They don't have trials at the games release because, I'm assuming, from a marketing perspective it would REALLY REALLY hurt sales for the game itself.

I mean, most people that bought the game would probably just try the trial instead, which would make it even harder for MMOs to succeed in this cutthroat market.

I can see what you're getting at, but if the company just provides a product worth buying, there's no problem. They would make a great initial impression on their customers and would end up losing very few subscriptions.

Ultimately, if the game is worth buying and has a wide-appeal, the people who try the game would turn around and make the purchase at the end of the trial AND have some respect for the game developers for their openness.

Like I said, I understand why they DON'T do it initially. It makes sense from a financial point of view. I would just love to see a company take the risk on a truly excellent product. My wager is that they would gain considerably from a PR point of view.

My initial point was that I don't understand why some established games don't have free trials. Does AoC even have free trials up? Did Tabula Rasa? If a game is floundering, there really is nothing to lose.

"I mean, most people that bought the game would probably just try the trial instead, which would make it even harder for MMOs to succeed in this cutthroat market."

Exactly, that means the game sucks if they wouldn't buy it after a trial and they are hiding a shitty product when they don't offer one. I'd feel a lot better if i got to try something before shelling out 50 bucks. I still never got my money back from Dark and Light ... /sighs