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The Secret World: 'We Have the Tools for F2P'

2

Comments

  • erictlewiserictlewis Member UncommonPosts: 3,022

    I got a laugh out of them saying aoc going free to play was a sucess!!  I kind of though it really did not help it.  OH well waiting to see what happens.

     

  • UtukuMoonUtukuMoon Member Posts: 1,066
    Originally posted by marz.at.play

    That said we definitely have the tools to turn The Secret World into a free-to-play game - or even hybrid - should we decide to do that somewhere down the line. We did that with Age of Conan with significant success.

     

    No you didn't AoC crashed and burned with your F2P model. Too many restrictions, too expensive item shop. You don't know how to do F2P properly. AoC is your proof so why try to cover our eyes and lie.

    Lol,take it personally why don'y ya,it's not like you will be playing it.

  • tharkthark Member UncommonPosts: 1,188
    Originally posted by Kenze
    F2P will not help TSW in the long run. Sure, they would  have a 3 or 4 month bump just from curious people but they would soon come to the conclusion most of those 200k buyers did. They need to look very hard in to some key combat system retooling before they think of F2P.

     So you are suggesting that an AAA title can't match themselves against other Free to play titles or what. Try comparing this game to Runes of magic for example  a game created with free to play from the getgo, sure it has been out for very long so it has alot of content but the overall quality if you compare the 2 is ..well almost black and white.

    And well there is NOTHING wrong with the combat in TSW, it's not the combat of a singleplayer action title but it's fine ..

     

  • ShakyMoShakyMo Member CommonPosts: 7,207
    1 tsw was no where near as expensive game to make as swtor
    2 the combat isn't that different to gw2. The animations aren't as good though, but they're good enough. Funcom really shot themselves in the foot with them free beta weekends using the open beta rather than the closed beta clients. The live game has better combat and animations than the open beta.
  • BadSpockBadSpock Member UncommonPosts: 7,979

    Always sad to see such terrible news for any MMORPG - extra fury over the people on top getting rich while the company lays off their work force.

    If guilty, hopefully pays the price and and maybe stock re-payment to company will help keep TSW from shutting down.

  • BrotherDBrotherD Member Posts: 52
    Originally posted by JosephJR
    Originally posted by Zeus.CM
    P2P cannot survive anymore. WoW wil be the last one.

     

    what about EvE,I playing since 2005. sometimes 3-6 months  paying 3 accounts, i had ingame money(isk) but newer  use plex for pay

    If I  like game i ll spend my money for paying sub.

    Curently ,I  playing in same time TSW & EvE with 2 account, i dont care for b2p or F2P mmorpg's.

    TSW is great game but Funcom is very bad company ,it is sad

    Agreed. If a game is good enough people will be willing to pay a sub.

    Currently playing: AoC, RIFT, Champions Online, DDO, LORTO, STO and Tribes: Ascend
    Have Played: TSW, SWG, AO, EVE, WOW, EQ, EQ2, SW:TOR, GW,CoH, DCUO, RotMG, WAR,

  • GR3NDELGR3NDEL Member UncommonPosts: 112
    Rather than pick up my baseball bat and join in further rendering the 'TSW F2P' issue into glue, I'm going to focus on this quote from the article:

    "After the recent re-structuring of our internal teams, The Secret World is now a profitable operation and we expect it to be so for the foreseeable future. That's also why we are committing to the ambitious post-launch update plan."

    That's good news.  Very good news indeed.

    image

  • OpapanaxOpapanax Member Posts: 973
    Originally posted by thark
    Originally posted by Opapanax
    Originally posted by thark

    I can't see anywhere in this article that they have made it clear that they will go free to play..They say they have the tools to do it..Or did I miss something ?

    Infact they even mention that TSW is now profitable after all the cost reductions ;)

     

    If you're really not seeing it and aren't just being a blind fan at this time; the kicker in the article is that this subscription model game with optional lifetime offer is discussing the possible implementations of a F2P model within the first 2-3 months of release..

    No, they aren't coming out and stating..

    "Hey we'll be going Free-to-play in another 6-8 months be warned.."

    But at this point they really don't need to..

    If they were absolutely and convicingly confident in their current monthly model then the question would of been moot to them and not even worth discussing. They would've denied they even had a model set up that was free-to-play. That is not the case here, we already know about the content delays, layoffs and the current insider trading issue of a former CEO.

    The writting is on the wall unfortunately and as a fan of the game I can't help but feel that The Secret World is on the same course as another game that is currently in a transitional state; Star Wars: The Old Republic. I don't think it's because these two games are heavy on story that they have had lesser than steller profits since their releases, they are very different titles and there are more things that seperate them than make them alike.

    However, us as consumers can not stand to be this shallow on the facts in our faces. We might not know all of them or which ones are of worthy concern, but as constant consumers of these products we should by now have an educated enough view of things to be able to tell when something positive or negative has validity..

     Well..If I'm recalling correctly they have talked about this before this article and even before release. You are acting like it is somehow shameful for them to admit they will go free to play or demo their game if you prefer..

    If they truly are going Free to play ..Wich even I agree they eventually will, why not just say so ?

    A game as expensive as TSW or SWTOR has to pull money from some source, and the best thing to do that is having a subscription , Free to play means they have alot more players testing the game with ease , but it also means many players has to buy from their online store othervise they will get very little revenue. And an online store is not the same secure and stable income as a subscription plan where they can calculate with ease how much money they will get each month give/take drop offs and new subscribers.

    So..If the game actually IS making a profit, I see no reason what so ever for them to go free to play right now. Unless their calculations signal that they will make even more money by going free to play.

     

    If you don't see anything wrong with a company selling a $200 dollar lifetime subscription and then commenting how they are ready to go F2P when it's obviously, and I mean obviously on the horizon I don't know what to tell you..

    I'm a great fan of the game and if my post seemed to be a bit disappointed then you've gotten my point somewhat. I still believe in the P2P model it's just unfortunate to see a game (One that I thought could be successful as P2P) come up short. At this point it's not about an 'IF' but more of a 'When'.

    Of course this is my opinion but based on the recent transition of SWTOR I can easily see TSW taking this route. It won't be recieved well we know tihs, but the ones that are going to be most upset are the people who want to debate them not actually saying "they are going F2P"..

    Also going F2P is not making your game into a Demo, they've had several weekends for folks to try out the game..

    PM before you report at least or you could just block.

  • tharkthark Member UncommonPosts: 1,188
    Originally posted by Opapanax
    Originally posted by thark
    Originally posted by Opapanax
    Originally posted by thark

    I can't see anywhere in this article that they have made it clear that they will go free to play..They say they have the tools to do it..Or did I miss something ?

    Infact they even mention that TSW is now profitable after all the cost reductions ;)

     

    If you're really not seeing it and aren't just being a blind fan at this time; the kicker in the article is that this subscription model game with optional lifetime offer is discussing the possible implementations of a F2P model within the first 2-3 months of release..

    No, they aren't coming out and stating..

    "Hey we'll be going Free-to-play in another 6-8 months be warned.."

    But at this point they really don't need to..

    If they were absolutely and convicingly confident in their current monthly model then the question would of been moot to them and not even worth discussing. They would've denied they even had a model set up that was free-to-play. That is not the case here, we already know about the content delays, layoffs and the current insider trading issue of a former CEO.

    The writting is on the wall unfortunately and as a fan of the game I can't help but feel that The Secret World is on the same course as another game that is currently in a transitional state; Star Wars: The Old Republic. I don't think it's because these two games are heavy on story that they have had lesser than steller profits since their releases, they are very different titles and there are more things that seperate them than make them alike.

    However, us as consumers can not stand to be this shallow on the facts in our faces. We might not know all of them or which ones are of worthy concern, but as constant consumers of these products we should by now have an educated enough view of things to be able to tell when something positive or negative has validity..

     Well..If I'm recalling correctly they have talked about this before this article and even before release. You are acting like it is somehow shameful for them to admit they will go free to play or demo their game if you prefer..

    If they truly are going Free to play ..Wich even I agree they eventually will, why not just say so ?

    A game as expensive as TSW or SWTOR has to pull money from some source, and the best thing to do that is having a subscription , Free to play means they have alot more players testing the game with ease , but it also means many players has to buy from their online store othervise they will get very little revenue. And an online store is not the same secure and stable income as a subscription plan where they can calculate with ease how much money they will get each month give/take drop offs and new subscribers.

    So..If the game actually IS making a profit, I see no reason what so ever for them to go free to play right now. Unless their calculations signal that they will make even more money by going free to play.

     

    If you don't see anything wrong with a company selling a $200 dollar lifetime subscription and then commenting how they are ready to go F2P when it's obviously, and I mean obviously on the horizon I don't know what to tell you..

    I'm a great fan of the game and if my post seemed to be a bit disappointed then you've gotten my point somewhat. I still believe in the P2P model it's just unfortunate to see a game (One that I thought could be successful as P2P) come up short. At this point it's not about an 'IF' but more of a 'When'.

    Of course this is my opinion but based on the recent transition of SWTOR I can easily see TSW taking this route. It won't be recieved well we know tihs, but the ones that are going to be most upset are the people who want to debate them not actually saying "they are going F2P"..

    Also going F2P is not making your game into a Demo, they've had several weekends for folks to try out the game..

     Free to Play is a demo of sorts, it's just another type of demo

     They expect people to pay If they like the game, Free to play is just a way to ease the entry barrier. 

     Well you can endure not paying a dime in most of these games, but it will cost you some frustration thats for sure. Also those that endure by not paying is accounted for in the way of others, there is always some that pays for others that don't. Thats how it works , or how it should work.

    Free to play is a myth at best, there is no such thing as "Free" in this world. Funcom made this game to make money and if it wont give any profit , it will close down "free to play" or othervise..

    I think ..best of two worlds is the best solution, much like DDO and LOTRO , a hybrid model, where you can choose a subription plan or pay via "store" if you like.

  • ScribbleLay1ScribbleLay1 Member Posts: 177
    The problem with F2P is it brings in all kinds of trash that just causes problems and not to mention that all the prices in the AH/Bank will go sky-high.  I would be ble to accept a F2P area like Kingsmouth, but to continue you have to pay a sub, maybe not the full price as it is now, but like $5-$10  like Runescape did or still does (I haven't played Runescape in I don't know how many years).
  • GhernGhern Member UncommonPosts: 134
    Originally posted by thark
    Originally posted by Kenze
    F2P will not help TSW in the long run. Sure, they would  have a 3 or 4 month bump just from curious people but they would soon come to the conclusion most of those 200k buyers did. They need to look very hard in to some key combat system retooling before they think of F2P.

     So you are suggesting that an AAA title can't match themselves against other Free to play titles or what. Try comparing this game to Runes of magic for example  a game created with free to play from the getgo, sure it has been out for very long so it has alot of content but the overall quality if you compare the 2 is ..well almost black and white.

    And well there is NOTHING wrong with the combat in TSW, it's not the combat of a singleplayer action title but it's fine ..

     

    C'mon. Who are you trying to fool.  

    The combat animations are absolutely awful.  It is shocking they even shipped the game with those.

    Even with the slight improvement recently they still look like crap.

     

    Oops. He was talking about combat in general, not just animations.  Disregard my comment.

  • VirusDancerVirusDancer Member UncommonPosts: 3,649

    It's funny, in a sad sense, how the majority of these discussions all reflect the same thing.  I hate stereotyping, but I think it's pretty easy to break down the folks on the varying sides of these discussions into similar groups.  It's not an everybody's the same on one side and everybody's the same on the other side - no, it's not that far reaching a stereotype.

    It's more like there are various groups on either sides - there are alliances, if you will.  Various factions that although they may not completely agree with each other - they either agree with each other enough or disagree with the other side more than enough; for them to have ended up on the particular sides that they are.

    Discussions about TSW are fertile grounds for this particular forum battle to take place.  In a curious sense, one could even say that it goes beyond just the X vs. Y battles and introduces the Z element - as some of those that one might have expected to be supportive, have broken off...splintered off as another fraction.  While Z does not agree with Y, they disagree enough with X, that boom - we've got the Mayan Apocalypse!  Okay, that's a little melodramatic and would have been better stated on Saturday afternoon as we waited for SyFy's latest Saturday night film...lol...but if you step back, you can see it.

    While TSW is not perfect (no game is - different games will be better for different folks, everybody has their preferences - but nothing's perfect)... it's amazing how much discussion about TSW goes on that soon has nothing to do with TSW at all.  It's a magnet for the debates...the poster child for the divide.

    I miss the MMORPG genre. Will a developer ever make one again?

    Explorer: 87%, Killer: 67%, Achiever: 27%, Socializer: 20%

  • KenzeKenze Member UncommonPosts: 1,217
    Originally posted by VirusDancer

    It's funny, in a sad sense, how the majority of these discussions all reflect the same thing.  I hate stereotyping, but I think it's pretty easy to break down the folks on the varying sides of these discussions into similar groups.  It's not an everybody's the same on one side and everybody's the same on the other side - no, it's not that far reaching a stereotype.

    It's more like there are various groups on either sides - there are alliances, if you will.  Various factions that although they may not completely agree with each other - they either agree with each other enough or disagree with the other side more than enough; for them to have ended up on the particular sides that they are.

    Discussions about TSW are fertile grounds for this particular forum battle to take place.  In a curious sense, one could even say that it goes beyond just the X vs. Y battles and introduces the Z element - as some of those that one might have expected to be supportive, have broken off...splintered off as another fraction.  While Z does not agree with Y, they disagree enough with X, that boom - we've got the Mayan Apocalypse!  Okay, that's a little melodramatic and would have been better stated on Saturday afternoon as we waited for SyFy's latest Saturday night film...lol...but if you step back, you can see it.

    While TSW is not perfect (no game is - different games will be better for different folks, everybody has their preferences - but nothing's perfect)... it's amazing how much discussion about TSW goes on that soon has nothing to do with TSW at all.  It's a magnet for the debates...the poster child for the divide.

    oh please.. TSW isnt that much on peoples mind. This site is really the only gaming site i see ANY discussion about it on and it has died down a lot lately.

    Watch your thoughts; they become words.
    Watch your words; they become actions.
    Watch your actions; they become habits.
    Watch your habits; they become character.
    Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
    —Lao-Tze

  • VirusDancerVirusDancer Member UncommonPosts: 3,649
    Originally posted by Kenze
    Originally posted by VirusDancer

    It's funny, in a sad sense, how the majority of these discussions all reflect the same thing.  I hate stereotyping, but I think it's pretty easy to break down the folks on the varying sides of these discussions into similar groups.  It's not an everybody's the same on one side and everybody's the same on the other side - no, it's not that far reaching a stereotype.

    It's more like there are various groups on either sides - there are alliances, if you will.  Various factions that although they may not completely agree with each other - they either agree with each other enough or disagree with the other side more than enough; for them to have ended up on the particular sides that they are.

    Discussions about TSW are fertile grounds for this particular forum battle to take place.  In a curious sense, one could even say that it goes beyond just the X vs. Y battles and introduces the Z element - as some of those that one might have expected to be supportive, have broken off...splintered off as another fraction.  While Z does not agree with Y, they disagree enough with X, that boom - we've got the Mayan Apocalypse!  Okay, that's a little melodramatic and would have been better stated on Saturday afternoon as we waited for SyFy's latest Saturday night film...lol...but if you step back, you can see it.

    While TSW is not perfect (no game is - different games will be better for different folks, everybody has their preferences - but nothing's perfect)... it's amazing how much discussion about TSW goes on that soon has nothing to do with TSW at all.  It's a magnet for the debates...the poster child for the divide.

    oh please.. TSW isnt that much on peoples mind. This site is really the only gaming site i see ANY discussion about it on and it has died down a lot lately.

    Hrmmmm, to counter what you've said here...I simply only need to point to your having said something here.  :)

    Name another game that has so much potential for that X, Y, Z debate?  So many other games are so didactic.  TSW's mind boggling in how it divides the playerbase.

    I miss the MMORPG genre. Will a developer ever make one again?

    Explorer: 87%, Killer: 67%, Achiever: 27%, Socializer: 20%

  • Johnie-MarzJohnie-Marz Member UncommonPosts: 865

    This article is a trial balloon. They are seeing how well it would go over. (Judging fan reaction)

    Also;

    The Cashshop is obviously not for greed but in order to have a F2P system already in place in case they had to go F2P like AOC did. 

    Having gone through it with AOC, a game that sold a lot of boxes, they understood this could happen and made sure to have contingency plans like any smart business.

    Since the game did not sell anywhere near what they hoped it would, this would be the next logical step.

  • lotapartylotaparty Member Posts: 514
    Originally posted by Opapanax

    Both MMORPG.com and Massively have these articles as headliners today.. Sucks..

    I enjoy most my time with TSW but I can see how they are financially in trouble enough to consider these things. They'll have to accomidate those who have gotten lifetime subs big time.

    Throwing 200 dollars down and seeing the game go free to play within it's first 6-12 months would make me infuriated to say the least..

    Does not bode well that this conversation is already coming up from Funcom..

    well i have not seen one game surviving which had got lifetime sub .so if they donot accomodate you . than you should blame yourself because everyone else saw it coming . 

     
  • VolnusVolnus Member UncommonPosts: 40
    the thing is a gamer is more likely to pay 15$ in stuff to help his/her char advance then do that with a sub fee. Not to mention that you bring in more people having 500k people spending 5$ is more than 100k spending 15$ a month n subscriptions. Free to play games work because they bring in new players while subscriptions only take the people from other games. 
  • CujoSWAoACujoSWAoA Member UncommonPosts: 1,781

    I love these forums.

    All of you people typing out what "Funcom SHOULD have done" or "SHOULD BE doing."

    As if any of you are qualified or have any idea what you're talking about.

    Its this stuff that keeps me coming here to read this stuff.

    Thanks.

     
  • MeowheadMeowhead Member UncommonPosts: 3,716
    Originally posted by CujoSWAoA

    I love these forums.

    All of you people typing out what "Funcom SHOULD have done" or "SHOULD BE doing."

    As if any of you are qualified or have any idea what you're talking about.

    Its this stuff that keeps me coming here to read this stuff.

    Thanks.

     

    Oh, come on, if forums were dedicated only to people who were foremost experts in a field, they would be very dry, desolate places.

    Also, just because somebody doesn't have a company doesn't mean they can't see choices that seem logical.

    I mean, owning a company doesn't mean you make all the right choices either. :)

  • CujoSWAoACujoSWAoA Member UncommonPosts: 1,781

    Most people in this world have their own opinion of what is Logical.

  • MeowheadMeowhead Member UncommonPosts: 3,716
    Originally posted by CujoSWAoA

    Most people in this world have their own opinion of what is Logical.

    Right, which is why we're on a forum, sharing our opinions.  That's what forums are FOR.

    The funny thing is, some of us are actually right.  It's your job to figure out who it is. :)

    You can't have a forum where only correct people share ,because so many people they ARE correct (Though some people ARE right, again.)).

  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 9,737
    Originally posted by roo67

    Well that didn't take long . Funcom were very greedy with thier EU subscription prices . I don't know why they thought they could charge more than any other game . It all seemed a bit of a mess at the start . The game itself was OK but these companys have to be realistic about the product they are selling . TSW was another game that would have done well with a buy to play model . Instead of that we have another mmo that will go free to play in a market flooded with free to play games .

    I feel sorry to those that spent money on a lifetime subscription .

         Well they charged for the box too so in reality it was b2p+p2p+ cash shop.....THe mad cash grab that Funcom displayed with this game was sickening...IT was blatantly obvious that Funcom was trying to get as much as they could as fast as they could with TSW.....I dont feel sorry for the lifetime buyers because they knew exactly what they were getting: a game that had little content that would be f2p within its first year of release.

  • DreadchainDreadchain Member Posts: 9

    Seriously? Is anyone surprised with this? 

    This is the standard EA business model these days, the exact thing happened with SWTOR - all went according to plan from day 1.

    Launch on sub with expensive box ---> half year later go sub/p2w ---> another half a year for pure p2w

    Frankly i'm shocked you people keep buying these games.

  • VirusDancerVirusDancer Member UncommonPosts: 3,649
    Originally posted by Theocritus

         Well they charged for the box too so in reality it was b2p+p2p+ cash shop.....THe mad cash grab that Funcom displayed with this game was sickening...IT was blatantly obvious that Funcom was trying to get as much as they could as fast as they could with TSW.....I dont feel sorry for the lifetime buyers because they knew exactly what they were getting: a game that had little content that would be f2p within its first year of release.

    Hrmmm... mad cash grab?

    Let me go through part of my MMO history....

    • UO = box + sub
    • EQ = box + sub
    • AC = box + sub
    • AO = box + sub
    • EnB = box + sub
    • SWG = box + sub
    • SB = box + sub
    • CoH = box + sub
    • WoW = box + sub
    • EVE = box + sub
    • AA = box + sub
    • DDO = box + sub
    • RIFT = box + sub

    Hrmmm, you see - unlike you, I would not separate B2P & P2P...since my general experience has been having to buy the box (which usually came with the first 30 days) and the deciding whether to continue with a sub after that.  That's not a cash grab - that's standard.

    What about the cash shop part though, right?  Well, how does one argue that an entirely optional aspect of the game's not a cash grab?  Er...maybe the optional part?

    So um...I don't see your attempt at a point in the least, the one where you're suggesting that Funcom was trying to grab as much money as possible up front.  It sounds like the typical nonsense spread by folks that have a preference for...not paying for anything...misrepresenting the TSW payment model and what Funcom was doing as something other than what it is.

    edit: Hrmmm, yeah - I'll edit before getting thwapped.

    I miss the MMORPG genre. Will a developer ever make one again?

    Explorer: 87%, Killer: 67%, Achiever: 27%, Socializer: 20%

  • OpapanaxOpapanax Member Posts: 973
    Originally posted by lotaparty
    Originally posted by Opapanax

    Both MMORPG.com and Massively have these articles as headliners today.. Sucks..

    I enjoy most my time with TSW but I can see how they are financially in trouble enough to consider these things. They'll have to accomidate those who have gotten lifetime subs big time.

    Throwing 200 dollars down and seeing the game go free to play within it's first 6-12 months would make me infuriated to say the least..

    Does not bode well that this conversation is already coming up from Funcom..

    well i have not seen one game surviving which had got lifetime sub .so if they donot accomodate you . than you should blame yourself because everyone else saw it coming . 

     

    You're right honestly, I would be at fault if I did have a lifetime but I don't. I was talking about those that do have lifetime subs. I myself am only a monthly subscriber to the game..

    PM before you report at least or you could just block.

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