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No Way!! you say This is a joke right?? Unheard of your making this up OP Nope i am not. "Outspark, the San Francisco-based publisher that was one of the earliest western companies to specialize in free-to-play MMOs, has apparently shut its doors.
Founded in 2006 published the popular Fiesta Online and Secret of the Solstice MMOs, both of them free-to-play games.
European MMO publisher Gamingo has taken over operations of Fiesta Online, though it has no plans to continue any of Outspark's other titles."
Question If you are a DEV and you decide to go to F2P as your payment requirment for play and your game still failied. Does that mean maybe you should of produced a better game?? Maybe so.
I dont know if this will be just a bum rap for Outspark or perhaps it could be a domino effect on F2P MMO's? Guess time will tell.
I took the liberty to look up Gamingo and thier biggest MMO if you call it that is Golfstar. Yes Gamingo is a F2P publisher. Handwrtting on the wall?
Comments
F2P costs only as much as you *choose* to spend. Unless Dear Leader issues some dictate or other, you only play games that you make the choice to play. F2P is simply another business model. If you don't like it, don't play games that use it.
Interesting. I'm not finding anything on bankruptcy of the corporation. I'm wondering if it might have been a strategic selloff of assets, and shuttering operations on unprofitable games.
The current CEO only took over 18 months ago. reference
this.
also it seems free to play is turning a corner. pay to win is such a 4-letter word nowadays that more developers are realizing they don't need to nickel and dime customers to turn a profit. selling virtual hats seems to very lucrative http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/01/top-tf2-item-makers-making-500k-a-year-we-cannot-compete-with-our-customers/?ns_campaign=article-feed&ns_mchannel=ref&ns_source=steam&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0.
Well there's only so many players to support f2p games, and only a real small percentage actually buy anything... The market is saturated as all hell...Someone's gotta go down.
Holy cow! One of the 350 free to play MMOs is closing? Oh wait... the games are still running. Just Outspark closing.
The Sparkplayer engine and Earth Eternal died years ago. Outspark hasn't created anything new since.
Dude, do some research before you start this threads. Not for us, but for your own sake.
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
You know that the games didn't close down, right?
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
Good advise for posting is doing research. I did and the link is all that is said on the closing of Outspark. So not much to go on for research by all means if you find more feel free to post.
Funny you should mention those. Gpotato just sold their US and EU assets to Webzen.
These games change hands a lot more often than you think. Aeria picked up IJJI's titles not that long ago. K2 Networks (Gamers1st) built an empire on buying up games in their entirety or just to localize for a region.
"Question If you are a DEV and you decide to go to F2P as your payment requirment for play and your game still failied. Does that mean maybe you should of produced a better game?? Maybe so.
I dont know if this will be just a bum rap for Outspark or perhaps it could be a domino effect on F2P MMO's? Guess time will tell."
None of their current games failed. There is no domino effect. Surprisingly, the sky isn't falling.
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
Not just gPotato but the whole Gala-Net shebang.
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
I shutter to think just how often they do change hands, Kind of reminds me of a defaulted student loan or a bad debt go figure.
Nope F2P indies can go do that, Triple-A F2P's are here to stay.
Seriously did anyone even play those games? I never heard of them so good riddance to rubbish I say, go big or go home.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Never heard of those MMOs. Maybe that's why they failed?
Face it, P2P fans, P2P is dying a quick death. F2P and B2P is the present and future.
DAoC - Excalibur & Camlann
I dont think P2P will go anywere soon until WoW completly dies. With that being said. I would have to also say yes you are right about B2P games sticking around. But it seems hard to say with F2P to many directions atm guess time will tell.
I played WoW up until WotLK, played RoM for 2 years and now Rift.
I am F2P player. I support games when I feel they deserve my money and I want the items enough.
I don't troll, and I don't take kindly to trolls.
One more time for all the f2p haters.
f2p with a cs has been here longer than p2p. It has allready shown it's longevity. It is not going anywhere.
Is this a joke? Until a company actually proves with some financial statements that current cash shop based games can "shoulder the load" it isn't much more than a gimmick that will run it's course.
Take a look at the poster child Zynga. How much longer before they disappear?
I think cash shops can have a place in games, but the current implementation is not the way of the future.
No matter what your financial model MMO's are now a dog eat dog market where any sort of success is extremely hard to achieve. I do think F2P is not based on a solid revenue foundation so that can hardly help, subscription is better.
Games which were originally subscription games also last years longer or are still going compared to their F2P at launch counterparts. But nearly all of them now have a hybrid revenue model with F2P elements.
The writing is on the wall for all MMO’s, F2P once touted as the solution to MMO problems is a dead end.
Well, i played Luvinia, it was very entertaining and surprisingly polished for a free game, BUT i found extremely annoying, that from level ~40 (with max of 150) you basically had to use cashshop currency for crafting (ON TOP of normal mats) and dungeon crawling...
Probably good that this kind of business is curbed, but sad for the game, which was good...
Flame on!
A joke? Once again f2p games have been around since BEFORE p2p games and are still running. Furcadia is one of them, a f2p game with a cs since before UO. This proves longevity of the model, more so than p2p.
F2p will not save a bad game or bad a bad companybut the model itself is very stable. One company or even a few is not indicative of the model, just look at wolfpack studios.
Only if you're idiot enough to actually spend money. I have never spent money in a F2P game and never will.