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With so many titles adopting the Freemium model and relinquishing their Pay to Play roots, it has come to my attention that I severly dislike the industry's new direction regarding business models. The Freemium model, that has been adapted to quite a few large MMORPG's, as of now, establishes complications that I, as an avid MMORPG gamer, find hard to cope with. Of course, the Freemium model does have its benefits, I will not deny such a thing. Yet, in all honesty, I believe it does not bode well with the qualities I look for when searching for a new MMORPG to play.
1.) The Freemium model affects a game's community.
Quite evidently, the Freemium model makes a game more accessible to the general populace. This in turn, however, has many negative impacts on a game's community. First, it absolutely cripples a game's ability to form and maintain a predominant, yet tight-knit community. The Freemium model makes it easy for completely new players to come into a game, yet not commit to it. This creates a flux that makes it difficult for a proper community to establish. Not only that, the players that are attracted to Freemium models can disrupt a community through their maturity level. Finally, the Freemium model has the tendency of separating the player-base into those that decide to spend some cash and those that do not. This leads to a sort of discrimantion within the community and only serves to fragment it even more.
2.) The Freemium model disconnects a player from the game world and lessens immersion.
From loading screens to NPC vendors, the developers of Freemium games are in constant action trying to promote their real-world-money-bought items. The ever-so present advertisements are a constant reminder that you are not role-playing your character within a virtual world, but playing a game where real-world money can net you benefits. It is also important to point out that developers in the Freemium model have the monetization of content and features as a primary concern. The way they develop content is drastically affected by the Freemium model, because they are constantly searching for the easiest ways to monetize the game.
3.) The Freemium model encourages Pay to Win.
The Freemium model allows players to buy items of power with real-world money. Sure, a lot of these items can be obtained through more standard means, like actually playing the game, yet it diminishes absurdly the feeling of accomplishment from obtaining these items. Imagine spending hours in a dungeon trying to obtain a powerful new sword for your warrior, finally getting it only to step out into the game world to see that someone else has the same item, and finding out that they didn't work for it like you did, they bought it off the store. It is absolutely buzz-killing. Not only that, the model tempts you into buying advantages for your character because MMO's are about playing with others, and most importantly against others. Even in a PvE scenario, you compare yourself to someone who has forked some cash over and they progress faster, they have access to cooler things, etc. No one wants to fall behind or feel less powerful.
Suffice to say, it is a model that goes against the MMO, in MMORPG, by crippling and separating communities, and against the RPG, by allowing players to take shortcuts by spending real-world cash, always reminding us that we are not role-playing a powerful mage or a renowned knight, but instead playing a game where money can absolutely dictate how we engage it.
Comments
Now don't get me wrong because I completely agree with you as I much prefer a sub based game. However there are two things you could argue against.
First, you could simply point out some of those people spending the money for faster progression or specific items that while obtainable in game, can also be bought for real money in the shop. It might be their line of work or responsibilities don't give them the time to grind a dungeon for X runs/hours but they do have the excess money to make it happen their way. While it may not be the way you or me choose it is a valid route I believe.
Second, in regards to money breaking immersion, that is simply not true unless you let it be. You could imagine that fellow has a powerful or influential patron. A merchant princes darling son he dotes on and buys him all those phat lewtz even though he isn't that great of a warrior. The mage could have all that power because his familial fortune allowed him the best schooling if those exist in the world, and so he advanced faster than people who garnered theirs via adventuring.
Let me provide a few examples to further enlighten my point on Freemium models breaking immersion.
You're running around town looking for citizens that require your assistance, you turn a corner and among the shadows of an abandoned alley you spot a desolate little girl that has clearly been weaping. You approach her and offer an ear to hear her tale of dismay, and as she concludes her explanation of the events that have led to her current state of being, you decide to lend her some assistance. A new window appears on your screen, what could this be? "In order to accept this quest, you must first buy the "Desolate Girl Quest Pack" now for a special price of $4.99!"
You decide to group up with a wizard you met nearby and embark in an epic adventure to reach the depths of an ancient dragon's lair. You are both ready to begin, mounted on your horses, and as you begin your journey, the wizard disbands and rides elsewhere. Puzzled, you ask him the reason for such abruptness. "Can't do that dungeon, sorry! Have to buy it."
In that respect I most certainly agree it breaks immersion. Reminds me of that fellow that showed up in your camp in DA:O for the Warden Commander quest.
I think an idea might perhaps be by blocking the areas any secondary content you might not have access to behind something that would make sense in the game world. As an example, in DDO (ignoring all the other blatant advertising) there is the doors to leave the harbor and head into the marketplace. By gating content in that particular way, maybe a portal they don't have the "spell" or some such to pass through etc. it could help allay that feeling. The problem is you'll always be shocked out of the immersion to some degree even if it is an internally consistent way to bar progression like that since you know it is because you never paid. That would be the issue with the severe content gating you see in freemium models.
I admit I never made it far enough for +4s to be relevant to me but I can kind of see why they did it, but also why it is obnoxious.
If it really is super rare, that would be very appealing to the people who love leveling all their chars to max and then reincarnating them and all that jazz. As the game really does appeal to min/maxing since it attempts to mimic the ruleset so closely that +4 is going to be a huge temptation for those sorts of people. Though it does sort of appeal to the second argument I made about having a wealthy patron and the such.
However something that powerful, since +4 to your basic stats is a pretty intense thing in 3.5 seems crazy, especially to make it anything but ultra rare. It will force people who enjoy the process start to feel obligated to perhaps buying the tomes so that they can participate in some of that sweet, sweet Underdark action with the friends who did invest all the money into tomes and not feel like an anchor.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Freemium breaks immersion every time you look at the store.
Advertisements of the shop, the loreless gear, the cosmetic gear that looks like you spent money on it, money here, money there.
I miss games where everything I saw was an active part of the world. Not some 'hehe bonus' or shop-only potions.
Two major reasons i despise it...
1 they are looking for ways to get more money out of you,liek the 15 bucks a month wasn't enough already.
2 You now have to pay extra to get content you would normally get for the one time price of 15 bucks.EQ2 is a brutal example,you pay 15 bucks and yo ustill don't get some housing or some newer content.
If you look at the Eq2 SOE model,you pay 15 bucks a month,pay more for housing,buy new xpacs,pay extra for content like the dungeon building content,it is like they are trying to get 30 bucks a month plus an extra xpac ort two a year out of us.
It is bad enough games have been really getting bad for delivering depth or just common content.Most games are delivering really shallow gameplay and a few maps.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Yup, EQ2 and SWTOR aren't really free...they are more like a carrot in front of a treadmill, and they charge you every step of the way. The only thing free in those two is the treadmill.
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
How can there be so many questions still or ways to hash this out?
Um.. did you even read the OP?
In regards to the OP the one thing freemium does is bring a fuller world of players. I actually prefer a sub model as well for all the points you listed. Unfortunatly there are too many titles out there now and people are spread out, the money is spread out. Freemium models, especially ones with sub options, bring something for everyone.
Freemium games are pay to win
Someone has more bag space than you? He/she has less trips to the vendor/AH, so levels faster. And is able to sell more, and earn more money in-game
Stuck with the basic classes? Someone can pay to unlock the advanced ones, and have a large advantage over you
Can't use rare items? This is the biggest sign of pay to win by many who explain pay to win games and why they are horrible. Someone can pay to use rare items, and therefor win and have a HUGE advantage over you
Can't use advanced spells? (mostly this is regards to EQ2)...pay and you can unlock them. Sort of similar to the above. Again another HUGE advantage to those who can only use the basic ranks of spells/abilities
At least a fully pay to play MMO, or a fully free to play MMO (a true free to play, not a freemium), everyone is on an even level.
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
Not every pay to play MMO has expansions. And not all expansions you have to pay for.
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
And yet sadly DDO is the far best freemium game when it comes to these things.
I have to agree with OP, freemium games are crap.
I can live with F2P games where none subscribers get more grind, that is fine but when people who cough up real money gets better stuff than really good players that earns their stuff ingame things are just plain wrong.
I dont care about skins or superficial stuff but selling good gear for real money takes out th fun of any game for me. To work for something and then get it and show it off in town have always been one of the core things in MMOs, when you just can buy anything instead I have no motivation to actually play.
There are of course other stuff in MMOs that makes me play than gear but as long as there are P2P and B2P games that allows the good players to get unique stuff I wont play anu freemium games.
And no, getting good gear shouldnt really only be dependant on time spent either, a good player should be able to get good gear fast while a bad one either have to spend a lot of time or might never get it unless he becomes better. That is why I hate daily quests as well, they reward you for time and nothing else.
You don't have to pay more for housing, there are *plenty* of in game housing options. The dungeon maker content can be earned in game and is bought with currency from running dungeons and having your dungeons as well. Yes, some of it you can buy to speed up things, but you don't have to.
EQ2 has one of the better systems because except for the recent expansions none of the content is locked, its all free. And its not p2w, being subbed gives you full power. Turbine has been slipping down the slope towards p2w, if anything SoE has backed off. When they went full freemium they actually removed the gear which was being sold on the f2p server (and even that was just easily obtainable in game gear)
Thats because 15 dollars isnt enough. That number hasn't risen at all with inflation while other costs have. Would you complain if it didn't have all those other things you could pay for and charged double that? It only makes sense that they want to maximize their revenue since, well, they are a business. But discounting that and looking at it from a standpoint they do it purely because they like to develop games, they still need money to cover their costs and then invest into continuing development of content and so would either charge substantially more or do those sort of transactions.
And other costs have been dramatically lowered to close to nothing, compared to what it was back in the day:
And that 15 never went up with inflation for all the years your other prices did. So to be fair we should calculate the rise for inflation then lower it, then that would be a reasonable comparison because that price point has been with the industry for years.
The human cost has not gone down, in fact is has gone up since to make an AAA mmo which is what everyone here demands, it takes a large team with experience and knowledge to do it and that doesn't come cheap. Even if you move or make the studio somewhere that has a relatively low COL you still have to do a lot of initial investment in reality then to appeal to these skilled laborers you'll have to invest in relocation among other things, since why would they want ot risk their own money to relocate given the game industry and its nature of dumping large portions of its staff once the development cycle is complete? Even an MMO doesn't need the entirety of its dev staff after release. There is a live team and a development staff.
Not all Freemium models are the same. EVE has effectively been a "freemuim" game almost since the beginning, and hasn't suffered the issues you describe, or at least not so much that they outweight the benefits.
The devil is in the details. A well set-up, balanced freemium model can work well. A poorly conceived, exploitative one can cause problems as you describe.
Give me liberty or give me lasers
/yep
same with any forum of instancing in mmos also tho.
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
STEALTHBR, were you playing Lotro?
If yes, I feel you man... you took the words out of my mouth.
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