gaming Is Free 2 Play the only way to go for MMO's?

[Stalliongrad 982]

I love MMO's i currently play Star Trek Online the most which went Free 2 Play a while back. I have a few friends there who also play World of Warcraft. They tell me that making a game free ruins it and I just refuse to belive it. Im curious as to what others think about that. The usual way the game brings in money after it goes free is usually 1 of 2 things or a combination of both. Usually what happens is the game will restrict many ablilites and limit your access to content. I am told you have to purchase the ablility to Sprint in SWTOR? Im not sure if thats true but if it is, I think thats crazy. Or B the game releases content you have to buy from microtransactions. I dont know how much WoW costs right now but its the only one i can think of at the moment which i know you still have to pay for. I want to know if there are any MMO's that are entirely free. And im curious of any ideas people might have to pay for the cost of running the game other than adverts. I would hate for that to happen

[Discovery Dream 592]

Yeah, I hate Freemium games, which are why I am currently not playing any MMOs. There really doesn't seem to be a way aroud this, though, as servers are expensive and the upkeep often costs more than what advertisements can provide.

[Faceless 101]

A wise man once said: "Take anything that is free"... or I may of just made that up on the spot. In any case, the only MMO I've paid for is Runescape and that did not end well...

[khaine21x3 789]

Yeah, I hate Freemium games, which are why I am currently not playing any MMOs. There really doesn't seem to be a way aroud this, though, as servers are expensive and the upkeep often costs more than what advertisements can provide.

 

This is a lie that people have got to stop perpetuating, just look at world of Warcraft spending spreadsheet available online somewhere.The cost of maintaining servers and bandwith is so low that ads alone could maintain them.Maximizing profits however is a different story.

 

Free to play isn't the only way to go but microtransactions is the best way to mazimize profits, WoW subs has been down but profits has constantly gone up due to increase in microtransactions and selling services/virtual items on top of subs.

 

I personally prefer pay to play with minimal microtransactions like RIFT, I think that it's nice to get free server transfers on very low cooldown but I know that the profit is way lower than free to play or p2p that includes tons of microtransactions.

 

I think that everquest 2 style free to play is bad since content is pretty much restricted for free players but Korean f2p games are even worse since they're basically play to win.I haven't quite seen a good f2p model on mmorpgs that focuses on pve content so I think that they're bad whether it's a pve or pvp mmo.

 

I think that people need to stop supporting monopolies but quit being cheap at the same time and ensure that the monthly sub payment model stays with minimal microtransactions.

 

other interesting notes:

 

-World of Warcraft is free in China and South korea, you only need to pay for gametime which could be bought per hour instead of monthly so no paying for base game or expansion

 

-fatigue system that could be removed by paying real money are available in some games

 

-lots of chinese mmorpg have built in bots added by the developers to curb gold farming and to prevent people from spending too much time on farming

Edited December 5, 2012 by khaine21x3

[Aaramus 449]

I quite like the idea of these freemium games. As somebody who never really got into WoW because it is subscription based and when I wanted to play it (around the Burning Crusade expansion) I simply couldn't afford it because I was probably only 14/15 years old. 

 

What F2P allows players to do is get into several MMO's without having to stick to one because they're paying a monthly fee and most people probably don't want to spend £40 a month so they can play 3 or 4 different games.

 

F2P has to be done right however, give enough so players can enjoy themselves but give good enough bonuses so players want to give them money but they aren't forced to. The only 2 MMO's I think are doing it fairly right at the moment are Dungeons and Dragons Online with their pretty cool instanced based idea and Planetside 2 with the ability to skip time and buy guns or you can buy cosmetics. There are probably a few more other people can think of but I haven't played them yet.

[Gigachip 148]

From my experience F2P normally turns into P2-Win. Taking some of the excitement out from a few areas of the game. XP bonuses, stat bonuses, etc can help change events. Grouping might take a turn when you group with some one who is gaining 50% xp each kill. More recently with GW2 and Planetside 2 being able to buy gems and convert them to gold. I recall myself buying some gems, and just filling a courtyard with pure siege just to defend it.

With Planetside 2 I already bought some more powerful weapons for my characters and vehicles with RL money. I didn't have too, but I did cause thats how they normally make their money in F2P models. Off people who do use RL money to buy items.

Sometimes F2P can be good if the only thing they sell, is pets/dyes/patterns/etc. Nothing that gives an edge to progression of a character.

[khaine21x3 789]

Sometimes F2P can be good if the only thing they sell, is pets/dyes/patterns/etc. Nothing that gives an edge to progression of a character.

 

I talked to several mmorpg investor and that method doesn't generate a lot of profit, it's most profitable when they sell items that gives an advantage in pvp.

[Gigachip 148]

I talked to several mmorpg investor and that method doesn't generate a lot of profit, it's most profitable when they sell items that gives an advantage in pvp.

Yes, I understand, because people WILL pay for an advantage over other players. Like I have if you read my whole post. I'm just saying if they did that model I'd like F2P more. (I probably worded it wrong) Its also why I try to stay away from F2P games. Though games like PS2 I'm running with the subscription option as well as buying gear.

[Stalliongrad 982]

From my experience F2P normally turns into P2-Win. Taking some of the excitement out from a few areas of the game. XP bonuses, stat bonuses, etc can help change events. Grouping might take a turn when you group with some one who is gaining 50% xp each kill. More recently with GW2 and Planetside 2 being able to buy gems and convert them to gold. I recall myself buying some gems, and just filling a courtyard with pure siege just to defend it.

With Planetside 2 I already bought some more powerful weapons for my characters and vehicles with RL money. I didn't have too, but I did cause thats how they normally make their money in F2P models. Off people who do use RL money to buy items.

Sometimes F2P can be good if the only thing they sell, is pets/dyes/patterns/etc. Nothing that gives an edge to progression of a character.

 

I have noticed the P2-Win happen before. Not really sure what to make of that. Because people really want to buy things that will give an edge in PVP and anyone who didnt buy it will seriously think about buying such items in the future.