Should Massively Multiplayer Online Games Be Free to Play?

by SodaHead Gaming Posted 2011/09/21 19:00:00

Related Topics: Mmo, MMORPG, Games, Video Games, Massively Multiplayer, Online Games, Free, Pay To Play, John Smedley, World Of Warcraft, Everquest

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	Yes	75 votes	64%
	No	42 votes	36%

When “World of Warcraft” came out in 2004, it shattered sales expectations and grew to more than 12 million subscribers in merely a few years, breaking the record set by “EverQuest,” who had bragged about a paying audience of almost 1 million.

Currently, Sony Online Entertainment’s library of MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games) now include both “EverQuest” and “EverQuest 2” that do charge a subscription fee, but CEO John Smedley is busy converting all of Sony’s library or MMOs to a free-to-play model.

Smedley believes that charging a monthly fee is detrimental to most people playing MMOs. Smedley has the market research of games like “Lord of the Rings Online,” and his own “Free Realms” game to back up his hypothesis.

Smedley also believes that the upcoming EA/Bioware game, “Star Wars: the Old Republic” will be the last major MMO to use a subscription model, due to the fact that the Star Wars license will net at least two million customers.

“There’s another large juggernaut coming out soon in “Star Wars: the Old Republic,” Smedley wrote in an op-ed piece for GamesIndustry.biz. “That’s a game that I think has a legitimate shot at a two million subscription user base and I believe that they will stick with the subscription method. In my opinion, this is going to be the last large scale MMO to use the traditional subscription business model.”

One of the latest Sony MMOs to change to free-to-play is the popular DC Universe Online. “World of Warcraft” seems to be inching towards this method as well with unlimited trial period until you reach level 20.

Smedley further concludes that “the world is moving on from this model and over time people aren’t going to accept this method,” he said. “I’m positive I’m right.”

Well, SodaHead readers, is Smedley right?

Will MMOs all become free–to–play? Or will they continue to charge gamers monthly rates?

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Lady Yui 2011/09/21 21:35:34

No

+6
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More polls by SodaHead Gaming

098765 2011/10/04 17:24:57

Yes

pay for the servers yourself. i'd rather charge a one-time fee, even if it's $200.

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Culgan 2011/09/28 14:31:16

No

No, Free to Play MMO's are more often than not very poor quality, nothing but a grind with a bend over please item mall and with non existent customer service. And to top it all off, free to play attracts the worst of the worst in annoying abusive kiddies, rivaled only by the Xbox Live community.

I'd much much rather fork up a monthly subscription fee for a better quality game, better service and generally nicer players.

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Fef 2011/09/27 01:08:26

No

Engineers need to eat and servers cost money.

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Brian 2011/09/22 18:09:43 (edited)

Yes

It really depends how it affects their bottom line, but personally I've never payed a monthly fee for a video game. That adds up quick, and there are a billion other games.

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lulzifer 2011/09/22 17:52:31 (edited)

Yes

Making MMO's free to play actually increases revenue, because of the massive influx of new players of whom many will spend money in the cash shop.

Champions Online became a lot more financially successful after switching to free to play (and the addition of new content accelerated as well), and that is the reason why Star Trek Online will switch to free to play as well before the end of this year.

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Kigan 2011/09/22 17:13:03

Yes

Actually, I'm on the fence here.

There is a game out there called Maple Story. Anyone heard of it? It originated from a company called Wizet. Anime-style chibi characters in a side scrolling world. Better yet, it was 100% free to play. They had a cash store, but it offered no real advantage. It took ages to level up, but veterans like myself appreciated that it was a game where you had to EARN what you had.

In came the company known as Nexon. They added "double experience" cards to the shop, and eventually events that stacked and other bonuses that stacked, giving absurd experience bonuses. They added items you could buy for money for the in game economy. Added new classes that didn't seem necessary, and ultimately completely redid the game.

So now leveling is absurdly easy (some got to 120 in a single day BEFORE the final overhaul they now run on), they have classes that require you to pay real money to unlock all of their skills, and the characters got revamped in a horrible fashion such as bandits, who were built as characters that dodge like crazy, now can't even dodge the weakest level 1 enemy. Mages have the same MP recovery as other classes, despite their thousands more MP. True they get MP eater, but against bosses that isn't too functional.

Here is my point: Once ...

Actually, I'm on the fence here.

There is a game out there called Maple Story. Anyone heard of it? It originated from a company called Wizet. Anime-style chibi characters in a side scrolling world. Better yet, it was 100% free to play. They had a cash store, but it offered no real advantage. It took ages to level up, but veterans like myself appreciated that it was a game where you had to EARN what you had.

In came the company known as Nexon. They added "double experience" cards to the shop, and eventually events that stacked and other bonuses that stacked, giving absurd experience bonuses. They added items you could buy for money for the in game economy. Added new classes that didn't seem necessary, and ultimately completely redid the game.

So now leveling is absurdly easy (some got to 120 in a single day BEFORE the final overhaul they now run on), they have classes that require you to pay real money to unlock all of their skills, and the characters got revamped in a horrible fashion such as bandits, who were built as characters that dodge like crazy, now can't even dodge the weakest level 1 enemy. Mages have the same MP recovery as other classes, despite their thousands more MP. True they get MP eater, but against bosses that isn't too functional.

Here is my point: Once Maple Story got big because of a greedy company that does not care about its players, they needed more money. They were so consumed that most veterans left as there was nothing but a shadow of a once fantastic game.

So, I'd love if WoW were free. I'd play it again. But do I think that is realistic? Probably not. The Maple Story model could easily spill over to other games, especially if greed is a factor.
(more)

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Plague #11 2011/09/22 15:37:07
TrueAmeros 2011/09/22 15:24:46

No

There should really be a depends option >.>

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Judex Dirum 2011/09/22 15:17:15

No

All in favor of making online games suck?
Nobody?
Well, looks like we've got to pay for quality.

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BigHairyBallsThatSlapYoFace! 2011/09/22 14:45:04
Dum Luk 2011/09/22 14:35:06

Yes

All video games should be free to play.

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Clanblade 2011/09/22 14:24:26

Yes

I play the lord of the ring online somedays. It is free to play s I do not worry I can be busy and not play for a long time and waste a money. Also if I like they have a store I can buy some point and get extra nice thing for my character. I think free play is a good idea.

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cmdrbnd007 2011/09/22 14:06:39

Yes

I think that would be great. Seems to me if you pay to buy the game once why should you have to continue to pay for it monthly?

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TrueAmeros to cmdrbnd007 2011/09/22 15:29:39

That's like saying all gasoline should be free, I mean. You already paid for the car right! The truth is that Companies still have continuing costs to continue to support most online games. Games like Call of Duty would fail if the charged for online because their server/upkeep costs are minimal compared to World of Warcraft. Have any idea how much it has cost blizzard to keep world of warcraft servers online for the past 7 years? A ton, and it's not getting any cheaper. Even f2p games you still end up paying. I'd rather have a full unrestricted experience than a watered down experience till I decide to give them my dollars. Though I also enjoy f2p MMOs sometimes too. Realistically the answer should be "It depends on the game and the company."

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cmdrbnd007 to TrueAmeros 2011/09/22 18:30:44

No it isn't the same. The game and the online experience are one and the same but the car and gasoline are completely different. My problem is that it costs 40-60 dollars to buy one of these games and then you are spending at least another 120 a year to play. Seems like I'm paying for the game twice. I wouldn't mind so much if the initial investment was like 15-20 dollars.

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TrueAmeros to cmdrbnd007 2011/09/22 18:54:35

Yet, the company has those exact same costs. it costs $x to develop the game in the first place, and then $x a year to maintain the servers while continuing to fix bugs, release new updated content, and make changes to classes based on user feedback. It's almost like they have to pay production costs for a game twice. I guess that's why they charge a monthly fee.

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WEREWOLF 2011/09/22 13:40:35 (edited)

Yes

yes I think they should but with an option for donations and an in game store with stuff worth buying for your character because more players will play and people love to customize so more people buying more items.

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NA to WEREWOLF 2011/09/22 15:46:07

+1
most gamers are highly agianst that, because a lower level player could have this over powered item with no work done, where as a much higher level player would have to work for the same or better item, and there will be a power imbalance because the higher level players are supposed to be better than lower level. sorry i only know vaigly about this.

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njs1977 2011/09/22 13:07:49

No

+1
There is no such thing as a free ride.

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Chancy99: Plague Rat 2011/09/22 13:01:50

Yes

I Only Play Free-To-Play MMOs. Because I don't Have the Steady income to Pay 15 or 10$ a Month, Because I never know how much I'll have. I Play Forsaken World (F2P), Which has an in game shop, that Needs Special Currency, Which Requires you to buy it with Real Money. Which Is Fine with me, Because If I do have that 10$ extra in a month, I can get 10$ worth of The In Game Currency, so I can Get those Special Items.

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BigHair... to Chancy9... 2011/09/22 14:49:21

This is why F2P games cost more for the average player because they can't resist the temptation.

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FordCrews 2011/09/22 12:41:48

No

+1
I've always thought they should either be free to play, or free to download. It seems to double dip to have to pay $50 for a game, that you have to buy $40 expansion packs every year or less, plus pay $10 per month per family member to play. But as long as enough idiots are willing to feed the beast, they will continue to be this way.

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Orangedragan 2011/09/22 12:23:52

Yes

+2
I'm of the opinion that videogames shouldn't require a monthly fee; if you buy someone's services, you don't pay them an infinite amount of money for the rest of the time you use that service/product, you pay ONCE. Same idea should apply to videogames.

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Matt 2011/09/22 12:12:17

No

+1
free mmo's content is not as good, graphics are not as good nor gameplay compared to a paid version. I play Eve Online and appreciate the fact the company needs to run server farms, pay dev staff etc and turn a profit as well, nothing wrong with the model of paying for something that has value.

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davidl 2011/09/22 12:08:35

No

+1
Let's save some time and make EVERYTHING "free". Then we will never have a worry in the world, and life will be all rainbows and puppy dogs, and we'll have world peace because nobody will ever need anything again, and nobody will ever have to get a job.

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Seranya Myor 2011/09/22 11:08:59

Yes

I would love all kinds of games to be free to play >_<

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SonofSpermcube 2011/09/22 09:30:14

Yes

Either free-to-play or free-to-install or both.

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realist 2011/09/22 07:00:33

No

+1
i'd rather pay a flat rate vs micro transactions

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BigHair... to realist 2011/09/22 14:51:42

Exactly. Why is it so hard for the anti-P2P horde to understand this?

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MissJo 2011/09/22 06:43:17

No

Besides, there are free good ones if you know what to look for...

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Bulanova (Team Hargitay) 2011/09/22 06:32:49

Yes

+1
I play Dungeons & Dragons Online with my husband and it's a freemium model. I love those the best because they still let me play, but I can pay if I want to and I can choose how much I'm willing to pay.

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alex 2011/09/22 05:59:21

Yes

+1
My boyfriend plays anarchy online. I think that's free...

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TuringsChild 2011/09/22 05:53:58

Yes

+1
Space Trek: The New Empire IS free to play. But be warned: it's addictive. I've been playing for over 2 years straight. And I'm pretty typical.

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BigHair... to Turings... 2011/09/22 14:53:06

and how much do you pay out for the cash shops on an average monthly basis? If you say hardly nothing then you are lying.

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Turings... to BigHair... 2011/09/22 17:18:56

You've made up your mind, so it doesn't matter what I say. Truth is, I've spent about $10 total on that game. The rest of my credits, I trade for ingame.

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david shiel 2011/09/22 05:24:59

No

+1
Wanna play, gotta pay.

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tewaz1 2011/09/22 05:02:57

Yes

+1
Advertisement support is really the way to go. Product placement in games is fairly common and minimally disruptive, if at all. There is plenty of advertising money out there if you have an audience, and MMOs have that.
While the subscription model has worked in the past, as people realize that, just like basic television, their entertainment can be provided on the corporate dime, it will seem odd to pay for it.

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Heidi 2011/09/22 04:56:36

No

WOW has 12 million subscribers if not more now, and each person is paying $14 just to play a month, I'm not going to do the math here but that's a LOT of money, its unlikely that they're going to say "sure lets give everyone have the option to play for free" ....don't hold your breath

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BigHair... to Heidi 2011/09/22 14:55:00

There are the cash shop models and then there are the 'pay up if you wanto go past lvl 20' models.

WOW is just doing a trial membership in reality except they allow you to go wherever you want.... at level 20 max lol.

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The Bantam Seditioner 2011/09/22 04:30:21

Yes

+1
I'm still waiting for someone to design an MMO that takes place in the Old West or maybe one that revolves around 1940's mobsters. WoW and other games or nice, but I can't really relate to slaying an Orc or absconding with a book of spells from a Troll Cave.

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