brian.g.lewis

@mysecretid

Planetside is to MO FPS what Wacraft is to MO RPG's (Neverwinter Nights, etc). By taking the game to the next scale, it changes the game from Multiplayer Online, to Massive Multiplayer Online. This is just as much a defining feature as online play is to most console FPS.

I do agree that there need to be larger concerns for the meta game, and for the lasting power of the game. Planetside (1) failed to catch on due to the fact that it didn't provide enough reason for players to keep coming back, day after day. Sure it was a great game... but the game was not sticky enough.

That was ~10 years ago. A lot has changed since then, and we know how to do better. Heck, look at Zynga, they make games that are very sticky, even if not overly fun. We should be able to find something in the middle of the road that works well for the larger masses.

Spirt Tales (aka Glory Destiny Online) is a great game. However, it is not a game with a strong western market appeal. The features, and gameplay gets lost in the cutesy asian theme, and most players will not stick around long enough to appreciate the game.

This is the same problem that Kitsu Saga had. It is also the reason why Eden Eternal did so well (it built on the strengths of Kitsu Saga, but with a Western appeal). I strongly encourage everyone to check this game out.. but don't be surprised if you find that the game just doesn't have the out of the box appeal that is needed.

People play poker for fun as well... but when they put money in to play, and then have a chance to get money back out... it becomes gambling.

The issue here is that they crossed the line, and in doing so met the legal definition of gambling.

However, to fix this, they have done the simple thing. They blocked the ability of korean players to cash out via paypal. They can still BUY with real money, they just cant cash out anymore. This fixes the problem.

I see a lot of comments, but no real understanding of what the issue was.

The issue is that people pay for the game (money in).
People have a chance to win an item (drops)
People can redeem the winnings for money (auction house).

By allowing the players to 'cash out' they have in effect made the game itself a form of gambling. This did not apply to other games, because there was no legal method to cash out (i.e. the reason why you can not sell gear, characters, etc).

For most F2P games, the goal is 90% Free, 8% Spenders, 2% Whales. The reality is that most games are really 95% Free, 4% Spenders, 1% Whales.

The general perception in a F2P game when the % of spenders starts creeping past 5% is that the game is becoming P2P, and once it hits 10% that it is Pay2Win. This is because the spenders are the most competitive players in the game (all free advantages + money spent). As this group becomes more visible, the perception of free seems less realistic. All it takes is for 1 person in 10 to have purchases an advantage (all paid items are an advantage of some sort) for the players to feel that the game is unbalanced by those who pay.

F2P is a bit like magic. As long as you dont see the people that pay, you believe that they dont exist. Once there is enough of them that you can actually see one, then the magic fades, and it is just a trick.

I do think that the headline is a bit humorous.... F2P might not be able to buy/create at your level.... but they can just buy your company (and EA). The big F2P companies are MUCH bigger than the P2P companies.

The advantage of F2P (vs P2P) is that it gives you more players. By lowering the barrier of entry, you can quickly and easily get players into the game. The use of player interaction (PvP, Markets, Social) for content is something that successful F2P games use to their advantage.

This is not to say that you can not do this with P2P, but the F2P game market has traditionally been more aggressive about building and launching games on a budget. This is something that has been going on since the 90's.

It is only the large budget AAA titles that have been able to afford the creation of large volumes of themepark content before launching. The fact that an indy developer has recognized that this doesnt work well for them is not unexpected.

Do you know what is funny... What they have described is the business model of most F2P Games.

The goal of a F2P developer is to make a low cost game, using players as the content (sandbox) then launch it to monetize quickly. If the game takes off, the continue to add content to sustain and grow it... if not, they move on to the next game.

This is why many F2P games are perceived as being low quality... because they launch with low content, and use generic tools.

I was going to post a comment here... but there was no free key, so I decided not too.

@Space Cobra

They are looking to extend the life of their games. It means that they don't have new games ready yet, so they are putting what they have on the slow burn, to keep them going until they do have new games/content.

They will make the same amount of money from the game, just over a longer period.