Nothing in life is truly free firstoff and the OP should of done the article on what F2P mmo's do to the gaming community. Not in a good way either.
I hardly see any realistic articles from mmorpg.com anymore and after seeing some harsh views of certain mmo's deleted from the forums, I'm beginning to think someone is dipping in their pockets in order to create sculpted reviews of certain games on the site to boost publicity.
Most likely this post will get deleted too if that is true.
The author should have took his time to research first, this whole article is just misinformation all over the place. For every "optimistic" incorrect point made I can think of 5 things that could horribly go wrong.
Ya I don't agree with the F2P move but that doesn't change that this article should not have been published. Here some facts.
gpotato is horrible company to give praise to, ya awesome games alright, you mean those one's that get milked with little to no updates?
You will be paying for expansions (both VIP, "lifetime", and free) as well as "premium" quests. It's just a way to make as little content as possible and make money off it.
Lastly to put Lotro in the light and say they have timely updates is laughable. Their is no content in their updates unless you like doing 3-5 raids 20 times over till you can grind your gear content.
Lotro was a good game but it's lack of updates to anything remotely lore wise is terrible. If you are not a raider there is nothing there for you except the short epic quests they through in. I seem to find myself play the expansions or wait till about 5-6 updates and come back and play the block of content then done. F2P is going to make this any better no you will be playing for the book content you would have gotten with your subscription.
I knew warner brothers would drive this in the ground...ah matrix anyone?
[[ DEAD ]] - Funny - I deleted my account on the site using the cancel account button. Forum user is separate and still exists with no way of deleting it. Delete it admins. Do it, this ends now.
I for one will gladly re-visit LoTRO if its going f2p
it was a great game. The only reason I did not continue is because I did not have enough time to play to justify paying a subscription fee.
That said however, I understand ppl's concerns that dropping the monthly fee will open the doors for more a more immature crowd to enter which previously couldn't afford themselves joining the game
LOTRO is a very good PvE game. Not great, but very good. If a lifetime subber, I've long gotten the value out of my measely $200, sure, but I still play now and again, for the game's fun. I see a rather lot of subbers playing now, and enjoying the game.
Once the F2P model hits, I predict some lifers like me, and numerous subbers, will leave (for the countless reasons posted in response to the recent MMORPG.com laugh-fest which was the news post defending F2P).
Sure TONS of new players will try LOTRO, and many will stay for the very good PvE experience, but hardly ANYONE will acutally buy anything in the cash shops (they don't WANT to spend money on LOTRO, they would've subbed already had they wanted to!).
So, Turbine is going to scare away subbers and lifers, the very life blood of the game, and actract hordes of non-paying customers? Yeah, that's a good business model. *rolls eyes*
I have to disagree. Let me explain.
DDO
After it went free to play it had a massive surge of new free AND paid subscriptions.
DDO and LOTRO are very, very different games. Turbine has to know that. Applying the F2P model to DDO (a rather underwhelming single-player simple dungeon crawler in the guise of a MMORPG) won't be the same as applying it to LOTRO (an old-school MMORPG with a much higher population and devoted fanbase).
well if monster play ain't free then LoTRO stays off my hard drive and stays on my shelf.
Who the hell plays lotro for monster play? lol
The ones that have 1+ characters on both sides that are max ranked. I heard that grind is comparable to the PvP grind to Grand Marshal WoW used to have.
I agree with most of your points but I really doubt #4 will happen. While I would love it to be that way I just don't see them doing that considering how many will be willing to shell out money for them. Besides if they were going to go that route then wouldn't they alkready be consideinr that with Miorkwood and Moria?
Really hope you're right though and I'm wrong. But I doubt it. Nice article all around though.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
I've had a life time membership to the game since it came out I played it for a few months then stopped and haven't played since. Just lost interest in it mainly. Its a decently made mmo, just not what I'm interested in. Been thinking selling my account and lifetime membership.
Oh, and updates in LOTRO weren't going slow because of a lack of subscribers or anything like that. They just decided to screw up their subscription base and dedicate the last year or so planning and developing the changes to make it F2P instead of content for their current player base, which is the reason we'll have a beta already going few weeks after the announcement. They've been working on it for a long time already.
Im intruiged as for a f2p game they game will be incredibly well polished and have enough content to satisfy me.
That is where this F2P is not free. You will be free to explore and grind random mobs in all of Middle Earth(minus Moria and beyond without paying. But if you want to quest beyond the racial staring area that take you to level 20. Then you will have to pay. Each leveling area will have to be paid for to open up the quest NPC's. That is not free at all. So the free content will be limited to around level 20. Then it will be grind or pay for content.
Now I haven't seen how much it will cost to unlock an area. It could end up being a lot cheaper than a monthly sub if you are a slow leveler. Back when I played. Level 1 to 20 would just take a few days to a week depending on the time I had to play. The 20 to 30 would take a week and a half or so. The 30 to 40 would take longer. Then throw in crafting and it could take much longer. Once you get to 50 plus. It will be cheaper to pay for quest areas vs subs. And at level cap, you just unlock all the areas and play for free until the next update or expansion. So in the long run, the pay to quest should be cheaper than the sub they have now. I could never make it that far though. Inwould get board with the cmbat and leave. Now I can go back when it is free and just pay for new content. It may work out well in the long run.
This person is making stuff up as he goes along and clearly hasn't read the interview that was posted on this site, or the breakdown that Turbine did of the model :-)
This is just misinformation. I'm not going to call you on it though because apparently that gets me banned from these boards.
Edit: He's read the interview but altered certain facts (such as there being over 300 hours of content for free gamers, full access to instances and the world, and also main quest content including book content available to all players right up to cap). Peripheral quest givers will have to be purchased per area, but each payment will unlock ALL quest givers in that area.
Sorry, I know they said that the main quest line will be available, but according to the flow chart on lotro.com which anyone can view, only the starting regions are listed for free and premium (anyone who's ever spent money on the game) players.
You may be right, but you should know by now you cannot trust a developer to tell you the truth. They may mean the main questline up to the end of book 1, none of us know. I'm going to assume the worst, in that it's only the starting regions that are free, and if I'm wrong then I guess I'll be pleasantly surprised and help myself to a portion of crow.
Oh, and updates in LOTRO weren't going slow because of a lack of subscribers or anything like that. They just decided to screw up their subscription base and dedicate the last year or so planning and developing the changes to make it F2P instead of content for their current player base, which is the reason we'll have a beta already going few weeks after the announcement. They've been working on it for a long time already.
Your updater must be broken. I've had several updates over the past year, including a mini expansion and an adventure pack. You may want to re-download your patcher.
OzzallosRunes of Magic CorrespondentMemberUncommonPosts: 35
Let's all be honest...
Free To Play may have once been the next big thing in MMO gaming, but that's not what it has become. These days, it's the bargain bin at Gamestop full of titles that nobody will pay full price for. It's the header under which you file the sick and the lame; likewise, It's also a home to the greedy and apethetic. Either the title couldn't cut it as a subscription because of some intrinsic failure, or they failed to generate enough upfront interest to secure long term funding.
Or they are looking to fleece you for more money by claiming your ability to "play for free"; your choice.
Either way, I think it's time to acknowledge that most of the games claiming the f2p banner aren't anymore free than shareware is free; unless you count purposely crippled software allowing only the most basic use before payment is required as "free". At best, it's time to call this stuff trialware or something else, because payment will be required for any signifignant form of advancement to take place.
Free to Play would be your web based email account. It's fully functional and advert based. Your email delivery won't slow down just because you didn't pay into some micro transactional panzi scheme, nor will your ability to attatch media be turned off because you didn't rent it for a week.
I guess you can be happy about LotR going trialware, but do yourself a favor and don't ever mistake that for free. Hell, whether it's even remotely better for your wallet over the long term is debatable. You think that money for more content and updates is just going to magically rain from the sky?
#6: All the Landroval "entitlement babies" will leave the game and even with the influx of "script kidz", the overall quality of the player base will still rise.
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. -Winston Churchill
Anyone stating that this will be good for the game is just making a whole lot of assumptions.
Anyone stating that this will be bad for the game is just making a whole lot of assumptions.
The fact is, we just do not know what going FTP will do for a lore-rich, AAA MMO. We know that it saved a sinking ship that is DDO, but DDO is not even close to LOTRO in any way, save that they are both owned by Turbine.
We'll see in four months what happens, for good or for bad.
THIS ^^^^^
People can cry out WOLF! all they want
or they can cry out GOLD! all they want
but we'll never ever know the end result until the freaking thing actually is released.
5. The mere fact that its F2P doesn't actually change the game to an exent that it will change your on-again/off-again desire to play the game. If it bored you before after a couple of months, no reason it won't be the same now. So hard to see how this is a positive.
4. Might? Something that might happen is a plus?
3. More new players? You admit you're ignoring the negatives so really how fair is this as being a good reason?
2. Just like 4, this good reason is based on a hope of something that might happen.
1. Really? Going f2p is good because its going f2p?
Given the general shallowness of this list considering how strong and convincing it could have been if there were valid good reasons, it comes across more as lame commercial for lotro.
Yes, you get around 300 hours of play, but not the quests. The quests need pay and yes, the pay is for the whole area, but remember, you have to pay for it! So stop assuming you will get the whole game for free! You will only have 2 slots for characters like ddo and for the rest you have to pay. You have limit of 2 gold and have limit of bag hold. For more you have to pay! All new expansions you have to pay for. So....before claiming someone hasnt read the FAQ, dont do it yourself either!
Turbine has created a wonderful success with their DDO f2p model, and being THAT GUY who despises free to play games and considers most of them mmo trash on a horrid level, I have to admit, I am impressed with their ambition and they way they took care of their lifers. I wish them nothing but success with this model, and hope it does well for all the LOTR fans out there. I am extremely curious to see how this goes over.
DDO since going F2P has done little to take care of its VIPs to be honest. The content updates are not aimed at us, the changes to make the game easier are not aimed at us, but the nerfs ahhhhh yes these are aimed at us. If Turbine treats LOTRO lifers and VIPs like it did DDOs might I suggest stock in KY ASAP.
Turbine has created a wonderful success with their DDO f2p model, and being THAT GUY who despises free to play games and considers most of them mmo trash on a horrid level, I have to admit, I am impressed with their ambition and they way they took care of their lifers. I wish them nothing but success with this model, and hope it does well for all the LOTR fans out there. I am extremely curious to see how this goes over.
DDO since going F2P has done little to take care of its VIPs to be honest. The content updates are not aimed at us, the changes to make the game easier are not aimed at us, but the nerfs ahhhhh yes these are aimed at us. If Turbine treats LOTRO lifers and VIPs like it did DDOs might I suggest stock in KY ASAP.
So what your saying is that the content isn't aimed at the people who have the least reason to spend any money? Now that is surprising!
Turbine has created a wonderful success with their DDO f2p model, and being THAT GUY who despises free to play games and considers most of them mmo trash on a horrid level, I have to admit, I am impressed with their ambition and they way they took care of their lifers. I wish them nothing but success with this model, and hope it does well for all the LOTR fans out there. I am extremely curious to see how this goes over.
DDO since going F2P has done little to take care of its VIPs to be honest. The content updates are not aimed at us, the changes to make the game easier are not aimed at us, but the nerfs ahhhhh yes these are aimed at us. If Turbine treats LOTRO lifers and VIPs like it did DDOs might I suggest stock in KY ASAP.
So what your saying is that the content isn't aimed at the people who have the least reason to spend any money? Now that is surprising!
What I am saying is expect to be treated the same if you are a lifer in LOTRO. Turbine is not Powered by its Fans. It is powered by money(which is fine) they just do not admit it.
Long time Vets are just as likely to spend money. The fact that they paid for the game when it cost 50 bucks in the store and paid 15 a month to play are proof that they are willing to spend. The problem is numbers, there are simply less people like me in DDO then there are new players since F2P. If LOTRO goes the same way then expect to be treated the same by Turbine. Content will be aimed at the level people have the most chars so that they are more likely to buy the content. In DDO this has not been high level content.
In 12 months time Lord of the Rings Online will be the largest and most profitable Free 2 Play titles in the West and one of the largest MMOs in the World. It will quickly gain critical acclaim and the hundreds of re-reviews that will appear will cement its status as the game that started the mass migration to hybrid models. It may even scare the hell out of Blizzard :-)
Everyone else seems to be making baseless assumptions, so I thought I'd join in ;-)
Er no.
I am a Lifer and I love LOTRO but there is no way it will scare the crap out of Blizzard.
THE SECRET WORLD - PAY ONCE PLAY FOREVER - Give it a go!
Turbine has created a wonderful success with their DDO f2p model, and being THAT GUY who despises free to play games and considers most of them mmo trash on a horrid level, I have to admit, I am impressed with their ambition and they way they took care of their lifers. I wish them nothing but success with this model, and hope it does well for all the LOTR fans out there. I am extremely curious to see how this goes over.
DDO since going F2P has done little to take care of its VIPs to be honest. The content updates are not aimed at us, the changes to make the game easier are not aimed at us, but the nerfs ahhhhh yes these are aimed at us. If Turbine treats LOTRO lifers and VIPs like it did DDOs might I suggest stock in KY ASAP.
So what your saying is that the content isn't aimed at the people who have the least reason to spend any money? Now that is surprising!
What I am saying is expect to be treated the same if you are a lifer in LOTRO. Turbine is not Powered by its Fans. It is powered by money(which is fine) they just do not admit it.
Long time Vets are just as likely to spend money. The fact that they paid for the game when it cost 50 bucks in the store and paid 15 a month to play are proof that they are willing to spend. The problem is numbers, there are simply less people like me in DDO then there are new players since F2P. If LOTRO goes the same way then expect to be treated the same by Turbine. Content will be aimed at the level people have the most chars so that they are more likely to buy the content. In DDO this has not been high level content.
I think the difference is that in LOTRO there is a story to follow. The path is set and the locations are from the lore. They will continue with Isengard, Rohan, Gondor and Mordor. Probably small moves with content expansion over the next 4 plus years that they have the IP licence.
I am fine with only paying for the new content when released. I no longer have to pay for a game that I won't play much anyway. I would just like to see the game to the end with the quest and stories they come up with. The questing content if fun, but not much else. This F2P will be the best thing for me with this game. I am looking forword to no longer haveing to pay when there is nothing new to do.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them? R.A.Salvatore
I get it that people are concerned upset, or consider this a failure but the truth is it's not a failure just a different approach. I think in all honesty the only reason we are freaking out is becaues we aren't used to it. And we look at change as failure.
I too would discredit most MMOs that were F2P but I don't know why. You can't say the crowd sucks and is childish.. look at WoW or any MMO for that matter. It's going to attract the people it attracts...
I was against F2P.. I liked paying to weed out people who weren't serious about the game and pay for stability and updates ect.. but opinion on F2P is changing with the newer F2P models.. and I think others should really reevaluate before jumping to a conclusion about this
What's it take to do EVERYTHING in LotRO now as it is? 3 months? 6 months tops? I'm betting much less, but we're going to give the benefit of the doubt.
6 months x $15 = $90
Hey you know what? Let's REALLY be generous and say it takes a year to get through every scrap and morsel of LotRO content ( yes, I know that's a ridiculous and laughable amount of over-compensation, but I don't want the fanbois to cry TOO hard ).
12 months x $15 = $180
So when that little cash shop hits, unless you can buy ALL of the currently available content that players have now for $180 or less, F2P is NOT cheaper than P2P.
Oh, but wait. We forgot the founders and those who took advantage of one of the recurring offers to play for $9.99 a month.
12 months x $9.99 = $119.88
So, unless you can buy EVERYTHING in the current game for $119.88 or less, F2P is NOT cheaper than P2P.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.- -And on the 8th day, man created God.-
Comments
Nothing in life is truly free firstoff and the OP should of done the article on what F2P mmo's do to the gaming community. Not in a good way either.
I hardly see any realistic articles from mmorpg.com anymore and after seeing some harsh views of certain mmo's deleted from the forums, I'm beginning to think someone is dipping in their pockets in order to create sculpted reviews of certain games on the site to boost publicity.
Most likely this post will get deleted too if that is true.
The author should have took his time to research first, this whole article is just misinformation all over the place. For every "optimistic" incorrect point made I can think of 5 things that could horribly go wrong.
Ya I don't agree with the F2P move but that doesn't change that this article should not have been published. Here some facts.
gpotato is horrible company to give praise to, ya awesome games alright, you mean those one's that get milked with little to no updates?
You will be paying for expansions (both VIP, "lifetime", and free) as well as "premium" quests. It's just a way to make as little content as possible and make money off it.
Lastly to put Lotro in the light and say they have timely updates is laughable. Their is no content in their updates unless you like doing 3-5 raids 20 times over till you can grind your gear content.
Lotro was a good game but it's lack of updates to anything remotely lore wise is terrible. If you are not a raider there is nothing there for you except the short epic quests they through in. I seem to find myself play the expansions or wait till about 5-6 updates and come back and play the block of content then done. F2P is going to make this any better no you will be playing for the book content you would have gotten with your subscription.
I knew warner brothers would drive this in the ground...ah matrix anyone?
I for one will gladly re-visit LoTRO if its going f2p
it was a great game. The only reason I did not continue is because I did not have enough time to play to justify paying a subscription fee.
That said however, I understand ppl's concerns that dropping the monthly fee will open the doors for more a more immature crowd to enter which previously couldn't afford themselves joining the game
DDO and LOTRO are very, very different games. Turbine has to know that. Applying the F2P model to DDO (a rather underwhelming single-player simple dungeon crawler in the guise of a MMORPG) won't be the same as applying it to LOTRO (an old-school MMORPG with a much higher population and devoted fanbase).
The ones that have 1+ characters on both sides that are max ranked. I heard that grind is comparable to the PvP grind to Grand Marshal WoW used to have.
I agree with most of your points but I really doubt #4 will happen. While I would love it to be that way I just don't see them doing that considering how many will be willing to shell out money for them. Besides if they were going to go that route then wouldn't they alkready be consideinr that with Miorkwood and Moria?
Really hope you're right though and I'm wrong. But I doubt it. Nice article all around though.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
They should bring back The Matrix online game for f2p
I've had a life time membership to the game since it came out I played it for a few months then stopped and haven't played since. Just lost interest in it mainly. Its a decently made mmo, just not what I'm interested in. Been thinking selling my account and lifetime membership.
Oh, and updates in LOTRO weren't going slow because of a lack of subscribers or anything like that. They just decided to screw up their subscription base and dedicate the last year or so planning and developing the changes to make it F2P instead of content for their current player base, which is the reason we'll have a beta already going few weeks after the announcement. They've been working on it for a long time already.
Sure, bring back Shadowbane as F2P, bring back Earth and Beyond...bring back Auto Assault.
I miss the MMORPG genre. Will a developer ever make one again?
Explorer: 87%, Killer: 67%, Achiever: 27%, Socializer: 20%
Sorry, I know they said that the main quest line will be available, but according to the flow chart on lotro.com which anyone can view, only the starting regions are listed for free and premium (anyone who's ever spent money on the game) players.
You may be right, but you should know by now you cannot trust a developer to tell you the truth. They may mean the main questline up to the end of book 1, none of us know. I'm going to assume the worst, in that it's only the starting regions that are free, and if I'm wrong then I guess I'll be pleasantly surprised and help myself to a portion of crow.
Your updater must be broken. I've had several updates over the past year, including a mini expansion and an adventure pack. You may want to re-download your patcher.
Let's all be honest...
Free To Play may have once been the next big thing in MMO gaming, but that's not what it has become. These days, it's the bargain bin at Gamestop full of titles that nobody will pay full price for. It's the header under which you file the sick and the lame; likewise, It's also a home to the greedy and apethetic. Either the title couldn't cut it as a subscription because of some intrinsic failure, or they failed to generate enough upfront interest to secure long term funding.
Or they are looking to fleece you for more money by claiming your ability to "play for free"; your choice.
Either way, I think it's time to acknowledge that most of the games claiming the f2p banner aren't anymore free than shareware is free; unless you count purposely crippled software allowing only the most basic use before payment is required as "free". At best, it's time to call this stuff trialware or something else, because payment will be required for any signifignant form of advancement to take place.
Free to Play would be your web based email account. It's fully functional and advert based. Your email delivery won't slow down just because you didn't pay into some micro transactional panzi scheme, nor will your ability to attatch media be turned off because you didn't rent it for a week.
I guess you can be happy about LotR going trialware, but do yourself a favor and don't ever mistake that for free. Hell, whether it's even remotely better for your wallet over the long term is debatable. You think that money for more content and updates is just going to magically rain from the sky?
#6: All the Landroval "entitlement babies" will leave the game and even with the influx of "script kidz", the overall quality of the player base will still rise.
THIS ^^^^^
People can cry out WOLF! all they want
or they can cry out GOLD! all they want
but we'll never ever know the end result until the freaking thing actually is released.
Stop assuming.
5. The mere fact that its F2P doesn't actually change the game to an exent that it will change your on-again/off-again desire to play the game. If it bored you before after a couple of months, no reason it won't be the same now. So hard to see how this is a positive.
4. Might? Something that might happen is a plus?
3. More new players? You admit you're ignoring the negatives so really how fair is this as being a good reason?
2. Just like 4, this good reason is based on a hope of something that might happen.
1. Really? Going f2p is good because its going f2p?
Given the general shallowness of this list considering how strong and convincing it could have been if there were valid good reasons, it comes across more as lame commercial for lotro.
I read on lotro-europe that an expansion will be ready by october.
Turbine will continue to add more content and maybe new classes (as in DDO) I think it will be a great success.
Think about ROM. How many players has? 2-3 ,million worldwide?
Now compare it with lotro. No wait, compare the existing f2p games with lotro.
Its like comparing a hut with a gothic cathedral.
Very good point!
Yes, you get around 300 hours of play, but not the quests. The quests need pay and yes, the pay is for the whole area, but remember, you have to pay for it! So stop assuming you will get the whole game for free! You will only have 2 slots for characters like ddo and for the rest you have to pay. You have limit of 2 gold and have limit of bag hold. For more you have to pay! All new expansions you have to pay for. So....before claiming someone hasnt read the FAQ, dont do it yourself either!
DDO since going F2P has done little to take care of its VIPs to be honest. The content updates are not aimed at us, the changes to make the game easier are not aimed at us, but the nerfs ahhhhh yes these are aimed at us. If Turbine treats LOTRO lifers and VIPs like it did DDOs might I suggest stock in KY ASAP.
So what your saying is that the content isn't aimed at the people who have the least reason to spend any money? Now that is surprising!
What I am saying is expect to be treated the same if you are a lifer in LOTRO. Turbine is not Powered by its Fans. It is powered by money(which is fine) they just do not admit it.
Long time Vets are just as likely to spend money. The fact that they paid for the game when it cost 50 bucks in the store and paid 15 a month to play are proof that they are willing to spend. The problem is numbers, there are simply less people like me in DDO then there are new players since F2P. If LOTRO goes the same way then expect to be treated the same by Turbine. Content will be aimed at the level people have the most chars so that they are more likely to buy the content. In DDO this has not been high level content.
Er no.
I am a Lifer and I love LOTRO but there is no way it will scare the crap out of Blizzard.
THE SECRET WORLD - PAY ONCE PLAY FOREVER - Give it a go!
http://www.thesecretworld.com/buy/
OR PM ME FOR A BUDDY KEY (need your email address).
I think the difference is that in LOTRO there is a story to follow. The path is set and the locations are from the lore. They will continue with Isengard, Rohan, Gondor and Mordor. Probably small moves with content expansion over the next 4 plus years that they have the IP licence.
I am fine with only paying for the new content when released. I no longer have to pay for a game that I won't play much anyway. I would just like to see the game to the end with the quest and stories they come up with. The questing content if fun, but not much else. This F2P will be the best thing for me with this game. I am looking forword to no longer haveing to pay when there is nothing new to do.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them?
R.A.Salvatore
I get it that people are concerned upset, or consider this a failure but the truth is it's not a failure just a different approach. I think in all honesty the only reason we are freaking out is becaues we aren't used to it. And we look at change as failure.
I too would discredit most MMOs that were F2P but I don't know why. You can't say the crowd sucks and is childish.. look at WoW or any MMO for that matter. It's going to attract the people it attracts...
I was against F2P.. I liked paying to weed out people who weren't serious about the game and pay for stability and updates ect.. but opinion on F2P is changing with the newer F2P models.. and I think others should really reevaluate before jumping to a conclusion about this
What's it take to do EVERYTHING in LotRO now as it is? 3 months? 6 months tops? I'm betting much less, but we're going to give the benefit of the doubt.
6 months x $15 = $90
Hey you know what? Let's REALLY be generous and say it takes a year to get through every scrap and morsel of LotRO content ( yes, I know that's a ridiculous and laughable amount of over-compensation, but I don't want the fanbois to cry TOO hard ).
12 months x $15 = $180
So when that little cash shop hits, unless you can buy ALL of the currently available content that players have now for $180 or less, F2P is NOT cheaper than P2P.
Oh, but wait. We forgot the founders and those who took advantage of one of the recurring offers to play for $9.99 a month.
12 months x $9.99 = $119.88
So, unless you can buy EVERYTHING in the current game for $119.88 or less, F2P is NOT cheaper than P2P.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-