Free to Play MMOs - A Question to the Community

Alright so many of these games are WoW clones. Many are trashy and pathetic and then some arent. Perfect World International, for example, claims 50 million players - at least thats what I read somewhere and then theres other games like Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeon and Dragons Online, Runes of Magic, and Atlantica Online who also sport good player bases and good popularity. From my experience and from what other have said - the largest short coming of these games is the fact that they use micro transactions and because they dont show as much polish as some games like WoW and now RIFT. Why do people dislike Free2Play so much? Whats the inherant issue? The fact that we dont actually pay for the game? The assumption that it can be crappy cuz its "free"? I know that thats my issue. I can admit it. I like owning my games - that way I can expect things. But when it comes to "free" games - I find myself wanting to play the games I HAVE paid for just to justify buying them in the first place. I think its an American mentality but in any case its there. What do you have to say?

I don't really like many "free" games, because very few of them are ever free, and very few are good. I don't like it when someone else can pay for something, and get an advantage over me. On the topic of paying for a game and feeling the need to play it, I very rarely buy full price games. I just bought both RDR and BC 2 for console off a friend, and payed like 25 bucks each or something. I haven't finished RDR yet, but I feel I got my $25 worth. My advice is if you feel the need to play a game to justify your purchase, pick up games on the cheap.tehsystemwarior

i have some ties to free gaming alien swarm, moonbase alpha and i also play champions online.. they can be an enjoyable experience if you can look past the penny pinching..

I still havent spent any money on champions online but I use as a filler between buying games. Last month I bought minecraft. I played it alot then for alittle while and then played champions online until I got the money for fallout 3 game of the year. But then again I've got ADHD (BTW I'm 24) which for the jest I can get means I don't stick to one thing. Its a good game like WoW or crysis to get me to stick with it even then I still don't finish many games that I buy. :)

Edit: And yet fuse says that I've played Unreal 3 and 2004 which was a while ago. I think....O.o

I really just don't like the production value of F2P games. Always seems like a waste of my time when I'm playing them.

i have some ties to free gaming alien swarm, moonbase alpha and i also play champions online.. they can be an enjoyable experience if you can look past the penny pinching..

ionusX

There is a phsychological affect of buying a game and it turning out to be good or bad. You have already invested something into somewhat of a gamble and it payed off. Also, the fact that you actually spent money on it is more likely to make you want to get a good value for your investment, and you will want to feel like you made a good choice so you may look at it through rose colored glasses.

Free to play has a few things going against them, most notably lack of budget. People haven't spent anything for the experience so there is no hook except the experience itself to make them feel it's worth their time. There are also many traps in some free games where you get to a certain point and realize that your gameplay would be much easier for one particular mission if you just gave them a bit of money, which can add up. Alternatively, a game with a subscription always gives all the players access to everything; with the exception of expansion packs, which might be considered on the same level as paid DLC, except that they are usually an enclosed experience and not essential to the main game.

There is a phsychological affect of buying a game and it turning out to be good or bad. You have already invested something into somewhat of a gamble and it payed off. Also, the fact that you actually spent money on it is more likely to make you want to get a good value for your investment, and you will want to feel like you made a good choice so you may look at it through rose colored glasses.

Free to play has a few things going against them, most notably lack of budget. People haven't spent anything for the experience so there is no hook except the experience itself to make them feel it's worth their time. There are also many traps in some free games where you get to a certain point and realize that your gameplay would be much easier for one particular mission if you just gave them a bit of money, which can add up. Alternatively, a game with a subscription always gives all the players access to everything; with the exception of expansion packs, which might be considered on the same level as paid DLC, except that they are usually an enclosed experience and not essential to the main game.

guynamedbilly

Alright so many of these games are WoW clones. Many are trashy and pathetic and then some arent. Perfect World International, for example, claims 50 million players - at least thats what I read somewhere and then theres other games like Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeon and Dragons Online, Runes of Magic, and Atlantica Online who also sport good player bases and good popularity. From my experience and from what other have said - the largest short coming of these games is the fact that they use micro transactions and because they dont show as much polish as some games like WoW and now RIFT. Why do people dislike Free2Play so much? Whats the inherant issue? The fact that we dont actually pay for the game? The assumption that it can be crappy cuz its "free"? I know that thats my issue. I can admit it. I like owning my games - that way I can expect things. But when it comes to "free" games - I find myself wanting to play the games I HAVE paid for just to justify buying them in the first place. I think its an American mentality but in any case its there. What do you have to say?

Gamesterpheonix

Micro transactions to experience more than starter content and generally not kept up to date.

With a P2P game, you pay 16.09 a month to play (WoW for example), and what you get for that are constant patches, fixes, balances, updates and entirely new content quite often. You also get great customer service, something I've not found in many F2P games I've tried.

The way i see it is yes buying ur games is better option always is always will be, like others have said u get what u paid 4 you know what to expect, Free 2 play games arent that bad there are some good ones out there and alot of bad ones, micro transaction is pain but i suppose they need some way of keeping you in, i play Runes Of Magic i think it is a great game yes its a rip off of WOW but it is different aswell, im suckered in at the moment because of micro transaction u just have to get certain things from there store, i dont hate it for that fact but it does get annoying. I hope more free 2 play games do come out and dont have micro, but i doubt they will. :roll:

I dont like F2P games because they want money for bag space, auction house slots, bank slots, mounts, fast travel, chat. The prices for these is also quite often ridiculous, even if the horse will be mine forever I will not pay $10 for it, its just not right. Aside from the cash shop the sameness of alot of f2p games kills it for me. There is way too much crap in the f2p market and it has an effect of my overall opinion of the genre. Still there are games that I like but once more are completely ruined by the cash shop like Allods for example, where unless you buy stuff your dps is cut in half.

$15 per month, not 16.09. Miroku32

If you look at your bill, it's 16.09$ after taxes.TrueProphecy22

Only some places charge tax.

I know it may not be in the genre you're looking for but there's a game called World of Tanks - I enjoy it a lot. It's not my first go to game for online but it is free to play and has some decent mmo qualities. It's free, so try it out!

since im part of the free to play community i can say you can expect much im playing atlantica online now for 2 years we get fresh content every 2-3 month.

the Game got a great community gives me much fun and entertainment i think as much as i ever could get even if i would been registered in wow and pay monthly for it. So in my eyes i get the same for free where other ppl pay for.

Actually we could get the question to the other side.... Why do you still pay for your games?

Even not in morg you could imagine working pay models where pl could get extra stuff through micro transaktions which finances the game.

Why isnt is so? Cause the Game industry made more money then the movie industry in the last years , so why not milk a cow when you can?

Vindictus is free and f2p, it's sorta mmo'ey..Inconsistancy

Oops, I thought this was a different thread. :P