You didn't find anything on the topic because there is nothing. From what we can read Carbine simply doesn't know yet as they focus on the developement before focusing on the marketing + sales.
Originally posted by Thupli
Nothing official yet.
With it being NCSoft, I am hopeful they will go with a GW2 model of B2P with a cosmetic/vanity cash shop. I think there is a good chance of that.
I'm not sure, I still feel safer on the sub side regarding future content, patches and quality overall.
I don't get that statement, given the fact that GW2 has demolished all other MMOs in free monthly content and overall product quality. BTW, the quarterly revenue numbers have been very impressive, so the business model doesn't necassarily mean less revenue for a quality offering. (The game made over $120 million last quarter, at least $70 million of which appears to have come from cash shop revenue. That's roughly the equivalent of 1.5 million steady, paying subscribers, a lot more than WoW had in it's second post-release quarter).
GW2 has proven that the B2P business model does work and some would argue that the lack of subscription fee ensures a healthy population which in turn feeds ongoing cash shop revenue. It removes the binary decision of worthy / not worthy of recurring subscription fees, which allows people to remain connected with a game as interest and play time wax and wane over time.
Really GW2 in a sense is a reality check to those thinking sub is the only way to go, subs are needed, subs is the only way to prevent pay to win, the hard part is, will those accept that reality check and understand that a MMORPG can and will have good patches and quality. Whelp guess people will keep their heads in the sand though.
By the way it's frustrating to see many MMORPGs start with subs, then end up B2P or light f2p for more revenue and then open up a cash shop as well, either that or have a cash shop and sub to begin with.
I might get banned for this. - Rizel Star.
I'm not afraid to tell trolls what they [need] to hear, even if that means for me to have an forced absence afterwards.
P2P LOGIC = If it's P2P it means longevity, overall better game, and THE BEST SUPPORT EVER!!!!!(Which has been rinsed and repeated about a thousand times)
Common Sense Logic = P2P logic is no better than F2P Logic.
Originally posted by Thupli Nothing official yet. With it being NCSoft, I am hopeful they will go with a GW2 model of B2P with a cosmetic/vanity cash shop. I think there is a good chance of that.
Guild Wars 2 is Buy to play only because of ArenaNet's personal philosophy, had nothing to do with NCSoft.
If it was NCSoft's decision GW2 would have definitely been subscription. Even NCSoft's high profile Korean MMOs launch with a subscription.
Hopefully Wildstar will be mainly subscription-based.
Any game that is designed to rely heavily (or even exclusively) on it's Cash Shop sales raises a red flag for me. Because there is no possible way that the gameplay and overall experience will not be affected by the need to encourage Cash Shop sales. There is simply no way a game can avoid channeling players to the Cash Shop if it has no other means of earning income.
It seems that no matter what, there will be a cash shop. I don't think there is a pure sub based AAA MMO out there without some kind of cash shop. I'm hoping for BTP with a cash shop; I can appreciate buying the game and paying the devs for their work, and then hitting the cash shop up for those little add-ons that I want. Pure sub models a a pipe dream for a time that has since passed.
How can one say that there is no difference between P2P and F2P ? Content wise? That depends on the game ( Aion, L2, are good exemples of how a company can deliver updates regulary even if they are F2P, but that's just because they were P2P, period ). Community however? Bah! Cash shop? Don't get me started...
So yes, there is a big difference between P2P and F2P. One who cannot see that, he obviously played (almost) only F2P titles. One can also make mistakes and subscribe to &^&#@ games ( which he should not do that from the begining ) and then comes here and say that he was burned before with P2P titles and that he will not subscribe to other games with the same model. That one guy he obviously does not know much about games.
From my point of view, how can one subscrie to games like : AOC, WAR, SWTOR...................and many more, and then come here and cry , saying how bad the game is. That's just...........&%%*&*(
I know that there are different tastes and different peoples who might don't like what I like, but ... if Wildstar will start as a F2P title, then he will be no different then other F2P titles over there. The main minuses a F2P has is the community and cash shop.
Other then that, Wildstar will be P2P
Reporter: What's behind Blizzard success, and how do you make your gamers happy? Blizzard Boss: Making gamers happy is not my concern, making money.. yes!
FF XI and FF XIV also. There are not many of them, because most of mmorpg's don't have design that fit pure subsciption model and most mmorpg's don't have that kind of design - because that kind of design would not be attractive for majority of players and non-inide industry is not ready yet to invest in niche designs yet.
There are other reasons there as well, but I am not trying to write an paper here.
Wildstar will be some kind of model with microtransactions. I don't see how it can be diffrent and even if they'll start with p2p then they will convert fast. Anyway my bet for Wildstar is on freemium. (free client, cash shop and optional subs).
Lets hope it is either free to play or buy to play. Most have been judging it as a free to play title. If it is pay to play popularity will plummet.
Its one of those games that's decent but just isn't in the pay to play tier.
Who has been judging it as free to play? The people on this site that have an obsession with hoping games are free to play? Carbine would be foolish to make it anything other than p2p and they know that.
P2p is not going anywhere folks. Open up your wallet and pay the measly 15-30 a month to play a few MMOs.
I have dropped hundreds if not thousands of euros on WoW over the years, but I am no longer willing to pay monthly for any game since there are hundreds of cheaper or free alternatives. Especially since I have grown to dislike the notion of renting my account. Developers have proved with other games that F2P and B2P are sustainable business models.
My personal preference would be B2P with a cashshop. Realm-transfers, name changes, faction transfers, character make-overs, character slots, bank tabs and other services have high enough demand for games to make large quantities of money on. Add fluff items to that list and you have a very impressive source of revenue.
Slightly off-topic. NCsoft tends to make most of their MMO's subbased since they tend cater to the Asian community. In the Asian community a lot of people do not have their own accounts, but play on the account of the internet cafe where they are playing the game from. There are plenty of people who have their own accounts, but there is a significant portion of players who don't have an account themselves.
Because of that I expect Wildstar will follow GW2 with a B2P model as it is most definitely catering to a much more Western market. Sadly enough, we can only wait until Carbine releases their veil of mystery and tells us plain and clear what they plan to use as their business model!
Lets hope it is either free to play or buy to play. Most have been judging it as a free to play title. If it is pay to play popularity will plummet.
Its one of those games that's decent but just isn't in the pay to play tier.
Who has been judging it as free to play? The people on this site that have an obsession with hoping games are free to play? Carbine would be foolish to make it anything other than p2p and they know that.
P2p is not going anywhere folks. Open up your wallet and pay the measly 15-30 a month to play a few MMOs.
Most have, this site and others. Players and Critics. The general assumption is that its going to be free to play, some are hoping for buy to play. Carbine would be foolish to make it pay to play because it doesn't offer pay to play quality. Many have already been calling it a f2p lol and its even been listed on a few free to play sites.
If you feel its a pay to play worthy game you'll have to accept that you might just been in the minority.
Lets hope it is either free to play or buy to play. Most have been judging it as a free to play title. If it is pay to play popularity will plummet.
Its one of those games that's decent but just isn't in the pay to play tier.
Who has been judging it as free to play? The people on this site that have an obsession with hoping games are free to play? Carbine would be foolish to make it anything other than p2p and they know that.
P2p is not going anywhere folks. Open up your wallet and pay the measly 15-30 a month to play a few MMOs.
Most have, this site and others. Players and Critics. The general assumption is that its going to be free to play, some are hoping for buy to play. Carbine would be foolish to make it pay to play because it doesn't offer pay to play quality. Many have already been calling it a f2p lol and its even been listed on a few free to play sites.
If you feel its a pay to play worthy game you'll have to accept that you might just been in the minority.
Carbine has said their target audience is hardcore raiders, harcore PvP players and vetran MMO players. They want to release a game with a years worth of endgame. P2P games are about endgame and keeping people subscribed. F2P games are about frontloading content for casuals and tempting them to spend money before they quit the game. The design indicates they want long term customers. F2P games attracts a revolving door of casual customers where most spend more time downloading the game than playing before leaving for another game. Jeremey Gaffney, the CEO of Wildstar, has talked about the models and has said that the focus of F2P games is to get these people to spend money before they leave, The design of WS indicates P2P not F2P. Otherwise there would not be such a focus on endgame and hardcore players and guilds. If they wanted to do a F2P game they would make something similar to many of the other games targetting the ultra casual game hoppers. It is possible and likely they will have a hybrid system with a subscription but a cash shop for fluff items like housing items which has been mentioned by devs as a possibility.
Lets hope it is either free to play or buy to play. Most have been judging it as a free to play title. If it is pay to play popularity will plummet.
Its one of those games that's decent but just isn't in the pay to play tier.
Who has been judging it as free to play? The people on this site that have an obsession with hoping games are free to play? Carbine would be foolish to make it anything other than p2p and they know that.
P2p is not going anywhere folks. Open up your wallet and pay the measly 15-30 a month to play a few MMOs.
Most have, this site and others. Players and Critics. The general assumption is that its going to be free to play, some are hoping for buy to play. Carbine would be foolish to make it pay to play because it doesn't offer pay to play quality. Many have already been calling it a f2p lol and its even been listed on a few free to play sites.
If you feel its a pay to play worthy game you'll have to accept that you might just been in the minority.
And why does it not offer "pay to play quality"? It's not like people have played much of the game, and a majority of people who have, seems to have come away pretty impressed. Should we then chalk this up to "Ooh, cartoony graphics so it must be F2P"?
Oh, and if WildStar indeed does not offer "pay to play quality", what MMO does?
On the other hand, I'll also admit I've seen a lot of posts here and on other sites from posters thinking the game would indeed be F2P... The only thing is, those were not based on the "feel" of the game, but the posters seemed to remember it being announced that way. So there's probably some bad info out there that goes beyond mere feeling.
I'm not going to lie, I hope its sub based as well. Even though the free to play market is huge and the much safer route and may even make them more money in the long run, I hope its sub based for my own selfish reasons.
I'm more than happy with a sub based payment. I have no problems paying a meager 50cents a day to play a game. I am definitely against the "F2P" model. It seems shady and often you find yourself dropping more cash on those kinda games than you would if you just payed the standard 15 bucks a month. And I really disliked the way other companies have implemented their "F2P" systems/cashshop crap. Playing Fallen Earth I ended up having to subscribe anyway, just to get more character slots and additional crafting queue slots and fasting harvesting etc.
I simply cannot believe people object to paying a meager 15 bucks a month for a game. I really REALLY hope Wildstar goes with the Subscription based payment model. At least I know what I'm spending with 15 bucks a month, it's damn easy to overspend in those cashshops.
the free to play games are shallow and pathetic for the most part, and this game is looking to be great. It will be a sub based game mark my words they wouldnt advertise for hardcore raiders and then market to casual baddies.
Lets hope it is either free to play or buy to play. Most have been judging it as a free to play title. If it is pay to play popularity will plummet.
Its one of those games that's decent but just isn't in the pay to play tier.
Who has been judging it as free to play? The people on this site that have an obsession with hoping games are free to play? Carbine would be foolish to make it anything other than p2p and they know that.
P2p is not going anywhere folks. Open up your wallet and pay the measly 15-30 a month to play a few MMOs.
Most have, this site and others. Players and Critics. The general assumption is that its going to be free to play, some are hoping for buy to play. Carbine would be foolish to make it pay to play because it doesn't offer pay to play quality. Many have already been calling it a f2p lol and its even been listed on a few free to play sites.
If you feel its a pay to play worthy game you'll have to accept that you might just been in the minority.
What features exactly is it missing to warrent that assessment? There isn't even a release date yet and they have talked about everyone of my AAA quality requirements. I have no issue with stylized graphics if done right and what I have seen seems to be done right. Given the number of copies the Boarderlands series has sold I don't feel like I'm in the minority here either.
It's obvious to me from watching the developers talk about the game in videos that they feel the game is very high quality. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if it was subscription based although because NCSoft is behind it that pretty much assures a shitty cash shop to which I'm not really happy about. I really want a straight up sub game with no optional purchases again. Make all your players play the game the same way regradless of credit score but I guess those days are long gone.
I do think this game is p2p quality, but that being said I will not play it if it is p2p because of my limited budget, I perfer b2p, I have played p2p games such as WoW, FFXI, EQII, and Lineage II to name a few but that is when my income was greater, now I play GW2 and think it is the best game I have ever played in my view, if the game wants to take the risk that enough hardcore players will play it, it will be p2p, but if it wants a larger crowd but still somewhat mature it will be b2p, if it is f2p which I personally cannot see it runs the risk of a very immature player which puts the game at risk in the long run although the income from this may be larger that is not sense I get from the game producer.
Comments
I will try this game if it goes with standard subscription.
F2P is not games, it's money pits.
Where and when?
Afaik in the Total Biscuit preview clip the carbine guy said that they haven't decided which business model they use.
Source [mod edit]
Really GW2 in a sense is a reality check to those thinking sub is the only way to go, subs are needed, subs is the only way to prevent pay to win, the hard part is, will those accept that reality check and understand that a MMORPG can and will have good patches and quality. Whelp guess people will keep their heads in the sand though.
By the way it's frustrating to see many MMORPGs start with subs, then end up B2P or light f2p for more revenue and then open up a cash shop as well, either that or have a cash shop and sub to begin with.
I might get banned for this. - Rizel Star.
I'm not afraid to tell trolls what they [need] to hear, even if that means for me to have an forced absence afterwards.
P2P LOGIC = If it's P2P it means longevity, overall better game, and THE BEST SUPPORT EVER!!!!!(Which has been rinsed and repeated about a thousand times)
Common Sense Logic = P2P logic is no better than F2P Logic.
If it was NCSoft's decision GW2 would have definitely been subscription. Even NCSoft's high profile Korean MMOs launch with a subscription.
Hopefully Wildstar will be mainly subscription-based.
Any game that is designed to rely heavily (or even exclusively) on it's Cash Shop sales raises a red flag for me. Because there is no possible way that the gameplay and overall experience will not be affected by the need to encourage Cash Shop sales. There is simply no way a game can avoid channeling players to the Cash Shop if it has no other means of earning income.
they exist but there arent many
- DAOC is a sub mmo w zero cash shop
EQ2 fan sites
How can one say that there is no difference between P2P and F2P ? Content wise? That depends on the game ( Aion, L2, are good exemples of how a company can deliver updates regulary even if they are F2P, but that's just because they were P2P, period ). Community however? Bah! Cash shop? Don't get me started...
So yes, there is a big difference between P2P and F2P. One who cannot see that, he obviously played (almost) only F2P titles. One can also make mistakes and subscribe to &^&#@ games ( which he should not do that from the begining ) and then comes here and say that he was burned before with P2P titles and that he will not subscribe to other games with the same model. That one guy he obviously does not know much about games.
From my point of view, how can one subscrie to games like : AOC, WAR, SWTOR...................and many more, and then come here and cry , saying how bad the game is. That's just...........&%%*&*(
I know that there are different tastes and different peoples who might don't like what I like, but ... if Wildstar will start as a F2P title, then he will be no different then other F2P titles over there. The main minuses a F2P has is the community and cash shop.
Other then that, Wildstar will be P2P
Reporter: What's behind Blizzard success, and how do you make your gamers happy?
Blizzard Boss: Making gamers happy is not my concern, making money.. yes!
FF XI and FF XIV also. There are not many of them, because most of mmorpg's don't have design that fit pure subsciption model and most mmorpg's don't have that kind of design - because that kind of design would not be attractive for majority of players and non-inide industry is not ready yet to invest in niche designs yet.
There are other reasons there as well, but I am not trying to write an paper here.
Wildstar will be some kind of model with microtransactions. I don't see how it can be diffrent and even if they'll start with p2p then they will convert fast. Anyway my bet for Wildstar is on freemium. (free client, cash shop and optional subs).
Lets hope it is either free to play or buy to play. Most have been judging it as a free to play title. If it is pay to play popularity will plummet.
Its one of those games that's decent but just isn't in the pay to play tier.
Who has been judging it as free to play? The people on this site that have an obsession with hoping games are free to play? Carbine would be foolish to make it anything other than p2p and they know that.
P2p is not going anywhere folks. Open up your wallet and pay the measly 15-30 a month to play a few MMOs.
I have dropped hundreds if not thousands of euros on WoW over the years, but I am no longer willing to pay monthly for any game since there are hundreds of cheaper or free alternatives. Especially since I have grown to dislike the notion of renting my account. Developers have proved with other games that F2P and B2P are sustainable business models.
My personal preference would be B2P with a cashshop. Realm-transfers, name changes, faction transfers, character make-overs, character slots, bank tabs and other services have high enough demand for games to make large quantities of money on. Add fluff items to that list and you have a very impressive source of revenue.
Slightly off-topic. NCsoft tends to make most of their MMO's subbased since they tend cater to the Asian community. In the Asian community a lot of people do not have their own accounts, but play on the account of the internet cafe where they are playing the game from. There are plenty of people who have their own accounts, but there is a significant portion of players who don't have an account themselves.
Because of that I expect Wildstar will follow GW2 with a B2P model as it is most definitely catering to a much more Western market. Sadly enough, we can only wait until Carbine releases their veil of mystery and tells us plain and clear what they plan to use as their business model!
Most have, this site and others. Players and Critics. The general assumption is that its going to be free to play, some are hoping for buy to play. Carbine would be foolish to make it pay to play because it doesn't offer pay to play quality. Many have already been calling it a f2p lol and its even been listed on a few free to play sites.
If you feel its a pay to play worthy game you'll have to accept that you might just been in the minority.
Carbine has said their target audience is hardcore raiders, harcore PvP players and vetran MMO players. They want to release a game with a years worth of endgame. P2P games are about endgame and keeping people subscribed. F2P games are about frontloading content for casuals and tempting them to spend money before they quit the game. The design indicates they want long term customers. F2P games attracts a revolving door of casual customers where most spend more time downloading the game than playing before leaving for another game. Jeremey Gaffney, the CEO of Wildstar, has talked about the models and has said that the focus of F2P games is to get these people to spend money before they leave, The design of WS indicates P2P not F2P. Otherwise there would not be such a focus on endgame and hardcore players and guilds. If they wanted to do a F2P game they would make something similar to many of the other games targetting the ultra casual game hoppers. It is possible and likely they will have a hybrid system with a subscription but a cash shop for fluff items like housing items which has been mentioned by devs as a possibility.
And why does it not offer "pay to play quality"? It's not like people have played much of the game, and a majority of people who have, seems to have come away pretty impressed. Should we then chalk this up to "Ooh, cartoony graphics so it must be F2P"?
Oh, and if WildStar indeed does not offer "pay to play quality", what MMO does?
On the other hand, I'll also admit I've seen a lot of posts here and on other sites from posters thinking the game would indeed be F2P... The only thing is, those were not based on the "feel" of the game, but the posters seemed to remember it being announced that way. So there's probably some bad info out there that goes beyond mere feeling.
I'm more than happy with a sub based payment. I have no problems paying a meager 50cents a day to play a game. I am definitely against the "F2P" model. It seems shady and often you find yourself dropping more cash on those kinda games than you would if you just payed the standard 15 bucks a month. And I really disliked the way other companies have implemented their "F2P" systems/cashshop crap. Playing Fallen Earth I ended up having to subscribe anyway, just to get more character slots and additional crafting queue slots and fasting harvesting etc.
I simply cannot believe people object to paying a meager 15 bucks a month for a game. I really REALLY hope Wildstar goes with the Subscription based payment model. At least I know what I'm spending with 15 bucks a month, it's damn easy to overspend in those cashshops.
What features exactly is it missing to warrent that assessment? There isn't even a release date yet and they have talked about everyone of my AAA quality requirements. I have no issue with stylized graphics if done right and what I have seen seems to be done right. Given the number of copies the Boarderlands series has sold I don't feel like I'm in the minority here either.
It's obvious to me from watching the developers talk about the game in videos that they feel the game is very high quality. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if it was subscription based although because NCSoft is behind it that pretty much assures a shitty cash shop to which I'm not really happy about. I really want a straight up sub game with no optional purchases again. Make all your players play the game the same way regradless of credit score but I guess those days are long gone.
It must be true, I read it on the internet!
PDL