By now we’ve all heard the news about SWTOR going hybrid-style free to play this fall. The news has given fans of the game some big questions to ponder. How will BioWare’s F2P model hold up to other F2P games? Is continuing my subscription worthwhile? Will EA/BioWare give in to the ugly beast named “Pay-to-Win”? How will this affect SWTOR’s community? All very excellent questions. And unfortunately, we may not know the answers to them until we see this hybrid model in action. Until that point, all we can do is hope for more information, and do our best to make that all-important decision– what’s the best decision for me?

A major model switch like this will no doubt change a vast number of features, Game Updates, items, guilds, social hubs, and individual playstyles. Some players will find themselves frustrated with the numerous changes, and journey to other pastures. Others will find the F2P model perfect to their gaming style, and enjoy leisurely leveling. Others will happily maintain a paid subscription in order to access all the current updates. One of the best parts about the model BioWare is aiming toward is the fact that, yes, there are options. What feels right to one player might not feel right to the next. So the question becomes: How do we know what’s right for us?

I’ve said it before and I’ll stay it again– Now’s a great time to be a gamer. Not only do we have multiple gaming platforms, systems, genres, and ways of interacting with fellow gamers, we have a huge variety when it comes to game choice. The MMO market, in particular, is huge right now, with some great titles recently released and planned in the year to come. Diablo III, anyone? How about TERA, Guild Wars 2, and The Secret World? Let’s not forget about the plethora of great games already on the market.

Yeah, I know. You’re cringing at some of those titles. You’re wondering why the heck I’m talking about other games besides SWTOR. For some silly reason, within this often-paranoid gaming community, it’s sometimes seen as an act of betrayal to positively discuss more than one game at a time. Maybe it’s our inner competitive spirits that make uttering words like, “Wow, TERA’s pretty damn fun. I may have to play it and SWTOR!” seem like taboo. I’m here today to reassure everyone of one simple fact: it’s okay. It’s not taboo. Talk about other games, and try other games. SWTOR isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Today we are proud to announce a new site in the Junkie Nation network: GUILD WARS 2 Junkies! We are extremely excited about Guild Wars 2 and are eagerly awaiting open beta and release later on this year. Last year at PAX Prime, we got the chance to interview Eric Flannum, Lead Game Designer for ArenaNet, and his passion for the game came through with each sentence. We got our hands on the demo at the show floor and spent as many hours as possible checking out the Charr and the Sylvari.

The PAX Prime experience solidified in our mind that we had to make Guild Wars 2 Junkies. GW2 is primed to be the best new MMORPG of 2012. So if you want to keep up-to-date with all the latest news, notes, and developments of ArenaNet’s Guild Wars 2, then make sure you visit us regularly at GUILDWARS2Junkies.com!

So if you think you might be a Guild Wars Junkie then let us feed your addiction.