'Free to play' - gaming enricher or scourge? *spawn

A perfect example of a P2W game is Shaiya a PVP MMO that REQUIRES payment to keep playing. Here is why.

Although everything in the game can be purchased through monies made while playing, after a certain level the monsters in the game no longer drop, armor that armor instead has to be purchased through the in game store and usually by a chance/raffle of sorts. In order to acquire XP the players are forced to go into PVP zones, in these zones you can drop your gear if you are killed. To prevent that from happening you need to buy a item that ranges from 12 Hours, 3 days, 30 days. Also if you choose a certain "mode" if your character dies and is not resurrected the character is deleted, you can prevent that with special items as shown above with the prevent item drops. These are non droppable items in the game world, they require either trade or purchase through online store.

These items are expensive and the developers have created these "Tired" spenders that reward players by hitting milestones in a very short period of time. First tier unlocked at $1, 2nd at $10 up to 7th tier at $100 PLUS a bonus tier at $200. And to give you an idea on what a monthly cost to play this game can be I'll give this example.

1 x 30 Day Prevent Item Drop (so you don't lose gear if killed in PVP/Grinding zone) = $6.99
1 x 30 Continuous Resurrection Rune (so you don't lose your character if it dies) = $47.99


This does not even include the fact that all enchanting over 3 requires special items that have to be purchased or your item will break upon an unsuccessful attempt (same success rates as other games). One of the features in the game allows you to bind elements and stuff to your gear, after a certain level you are required to again have a special item only available through the in game store or upon failure your item will break. But fore even more money you can buy items that increase your chances from 0% to 10%!

Now, while I agree if you are trying to "be the best"; well you do have to pay for that. BUT, to continue playing the game REQUIRES you to spend money after a certain level or you risk losing everything you have. People have invested THOUSANDS of dollars into this game and many invest upwards of 100 a week just to play (I know a guy in real life).

But don't worry, if your character dies they can restore them (without your gear) for $74.99 and if you broke a piece of equipment trying to enchant or enhance it you can get that back to for $74.99.

This is where FTP are destined to go because it's easy to develop "enhancements" in the game that require payment. These are items in the game that can be traded and used, that also means they could be added to the drop lists..or how this game has done it...removed from drop lists.
 
TBH PS4 supporting F2P scares me. F2P really means pay-to-win, and the total cost to play is obscure. Look at some of the crazy prices for DUST, for example, versus just buying a $60 game and having access to all of it. Mobile game design is saturated by a philosophy to design the game around encouraging the player to buy stuff, which means it's no longer game design but economic-exploitation design. I despise 'F2P' as nickel-and-dime-ware, and I'm not enthused by a future where developers go this route. The only way I'll be in favour is if there's also the option to buy outright, one price and no hidden or extra fees.

Remember, the only reason devs will choose this route is because they make more money from it, meaning the player are spending more than otherwise. The shift of focus to milking money instead of creating good games is the very opposite of what games are about.

'Free to play' - gaming enricher or scourge? *spawn

The question is loaded, because it suggests that the answer is one or the other.

Pay2Play games: gaming enricher or scourge? There are sucky pay2play games as well.

There is no gradient, no black and white, no crossing of the line.

There are good games, and not so good games, and both types of games will grow out of any avenue that games can be supported on financially.

Will the medium be abused to influence people into spending more money? Pay2Play and Free2Play both have had their time to experiment in their own ways to cheat people out of money. Some games have DLC, and other games have the "carrot on a stick" model.

There is no answer on this question, because the number of games which can be made or which model can be used is infinite. DotA 2 is a more pure competitive game than Call of Duty, and yet DotA 2 is the free2play game. PlanetSide 2 and Blacklight Retribution will have pay2play alternatives which have equal or more abuse of pay2win systems in place as well, such as Team Fortress 2 (formerly) and the upcoming games in Call of Duty series like COD Elite and COD Ghost more than likely. Even Uncharted 3 MP has more pay2win than some free2play games on PC.

Each game should be measured on it's own merits, and more importantly it's own value to the person playing.

Remember, the only reason devs will choose this route is because they make more money from it,

Correction: "Some" developers will make more money depending on the delivery system, platform of choice, and the type of game they are offering. Whether it is a phone game or a PC game makes a difference in the type of game they will make and the strategies they will employ as far as pay2win or pay2play goes.

Important: Most mobile developers do not make a good ROI, or not nearly what they expect, they are only lured by the massive success that only a select few experience. Mobile games development would probably be a balloon waiting to pop, but the investment most make into it is not that much in the first place. You may as well call mobile gaming development a lottery.

Again: DotA 2 is a rare lone star hero in the free2play universe on PC. There are ZERO pay2win mechanics in the game, unlike competing MOBA/free2play RTS/other free2play games.

But importantly it proves there is a model (the fabled "hat and dress up") in which games can be deep, competitive, and completely avoid pay2win all the while being free2play.
 
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I wonder if both consoles will be supporting F2P games at all. Technically, if you need Gold or Plus to play online...there is no F2P games on the consoles. Up to now, neither MS or Sony have published details and costs of their services.

Other than that, I wonder the following: is there a single F2P game out there at the moment that is graphically cutting edge? I tried Planetside 2, while it looks nice and all it certainly is not one of the best looking games out there. I do not care for large and vast landscapes if there is just no detail in it.

If the answer to the question above is no, will we ever see a tec power house free to play game? I have the feeling that F2P games do not push the limits of technology.

Up to now, there is no single F2P game out there that interests me or did entertain me when I tried it out.
 
The majority of F2P devs don't really have the money to achieve AAA technical quality (some of them actually admit it publicly) and this is why they tend to invest more on art style.
Also I could say the same for retail games on consoles because few are the games that have really cutting edge graphic.
 
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