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Yes it will. And I remember back in the day, a long 2 years ago that people were bitching and whining that F2P isn't the way to go, and that it's bad for the MMO genre.
Oh how stupid people are when it comes to change.
Oh how stupid people are when it comes to change.
Honestly i think the barrier between free to play and subscription based models is a difference in demographic rather than anything else. Wow works so well because the game is aimed at a much older audience, and with an older audience comes a larger wallet.
The problem with cash shops is that they offer nothing but material goods and therefore the audience changes to match this. The most popular f2p mmos, like runescape and maple story are very child oreintated due to the demographics cash flow.
Plus as soon as a game goes free to play, unless a design decision like guild wars, game features get monetised. As i see it the game stops being a game so much and edges towards being just a business and although all mmos suffer from this to a degree, ones that charge a flat fee have much more freedom to change the game in a gameplay direction rather than what is most profitable i,e, putting in harder grind and cash shop items that take away grind.
The problem with cash shops is that they offer nothing but material goods and therefore the audience changes to match this. The most popular f2p mmos, like runescape and maple story are very child oreintated due to the demographics cash flow.
Plus as soon as a game goes free to play, unless a design decision like guild wars, game features get monetised. As i see it the game stops being a game so much and edges towards being just a business and although all mmos suffer from this to a degree, ones that charge a flat fee have much more freedom to change the game in a gameplay direction rather than what is most profitable i,e, putting in harder grind and cash shop items that take away grind.
only thing i hate is that now i have to buy half the content because it's free to play.
i'd rather buy the game and not have to pay a fee.
i'd rather buy the game and not have to pay a fee.
I never got to my point. AS far as i see it, there is no way that a game can go f2p without having the basic game be a shell of the subscription experience. I am willing to be proven wrong by something other than tf2.
The model i would like to eschew is the pay for f2p model, i.e. diablo, guild wars, in that you pay a single charge for an online game and any expansion on that.
The model i would like to eschew is the pay for f2p model, i.e. diablo, guild wars, in that you pay a single charge for an online game and any expansion on that.
The problem with the F2P, is not the design but the way these studios and companies do it.
They release a game seeking revenue for instant pay off using such tactics as special editions, life-time membership, and other such nonsense knowingly entering into contract with the consumer with the knowledge that they have an extreme risk business model. This should be illegal and they should be sued. Knowingly engaging in promotional activities to prompt the consumer into believing the product is stable.
Then wham, they turn it into F2P to churn out further money on a still yet unproven and unstable product.
F2P is not the way to go, it is the way companies losing profit go. It's saying that the future of MMOs is the used MMO market, come try out MMO that everyone else has tried and turned down.
I hate to point it out but F2P = Used gaming market, it is dead equivalent. To point it out is to be behind the times and the realization that this is fact.
Used cars are the future of cars...it doesn't make any sense. Someone still has to make the product NEW and someone has to get that instant immediate value.
Now leasing, leasing is something else all together.
The F2P only works if the game is designed from the ground up and has no need for IMMEDIATE funds there after, and I equate this with more of a leasing option. You buy a chunk at the start with an investment usually the price of a standard product, but when you pay for it is it free?? The idea that these are FREE 2 PLAY is a misnomer because it technically cost you to play. Is Call of Duty F2P, is every single game ever made SUDDENLY F2P just because people don't know the difference? We buy things for Call of Duty, DLC? So why isn't it labeled a F2P.
We label things F2P that are MMOs and MMOs only. The problem with the labeling is the average gamer couldn't tell you what the hell an MMO is unless they found it in an article. I don't consider Diablo an MMO so it's not F2P any more than COD is, Guild Wars was not an MMO so it's not F2P, Guild Wars 2 very well may be on the border of MMO but it's STILL probably not in the realm of MMO.
An MMO is a product which allows MASSIVE, which only direct meaning can mean impressively large almost enumerable amount of players, playing at the sametime in the SAME possible location. Otherwise COD is an MMO, however no one would ever call COD an MMO.
WoW you can easily get 100-500 players all rampaging one capital city. That is the definition.
They release a game seeking revenue for instant pay off using such tactics as special editions, life-time membership, and other such nonsense knowingly entering into contract with the consumer with the knowledge that they have an extreme risk business model. This should be illegal and they should be sued. Knowingly engaging in promotional activities to prompt the consumer into believing the product is stable.
Then wham, they turn it into F2P to churn out further money on a still yet unproven and unstable product.
F2P is not the way to go, it is the way companies losing profit go. It's saying that the future of MMOs is the used MMO market, come try out MMO that everyone else has tried and turned down.
I hate to point it out but F2P = Used gaming market, it is dead equivalent. To point it out is to be behind the times and the realization that this is fact.
Used cars are the future of cars...it doesn't make any sense. Someone still has to make the product NEW and someone has to get that instant immediate value.
Now leasing, leasing is something else all together.
The F2P only works if the game is designed from the ground up and has no need for IMMEDIATE funds there after, and I equate this with more of a leasing option. You buy a chunk at the start with an investment usually the price of a standard product, but when you pay for it is it free?? The idea that these are FREE 2 PLAY is a misnomer because it technically cost you to play. Is Call of Duty F2P, is every single game ever made SUDDENLY F2P just because people don't know the difference? We buy things for Call of Duty, DLC? So why isn't it labeled a F2P.
We label things F2P that are MMOs and MMOs only. The problem with the labeling is the average gamer couldn't tell you what the hell an MMO is unless they found it in an article. I don't consider Diablo an MMO so it's not F2P any more than COD is, Guild Wars was not an MMO so it's not F2P, Guild Wars 2 very well may be on the border of MMO but it's STILL probably not in the realm of MMO.
An MMO is a product which allows MASSIVE, which only direct meaning can mean impressively large almost enumerable amount of players, playing at the sametime in the SAME possible location. Otherwise COD is an MMO, however no one would ever call COD an MMO.
WoW you can easily get 100-500 players all rampaging one capital city. That is the definition.
@Courtney Roberts: Vindictus is F2P, and all they ask you to pay for are EXP boosts, Revives, and cosmetic items. None of which are at all necessary to enjoy the game. The stamina system is no longer present, and there are no hurdles to enjoying the game without paying at all. You have full access to the game without paying a dime. Hell, they don't make you pay for better gear, either (gear has to be earned or traded).
How is the exp grind? I find usually in f2p games where they offer exp boosts the grind is deliberately just tedious enough to convince you to speed it up. If the exp boosts are just for those with add, vindictus sounds like a good product but otherwise its gonna be similar to the other f2p mmos.
please dont tell me you have to pay to revive your character, and its just to avoid punishment for dying.
please dont tell me you have to pay to revive your character, and its just to avoid punishment for dying.
@volomon: I can personally say that I have played F2P games that have a good model. Are they great games? Not all of them, but with no introductory cost, it can't hurt to play them. If you don't plan on paying for it, there is still a lot to do in them. Nexon has done a decent job with their F2P models. No weapons, quests or other necessary apsects are kept from anyone who does not want to play (save Combat Arms). And they have eliminated the stamina system, as well. That's not to say that the system is perfect (it certainly is not), but it's not a bad one if done correctly.
@Courtney Roberts: The grind isn't so bad, really. It's not great, but I'd say it's moderate to a bit slow (you get bonuses for harder modes and playing with a party, IIRC). There are no major penalties for dying save for abandoning the mission you were on and having to restart it, unless you revive your character. Missions aren't that long, though. Also, you get 5 character slots for each server, so that's not bad (only 2 servers, though).
I wish more MMOs were like Guild Wars. One payment, and that's it. Any other method is just ridiculous. I HATE microtransactions. Oh well.
F2P done right, like Ckar said, is great.
"Pay to win" absolutely sucks, and ruins the in-game economy/fun factor. See Farmville/Smurf Village "miracle gro" items, that instantly let you get ahead of other players if you feel kind paying money at any time. It's a carrot on a stick, and it's scummy.
"Pay to win" absolutely sucks, and ruins the in-game economy/fun factor. See Farmville/Smurf Village "miracle gro" items, that instantly let you get ahead of other players if you feel kind paying money at any time. It's a carrot on a stick, and it's scummy.
Good! I never saw the appeal in constantly paying, resulting in hundreds of Pounds for just one game
Im a big fan of LoL and although it is not an MMORPG, I find it to be the perfect example of a great business model. The game gives no advantage at all to paying consumers, but rather provides them with extra content that simply makes the experience even more entertaining.
Going to the particular question, I do think that F2P is definitely the future of MMOs.
Going to the particular question, I do think that F2P is definitely the future of MMOs.
@hardy83:
It's not that people are stupid when it comes to change. It is that there are already a ton of F2P games out there, thanks in no small part to how executives tend to flock toward the latest bright shiney object without a clue as to how that market works. It's how bubbles form (remember Dot com bubble?). In an MMO, watering down the subscriber base with too many games means that they don't get to properly build up their community, and have less retention power. There are reasons to be resistant to the change, but for now it seems to be working. Who knows in 2 years or 5 years how it will be.
The 15 dollars a month price has been in place for 12 years. Can it continue to sustain a modern game? Who knows.
I can see reasons to be cautious, but money is money.
It's not that people are stupid when it comes to change. It is that there are already a ton of F2P games out there, thanks in no small part to how executives tend to flock toward the latest bright shiney object without a clue as to how that market works. It's how bubbles form (remember Dot com bubble?). In an MMO, watering down the subscriber base with too many games means that they don't get to properly build up their community, and have less retention power. There are reasons to be resistant to the change, but for now it seems to be working. Who knows in 2 years or 5 years how it will be.
The 15 dollars a month price has been in place for 12 years. Can it continue to sustain a modern game? Who knows.
I can see reasons to be cautious, but money is money.
soon as this is officially F2p ill play it for the first time.
Soon as STO goes F2p ill give that a shot too. There are too many games, And the genres are too cluttered these days for me to buy every game. So i pay for the core games(forza, the occasional COD, Blizzard titles) and steam sale the rest. MMO's just dont fit my budget due to a monthly sub.
Soon as STO goes F2p ill give that a shot too. There are too many games, And the genres are too cluttered these days for me to buy every game. So i pay for the core games(forza, the occasional COD, Blizzard titles) and steam sale the rest. MMO's just dont fit my budget due to a monthly sub.
Smedley is an idiot so don't be surprised if he's wrong. He singlehandedly ruined all the games he took the reigns of.
F2P is fine for an MMO that has been around awhile and people are losing interest. Other than that I'd rather they make MMOs better so people are willing to pay for them. Plus I like the social environment better in games where people pay for it, and I also don't like feeling I'm being nickel'd and dime'd for the full game experience. Better games will make me excited, not cheaper ones.
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