Star Wars: The Old Republic Could Go Entirely Free-to-Play Yet

Even though they just made the announcement that Star Wars: The Old Republic will have a free trial that allows players to reach level 15, the BioWare Austin team isn't ruling out the possibility that the game could switch entirely to a free-to-play business model given the steep competition the game continues to face. Or at least that's the suggestion that lead designer Emmanuel Lusinchi has made in an interview with GamesTM Magazine:
(I think it's more than the free-to-play model it's more that there is a lot of competitive offers,) suggests Lusinchi. (If it was just free-to-play games and they weren't very good it wouldn't even be a question but there are definitely good games out there and good games coming out, so of course all of this competition impacts your plan with what you want to do.)

Still, the advantages of free-to-play haven't gone unnoticed by the developer. Asked whether it would be feasible to adapt The Old Republic to a free-to-play model, Lusinchi coyly suggests that the wheels may be in motion for a drastic change.

(The MMO market is very dynamic and we need to be dynamic as well,) he says. (Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations. So we are looking at free-to-play but I can't tell you in much detail. We have to be flexible and adapt to what is going on.)
Unfortunately, the rest of the interview is only available in the print or digital version of the magazine, so that's the only tease we're able to provide.