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What do people think Free to Play means anyway?

KilrainKilrain Member RarePosts: 1,185
in The Pub at MMORPG.COM
I see people complain that not 100% of a games content is available to free to play players. Yet "free to play" does not mean "free to experience everything". It just means that you can log in and play for free.

I see people complain that if you must purchase even a subscription to gain skills at a regular rate, it's considered pay to win. 

What I want to know is, why can't people accept the facts that 1. games need income 2. paying a sub for "non slowed" experience gains does not equal experience boosts which they determine as "pay to win".

If a game says it's "Free to play" do not expect it to be 100% free. It's ridiculous to think so.

Random rant? Perhaps, but every time I log into a game I read nothing but bs comments on how the game is a ripoff because they can't access all content for free, or they gain slower skills without a subscription. Cancerous things like this lead to games getting a bad reputation based on false representation of what is really happening. It drives me crazy!

Comments

  • KopogeroKopogero Member UncommonPosts: 1,685
    edited March 2016
    It means free to pay as much as you please and for me it pleases me to pay $0.00. I have yet to see spending limit being introduced to F2P products. Example some methods where the game would prevent players to spend more than $25 monthly. Now, this is something I have yet to see...
    Post edited by Kopogero on

    image

  • mgilbrtsnmgilbrtsn Member EpicPosts: 3,430
    If everyone had the mentality that I won't pay anything no matter what, then all these games people like would cease to exist.  To put it bluntly, they are riding the backs of those who are willing to give a few coins.  They are lucky that the numbers work out that the mooching layabouts can 'afford' this.

    People will point to the literal translation of the words 'Free 2 Play' without regard to intent.  Technically, they are correct, but we know what is truly required.  I'm willing to bet, that people who have this mentality don't take everything literally in their lives, unless it's beneficial to do so.

    So, all layabouts, thank someone who pays a bit, because they are paying your way.

    I self identify as a monkey.

  • RusqueRusque Member RarePosts: 2,785
    Look, I want to pay for the entertainment I consume. I like to support people who make stuff. My biggest beef with F2P is that I'm not just paying for what I'm consuming, I'm subsidizing people like Kopogero to play without paying anything, and frankly, that's BS. I'm not particularly interested in paying for someone else's entertainment, games are a luxury and people should pay for their own luxury goods.
  • SourajitSourajit Member UncommonPosts: 472
    edited March 2016
    Free to play means :-
    1. Free to TRY
    2. Free to Find a way to MAX levels without paying (Interesting Part)
    3. Free to Uninstall at any time if you do not like it
    4. Free to spend any AMOUNT of REAL money, if you like it.
    5. Free to WRITE UP about where the free to play part ends and through which item, stat, clever manipulation inside the game mechanics.
    6. Free to hand over leveled characters to JUNIORS at home
    7. Free to try hacks, cheats, AI bots without any FEAR of getting banned
    8. Free to INSTALL and PLAY simultaneously, as many as you can
    9. Free to SPEND FREE time on it

    Last but not the least fun is,

    FREE to rush and log in when the game launches or in beta and then when you have left it for months or years, log back in and SELL introductory items to make great amounts of FREE in game GOLD (If the game survives through that time).

    Cheers
    Sourajit Nandi

    " Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't play this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind,and you'll never whine or repent about gaming hours anymore, then have a go at every Game. Open up the Internet, join in all the Mmorpgs you can. Go make the Guild. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible. "

    Once An Addict Always An Addict .

  • hallucigenocidehallucigenocide Member RarePosts: 1,015
    free to play means free to play.. you play the damn thing for free. if they wish to put additional things behind paywalls then so be it but you can still play for free.

    I had fun once, it was terrible.

  • SirmatthiasSirmatthias Member UncommonPosts: 562
    edited March 2016
    B) Free to Play means to live in 'murica and to be able to go outside and play for free.
  • Falcor87Falcor87 Member UncommonPosts: 10
    F2P to me means that the game is free to play but in order to keep your sanity and have a fun experience you need to pay for at least something. 
  • SoarlozerSoarlozer Member UncommonPosts: 61
    Free to play. Lets drop the fact some are glorified trials. But any good F2P is going to be similar to PS2 or LoL where you aren't locked out from the "end game" of what is going on.

    In league you dont need to spend a dollar. In PS2 most shit is sidegrades or earned in a reasonable amount of time. Essentially all these are P4C, pay for convience.
  • Big.Daddy.SamediBig.Daddy.Samedi Member UncommonPosts: 411
    Free to Play really needs to be renamed. "Free to Start" is a more accurate term and removes any connotation that anything further in to the game is "Free". Because really this is what a free 2 play game is.

  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,975
    A good reason to avoid said game.

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,483
    It means "free to lose".

    It often also means, "We're not going to tell you up front how much it will cost to play the game the way you want."
  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    The real question is what do developers think FREE means because i am pretty sure all the users know the meaning of FREE.This alone proves how developers are out to manipulate and mislead gamer's,how can you trust such a developer?

    Free to login or free to check SOME of the game out are keywords left out by developers.Some are at least honest,they will tell you straight up free to level 20 or free 5 day trial.

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • DrDread74DrDread74 Member UncommonPosts: 308

    The only purely fair model for Free to Play game is asking for money ONLY for cosmetic effects or more purely balanced choices of characters, items etc. Like League of Legends.

    Technically ANYTHING else is a skew towards pay to win. How far towards Pay to Win is a sliding scale. For some people absolutely anything is enough to make them rant, those are a vocal minority on the other end of spectrum are the games that are psychologically engineered to get you hooked and then charge money.

    For the record the game I'm working on Is Free To Play =)


    http://baronsofthegalaxy.com/     An MMO game I created, solo. It's live now and absolutely free to play!
  • KellerKeller Member UncommonPosts: 602
    Free-to-play means I have to pay $ more than a subscription to unlock stuff in a game I enjoy playing.
  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 9,976
    There were only a couple games I remember limiting content to free players.....Wizard 101 and Runescape were a couple off the top of my head...FOr the most part though you can play f2p games and get all the content.
  • jmcdermottukjmcdermottuk Member RarePosts: 1,571
    Free to Play means "We're evil, greedy, bullshitting bastards and we just want to get you to log in so we can try and squeeze as much cash out of you as we can for this piece of shit game that nobody would ever pay a sub or a box price for in a million years." but that takes up too much room.
  • goboygogoboygo Member RarePosts: 2,141
    It means a game not good enough to sell outright but good enough that people will try it for free and buy a sparkle pony or two.
  • k61977k61977 Member EpicPosts: 1,523
    Personally if it says free to play all content should be free nothing locked behind a pay wall to progress.  Things like costumes or mounts may be in cash shops but nothing that has anything to do with progress.

    If you have to pay to progress it should be called a free trial not free to play.  There are very few actual free to plays.
  • Octagon7711Octagon7711 Member LegendaryPosts: 9,004
    What free to play means, depends on the game.

    "We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa      "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."  SR Covey

  • Falcor87Falcor87 Member UncommonPosts: 10
    k61977 said:
    Personally if it says free to play all content should be free nothing locked behind a pay wall to progress.  
    I'm with this guy/gal! Everything should be free!
  • RasiemRasiem Member UncommonPosts: 318
    Kilrain said:
    I see people complain that not 100% of a games content is available to free to play players. Yet "free to play" does not mean "free to experience everything". It just means that you can log in and play for free.

    I see people complain that if you must purchase even a subscription to gain skills at a regular rate, it's considered pay to win. 

    What I want to know is, why can't people accept the facts that 1. games need income 2. paying a sub for "non slowed" experience gains does not equal experience boosts which they determine as "pay to win".

    If a game says it's "Free to play" do not expect it to be 100% free. It's ridiculous to think so.

    Random rant? Perhaps, but every time I log into a game I read nothing but bs comments on how the game is a ripoff because they can't access all content for free, or they gain slower skills without a subscription. Cancerous things like this lead to games getting a bad reputation based on false representation of what is really happening. It drives me crazy!
    I dont mind paying for content my biggest gripe is when they charge you for costumes and crap otherwise you look the same for 30 levels.
  • GruugGruug Member RarePosts: 1,793
    I see a lot of definitions here but I have not seen one use the term "freeloader". I won't play a "f2p" game as I do not want to be a freeloader nor do I wish to subsidize those that wish to freeload by paying for the game. Free-to-play is a MARKETING term that is used to pull people into the game with hopes of someone spending real money. Those that do spend real money are also paying for those that don't.

    Let's party like it is 1863!

  • SirmatthiasSirmatthias Member UncommonPosts: 562

    Free to play is something the consumer made up along the way with all the other coined terms. The market will decide how to blend the mixture of each game the will benefit the game company and publishers as a whole. most games are still changing the DNA of the cash shops, cosmetics, dungeons, play areas, gender locks, expansions so they can become the next NCSoft,(insert mobile phone company here) blah blah blah. who cares

  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    It's like a girlfriend. She's free. But see if you can be in the relationship for long without spending any money on her. 

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

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