Part I omitted since it was posted for another forum thread.
Part II: New translation given about an hour ago
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftera.hangame.com%2Fshop%2Fpopup%2FtcatInfoAdd.nhn&act=url
Here are the 2 main reasons (explained in part III and Part IV) as to why I think they are adding the cash shop (vanity items for now: high chance of evolving this service to introduce other options) on top of their P2P model.
Part III. Population issues
Server Merge:
BHS Korea: 37 -> 35 -> 15 -> 13 -> 6 (6 being theoretical)
There are currently 13 servers in South Korea. From the folks I have asked mainly from BG (others outside of BG)who have played K-TERA up to level 58 (some with multiple 58's) I have been told that for the most part the majority (at least 2/3) of the servers are always or almost always green (translates to light population) while only roughly 1/3 of the population being labeled in yellow (translates to normal population). I think they also have the red icon signifying heavy or full population, but from the few charts I was able to gather from Inven, it would seem that is has been a long time since they have hit that high. A couple of folks have told me that some servers are so light that they can easily do another merge and cut it down to half (hence why I placed 6 as theoretical).
NHN Japan: 10 -> 3 -> 2 (2 being actual)
Japan only has had one server merge compared to BHS, but this one was rather major. The servers are able to handle I think upwards to close to 3000 players per server. They decided to reduce it to 3 to keep the player base at optimum levels for this reason. Unfortunately this has not helped. Even though the population stabilized at around 7500 after the merge, there has still been a considerable amount of decline from the last couple of months. Considering that the Japanese players do keep a statistical website that takes in Hourly... yes Hourly roll calls, I can safely say that they can drop the servers down to 2. 2 servers are clocking in at around 1550 players, while the 3rd is hovering around 950. For the first time in NHN TERA history, the Japanese population dipped below 4500 this week, during evening prime time playing hours.
That leaves the remaining 2: Frogster and EME
Frogster: /Facepalm
Horrible company all around going from customer service to censorship/banning in the forums to all the way to the top. This will probably have a negative impact on the game in the long run if they don't change their business practices. When Scapes wrote in the old forums that Frogster was going to handle the EU side of things, 65 pages of rage ensued. So much was the backlash that Daniel Ulrich (Director of Product Management) extended an olive branch to quell the masses. We will see how it goes but I have no faith in them to be honest. Nothing more needs to be said here.
EME: Good so far
Half of EME is made up of former NCWest, while the other half come from numerous backgrounds. I may give them the benefit of the doubt since NCWest pretty much had their hands tied behind their backs, but NCWest didn't do anything to really improve their image as well. So far they have been doing a good job. We will have to see how the relationship between BHS and EME unfolds and also see how EME handles the game as well as complaints and constructive criticism from the player base.
As you can see things are looking very grim for NHN. For BHS I would say they are borderline: from doing just O.K. and below average. If the new update does not considerably regain some of those lost subscriptions, chances are they will continue to add more options/items to the premium cash shop and be aggressive overall with the premium service.
Part IV-A: P2P versus F2P versus Cash Shop (Vanity and Play to Win)
I will try my best to simplify this, since my posts are very long and going into detail here would make it ginormous. The P2P model comes in 2 formats (generalizing here) and both have been in decline since 2005. A. $4.99-$10.99 P2P model: for all intent and purposes, this model is practically dead. Of the 40 or so that used this model, I only know of 4 that have released a game in the past 3 years. B. $12.99-$15.00 P2P model. This model has also been in serious decline. There have been around 60 or more MMORPG games that "used" to be in this range (Note: not all at the same time period).
The majority however have fallen into the following categories A. Some have closed down. B. Some use a hybrid model that have premium monthly subscriptions but also a F2P model for those that don't want to pay a monthly fee. C. Have completely transferred over to the F2P model because the company cannot sustain their initial P2P venture. Roughly 75% of those that have followed the "strictly P2P" model have become extinct (or drastically changed their model). There are less than 30 MMORPG games that follow this model and more and more are transitioning to the F2P model.
This model is becoming so unpopular that the only games operating under the strictly P2P model that have been released from 2010 until now are the following: Rift, SWTOR, Xyson, FFXIV (although everything is riding on Version 2.0 and Yioshida has said he is open to the F2P model in a recent interview) and I am sure I am missing one other game. So there are 5 in total. Besides combat (which I thoroughly enjoy) I really don't see a reason [besides money] why you would add a cash shop on top of a P2P model (which is rapidly becoming unpopular).
Part IV-B: Theme park versus sandbox versus East and West versus the Code Word: TREND
Long title. As we all know TERA is strictly a theme park MMORPG. The thing is that at the moment, there are over 550 MMORPG games and the vast majority fall under the fantasy role playing sub genre. For this game to stay P2P for a long time, it will need a good player base that sticks with the game. We all know that you don't need 12 million or 6 million or 3 million players to keep a business afloat. However, with that said, you do need a stable population that will not have a mass exodus after the first 3 months (something that plagues fantasy theme park MMORPG in recent years). The last time a P2P Korean game was "embraced" by the NA/EU market was "probably" Lineage II, and that game came out in 2004.
I am not sure if there will be enough NA/EU players to stay for the long haul. We already know the die-hard fans will... but what about everyone else? There is nothing wrong with a niche game, but if it becomes too niche, it can and will become a problem from a business standpoint. MMORPG trends have shown that games nowadays become F2P at a much rapid rate. Compare games that came out in 1996-2004 versus 2004-2009 versus 2009-present. It used to take games a decade (or more to go F2P) then it went down to 5 years, then 4, then 3 and now some taking under 3 years to go F2P such as Aion (again talking strictly about the NA/EU market).
On top of that recent upcoming fantasy based theme park games (some being very popular in Asia and/or NA/EU) have gone the F2P route or might. Phantasy Star Online 2 just announced this week from a media conference that it will be using the F2P model with a cash shop. In a recent interview Massively had with NCSoft they asked what payment model they were going to use [regarding Blade & Soul] (since Lineage II and Aion are F2P in North America). So far they have not finalized what business model they will follow which leaves it up in the air. Recent trends have shown that many companies cannot sustain a P2P model in the long term and are forced to become F2P or a hybrid model with a cash shop (usually starts with vanity items but has a high risk of eventually evolving into a P2W later down the road).
Part V: My "member" is emotionally invested in this game and the flavor of the month issue.
[filtered]. Yes we know. They make the World go round and round. The graphics are nice, but let's not kid ourselves here, a good portion of the guys here are in it for the tail. There is nothing wrong with a 1 track mind (I guess). Will there be a mass exodus of people after the 3 or 6 month mark, will combat be enough, or will the feeling of been-there-done-that surface? I really wanted to enjoy the storyline (the way it was told as well as how the lore was unfolded) and the voice acting. Unfortunately they have been subpar. They are not horrible, but they could of been done much better in greater detail. I was not expecting it to be at the level ala Shawshank Redemption, but I was expecting a little bit more than mediocre.
The die-hard fans may come with the knee-jerk reaction of: who cares about the story anyway, EME never really advertised the game based on the story but (for the most part) based on the combat. Sure that is fine and dandy, but it would of been nice if the voiceovers and lore and quests were done better: it would of definitely of not hurt. Part of the problem I see in the official forum (White Knights) is that some folks are emotionally invested in the game: mainly because they want to catch the tail or because they have waited over 2 or 3 years for TERA and they absolutely abhor anyone that tries to rain in on their parade.
*By the way, don't you guys just love how fast news/information travels exponentially faster in 2012 compared to let's say, 2002? Companies need to be extra careful (and quadruple check) what they say because if you don't... well then you get bloopers like the quote I have in my sig.*
(In case quote does not show up)
James Ohlen (Bioware Studio Creative Director and LEAD designer) : "One of the problems of other MMOs combat is that often you have scenarios where you have multiple heroes beating on a single enemy. That just isn't very heroic"