Maken Tosch
263
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Posted - 2012.08.11 01:46:00 -
[1] - Quote
http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/10/technology/star-wars-free-play/index.html
In this article posted on the Tech section of money.cnn.com, a very valid point was brought up about the free-to-play model.
Quote: Not all analysts are sold on free-to-play. Jim Yin, equity analyst with Standard & Poor's, points out that it's difficult for game developers to target multiple audiences -- in this case, hard-core and casual gamers -- with the same title.
"The constituents have different tastes and willingness to pay," Yin says.
Also, free-to-play doesn't address another major problem in the MMO genre: saturation.
There are dozens of games available now, many with similar fantasy or role-playing themes. All of them vying for the same limited amount of time a player has each week.
"None of these games are substantially different from one another, and I don't know if free-to-play is really going to solve that problem," Yin says.
With $150 Million game like SWTOR going down the free-to-play route along with others (even Blizzard is experimenting with this), what do you all think about this?
I mean, sure Dust 514 is free to play and that alone makes it enticing for new players especially with a not-so-deep pocket. But since there are dozens of big-name games out there going down the same route as everyone else, how will F2P actually make Dust 514 any different?
It won't. Even though Dust is free to play, that is not the principle reason I choose to play it often. It's the potential. The sandbox environment it brings. The emergent game play of the masses. It is not a hold-your-hand-in-a-theme-park game. It is a game where you build your own entertainment and empire and make a long-lasting name for yourself. At least when it's finally finished and ready. Those are what will make Dust 514 unique.
I don't give a crap about other games that are free to play even if they are backed by big names like DC Universe or Lucas Arts and whatnot. If the play style doesn't suit me, I ignore it and stick with either Eve Online or Dust 514.
Sure, Eve Online costs $15 a month and I don't have job so I have to cut back on expenses by suspending my subscription. But as soon as I get a job, guess what. I'm going to reactivate the subscription. You see, it's not the pay model that attracts me. It's the PLAY STYLE that does. Even to this day, New Eden has thrived and now Guild Wars 2 is adopting the economic model of Eve Online because Eve has set a pretty good standard on how a great game is made. If Dust 514 is built just right, then no pay model would matter because the play style alone guarantees its success. |