Your reasons are totally fabricated; first, there is no stress on the wallet for trying most new MMOGs, because you can try them for free anyway, Every major MMOG has a free trial period. Second, $14.95 a month is ALREADY cheap; that amount of money covers a meal for you and a friend at McDonald's, or 2 movie tickets sans popcorn and drink and candy. Third, the pricing model has nothing to do with whether or not companies try to make another WoW clone or not. 4th, there is absolutely no evidence that games last longer because they are F2P. None, Zip.
The only good thing I can see about the F2P model is that it will woo away some of the kinds of players I don't want in the games I like to play. They can play their way, and that's fine, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them buying their swords and armor with real cash, except it doesn't work in the kind of game I want to play. I say let them have their game, played by their rules, and let me have mine, my way, and we'll both be happier.
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall
I agree that mmorpg.com is helping to spread the F2P infection, maybe it should be thrown in the furnace ? I just come here to get keys to hop from game to game anyway. F2P games never have and will never have a fixed playerbase. Maybe the few nutters that spend 200-1000$ on a dumb F2P world.
If i'm bored I try a F2P but never longer than a few days, and then I have to format my PC cuz it's full of F2P crap that I've tried and never was any good in the first place.
Lets hope games like SW:TOR and FinalFantasy will sponge-up alot of the drifting players and kills some / most of these F2P nonsense games.
Good, well thought out article! The only thing that I think Turbine and SOE [EQ?] should ALSO do is to make 2-3 servers that are p2p only. That would show whether players really are committed to paying for the game as opposed to playing for free/microtransactions. Turbine could do this fairly easily [I think] by just turning off the store and only allowing subscribers to transfer characters to some new server. Unfortunately, I bet within 6 months, those [that] server[s] would be closed/merged because of low population - they would be on the same downward trajectory that DDO was on before f2p.
The only Free 2 Play game I have ever played was Knight Online. If all Free 2 Play models fell into that category then I would love it. You access to full game content and gear even if you do not pay a single dime. Paying to play this game only speeds up your amount of in game currency and leveling. It also provides nifty things in the shop that allow you to get a tiny little edge on the competition, but not enough to make the Free 2 Play players that worried or overmatched. Free 2 Play would be great if you can have access to FULL game content. Just make it a grind for the people who don't pay. That way they can still in enjoy the FULL game it just will take longer. In turn people usually spend money to move things along faster like they do in KO.
I happy you posted this here. THERE ARE F2P GAMES OUT THERE. Like i said before sb was at one point was f2p. There are F2P games out there DDO , lotro , eq2 are not among them (DDo borders on it) but if these F2P game have sub.s then they are just P2P games no argument needed, P2P with limited ability unlimited time open trials. That is why it is funny to see people propt those games up as F2P, when clearly they are not. Even calling many of them hybrid is wrong (DDO is a hybrid however.)
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
The only Free 2 Play game I have ever played was Knight Online. If all Free 2 Play models fell into that category then I would love it. You access to full game content and gear even if you do not pay a single dime. Paying to play this game only speeds up your amount of in game currency and leveling. It also provides nifty things in the shop that allow you to get a tiny little edge on the competition, but not enough to make the Free 2 Play players that worried or overmatched. Free 2 Play would be great if you can have access to FULL game content. Just make it a grind for the people who don't pay. That way they can still in enjoy the FULL game it just will take longer. In turn people usually spend money to move things along faster like they do in KO.
I happy you posted this here. THERE ARE F2P GAMES OUT THERE. Like i said before sb was at one point was f2p. There are F2P games out there DDO , lotro , eq2 are not among them (DDo borders on it) but if these F2P game have sub.s then they are just P2P games no argument needed, P2P with limited ability unlimited time open trials. That is why it is funny to see people propt those games up as F2P, when clearly they are not. Even calling many of them hybrid is wrong (DDO is a hybrid however.)
I'm glad someone agrees. The F2P will be just fine as long as they are modeled the way K2 Network makes them. As long as you can access the ENTIRE game without paying then they are F2P. If they are like LoTRO or DDO and make you PAY to get the FULL game content, then they are not technically Free 2 Play at all. Knight Online is actually FREE and you can play the whole game with all contents and events included. If they are going to move to F2P then this is how they need to do it. That game still rakes in the money and its 7 years old.
Originally posted by SnarlingWolf Two of your items in the list are the same and they basically say that it will be cheaper. Most people that currently have no issue paying a sub will likely pay MORE a month with f2p because they can. There will be more people who try the game, never spend a cent but also don't stick around. There will be more people who play it every now and then when they're bored, don't make much progress but don't spend any more. There will be far more people spending over $15 a month. So I find those two points to be dead wrong. Games like DDO have shown they make more money with F2P, which in turn shows that the average money brought in when factored by number of players is higher. This in turn means that more people pay a lot less and more people pay a lot more but the average in the middle pays more then it used to. So not cheaper.
This isn't change in a good way in my opinion. It means they now will nickle and dime you for all kinds of things that previously you would of gotten as part of your subscription. I don't like DLC on consoles either because it encourages games to release less content when they initially sell the game and then make people pay for the "extra" content which brings it up to a full sized game. Also as far as your point goes, it's already turning into everyone copy the guys who went F2P, so if your argument is based on everyone copying the same thing so change is good, in a year everyone will be a copy of the same thing again so there was no win.
The #1 point you made goes along with the first two points you mentioned. It stays around longer not because it is cheaper for players (that by itself is a contradiction). It stays around longer because the average money brought in per player is HIGHER. So by making it more expensive for gamers, the game can indeed stay around longer since it is bringing in more money. But it isn't staying around longer for good reasons.
Overall I found those to be poorly thought out reasons.
Well Said SnarlingWolf. Thank you.
Me embrace F2P with CashShop/MT? What you are really asking me to do is this...
MMO design by Cash Shop.
No thanks.
I am the Player that wonders... "What the %#*& just happened?!" ............... "I Believe... There should be NO financial connection or portals between the Real World and the Virtual in MMOs. " __Ever Present Cockroach of the MMO Verses__ ...scurrying to and fro... .munching on bits of garbage... always under foot...
Originally posted by PaRoXiTiC The only Free 2 Play game I have ever played was Knight Online. If all Free 2 Play models fell into that category then I would love it. You access to full game content and gear even if you do not pay a single dime. Paying to play this game only speeds up your amount of in game currency and leveling. It also provides nifty things in the shop that allow you to get a tiny little edge on the competition, but not enough to make the Free 2 Play players that worried or overmatched. Free 2 Play would be great if you can have access to FULL game content. Just make it a grind for the people who don't pay. That way they can still in enjoy the FULL game it just will take longer. In turn people usually spend money to move things along faster like they do in KO.
I happy you posted this here. THERE ARE F2P GAMES OUT THERE. Like i said before sb was at one point was f2p. There are F2P games out there DDO , lotro , eq2 are not among them (DDo borders on it) but if these F2P game have sub.s then they are just P2P games no argument needed, P2P with limited ability unlimited time open trials. That is why it is funny to see people propt those games up as F2P, when clearly they are not. Even calling many of them hybrid is wrong (DDO is a hybrid however.)
I'm glad someone agrees. The F2P will be just fine as long as they are modeled the way K2 Network makes them. As long as you can access the ENTIRE game without paying then they are F2P. If they are like LoTRO or DDO and make you PAY to get the FULL game content, then they are not technically Free 2 Play at all. Knight Online is actually FREE and you can play the whole game with all contents and events included. If they are going to move to F2P then this is how they need to do it. That game still rakes in the money and its 7 years old.
Great points PaRoXiTiC.
If all F2P worked as how you and Jetrpg described then even I would accept them.
The truth is most "F2P" MMOs are really just Cash Shop/MT MMOs with a dash of free to play tossed in as garnish. The purpose of these Cash Shop MMOs is to bleed as many Players dry as they can. It's not about providing a quality product or making a great MMO that is also financially successful (because it is in fact good).
I am the Player that wonders... "What the %#*& just happened?!" ............... "I Believe... There should be NO financial connection or portals between the Real World and the Virtual in MMOs. " __Ever Present Cockroach of the MMO Verses__ ...scurrying to and fro... .munching on bits of garbage... always under foot...
I only do F2P now. And it's a lot nicer to my wallet then subs were.
I'd put money on the people who are whinging about f2p are those who are still playing usbs and watching their populations dwindling.
f2p is awesome. $100 got me everything I want to access in DDO. If they release another top end raid dungeon I may consider picking it up. Most MMO's I've played under a sub model cost me more then that. Hello, box price..in Oz I'd be spending about $100 just to pick up a game let alone subs on top of that.
f2p best model ever. Even better because Blizzard/Activision's annual report has major copncerns about it and what it'll do to their revenue stream. Doesn't sound like a bad thing for players/consumers if sub games believe their revenue will drop...
If I play a game I want to play the full expercience and not play a better demo version. So I doubt that F2P would for me be "Less stress on the wallet." And when I hear that you can buy "faster leveling" (Allods online) or buffs, skills etc. (Lotro) I personaly completly loose the interesst in these games. Maybe others like it that they can play it "free" but I would not enjoy to play it "free". I would want to buy most things (why should you do something in 4h if the game also offer the possibility to do it in 2h?) and constantly feel ripped of, because the designers don't balance the game anymore, the implement artificial hurdles, which can be overcome buy just paying a few $ here and there.
It sounds like too many of the above posters are missing the point. If you have compulsion issues that push you to play a game 60 hours a week, you'll have those same issues pushing you to spend ridiculous amounts of money to play a F2P game. After leveling to cap in two F2P games and halfway there in Battle of the Immortals atm I have spent a grand total of ten bucks. And that was last week to buy more backpack slots. You really do not have to spend money if you don't want to. If you end up dropping fifty a month to play a game, that's your fault and has nothing to do with anything but your own problems with control and patience in most of these games.
*gasp* A voice of reason in the f2p witchhunt this site is known for, I can't believe it. I really don't know if I am rather amused or saddened by all those yelling "f2p isn't free but will cost you much more". I'm neither especially fond of f2p nor opposed and oddly enough I have yet to pay a single buck after playing half a dozen or so for quite some hours. Seems I must be doing something wrong.
Maybe because the most of people have a competative spirit and dont want to be at the end of the food chain?
And btw see my sig. If you got plenty of time you can afford to grind in F2P but as casual you cant and will be forced to use a shop. Seen it, done it and got disqusted by it.
Ah so it's your need to be acknowledged as one of the "1337"-players that gets in your way of playing f2p without being compelled to buy stuff. While that is surely something the f2p companies count on, ultimately that is the player's fault. The fun thing about f2p is that you can simply walk away and try another one when it gets too much grind for one's taste (like I do, since I am a casual player). The only thing ever "forcing" you to use a cash shop is your own wish for quicker progress and reward. And oddly enough quite some p2p titles include worse grind at high level than f2p at mid level.
I only do F2P now. And it's a lot nicer to my wallet then subs were.
I'd put money on the people who are whinging about f2p are those who are still playing usbs and watching their populations dwindling.
f2p is awesome. $100 got me everything I want to access in DDO. If they release another top end raid dungeon I may consider picking it up. Most MMO's I've played under a sub model cost me more then that. Hello, box price..in Oz I'd be spending about $100 just to pick up a game let alone subs on top of that.
f2p best model ever. Even better because Blizzard/Activision's annual report has major copncerns about it and what it'll do to their revenue stream. Doesn't sound like a bad thing for players/consumers if sub games believe their revenue will drop...
DDO changed to F2P, because the market told turbine the game wan't worth $180 a year. Spending $100 and getting everything that the game has to offer reinforces that.
These changes are all about repricing games to their true market value.
I enjoy F2P games. It allows me to try them out and see what they are like before I actually invest money into them. However, for serious hardcore raider/gamers, F2P would send a few of them into bankruptcy. For example, instead of raiding 10 man icecrown over and over again to gear up for 25 man, you could just buy your gear. Hardcore raiders would start buying LEET gear to be OP, or they would leave.
Currently Play: ? Occasionally Play: Champions, Pirates of the Burning Sea, WOW, EVE ONLINE
Firstly, I don't think that we should call them F2P anymore. They should be called F2A (free to access) because they tend to be just that.
Secondly, this has been talked about already until everyone was blue in the face. Why on earth are we having this discussion AGAIN?
Thirdly, the best games I've played that didn't require constant subscriptions for access were not F2A or were hybrids, such as DDO and GW (P2A, free to play otherwise). That's not to say that I thought they were as good as most of the subscription games I've tried out. GW was by far the best one of these non P2P models, but even so, I didn't put in as many hours into playing it as I have DAoC, EVE, WoW, etc.
So no, I should not embrace the F2A model, because so far I haven't found anything I really really enjoy enough to stick with for a long period of time. I'm glad if other players have, but I haven't.
It breaks the nationalistic behavior of marrying a game and letting a lot of games pass you by. The P2P games actually overall hurt the gaming industry. That kind of attitude is what lead practically every major developer thinking into making P2P MMORPGs to try to steal some population into those games and have a nice 5 - 10 year revenue source.
Why make a FPS, Singleplayer RPG or RTS game, if I can use those 3 - 5 years to make an MMORPG and then with 1 million subscribers, every 3 months I can get as much as I would get from developing any other game on monthly fees alone.
If ALL MMORPGs became F2P games and had a different business model, they would all have to COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER and developers would have to GIVE YOU GOOD CONTENT....
Today MMORPGs are CARTELs with an Alliance of "Everyone charge the same monthly fee and we won't bother your population if you stay away from hours." You end up with individuals who want to "make their moneys worth of a game" so they play it for 8 hours or more a day. They ignore other games so every few months a new release occurs, its ignored by many people....
If Corporations weren't stuck up on collecting fees from people monthly, people would see REAL PROGRESS....But there is a reason why in 10+ years of MMORPGs little has changed in the genre...and its due to this CARTEL mentality which exists, and its players even support...
Look at how every other genre has improved due to competition while MMORPGs have remained the way they are for the most part.....
Make the games F2P and it means EVERYONE IS FREED. I've ran private servers and calculated before that one only needs .0025 - .0033% of monthly profits to maintain the game monthly.
This is one of the dumbest rationales for F2P that I have seen. I do not know of one single mmorpg player that has played more simply to get their value out of the subscription. They play either because they like the game or to socialize with people in game. If there are actually people who log in to play SOLELY to get their moneys worth of a cheap subscription, they really need to reexamine their lifes.
They play either because they like the game or to socialize with people in game.
I can pay to socialize with people!?!!?
Where can I sign up!!!! That's the only real draw, yup! Screw forums, they're stupid!
Seriously, if you have to pay to play a game (which is stupid when you really think about it) you do expect something out of it, and you do feel the need to justify doing something like that..
Sure that aspect is probably lost on kids/people that don't actually pay the fee themselves though..
I noticed something funny. whatever WOW does is considered antiquated, and what other MMORPGs do is considered 'modern'.
How many people remember AOL in the early 90's. You used to have to pay by the hour, and then it took half an hour to download your email. Those were the days.
Face facts, developers WANT to have a subscription model ($15/month), it is only after failing to keep subscribers that they resort to gimmicks. There is so much stability in counting on that $15/month that allows the company to plan ahead and have continuity. Going F2P is a huge risk because of bandwidth and the uncertainity of how your microtransactions will go.
This F2P craze that is happening isn't the revolutionary future for MMORPGs.. it is companies trying to grasp for any income they can get from games that were about to close up.
You aren't going to see companies like Bioware or Blizzard launch their next MMORPGs as F2P.. ti's just to volitile and risky. it is much better for a company to operate under a $15/month system where they can plan well in advance.
The author here somehow sees and understands why a game MIGHT go F2P yet contradicts those reasons by looking at it from the users standpoint ONLY,there is a two way street when comes to gaming,the seller and the buyer.
How or why the game goes F2P is strictly for financial reasons.If a dev decides it can maintain it's cash flow by going F2P it might do it,but there is no way a developer is going to cut money from their wallet by allowing people to play their game for free,they are not in the business of handouts.
F2P ONLY survivs if paying customers make up the difference for the free loaders,if it costs more under this pay scale,then they would keep it P2P instead.This is what a developer must determine ,it has to decide if it can cut some cormers to make up for freelaoders chewing up all the bandwidth and can the paying customers offset the cost.An example for cutting corners would be to lower bandwidth useage.All games that start out in F2P mode are predominantly low end graphic games,so they are already in cheap operation mode,it is a MUCH trickier operation to turn a P2P game into a F2P game unless it was already a cheaply designed game,example that game the Horizones guy was involved in recently[forget title name].
The bottom line is still dollars,the game will not last any longer no matter what pay scale it uses ,it depends solely on weather or not the developer is satisfied with the profit it turns over,no profit the game will fold 100% guaranteed.
If you see F2P it is a guarantee that you are not going to get a AAA quality game,less support[if any],lower end graphics,low bandwidth needed,little content with stagnant or cheap updates.
I can use one game that has been F2p from day 1...Runes of Magic.online support??forget it ,it does not exist,instead you may wait several days for an email,and there is good chance the response will not satisfy you.It was quite obvious that there was no concern for a quality release,tons of bugs/non working quests.Several months after the same bugs were there,then came the first and second updates.It was again obvious that things were rushed,areas looked half finished and some were just plain barren,looked like they thought about putting something there but didn't want to spend the time or effort to do it.Then you see things like new classes being released with no elite skill,again rushed and unfinished,this will ALWAYS be the trend in F2p games.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Simply put a monthly/sub based MMO's that turns into a FTP/RMT/Micro transactions etc. game means only one thing.
1. A financialy dieing game that they are trying to squeeze the last drop from before its dead.
ALL the MMO companies gotta be sitting up and taking notice of what happened with DDO when it went hybrid and increased their profits 500%. This model will spread like crazy in the next few years and we will be seeing a ton more MMO's take this route. They should. More cash coming in means better and more frequent updates. It means they will have to work harder to retain their players and lure in new ones. Monthly fees can = complacency by the MMO devs:(
Why did WoW sell a $25 horsey a few months ago? You think they're dying?
It's all about the cash. They want higher profits. Simple as that:)
Simply put a monthly/sub based MMO's that turns into a FTP/RMT/Micro transactions etc. game means only one thing.
1. A financialy dieing game that they are trying to squeeze the last drop from before its dead.
ALL the MMO companies gotta be sitting up and taking notice of what happened with DDO when it went hybrid and increased their profits 500%. This model will spread like crazy in the next few years and we will be seeing a ton more MMO's take this route. They should. More cash coming in means better and more frequent updates. It means they will have to work harder to retain their players and lure in new ones. Monthly fees can = complacency by the MMO devs:(
Why did WoW sell a $25 horsey a few months ago? You think they're dying?
It's all about the cash. They want higher profits. Simple as that:)
Wow sold horses, because they have a user base of millions upon millions of users willing to pay money to play their game.
DDO went free to play, because it had so few people willing to pay for the game that it was facing a very dark future.
Everyone is still looking at this massive 500% increase in revenue as some miracle cure all to mmo subscriptions, but what is it 500% of? 500% increase of failure doesn't mean massive success. It also doesn't say how much expenses increases in comparison to those revenues.
This free to play change for subscription games is still an unproven model. We won't know the long term viability of these changes for some time to come.
Speakinf of F2P , after playing almost 2 months of Aika , I finally quit the game. Open beta game with a cash shop , and where players pick the better equiped players for their dungeon runs. So again , those who put a load of money on a F2P are the ones who get dungeon invites and actually finish them. While the rest struggles to end a dungeon with basic gear without cash shop.
Your 5th point : Less stress on wallet is completly false , 15$ a month is about the maximum you'd pay on a MMO. I've been playing EVE for 4 years and I'm pretty freaking happy to have played it and still being a strong supportive customer to CCP. F2P games most players put money on the game without even realising it. Also most F2P are easy and fun at the beginning , but when your approaching end game,whoops,you need to buy stuff on item mall to be stronger so people feel more comfortable hunting with you.
Your other point : Change , I completly disagree with this . Ok so a game goes F2P or a new MMO just released is F2P and after 4 months of released there's barely no updates and stuff going on to improve the game BUT for some odd twisted reason the item mall is still selling strong.
What is even more funny,and I'm pretty sure I ain't the only one thinking about this,are F2P MMO's that are still in OPEN BETA after a year and have a item shop since day 1? ROFL,seriously start by making a final release of the MMO and then put up a item mall. OR put up a item mall with everything for free , and at release wipe everything so people can start anew. The word BETA changed over the years. Closed/Open ... it's still Beta and don't try to change my mind about this because you won't.
My conclusion : F2P are a death trap to those who are weak minded. It's maybe F2P but in the long run you would have wasted more money in a 3 month period then if you'd pay a monthly fee on a game for 5 years. Once you start putting money on a item,trust me you won't even imagine how the hundreds will be flying through the window,20$ a shot a week or 15$ a month for everything? Easy awnser , but for some it can be quite a mind bender.
PS.: If your seriously looking for a nice F2P that doesn't require hundreds on the item mall my pick would be Runes of Magic. I haven't played for over a year but for a F2P MMO it was pretty legit in the term : "F2P"
Lol - And the op manages to leave out the main reason why alot of ppl turn to F2P MMOs.
They can play the game without paying for the CONNECTION to their characters. In other words... You can spend money for 2 months ... then dont play for next 4 - and come back without taking out the wallet again.
Comments
Your reasons are totally fabricated; first, there is no stress on the wallet for trying most new MMOGs, because you can try them for free anyway, Every major MMOG has a free trial period. Second, $14.95 a month is ALREADY cheap; that amount of money covers a meal for you and a friend at McDonald's, or 2 movie tickets sans popcorn and drink and candy. Third, the pricing model has nothing to do with whether or not companies try to make another WoW clone or not. 4th, there is absolutely no evidence that games last longer because they are F2P. None, Zip.
The only good thing I can see about the F2P model is that it will woo away some of the kinds of players I don't want in the games I like to play. They can play their way, and that's fine, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them buying their swords and armor with real cash, except it doesn't work in the kind of game I want to play. I say let them have their game, played by their rules, and let me have mine, my way, and we'll both be happier.
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall
I agree that mmorpg.com is helping to spread the F2P infection, maybe it should be thrown in the furnace ? I just come here to get keys to hop from game to game anyway. F2P games never have and will never have a fixed playerbase. Maybe the few nutters that spend 200-1000$ on a dumb F2P world.
If i'm bored I try a F2P but never longer than a few days, and then I have to format my PC cuz it's full of F2P crap that I've tried and never was any good in the first place.
Lets hope games like SW:TOR and FinalFantasy will sponge-up alot of the drifting players and kills some / most of these F2P nonsense games.
Good, well thought out article! The only thing that I think Turbine and SOE [EQ?] should ALSO do is to make 2-3 servers that are p2p only. That would show whether players really are committed to paying for the game as opposed to playing for free/microtransactions. Turbine could do this fairly easily [I think] by just turning off the store and only allowing subscribers to transfer characters to some new server. Unfortunately, I bet within 6 months, those [that] server[s] would be closed/merged because of low population - they would be on the same downward trajectory that DDO was on before f2p.
<p align=center><a target=_blank href=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm><img border=0 src=http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/20.jpg></a></p>;
I happy you posted this here. THERE ARE F2P GAMES OUT THERE. Like i said before sb was at one point was f2p. There are F2P games out there DDO , lotro , eq2 are not among them (DDo borders on it) but if these F2P game have sub.s then they are just P2P games no argument needed, P2P with limited ability unlimited time open trials. That is why it is funny to see people propt those games up as F2P, when clearly they are not. Even calling many of them hybrid is wrong (DDO is a hybrid however.)
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
I'm glad someone agrees. The F2P will be just fine as long as they are modeled the way K2 Network makes them. As long as you can access the ENTIRE game without paying then they are F2P. If they are like LoTRO or DDO and make you PAY to get the FULL game content, then they are not technically Free 2 Play at all. Knight Online is actually FREE and you can play the whole game with all contents and events included. If they are going to move to F2P then this is how they need to do it. That game still rakes in the money and its 7 years old.
Well Said SnarlingWolf. Thank you.
Me embrace F2P with CashShop/MT? What you are really asking me to do is this...
MMO design by Cash Shop.
No thanks.
I am the Player that wonders... "What the %#*& just happened?!"
...............
"I Believe... There should be NO financial connection or portals between the Real World and the Virtual in MMOs. "
__Ever Present Cockroach of the MMO Verses__
...scurrying to and fro... .munching on bits of garbage... always under foot...
Great points PaRoXiTiC.
If all F2P worked as how you and Jetrpg described then even I would accept them.
The truth is most "F2P" MMOs are really just Cash Shop/MT MMOs with a dash of free to play tossed in as garnish. The purpose of these Cash Shop MMOs is to bleed as many Players dry as they can. It's not about providing a quality product or making a great MMO that is also financially successful (because it is in fact good).
I am the Player that wonders... "What the %#*& just happened?!"
...............
"I Believe... There should be NO financial connection or portals between the Real World and the Virtual in MMOs. "
__Ever Present Cockroach of the MMO Verses__
...scurrying to and fro... .munching on bits of garbage... always under foot...
I only do F2P now. And it's a lot nicer to my wallet then subs were.
I'd put money on the people who are whinging about f2p are those who are still playing usbs and watching their populations dwindling.
f2p is awesome. $100 got me everything I want to access in DDO. If they release another top end raid dungeon I may consider picking it up. Most MMO's I've played under a sub model cost me more then that. Hello, box price..in Oz I'd be spending about $100 just to pick up a game let alone subs on top of that.
f2p best model ever. Even better because Blizzard/Activision's annual report has major copncerns about it and what it'll do to their revenue stream. Doesn't sound like a bad thing for players/consumers if sub games believe their revenue will drop...
If I play a game I want to play the full expercience and not play a better demo version. So I doubt that F2P would for me be "Less stress on the wallet." And when I hear that you can buy "faster leveling" (Allods online) or buffs, skills etc. (Lotro) I personaly completly loose the interesst in these games. Maybe others like it that they can play it "free" but I would not enjoy to play it "free". I would want to buy most things (why should you do something in 4h if the game also offer the possibility to do it in 2h?) and constantly feel ripped of, because the designers don't balance the game anymore, the implement artificial hurdles, which can be overcome buy just paying a few $ here and there.
I dont want to embrace the F2P
In my own personal experience I have ended up paying more than $25 each month and therefore I stay away from F2P.
Its a gimmick and is more expensive than sub model
I am more than happy to embrace the B2P model like GW and GA
Ah so it's your need to be acknowledged as one of the "1337"-players that gets in your way of playing f2p without being compelled to buy stuff. While that is surely something the f2p companies count on, ultimately that is the player's fault. The fun thing about f2p is that you can simply walk away and try another one when it gets too much grind for one's taste (like I do, since I am a casual player). The only thing ever "forcing" you to use a cash shop is your own wish for quicker progress and reward. And oddly enough quite some p2p titles include worse grind at high level than f2p at mid level.
My Signature
Item Shop Game
- Good to the highly paid professional with limited time to play but doesn't want to be left behind.
- Bad for the kid or student that has limited funds to keep up with those that have more
Subscription Game
- Good for the kid or part time worker with loads of time to play but limited funds
- Bad for the professional or family person that has limited time to play
-agreed
DDO changed to F2P, because the market told turbine the game wan't worth $180 a year. Spending $100 and getting everything that the game has to offer reinforces that.
These changes are all about repricing games to their true market value.
I enjoy F2P games. It allows me to try them out and see what they are like before I actually invest money into them. However, for serious hardcore raider/gamers, F2P would send a few of them into bankruptcy. For example, instead of raiding 10 man icecrown over and over again to gear up for 25 man, you could just buy your gear. Hardcore raiders would start buying LEET gear to be OP, or they would leave.
Currently Play: ?
Occasionally Play: Champions, Pirates of the Burning Sea, WOW, EVE ONLINE
Firstly, I don't think that we should call them F2P anymore. They should be called F2A (free to access) because they tend to be just that.
Secondly, this has been talked about already until everyone was blue in the face. Why on earth are we having this discussion AGAIN?
Thirdly, the best games I've played that didn't require constant subscriptions for access were not F2A or were hybrids, such as DDO and GW (P2A, free to play otherwise). That's not to say that I thought they were as good as most of the subscription games I've tried out. GW was by far the best one of these non P2P models, but even so, I didn't put in as many hours into playing it as I have DAoC, EVE, WoW, etc.
So no, I should not embrace the F2A model, because so far I haven't found anything I really really enjoy enough to stick with for a long period of time. I'm glad if other players have, but I haven't.
Playing MUDs and MMOs since 1994.
I second the F2A (Free to access) I will be calling them that from now on
Currently Play: ?
Occasionally Play: Champions, Pirates of the Burning Sea, WOW, EVE ONLINE
This is one of the dumbest rationales for F2P that I have seen. I do not know of one single mmorpg player that has played more simply to get their value out of the subscription. They play either because they like the game or to socialize with people in game. If there are actually people who log in to play SOLELY to get their moneys worth of a cheap subscription, they really need to reexamine their lifes.
I can pay to socialize with people!?!!?
Where can I sign up!!!! That's the only real draw, yup! Screw forums, they're stupid!
Seriously, if you have to pay to play a game (which is stupid when you really think about it) you do expect something out of it, and you do feel the need to justify doing something like that..
Sure that aspect is probably lost on kids/people that don't actually pay the fee themselves though..
I noticed something funny. whatever WOW does is considered antiquated, and what other MMORPGs do is considered 'modern'.
How many people remember AOL in the early 90's. You used to have to pay by the hour, and then it took half an hour to download your email. Those were the days.
Face facts, developers WANT to have a subscription model ($15/month), it is only after failing to keep subscribers that they resort to gimmicks. There is so much stability in counting on that $15/month that allows the company to plan ahead and have continuity. Going F2P is a huge risk because of bandwidth and the uncertainity of how your microtransactions will go.
This F2P craze that is happening isn't the revolutionary future for MMORPGs.. it is companies trying to grasp for any income they can get from games that were about to close up.
You aren't going to see companies like Bioware or Blizzard launch their next MMORPGs as F2P.. ti's just to volitile and risky. it is much better for a company to operate under a $15/month system where they can plan well in advance.
The author here somehow sees and understands why a game MIGHT go F2P yet contradicts those reasons by looking at it from the users standpoint ONLY,there is a two way street when comes to gaming,the seller and the buyer.
How or why the game goes F2P is strictly for financial reasons.If a dev decides it can maintain it's cash flow by going F2P it might do it,but there is no way a developer is going to cut money from their wallet by allowing people to play their game for free,they are not in the business of handouts.
F2P ONLY survivs if paying customers make up the difference for the free loaders,if it costs more under this pay scale,then they would keep it P2P instead.This is what a developer must determine ,it has to decide if it can cut some cormers to make up for freelaoders chewing up all the bandwidth and can the paying customers offset the cost.An example for cutting corners would be to lower bandwidth useage.All games that start out in F2P mode are predominantly low end graphic games,so they are already in cheap operation mode,it is a MUCH trickier operation to turn a P2P game into a F2P game unless it was already a cheaply designed game,example that game the Horizones guy was involved in recently[forget title name].
The bottom line is still dollars,the game will not last any longer no matter what pay scale it uses ,it depends solely on weather or not the developer is satisfied with the profit it turns over,no profit the game will fold 100% guaranteed.
If you see F2P it is a guarantee that you are not going to get a AAA quality game,less support[if any],lower end graphics,low bandwidth needed,little content with stagnant or cheap updates.
I can use one game that has been F2p from day 1...Runes of Magic.online support??forget it ,it does not exist,instead you may wait several days for an email,and there is good chance the response will not satisfy you.It was quite obvious that there was no concern for a quality release,tons of bugs/non working quests.Several months after the same bugs were there,then came the first and second updates.It was again obvious that things were rushed,areas looked half finished and some were just plain barren,looked like they thought about putting something there but didn't want to spend the time or effort to do it.Then you see things like new classes being released with no elite skill,again rushed and unfinished,this will ALWAYS be the trend in F2p games.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Simply put a monthly/sub based MMO's that turns into a FTP/RMT/Micro transactions etc. game means only one thing.
1. A financialy dieing game that they are trying to squeeze the last drop from before its dead.
ALL the MMO companies gotta be sitting up and taking notice of what happened with DDO when it went hybrid and increased their profits 500%. This model will spread like crazy in the next few years and we will be seeing a ton more MMO's take this route. They should. More cash coming in means better and more frequent updates. It means they will have to work harder to retain their players and lure in new ones. Monthly fees can = complacency by the MMO devs:(
Why did WoW sell a $25 horsey a few months ago? You think they're dying?
It's all about the cash. They want higher profits. Simple as that:)
Wow sold horses, because they have a user base of millions upon millions of users willing to pay money to play their game.
DDO went free to play, because it had so few people willing to pay for the game that it was facing a very dark future.
Everyone is still looking at this massive 500% increase in revenue as some miracle cure all to mmo subscriptions, but what is it 500% of? 500% increase of failure doesn't mean massive success. It also doesn't say how much expenses increases in comparison to those revenues.
This free to play change for subscription games is still an unproven model. We won't know the long term viability of these changes for some time to come.
Speakinf of F2P , after playing almost 2 months of Aika , I finally quit the game. Open beta game with a cash shop , and where players pick the better equiped players for their dungeon runs. So again , those who put a load of money on a F2P are the ones who get dungeon invites and actually finish them. While the rest struggles to end a dungeon with basic gear without cash shop.
Your 5th point : Less stress on wallet is completly false , 15$ a month is about the maximum you'd pay on a MMO. I've been playing EVE for 4 years and I'm pretty freaking happy to have played it and still being a strong supportive customer to CCP. F2P games most players put money on the game without even realising it. Also most F2P are easy and fun at the beginning , but when your approaching end game,whoops,you need to buy stuff on item mall to be stronger so people feel more comfortable hunting with you.
Your other point : Change , I completly disagree with this . Ok so a game goes F2P or a new MMO just released is F2P and after 4 months of released there's barely no updates and stuff going on to improve the game BUT for some odd twisted reason the item mall is still selling strong.
What is even more funny,and I'm pretty sure I ain't the only one thinking about this,are F2P MMO's that are still in OPEN BETA after a year and have a item shop since day 1? ROFL,seriously start by making a final release of the MMO and then put up a item mall. OR put up a item mall with everything for free , and at release wipe everything so people can start anew. The word BETA changed over the years. Closed/Open ... it's still Beta and don't try to change my mind about this because you won't.
My conclusion : F2P are a death trap to those who are weak minded. It's maybe F2P but in the long run you would have wasted more money in a 3 month period then if you'd pay a monthly fee on a game for 5 years. Once you start putting money on a item,trust me you won't even imagine how the hundreds will be flying through the window,20$ a shot a week or 15$ a month for everything? Easy awnser , but for some it can be quite a mind bender.
PS.: If your seriously looking for a nice F2P that doesn't require hundreds on the item mall my pick would be Runes of Magic. I haven't played for over a year but for a F2P MMO it was pretty legit in the term : "F2P"
Lol - And the op manages to leave out the main reason why alot of ppl turn to F2P MMOs.
They can play the game without paying for the CONNECTION to their characters. In other words... You can spend money for 2 months ... then dont play for next 4 - and come back without taking out the wallet again.