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DC Universe Online: The Free to Play Interview
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Sony Online Entertainment and the DC Universe Online team announced earlier this week that the game would be going free to play in the near future. MMORPG.com Managing Editor Bill Murphy caught up with Executive Producer Lorin Jameson to talk about the decision and what it means to the game. Keep reading!
The first thing people will say is, "We knew DCUO was meant for F2P, why wait to make the change now?" What exactly do you say to those who have been expecting this change, often times with negative connotations?
We’ve listened to our community and have determined that the free-to-play model is the best fit for DCUO. Giving players choices is the theme of how we’re moving forward as a company – it’s really about Free to Play. Your Way – meaning that the decision is in the players’ hands so they can play the game on their own terms.
Read more of Bill Murphy's DC Universe Online: The Free to Play Interview.
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Comments
The worst thing in the interview: "You've stated that this was the goal for the game since day one and that you never wanted it to be a subscription title. Why did it launch as one then, and what took so long for the change?" Way to go SOE, launch your game with a box purchase and a subscription when you fully intended for it to become free to play. What a dick move.
Steam: Neph
There really doesnt seem to be a good reason to have the stationpass anymore because of all the free to play stuff going on with SOE. With SOE saying FTP is the future that pretty much concretes it. The only games left are EQ original and Vanguard that are subs (that i play anyways).
I hope the Populations that free to play brings help those games, but those that have payed full price for these products and each expansion and have suported the company for many years will always feel a bit scorned.
Work hard Play Harder
So i checked some videos about the character creator & customisation.. and wow...
it's terrible.. it's just laughable and non existand compared to Champions online's ultra detailed and almsot limitless one..
well my hype went to zero about that free to play version of DC...
Typically SOE: Make $$$ out of box sales then later on abandon the game or make it F2P.
I told you so that this will happen! I TOLD YAAAAAALLLL!
sure
I wonder why they didn't go B2P to get rid of the remaining shelf inventory and possibly make a little more money? GW seems to have been successful with the B2P w/ cashshop model. And max level DCUO is little more than a lobby game; sitting around the Watchtower waiting on queues to pop.
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
Plus the fact that he was allowed to entirely avoid the actual question. Nice interviewing there...
Why ask it if you don't want the answer?
SOE with more lies and more shady business practises. Not a shock.
Yes on the onset it is terrible but as you play the game and unlock all the outfits it becomes way more open and quite interesting.
This is not a game.
While it is possible to unlock more styles, even with that, customization in DCUO is very limited compared to CoX or Champions.
At least SOE admits that the game should have been F2P from the start, and it's pretty apparent that they intentionally set the game up for the F2P eventuality. Still, planning the entire charade, from box sales and subs until they ran dry, then into F2P, is a little slimy.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
The bar is set by the PS3. The PS3 cannot handle sliders so PC can't have sliders. There are model limitation because the PS3 can't handle complex models so PC can't have complex models.
This is not saying the PS3 is not powerful but you're not just rendering a few characters at a time. You have to account for multiple characters on the screen at once. I saw a 200 person PVP battle on the PS3 once...that would never happen with the cryptic engine even on a PC.
not the first time they've done it. I can remember a "certain game" where they released an expansion, that almost everyone that played it bought, then a couple weeks later they changed the entire way the game operated, making the expansion you just bought, totally worthless...SOE FTL!!!!
I'd still rather pay for a subscription and play CoX, or for f2p play champions, I love thier character creator...I've spent hours making heros lol!
A company that try's to make money?!?!?! what thats almost unheard of oh wait...
so many words and he didnt answer the question..............
Every company plans for the day when the game goes F2P because eventually the game's playerbase shrinks to such a level that it is the easiest way to boost the population. No company expects to announce F2P within six months of launching a $50 million game. But alas, the game stunk (unless you read this site's incredibly favorable/biased review) and the players left in droves.
About a month after this game goes F2P, MMORPG will do a re-review of DCUO and reiterate all the wonderful aspects of the game, mention that it is better than it was a launch, and then proceed to give it a lower score than it did originally. One wonders how the staff at this website keep a straight face when they write this stuff.
Why did they launch with a sub model if they always wanted to be F2P? My guess is to make as much money up front from box sales and initial subs as possible. Now that they have probably reached the point where the sub numbers arent growing very much, they can tap into the F2P market and make even more. Its a pretty smart business tactic, even if its ethics are debatable.
Where did they say you would not have to buy the game still?
Let's stay on topic guys.
From the F2P FAQ, very first answer:
"There is no software purchase or subscription fee required for basic game content and features."
http://www.dcuniverseonline.com/free/faq.vm
Man do I love a good propaganda read. Folks - aren't you all tired of the endless array of games that just never have enough developer investment to matter? You all do know F2P is code for - we aren't good enough for a subscription model? If you don't get that - you'll soon learn.
Tis a sad past 5 years in the mmorpg genre. A definite dark age.
At least they're admitting that the game is inferior and letting me play for free
That's my worry with GW2... that they game is only f2p because it's not worth a sub...
All I can say is many of us predicted this would happen. I remember folks telling me I needed a tin foil hat when I said this game would not last. Now it had to go free to play, the reason is simple hardly nobody is playing the pc side, and they want to tap into that rmt cash hog, and expand the folks they want to tap into the rmt cash hog with.
Yes I agree it was a smart business tactic, but the ethics were out the window on this one. I feel for all those folks who purchased a lifetime, or purchased the box, now that all you will need to do is a download and play it for free sort of.
I managed to get back into the game last night on a trial acount. The combat (pve) is still solid and a bit more interactive than the other comic book MMOs. The problems that existed still exist though. as other posters have noted...
The game suffers from a very limited and very bland set of powers. I spent over an hour trying to make a character, not because there was alot of options mind you.. Instead I spent that hour going.. dangit none of these fit what I want to be and then having to settle on something.
The chat and interfance both scream CONSOLE!!!!
I'm sure the F2P will give them a short term bump, but will it help them in the long run? Probably not.
DC Universe free to play will be a huge win for sony playstation 3 owners but as for PC it won't be as popular a move. I am a little mad at how I paid for both versions, I only purchased both because my nephew loved the game on the console and I'm more of a pc player.
I bought the game, played it for the initial 30 days included, stopped.
Sony got hacked, they gave me a couple free weeks, I played a little and stopped.
I only payed for the retail box and the game lasted me longer than most games out there lol. Now it's free to play! I really got lucky 0_0
Every review is biased..because it's written by a person with their own opinions. To think someone can be unbias is ridiculous. The person writing it is not you, they will not like what you like, they will not agree with you on what is important for games, and they will not have the same experiences in the game as you. Reviews are there to give you -that person's- view on a game. Nothing more..nothing less.
Sorry, I know that's an old reply..I just get so tired of hearing the same story about reviews being bias or this or that. I know we all think everyone should agree with us...just not the way it is.