If you think their in- and out-of-game support is (arguably) bad now, imagine what it would be like if/when they go F2P. Not to mention the extra in-flux of gold-sellers (that would no longer have to pay to spew their disease at everyone). WoW going F2P would definitely mark the end of my playing it.
Thankfully, I expect it's a very long time coming; if only because I don't see anything in the near future challenging WoW for its position (due to everything that's in development, lately, seeming to want to rely on little more than hype, as opposed to solid concept, design and content).
LOL look at UO,EverQuest, DAOC, and some other pioneering/major:at their time MMO's that are 6+ years old and still have subs. I dont think wow will go F2P anytime soon.
LOL look at UO,EverQuest, DAOC, and some other pioneering/major:at their time MMO's that are 6+ years old and still have subs. I dont think wow will go F2P anytime soon.
I don't know about that as the business suits that run Blizzard nowadays probably have hired economists to look at there financial models for games so while it might read like a strange idea to you it might make perfect sense inside Blizzard. I'll just bet you that the Cash shop success in recent times is at odds with a gradually declining game population. A dynamic and sexy cash shop in an f2p model could keep the WoW cash cow going for longer than a sub-based system. Heck everything about WoW says gradual decline...they remake the Vanilla world, their raids go down from 40 to 25 and then towards 10 as an optimal number, and they make it plain they have a next gen mmo coming out in a year or twos time.
Well, it's true. If a new mmo releases that knocks them off, or they release their next mmo, they would most likely turn WoW into a cash shop only game.
I, for one, would be completely fine with this as long as they don't pick up that dreadful micro-payment crap that has become ever so popular amongst eastern games. I mean, sure it generates revenue, but sometimes in the most underhanded of ways. But, the reasons stated above make plenty of sense, not so much the "If another game comes along and blows us away" one, but more rather the one stating if they were to make a game that is as equally popular as WoW.
WoW has made money hand over fist of its development costs 100 times over. Going F2P wouldnt really hurt the game at all in my opinion. Specially when u look at how many ppl buy things like shiny ponies from the store, lol. I quit wow permanently tho so it doesnt affect me.
I like both the F2P and P2P models. Problems arise when the game already has a certain model and wants to change. For example: LOTRO will lose a lot of fans that made the solid base now it is F2P, rage kiddies ruining it => less people => not even rage kiddies wanna play on a empty server ^^ => game dies. + dont get me started about the item balances...
This won't happen as long as it remains a cash cow. You can speculate all you want, but this will only happen much later in Wow's lifetime.
Again the f2p misnomer rears it's ugly head. Again, nothing is really free except possibly a trial. Lotr's change is also not free, again a free to try, pay to play game.
I think Blizzard could make more money through the micro transactions model. If they charge 5 to 30 dollars from their cash shop for cool mounts to new dungeon raid content they would probably make more money than from just plain subs.
lol....because 15 a month is too much money for you poor bas[s]tards? Christ you spend more than that if you go out drinking ONCE a month.
I mean seriously, cut out one "Going out to Eat"....you'll have more than a month's worth of subscription money.
Now if they go with a proper plan of:
Free:
* 5mans (norm/heroic) & non-rated BGs
Pay (monthly sub):
*Raids (norm/heroic), rated-BGs, Arenas
Then that's fine...along with "Luxury" Items (ie mounts, pets) on a Cash Shop. So long as it's not "You want T15 it'll cost you $30....or you could just raid for it". WTF would be the point in playing the game if every aspect of the game play could just be bought.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising everytime we fall.
ToR must have them scared. hehe But yes it will be awhile yet for the to go F2P ike it was said if u are still get 15.00 time's 1 Mill Sub's u are not going F2P but when they start hitting the 100K mark or so They will be looking to getting there Sub's Back up. If they Bring out a WoW2 Then they will go F2P around the time the Ship it. Which might be there best bet there already losin ppl Before all the new MMO hit's the street. Ppl are just dropping there Sub and waiting around for them, and catching up on some long lost ife and console game's. hehe
I think Blizzard could make more money through the micro transactions model. If they charge 5 to 30 dollars from their cash shop for cool mounts to new dungeon raid content they would probably make more money than from just plain subs.
Are you serious? If they turn f2p do you think that everyone of those 11 million will pay more than 15$ monthly? Not only a bunch of them will not spend a dime but a lot of others will come. Yeah some may spend money but the majority in f2p games never or very little do. With the reputation of wow I would expect a big number of f2p gamers aproaching thus creating astronomical costs to maintain the servers.
I think Blizzard could make more money through the micro transactions model. If they charge 5 to 30 dollars from their cash shop for cool mounts to new dungeon raid content they would probably make more money than from just plain subs.
Are you serious? If they turn f2p do you think that everyone of those 11 million will pay more than 15$ monthly? Not only a bunch of them will not spend a dime but a lot of others will come. Yeah some may spend money but the majority in f2p games never or very little do. With the reputation of wow I would expect a big number of f2p gamers aproaching thus creating astronomical costs to maintain the servers.
actually some f2ps make atrocious amounts of money. It depends how good the game is, the population, and how the mt shop is setup, like if you buy cosmetic stuff or content. But seeing how wow has a huge pop now, is a good game based off its years of p2p model, and it would bring more customers, WoW would be more of a cash cow then ever as f2p
MMOs played: Too many Watch List: FFXIV, CoH:GR, GW2, SWTOR, TERA, Earthrise
I think Blizzard could make more money through the micro transactions model. If they charge 5 to 30 dollars from their cash shop for cool mounts to new dungeon raid content they would probably make more money than from just plain subs.
Are you serious? If they turn f2p do you think that everyone of those 11 million will pay more than 15$ monthly? Not only a bunch of them will not spend a dime but a lot of others will come. Yeah some may spend money but the majority in f2p games never or very little do. With the reputation of wow I would expect a big number of f2p gamers aproaching thus creating astronomical costs to maintain the servers.
actually some f2ps make atrocious amounts of money. It depends how good the game is, the population, and how the mt shop is setup, like if you buy cosmetic stuff or content. But seeing how wow has a huge pop now, is a good game based off its years of p2p model, and it would bring more customers, WoW would be more of a cash cow then ever as f2p
Some games are f2p because they are not worth to be p2p. Peoples would not pay a sub for those game so instead of making no $ at all lets turn f2p and make a bit. Do you have any idea how many peoples would start to come in wow if it went f2p? That would create a really big cost maintaining the servers. A big majority of those players would pay no money at all because those who can pay already do.
Or what about those peoples that would get pissed off from this decision.
I would doubt you'll see them go free to play unless they're ready to move onto another project and will no longer be adding expansions. Their tests with micro-transaction items were highly successful but I'd be shocked if they were willing to give up a winning formula.
I think Blizzard could make more money through the micro transactions model. If they charge 5 to 30 dollars from their cash shop for cool mounts to new dungeon raid content they would probably make more money than from just plain subs.
Are you serious? If they turn f2p do you think that everyone of those 11 million will pay more than 15$ monthly? Not only a bunch of them will not spend a dime but a lot of others will come. Yeah some may spend money but the majority in f2p games never or very little do. With the reputation of wow I would expect a big number of f2p gamers aproaching thus creating astronomical costs to maintain the servers.
actually some f2ps make atrocious amounts of money. It depends how good the game is, the population, and how the mt shop is setup, like if you buy cosmetic stuff or content. But seeing how wow has a huge pop now, is a good game based off its years of p2p model, and it would bring more customers, WoW would be more of a cash cow then ever as f2p
Some games are f2p because they are not worth to be p2p. Peoples would not pay a sub for those game so instead of making no $ at all lets turn f2p and make a bit. Do you have any idea how many peoples would start to come in wow if it went f2p? That would create a really big cost maintaining the servers. A big majority of those players would pay no money at all because those who can pay already do.
Or what about those peoples that would get pissed off from this decision.
Sounds like your counter arguments are based off your experiences, cuz your not making a whole lot of sense. More players doesnt mean more players that wont buy any shit. Many will, and wiht a game thats well polished like WoW, thats more buyers, and f2p costs way more than p2p if you put money in it.
MMOs played: Too many Watch List: FFXIV, CoH:GR, GW2, SWTOR, TERA, Earthrise
I think Blizzard could make more money through the micro transactions model. If they charge 5 to 30 dollars from their cash shop for cool mounts to new dungeon raid content they would probably make more money than from just plain subs.
Are you serious? If they turn f2p do you think that everyone of those 11 million will pay more than 15$ monthly? Not only a bunch of them will not spend a dime but a lot of others will come. Yeah some may spend money but the majority in f2p games never or very little do. With the reputation of wow I would expect a big number of f2p gamers aproaching thus creating astronomical costs to maintain the servers.
Well, this is the thing WoW already has ftp via there trial system, so I don't think going the whole hog would have that much impact, but it might stop players cancelling from the game and preserve their high player numbers from the coming next gen mmo, remember folks WoW is a game from yesterday now. A sexy well-run cash shop, which is what WoW has now, can generate more revenue over a declining sub system, as though it is against your logic as a gamer players will pay cash for rare mounts and pets or for exclusive dungeon raid content. Simply put micro transactions maintains the player base since they don't ever really need to cancel from FTP, but give you a large player pool with which to tempt them with your cash shop stuff.
Must be funny for the people who have been active for years on WoW. I know a guy that ran his subscription for over 3 years. 36x 15€ (540€). And then it turns free to play. Rofl ?
Surely the game would be cheaper than 540€ as a Free to play (the irony lol) ?
Pfft. There's about the same likelihood of WoW going f2p as there is WoW players queing up to pay real money for, I don't know, a sparkly unicorn or something.
Honestly.
Eh? Eh? Really?
Oh.
The ruptured capillaries in your nose belie the clarity of your wisdom.
Must be funny for the people who have been active for years on WoW. I know a guy that ran his subscription for over 3 years. 36x 15€ (540€). And then it turns free to play. Rofl ?
Surely the game would be cheaper than 540€ as a Free to play (the irony lol) ?
Amazing logic there m8. He's not paying 3 years in advance is he, that guy you know? No that's right, he's paying for actual playtime. How much playtime did the guy paying 0 bucks get in those 3 years?
Must be funny for the people who have been active for years on WoW. I know a guy that ran his subscription for over 3 years. 36x 15€ (540€). And then it turns free to play. Rofl ?
Surely the game would be cheaper than 540€ as a Free to play (the irony lol) ?
You seem to think that people playing regard this money as wasted which is not true. I dont even think about the sub fee. 15 dollars is nothing and for that 15 dollars I have gotten way more game than I would if I bought anything else basically. I sometimes think I wasted money on a 5h shooter but its never happend with an mmo I played. Going back to the topic its a non issue for me since WoW will not go F2P as long as its on top. There is no point to it. The reward is not worth the risk. When in 10 years WoWs numbers fall to the standard mmo numbers they might go f2p. Also this whole debate is based on Turbine and its two games that are f2p, but quite frankly becouse DDO is a success does not mean the same will happen with LOTRO.
Comments
They already have a CS so it's just an inevitable circumstance when they go F2P CS
If you think their in- and out-of-game support is (arguably) bad now, imagine what it would be like if/when they go F2P. Not to mention the extra in-flux of gold-sellers (that would no longer have to pay to spew their disease at everyone). WoW going F2P would definitely mark the end of my playing it.
Thankfully, I expect it's a very long time coming; if only because I don't see anything in the near future challenging WoW for its position (due to everything that's in development, lately, seeming to want to rely on little more than hype, as opposed to solid concept, design and content).
LOL look at UO,EverQuest, DAOC, and some other pioneering/major:at their time MMO's that are 6+ years old and still have subs. I dont think wow will go F2P anytime soon.
I don't know about that as the business suits that run Blizzard nowadays probably have hired economists to look at there financial models for games so while it might read like a strange idea to you it might make perfect sense inside Blizzard. I'll just bet you that the Cash shop success in recent times is at odds with a gradually declining game population. A dynamic and sexy cash shop in an f2p model could keep the WoW cash cow going for longer than a sub-based system. Heck everything about WoW says gradual decline...they remake the Vanilla world, their raids go down from 40 to 25 and then towards 10 as an optimal number, and they make it plain they have a next gen mmo coming out in a year or twos time.Who is this SBFord?
Well, it's true. If a new mmo releases that knocks them off, or they release their next mmo, they would most likely turn WoW into a cash shop only game.
But that could be millions of years from now....
I, for one, would be completely fine with this as long as they don't pick up that dreadful micro-payment crap that has become ever so popular amongst eastern games. I mean, sure it generates revenue, but sometimes in the most underhanded of ways. But, the reasons stated above make plenty of sense, not so much the "If another game comes along and blows us away" one, but more rather the one stating if they were to make a game that is as equally popular as WoW.
Sorcereo's Arts! http://sorcereo.deviantart.com/
WoW has made money hand over fist of its development costs 100 times over. Going F2P wouldnt really hurt the game at all in my opinion. Specially when u look at how many ppl buy things like shiny ponies from the store, lol. I quit wow permanently tho so it doesnt affect me.
I like both the F2P and P2P models. Problems arise when the game already has a certain model and wants to change. For example: LOTRO will lose a lot of fans that made the solid base now it is F2P, rage kiddies ruining it => less people => not even rage kiddies wanna play on a empty server ^^ => game dies. + dont get me started about the item balances...
This won't happen as long as it remains a cash cow. You can speculate all you want, but this will only happen much later in Wow's lifetime.
Again the f2p misnomer rears it's ugly head. Again, nothing is really free except possibly a trial. Lotr's change is also not free, again a free to try, pay to play game.
lol....because 15 a month is too much money for you poor bas[s]tards? Christ you spend more than that if you go out drinking ONCE a month.
I mean seriously, cut out one "Going out to Eat"....you'll have more than a month's worth of subscription money.
Now if they go with a proper plan of:
Free:
* 5mans (norm/heroic) & non-rated BGs
Pay (monthly sub):
*Raids (norm/heroic), rated-BGs, Arenas
Then that's fine...along with "Luxury" Items (ie mounts, pets) on a Cash Shop. So long as it's not "You want T15 it'll cost you $30....or you could just raid for it". WTF would be the point in playing the game if every aspect of the game play could just be bought.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising everytime we fall.
ToR must have them scared. hehe But yes it will be awhile yet for the to go F2P ike it was said if u are still get 15.00 time's 1 Mill Sub's u are not going F2P but when they start hitting the 100K mark or so They will be looking to getting there Sub's Back up. If they Bring out a WoW2 Then they will go F2P around the time the Ship it. Which might be there best bet there already losin ppl Before all the new MMO hit's the street. Ppl are just dropping there Sub and waiting around for them, and catching up on some long lost ife and console game's. hehe
This is Blizzard we are talking about, the king of milk. This game will never see a f2p model.
Are you serious? If they turn f2p do you think that everyone of those 11 million will pay more than 15$ monthly? Not only a bunch of them will not spend a dime but a lot of others will come. Yeah some may spend money but the majority in f2p games never or very little do. With the reputation of wow I would expect a big number of f2p gamers aproaching thus creating astronomical costs to maintain the servers.
actually some f2ps make atrocious amounts of money. It depends how good the game is, the population, and how the mt shop is setup, like if you buy cosmetic stuff or content. But seeing how wow has a huge pop now, is a good game based off its years of p2p model, and it would bring more customers, WoW would be more of a cash cow then ever as f2p
MMOs played: Too many
Watch List: FFXIV, CoH:GR, GW2, SWTOR, TERA, Earthrise
Some games are f2p because they are not worth to be p2p. Peoples would not pay a sub for those game so instead of making no $ at all lets turn f2p and make a bit. Do you have any idea how many peoples would start to come in wow if it went f2p? That would create a really big cost maintaining the servers. A big majority of those players would pay no money at all because those who can pay already do.
Or what about those peoples that would get pissed off from this decision.
I would doubt you'll see them go free to play unless they're ready to move onto another project and will no longer be adding expansions. Their tests with micro-transaction items were highly successful but I'd be shocked if they were willing to give up a winning formula.
Sounds like your counter arguments are based off your experiences, cuz your not making a whole lot of sense. More players doesnt mean more players that wont buy any shit. Many will, and wiht a game thats well polished like WoW, thats more buyers, and f2p costs way more than p2p if you put money in it.
MMOs played: Too many
Watch List: FFXIV, CoH:GR, GW2, SWTOR, TERA, Earthrise
Are you serious? If they turn f2p do you think that everyone of those 11 million will pay more than 15$ monthly? Not only a bunch of them will not spend a dime but a lot of others will come. Yeah some may spend money but the majority in f2p games never or very little do. With the reputation of wow I would expect a big number of f2p gamers aproaching thus creating astronomical costs to maintain the servers.
Well, this is the thing WoW already has ftp via there trial system, so I don't think going the whole hog would have that much impact, but it might stop players cancelling from the game and preserve their high player numbers from the coming next gen mmo, remember folks WoW is a game from yesterday now. A sexy well-run cash shop, which is what WoW has now, can generate more revenue over a declining sub system, as though it is against your logic as a gamer players will pay cash for rare mounts and pets or for exclusive dungeon raid content. Simply put micro transactions maintains the player base since they don't ever really need to cancel from FTP, but give you a large player pool with which to tempt them with your cash shop stuff.Who say's they arn't messing around with it already?
Must be funny for the people who have been active for years on WoW. I know a guy that ran his subscription for over 3 years. 36x 15€ (540€). And then it turns free to play. Rofl ?
Surely the game would be cheaper than 540€ as a Free to play (the irony lol) ?
Pfft. There's about the same likelihood of WoW going f2p as there is WoW players queing up to pay real money for, I don't know, a sparkly unicorn or something.
Honestly.
Eh? Eh? Really?
Oh.
The ruptured capillaries in your nose belie the clarity of your wisdom.
Amazing logic there m8. He's not paying 3 years in advance is he, that guy you know? No that's right, he's paying for actual playtime. How much playtime did the guy paying 0 bucks get in those 3 years?
a) lots n lots n lots
b) none
Tough one I know. Its funny how things work.
You seem to think that people playing regard this money as wasted which is not true. I dont even think about the sub fee. 15 dollars is nothing and for that 15 dollars I have gotten way more game than I would if I bought anything else basically. I sometimes think I wasted money on a 5h shooter but its never happend with an mmo I played. Going back to the topic its a non issue for me since WoW will not go F2P as long as its on top. There is no point to it. The reward is not worth the risk. When in 10 years WoWs numbers fall to the standard mmo numbers they might go f2p. Also this whole debate is based on Turbine and its two games that are f2p, but quite frankly becouse DDO is a success does not mean the same will happen with LOTRO.