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I wouldn't exactly call F2P a cash grab. That term implies that you're trying to generate a quick profit and sacrificing the longevity of the product to do so. Many F2P models do generate profit quickly yes, but that also sets them up in a better position to funnel some of that profit back into the game and I would argue that this would bolster the sustained profit through having more funds to develop and implement more content. Seems more like a matter of player preference to me.

Some players thought the 3 year storyline development of earlier FFXI expansions was fine, but there are probably as many players who would have preferred more content upfront with more frequent expansions. The ironic thing about it is that F2P expansion timelines tend to support the hardcore players habits more than the casual player in the sense that people who play for long periods or more frequently tend to burn through content faster. I say ironic because it's usually the players who support the hardcore aspect of gaming who tend to be strongly against F2P models.

Making a statement like 'F2P games fade quickly' should probably be qualified with the specific names of the games. There are quite a few F2P games that are still popular after having been released quite a while ago and do just as well if not better than their subscription based counterparts. I play many games that I probably wouldn't bother to play if they were subscription based instead of F2P or B2P. That doesn't condemn those games to being poorly designed, but the trend is the trend for a reason...

And also more of a marketing tool targeted at children. >_>

When i talk for an F2P game i keep thinking of this http://en.flyff.gpotato.com/ flyff or "fly for fun" . One of my girlfriends used to play it quite a lot. Had spend some cash on it as well. They games graphic was meh but not terrible. I see now that they made drastic changes. Anyway i saw that this game is in the game industry for quite some time now and saw a number of 30mil people that played it. The number is huge but then again numbers don't really count in an F2P. But think of this, even if only 1 tenth of that number used the cash shop or w/e its called there, how much money have they made?

Anyway i don't like F2P as i said before but if that game is around for that long i wander how much money they made so far.

Last night in my E-Commerce class, we had a discussion on casinos, and how Harrah's has become the most profitable casino corporation in the last decade by ignoring the "whales" and focusing on their actual core customers, which turned out to be little old ladies who come for the social aspects and drop $20 on the penny slots reliably every week. The casino devised rewards programs to encourage them to come more often, such as Red Hat Club socials, loyalty rewards programs (come 10 visits and dinner's on us!), and made sure that their casinos were friendly environments to elderly citizens - handicapped ramps, disability specialists, etc.

I think that MMO game companies have a market disconnect (as I mentioned up thread or in another thread) and they still haven't figured out the sweet spot for subscription games (should be geared at 25-45 year olds) versus free to play games (should be geared at a much broader age range.)

I suppose I have no qualms with F2P games that are developed and released as such, but AAA title MMORPGs that were intended to be subscription based and had to go F2P don't fall into that category.

Edited, Mar 29th 2013 1:10pm by catwho

F2P is synonymous with quick gratification.. For developers investors and players.. Everything about the games are fast paced feel good and on to the next.. F2p, similarly to what catwho said, are for players that jump from one game to another.. As opposed to players like Wint who commented that he is looking for a MMO home where he can invest years of playing in. Some F2P games are fun heck even most of them are.. For like 2 months.. ive never played a F2P game longer than 2 months.. As opposed to sub fee games that atrract long-time invested players.. not so quickly gratifying.. you have to work for what you get and when you finaly get it you appreciate it all the more! Getting level 75 was a BIG deal to me lol. Not some "took me a month to reach max." Sub-fee is where it is at for true MMO players.. Thats the way it is.. F2P is a trend because corps thought too highly of themselves and released junk.. F2P is also a trend because people are making as much money as they were.. F2P is just a biproduct of economic woes and companies like SE who thought they could just push whatever out and sub-fee it lol.. Dont get me wrong I love SE and I enjoyed FFXIV 1.x even with its downfalls.. That is why I am confident ARR is just what the MMO industry needs. Sub-fee roots with all the best gaming content and graphics.. I expect a pretty good launch but I believe it will be ever better with age as it continues to grow. (excuse typos at work and uses quota time no time to check my spelling! lol)

On that note, Lahurah's parents (who are in their 50s to 60s) actually played 1.0 with her for a while. They'd shown 0 interest in FFXI in the years she played it, but they thought 1.0 was pretty and played it for quite some time.

Despite all its flaws, 1.0 had an appeal to them. XIV 2.0 may or may not have that appeal, but if it does, they may have hit their "sweet spot for the little old ladies dropping $20 on penny slots every week" demographic. And if Yoshi P really is playing the long game, that's going to be a demographic he targets. (Especially in Japan. I remember the first Nintendo Wii commercials, back when it was still code named Revolution, where Nintendo wanted to make it a "family computer" again so they had the elderly couple playing a music conducting game with the Wiimotes.)

I'm not saying that other MMOs don't have them. There are lots in FFXI too, for example.

I'm saying those MMOs weren't marketed to them.

Any MMORPG that wants to play a long game, with long term subscribers, needs to consider the demographic that's actually willing to pay money.

The problem is.. other than League of Legends no F2P game pumps out content anywhere near as fast as WoW. Pretty much every small F2P game is a cash grab with little content and a pay to win attitude. With as little as these companies comparatively spent on game development they probably make great profit. However you never see any content updates, or if you do it's after 3-5 years. I played a blatant WoW-clone called Fiesta off and on for 3+ years and they never released anything new other than cash shop garbage. Guild Wars 2 has been out for 6+ months and still hasn't released any new content either. This is a game where you could get to max level in a week or less with no end game content. F2P looks nice on paper but it just doesn't work that way.



I would love to see a "Mature" rated MMO for once and not just because of gore or boobies. Many teen games can get out an involved and mature story, but it's still there to be digested by a younger audience as well. It would be nice to see what a developer could come up with for serious gaming adults if they weren't so worried about milking the teenage market teet...And have it not devolve into some pervy sex game. ; ;

Edited, Mar 29th 2013 3:12pm by DamienSScott

Bu..But.. Fornicating with NPCs is basically all that I do!

/endfrychannel

Edited, Mar 29th 2013 3:40pm by DamienSScott

Only when their men let them out of the kitchen after their sammich making duties.

Sorry... I just couldn't resist...

<3 catwho :D

heehee, makes me wanna play Castlevania: Harmony of Despair.. pretty much the only game I have for mine other than Rocksmith atm..