Star Wars: The Old Republic

Players: Massive Multiplayer Online
Publisher: BioWare/Lucasarts
Genres: RPG, Other
Release Date: December 20, 2011
Developer: BioWare Austin/Lucasarts
MSRP: $FREE
Platforms:
Set 300 years after the events in Knights of the Old Republic (and featuring some familiar faces), Star Wars: The Old Republic will put players on either side of a massive war between the Republic and the Empire.

With all the hate… did anyone ever actually look at what's up there?

Since the release of the digital contents of the Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Edition and Digital Deluxe edition, flame wars have been raging on the game’s sometimes-private Beta forums. Rarely before, let alone in a blockbuster title of this magnitude, has buying a special limited edition version of an MMO allowed it’s purchasers access to physical locations that others were barred from. Sure there’s the VIP Club in City of Heroes, but you can get access to it with a couple of bucks investment. The Collector’s Edition for SWTOR costs $180. So what do you get for your extra dollars? Well have a look in this exclusive…

Now before we get this started, I will state that the VIP Lounge isn’t the only perk from the Collector’s Edition and from the Digital Deluxe edition. The Collector’s Edition gets a special store which is rumored to sell vanity items accessible only to them, a special mount, droid companion, a training droid, color-changing crystals for your weapons, a holographic stripper and much more. However over at BioWare’s forums for the closed beta test, enough flames were set that they offered access to the ‘exclusive’ VIP Lounge for the ‘small’ cost of 1,000,000 Credits. And for your investment… this is what you shall receive…

That is what everyone has been making such a fuss over. Pretty incredible really, I’m surprised at it all honestly… the conduct of everyone on the forums, that is.

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Nobunaga

An eccentric millionaire bent on world domination, or at least trying to find happiness and ponder the existentialism-… oh who are we kidding he's just an evil eccentric who wants to take over the world while having an amazing time playing whatever games strike his fancy. Known amongst the Blizzard community as "The Dreadmist Man".

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  1. December 08, 2011 at 11:41am
    In response to Article
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    Looks like this is the speeder you can get from vendor..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRYKbUjmIs

  2. December 06, 2011 at 09:58am
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    It’s not about the content, it’s that someone else has a toy they don’t.

    • December 07, 2011 at 01:45pm
      In response to Twitch
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      Actually, from what I’ve gathered from the forums, it’s more that people are getting pissed off that someone else might be getting toys that they have. Some of those self proclaimed “Collector’s Edtion VIPs” are very keen on making sure every little thing inside that box will be now and forever be for them and their little club of VIPs only. I imagine they’re frothing at the mouth that Bioware is now uploading the soundtrack for free, for everyone.

  3. December 05, 2011 at 08:08pm
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    This really doesn’t give an accurate display of the VIP area. True you got up there and showed off the existing area, but without access to the vendors, right now its not worth showing.

    Who knows whats going to be up there, for all we know Bioware might put special npc’s or events up there in later times. We don’t know.

    • December 05, 2011 at 09:24pm
      In response to GameFawx
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      If they ever create private events for VIPs only it would cause a real uproar. Events aren’t trivial in a game with a social component like MMOs. And I don’t think they’re this dumb. CEs are one thing. Dividing players ingame based on real money (as in “you’re not rich enough to participate” ) is something different. I don’t think any “big” MMO ever did something like that to the playerbase.

  4. December 05, 2011 at 12:01pm
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    You know, we don’t have this attitude in non video game related things. Only idiots would say, “Oh just because you paid five times as much for your first class ticked than I did for my coach ticket does it mean you get better drinks and more legroom than I do?” No one would say that because it is obvious that people who are willing to pay a premium content are doing so for the little extras they get in return.

    But in video games and in MMO’s in particular if there is premium content only available to those willing to pay a bit extra the cries of “Bullshit!” ring across the internet.

    And it isn’t like any of this stuff will make you stronger in PvP or make you level up faster. It is all vanity stuff. I guess you could legitimately argue the mount helps you get around the map faster and therefore gives a real gameplay advantage. And though it is a weak argument it is the one point the other side of this argument has that has some merit so I will concede it.

    The only way this would be unfair is if these items really made your character more powerful. Because then you are using real money to make your character more powerful than other people. But as long as it is all vanity stuff than it is okay for it to be accessible to premium users only.

    You buy a game for the right to play it. Buying a game does not entitle you to every dlc or extra that exists for the game. And to continue to bitch about how unfair it is really says a lot more about you than it does about the game.

  5. December 05, 2011 at 10:40am
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  6. December 05, 2011 at 10:00am
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    I don’t see what the big deal is really, MMOs that aren’t free to play always give away digital vanity items it seems for a collectors edition. Hell, blizzard has some sort of vanity item with EVERY collector’s edition they put out.

  7. December 04, 2011 at 07:13pm
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    Silly people. Give them ~2.54 centimeters and they’ll take ~1.609 kilometers.

    Just to note, the collector’s edition will be $150 USD (unless whoever you’re getting it from is ripping you off).

    It’s $60 for the standard version (digital download or physical media), $80 for the deluxe version (digital download only), and $150 for the collector’s edition (physical media only).

    More details, including what each version includes and system requirements, can be found at: http://buy.swtor.com/us/

    • December 04, 2011 at 07:52pm
      In response to Vulpes Mundi
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      Canadian Dollars, at the time I prepaid for my 6 copies of CE, were $180 :)

  8. December 04, 2011 at 07:03pm
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    Not sure why people are making a big deal over it since you can’t access the vendors items unless you have the collector’s edition but I like that the vendor sells vanity items and not things that allow over powering.

  9. December 04, 2011 at 06:08pm
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    Does it look any different on the republic side?
    (Imperial scum.)

  10. December 04, 2011 at 06:07pm
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    What’s with all the bitching, anyway? If they wanted access to Collector’s Edition stuff, they should’ve bought the Collector’s Edition.

    What’s next, is someone going to complain that other people who bought the game get to play it, but they don’t because they didn’t buy it? This whole thing makes no sense to me. You aren’t being -excluded- out of anything, people; those who paid extra are getting extra. It’s logic.

    • December 04, 2011 at 06:14pm
      In response to Shadowflame66
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      I believe there are people complaining about that very thing, Shadowflame66… they’re the people complaining that SWTOR isn’t Free to Play…

    • December 04, 2011 at 07:58pm
      In response to Shadowflame66
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      No, it’s all stupid. All this crap with the industry, making you either pre-order or purchase a “collectors edition” for stuff that should be included in the first place to everyone. The game shouldn’t be about throwing more money to get other fancy items, it’s what a lot of games are doing and it’s really lame. Make the items able to get in-game through various means, achievements or other systems. It’s the same bullshit that WoW does currently with their pay for mounts, pets, collector’s edition pets and TCG cards.

      I am already giving them money for the game and such, stop making me pay more for other trivial content. People need to stop giving in and buying these $150 collector’s editions and all this crap would stop. But no, because most consuming idiots are too busy throwing their money away for stuff that should come with the game and it makes everyone else bitch and complain about not getting it with the initial game.

      • December 05, 2011 at 05:48am
        In response to TheOnyxHero
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        ‘Trivial’ being the key word in that statement of yours.

        Yeah, doesn’t sound so trivial if you’re making it into such a big deal. It’s essentially a status system where if you have extra money, you can show it off. That’s it. Period. It doesn’t progress your game. It doesn’t influence anything.

        …We aren’t talking about special powered mounts or anything like that…it’s pure status.

        As such, if they offer extra swag for extra dollar, you have no right to complain because ‘you bought the game too’. What you paid and what they paid are two very different amounts and to argue that they shouldn’t offer extra swag for extra money is a fools shout in its own right.

        You seem to be forgetting that they aren’t making games for free. They make games to make a living. To pay the bills, keep food on the table, and buy nice stuff that serves no practical purpose like fancy cars. You have no basis to your argument that they don’t deserve the right to make that offer and deny them the chance to make more profit for themselves and their company.

        Now if you can give a logical and PRACTICAL reason why they shouldn’t offer extra content that serves no actual purpose other than to make the players who spend extra to get them look cooler or feel better about themselves, I’m all ears. You provided an alternative, but you gave no reason as to why it’s any better for them.

        Unless of course the argument is just ‘I want this but don’t want to pay money for it!’ in which case no…just no.

        On a side note as to whether or not the content is worth it? Isn’t that for the paying customer to decide? If you feel it’s worth the extra money than that might hold more value to that particular customer. It’s a case by case basis for each and every individual buying the game and while we can offer our opinions, ultimately, the choice and value depend entirely on the individual. Don’t rate the masses as a whole together because everyone has a different perspective on things.

      • December 05, 2011 at 10:20am
        In response to TheOnyxHero
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        And why exactly should it be in the game for free? You only state that it should be but you don’t state WHY. Developers need to earn money, you know? Extra work = extra money.

      • December 05, 2011 at 05:21pm
        In response to TheOnyxHero
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        No one’s MAKING you pay for extra content. You have the choice: dish out the extra credits for the very stuff that you yourself have called trivial, or do without it. Me, I’d just as soon do without it. But the decision is yours: if you feel that what they’re offering isn’t worth the extra money, then don’t pay for it. Problem solved: it’s that simple.

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