Does any F2P game have a future?

udon

I'm not talking about the genre as a whole but rather specific titles.  It seems to me F2P games tend to be very short lived with life spans in the 1-3 years at most with a few rare exceptions like Perfect World where P2P games can run for much longer.  Granted most P2P games have switched over to F2P with a sub option but was that really because they where about to close their doors or was it because the developers wanted the short term cash infusion?  It's not like any of those games removed the comfort of the sub option either to go pure F2P.

I see F2P more like buying video games for my Xbox where I might put a couple hundred hours into the game than either put it on the shelf forever or trade it to Gamestop.

Dewulf

It all depends in the game and what it has inside it.

newchemicals

No future.

simsalabim77

Same old anti-F2P propoganda. 

Go to tab Game List and filter by Free. All those games have a future. Some of them have been released since mid-2000. 

PieRad

F2P has a future with the fools who easily part with their money.

 

 

Let's hope for some P2P games in the future, games that are actually games and not online banks without a withdraw button, games that are fun, and games where you play to achieve and not pay to achieve.

 

 

botrytis

Originally posted by udon

I'm not talking about the genre as a whole but rather specific titles.  It seems to me F2P games tend to be very short lived with life spans in the 1-3 years at most with a few rare exceptions like Perfect World where P2P games can run for much longer.  Granted most P2P games have switched over to F2P with a sub option but was that really because they where about to close their doors or was it because the developers wanted the short term cash infusion?  It's not like any of those games removed the comfort of the sub option either to go pure F2P.

I see F2P more like buying video games for my Xbox where I might put a couple hundred hours into the game than either put it on the shelf forever or trade it to Gamestop.

F2P is dead - BLAH BLAH BLAH - actually, sub games seem to be dead NOT F2P games.

fyerwall

Originally posted by udon

I'm not talking about the genre as a whole but rather specific titles.  It seems to me F2P games tend to be very short lived with life spans in the 1-3 years at most with a few rare exceptions like Perfect World where P2P games can run for much longer.  Granted most P2P games have switched over to F2P with a sub option but was that really because they where about to close their doors or was it because the developers wanted the short term cash infusion?  It's not like any of those games removed the comfort of the sub option either to go pure F2P.

I see F2P more like buying video games for my Xbox where I might put a couple hundred hours into the game than either put it on the shelf forever or trade it to Gamestop.

In the market today, the same could be said about P2P games - They are lucky to make it 1-3 years before people bail for the next big thing (again, with a few rare exceptions). Its all due to the player. The player is the one who chooses to stick with a game or move on to the next title. Companies had to come up with new models (B2P, F2P, Premium/F2P hybrid) to keep some form of income coming in, because at the end of the day Devs do need to eat and pay bills.

There are people out there who don't want to commit to monthly fees for something they may not get to play 24/7 and feel that $15 a month is a waste of cash better spent elsewhere. Other people may feel justified in paying $15 a month because its the best bang for their buck entertainment wise. Then you have other who want something for nothing. Companies are aiming at all 3 groups now, giving the freebie crowd the basic parts of the game at $0 commitment, the commitment weary can choose how they want to pay when they want to pay and those who feel justified in dropping $15/month can usually get the whole package plus some additional perks for their on going support.

So F2P/Hybrid does have a future - It is just going to be a journey down a bumpy road until we arrive at a balanced model.