I think part of the popularity of f2p and variations of it, is that most people like to play more than one mmorpg these days. A few years ago there wasn't a ton of options in the genre but now there are perhaps too many. Most people I know, myself included, either sub to more than one game, or at least cycle regularly through 2 or more games.
With a new emphasis on dedicating time to multiple games, the value that each offers is relatively less (subjectively). So any move towards lowering the cost of individual games makes it a bit easier for players to justify having that game in their stable.
Additionally I think that the cost of running a game and thus demanding a sub, is coming under more scrutiny. A decade ago when 100k subs was a big deal, it made sense that the company needed to charge a sub to help cover the costs that weren't payed for by box sales, and to provide gm services/maintain servers.
However since a decade ago-
1- Hardware costs have been reduced
2- GM services seem to have declined in quality
3- Most titles are able to sale far more boxes these days and thus cover more of their initial costs
a) Companies have the ability to distribute digitally and keep a larger share of the "box" price
b) Most companies offer additional items/services for money covering more of their costs
4- Everyone wants to chase WoW; investment money is a bit easier to get ahold of now than it was a decade ago
5- "Talent" is easier to get; greater supply pushes prices down. There has been a huge rise in gaming colleges and college applications
So between lower costs and people wanting to take advantage of the glut of options in the genre now, companies have to put up a much stronger case for that $15/month.
I keep seeing people talk about how F2P is the growing business model and how its natural for many games to adopt this model. This is absolute nonsense! When a sub game goes F2P its due to a lack of subscriptions as a result of a lack of content or poor game design. The reason we have had so many games go F2P is because of the terrible quality of the games released recently. If a dev team could come up with a decent game, people would pay, like Rift. You wont see Rift going F2P anytime in the next year or two.
Its not the F2P model that is gaining popularity, it is the poor quality of games being released that is causing the F2P movement.
Yeah (even though I ain't 100% sure about Rift, GW2 and TOR might hit it badly), the quality of the game matters but I still wonder how a crappy game can go from losing money to earning it by going F2P?
I swear this game was pretty much built for this, with the simplicity of the boosts, clothes, and loot. I bet the transition will occur surprisingly quick.
Back during beta my end criticism of the game was why the heck should we pay a sub for this? My entire criticism of the game was that it did not offer enough to warrant a subscription model. Price of the box? Absolutely, the developers made a solid multiplayer game, just not a solid mmo.
F2P is right for this game. It doesn't have, even close, to the depth of gameplay and story to be a Sub game nor do I think it was any better than a typical arcade game.
Wish people would stop assuming Warhammer will go p2w its a pvp centric game so it wouldn't work, period.
Anyway from what I've read DCUO should have been b2p (like Guild Wars) from the get go still can't believe Marvel let Soe ruin such a famous IP. Pull the plug and take back your license before Soe can do further damage with their model
Sorry to be the comic book geek on this but Marvel dont own DC, DC comics owns DC. sorry but had to say it. Marvel are owned by disney last i heared.
I did buy this game on day of release and really enjoyed it especially since the look was based on one of me favorite artist's Jim Lee, it was my first game that i p2p. I was still playing up untill they said they wanted an extra pounds for the green lantern dlc, now i love the lanterns universe but i aint paying a subscription to a game to then have to fork out extra for the content i waited for.
I will probably jump back into this game now it is f2p and the fact the lantern dlc is now free, but iam not sure if that is for every one. I would like to know who is the buisness manager on this as they dont seam to grasp what ppl want.
Now Marvel have said they are doing a proper mmo (since they are doing the hero squad bull) but you dont create you'r own charicters like dcuo you will play as one of there established charicters. Now I am sorry but i thought the whole point of these games was that every one had there own style and look. Why would i want to play as one of youre charicters when i could go buy one of there normall game, just dont make sense to me.
Nice. Now I can try it out on my ps3 when it goes free to play. I think almost everyone who wasn't a DC fanboy or a WoW drone could tell where this any many games were headed.
Instead of acting like a bunch of squabbling politicians in regards to what plan will earn you the most money, try actually making a game that's unique and full of self-sustaining content.
I know that's almost stupid to actually think that people will buy a fun product.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly.
Oh and thumbs up for the sig of yours!
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
F2P on my PS3 sounds alright to me. I played it during the beta and had some fun with it, just not enough to pay for it, so this is all good news for me.
Just as long as they don't put any restrictions on character creation, like costume pieces, powers/skills, or lvl caps.. there should be lots of fun to be had even with only 2 character slots (only 2 factions anyways so that's enough).
so its not 100% item based if u dont have skills u suck anyway
which makes it posseble to kill someone 5 lvls below u what is alot concidering u only have to go up to lvl 30
Dont you mean you can kill someone who is 5 lvls above you, since being able to kill someone who is a couple lvls lower than you doesnt seem like anything new:P
I do agree in some of your points though, some of the gameplay felt pretty great, but then again, there was alot of negative things that killed the game...
But I will check the game out, (again, yes I've played it), once it goes free 2 play
Another fine example of soe running another franchise into the ground. Its ok smedly says theres more sandbox games otw he can ruin for us all!! I really liked dcuo but after swg i should of known better to deal wish soe again theyve proven time and again what stupid incompetent tools they are, I remember when dcuo launched and smed going its the biggest selling soe title of all time and all this well smed its not doing to good now is it? I wonder if were going to see a pokemon trading card game in dcuo to like swg at the end here.
Why do franchises turn to soe? seriously why couldnt dcuo gone with ea or anyone else? Do they not look at the history of a company and thier past mmos? sigh oh well
Another fine example of soe running another franchise into the ground. Its ok smedly says theres more sandbox games otw he can ruin for us all!! I really liked dcuo but after swg i should of known better to deal wish soe again theyve proven time and again what stupid incompetent tools they are, I remember when dcuo launched and smed going its the biggest selling soe title of all time and all this well smed its not doing to good now is it? I wonder if were going to see a pokemon trading card game in dcuo to like swg at the end here.
Why do franchises turn to soe? seriously why couldnt dcuo gone with ea or anyone else? Do they not look at the history of a company and thier past mmos? sigh oh well
Its a perception/reality thing. The internet sees SOE as a failure because the internet does not understand how the gaming industry works. We take one franchise and compare it to another franshise and since A is larger than B then B must be a failure. The reality is SOE is above average as a publisher. They have the largest portfolio of MMO's currently running. They have some of the best server platforms and tech out there. They have some of the most varied MMO's and not just wow clones. They also have the most MMO's being developed. In addition to MMO's, they have 2 online PS3 games in development. If the name SOE wasn't attached to the company, we would consider them a good company.
DCUO going F2P does not mean that the game was dying. The PS3 servers are packed with multiple instances of the core cities. The PC servers are okay...on a busy evening you can get a group in less than 5 minutes for an instance. So I take this news as nothing but the flow of the industry today. And this is the right model for DCUO in its current state.
Still #3, IMHO, because DCUO doesn't offer the depth of a character creator that CO does, or the amount of content CoX has with it being the oldest of the 3.
Well, at least DCUO jumped on the F2P bandwagon before the other 2 did...oh.
Well, you've got Superman or Batman anyway. People will come to DCUO for Superman/Batman, right?
It's coming to a point where it's not worth to buy new MMOs, because they'll soon be switching to F2P. And then, with so many F2P games flooding the market, it'll be interesting to see how less popular F2P games will shrink and deal with low income. Until one day WoW goes F2P and the market is hit again, like it were when WoW launched.
I defended the game.. I hemmed and hawed about getting a Lifetime sub. I decided that ultimately SOE would screw me. When their Valentine's Day event occurred in March, enough was enough.
I am completely shocked by this F2P announcement... /sarcasm
Comments
I think part of the popularity of f2p and variations of it, is that most people like to play more than one mmorpg these days. A few years ago there wasn't a ton of options in the genre but now there are perhaps too many. Most people I know, myself included, either sub to more than one game, or at least cycle regularly through 2 or more games.
With a new emphasis on dedicating time to multiple games, the value that each offers is relatively less (subjectively). So any move towards lowering the cost of individual games makes it a bit easier for players to justify having that game in their stable.
Additionally I think that the cost of running a game and thus demanding a sub, is coming under more scrutiny. A decade ago when 100k subs was a big deal, it made sense that the company needed to charge a sub to help cover the costs that weren't payed for by box sales, and to provide gm services/maintain servers.
However since a decade ago-
1- Hardware costs have been reduced
2- GM services seem to have declined in quality
3- Most titles are able to sale far more boxes these days and thus cover more of their initial costs
a) Companies have the ability to distribute digitally and keep a larger share of the "box" price
b) Most companies offer additional items/services for money covering more of their costs
4- Everyone wants to chase WoW; investment money is a bit easier to get ahold of now than it was a decade ago
5- "Talent" is easier to get; greater supply pushes prices down. There has been a huge rise in gaming colleges and college applications
So between lower costs and people wanting to take advantage of the glut of options in the genre now, companies have to put up a much stronger case for that $15/month.
Game failed so naturally it would go free to play.
Well thats patently obvious.
Yeah (even though I ain't 100% sure about Rift, GW2 and TOR might hit it badly), the quality of the game matters but I still wonder how a crappy game can go from losing money to earning it by going F2P?
I swear this game was pretty much built for this, with the simplicity of the boosts, clothes, and loot. I bet the transition will occur surprisingly quick.
Back during beta my end criticism of the game was why the heck should we pay a sub for this? My entire criticism of the game was that it did not offer enough to warrant a subscription model. Price of the box? Absolutely, the developers made a solid multiplayer game, just not a solid mmo.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
F2P is right for this game. It doesn't have, even close, to the depth of gameplay and story to be a Sub game nor do I think it was any better than a typical arcade game.
Sorry to be the comic book geek on this but Marvel dont own DC, DC comics owns DC. sorry but had to say it. Marvel are owned by disney last i heared.
I did buy this game on day of release and really enjoyed it especially since the look was based on one of me favorite artist's Jim Lee, it was my first game that i p2p. I was still playing up untill they said they wanted an extra pounds for the green lantern dlc, now i love the lanterns universe but i aint paying a subscription to a game to then have to fork out extra for the content i waited for.
I will probably jump back into this game now it is f2p and the fact the lantern dlc is now free, but iam not sure if that is for every one. I would like to know who is the buisness manager on this as they dont seam to grasp what ppl want.
Now Marvel have said they are doing a proper mmo (since they are doing the hero squad bull) but you dont create you'r own charicters like dcuo you will play as one of there established charicters. Now I am sorry but i thought the whole point of these games was that every one had there own style and look. Why would i want to play as one of youre charicters when i could go buy one of there normall game, just dont make sense to me.
Saw it coming since it first released.
@ Hobbit78 Lantern DLC is free for ppl who are paying sub.
Nice. Now I can try it out on my ps3 when it goes free to play. I think almost everyone who wasn't a DC fanboy or a WoW drone could tell where this any many games were headed.
How come not B2P? If this trend keeps up, will MMO industry go bankrupt?
Guild Wars 2's 50 minutes game play video:
http://n4g.com/news/592585/guild-wars-2-50-minutes-of-pure-gameplay
Everything We Know about GW2:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/287180/page/1
I knew to avoid this like the plague when SOE promised monthly content updates. Pretty classic underdelivery by SOE.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly.
Oh and thumbs up for the sig of yours!
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
F2P on my PS3 sounds alright to me. I played it during the beta and had some fun with it, just not enough to pay for it, so this is all good news for me.
Just as long as they don't put any restrictions on character creation, like costume pieces, powers/skills, or lvl caps.. there should be lots of fun to be had even with only 2 character slots (only 2 factions anyways so that's enough).
Dont you mean you can kill someone who is 5 lvls above you, since being able to kill someone who is a couple lvls lower than you doesnt seem like anything new:P
I do agree in some of your points though, some of the gameplay felt pretty great, but then again, there was alot of negative things that killed the game...
But I will check the game out, (again, yes I've played it), once it goes free 2 play
Another fine example of soe running another franchise into the ground. Its ok smedly says theres more sandbox games otw he can ruin for us all!! I really liked dcuo but after swg i should of known better to deal wish soe again theyve proven time and again what stupid incompetent tools they are, I remember when dcuo launched and smed going its the biggest selling soe title of all time and all this well smed its not doing to good now is it? I wonder if were going to see a pokemon trading card game in dcuo to like swg at the end here.
Why do franchises turn to soe? seriously why couldnt dcuo gone with ea or anyone else? Do they not look at the history of a company and thier past mmos? sigh oh well
Its a perception/reality thing. The internet sees SOE as a failure because the internet does not understand how the gaming industry works. We take one franchise and compare it to another franshise and since A is larger than B then B must be a failure. The reality is SOE is above average as a publisher. They have the largest portfolio of MMO's currently running. They have some of the best server platforms and tech out there. They have some of the most varied MMO's and not just wow clones. They also have the most MMO's being developed. In addition to MMO's, they have 2 online PS3 games in development. If the name SOE wasn't attached to the company, we would consider them a good company.
DCUO going F2P does not mean that the game was dying. The PS3 servers are packed with multiple instances of the core cities. The PC servers are okay...on a busy evening you can get a group in less than 5 minutes for an instance. So I take this news as nothing but the flow of the industry today. And this is the right model for DCUO in its current state.
Still #3, IMHO, because DCUO doesn't offer the depth of a character creator that CO does, or the amount of content CoX has with it being the oldest of the 3.
Well, at least DCUO jumped on the F2P bandwagon before the other 2 did...oh.
Well, you've got Superman or Batman anyway. People will come to DCUO for Superman/Batman, right?
So the next step is close the game down?
Guild Wars 2's 50 minutes game play video:
http://n4g.com/news/592585/guild-wars-2-50-minutes-of-pure-gameplay
Everything We Know about GW2:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/287180/page/1
It's coming to a point where it's not worth to buy new MMOs, because they'll soon be switching to F2P. And then, with so many F2P games flooding the market, it'll be interesting to see how less popular F2P games will shrink and deal with low income. Until one day WoW goes F2P and the market is hit again, like it were when WoW launched.
I defended the game.. I hemmed and hawed about getting a Lifetime sub. I decided that ultimately SOE would screw me. When their Valentine's Day event occurred in March, enough was enough.
I am completely shocked by this F2P announcement... /sarcasm
Called it!
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
Yep. I'm sure I'm not the only one that called it.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/4007358#4007358
That doesn't make it any less called.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.