concerned the SW:TOR F2P is a big demo, not a game. Yet apparently it does enough to keep people opening their wallets. They must be doing something right. Though if a system like that ever makes it's way to EC, I don't think I would want a paid account to have things taken away to accomodate the new model. I'm not 100% sure how we could _DO_ F2P here without a total start over. (Also as an aside I think the removed the hotbar limitation on SW:TOR years ago. That WAS absurd.)
Because its AWESOME system to make money. That is why its so popular. Its a terrible system if you are long term player.
They'll hold off from going F2P as long as possible sure. But we all know its coming sooner or later. The question is how much will the game improve leading up to a 'F2P Re-Launch' and whether it will be enough to spike new interest.
If things stay the way they are now i think they will eventually get to a point where they have to make choice to they either shut it down or go f2p. I think it's very likely, but no idea what timescale we are talking about here. If they are dumb they do it after consoles which will be the deathblow for the comapny's name, or they do it right before console launches, i think the fact they will allow pre-order for console versions will be an indicator. I find it extremely hard to believe this isnt already being discussed at Bandai.
