I knew as soon as someone pointed out that the game was originally promoted as a completely F2P MMO, with microtransactions (as in, you can pay for stuff if you want, but dont' have to.. the rest of the game is free), there would be the spin-doctors, rationalizers and apologists immediately rushing in to the defense...
I'm glad someone linked that Smedly interview as it's mentioned, at least twice and on the first page...
Free Realms, a free-to-play MMO, launched in April this year,
and farther down the page...
As a free-to-play game, Free Realms primarily relies on microtransactions, with some selective advertising.
So to everyone saying the equivalent of "nuh uhh.." to the "free to play" aspect... There is it... in an article/interview with Smedley himself, going back to September 16, 2009.
Clearly stated.. It was free to play and its revenue would come from microtransactions and some advertising, thus answering the "how are they supposed to make money, huh?" question I've seen asked in this thread.
Yes... Free Realms was promoted as a completely free to pay MMO. Yes, yet again, Smedley and co. went back on their word and changed it to a sub-based past a low level. Just like they said they'd never add RMT to their existing MMOs (EQ, EQ2, etc) and then did anyway... they did the same thing with Free Realms. They just keep squeezing their players any way they can, lying all the way, and people just keep cheering them on for it.
Amazing.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I knew as soon as someone pointed out that the game was originally promoted as a completely F2P MMO, with microtransactions (as in, you can pay for stuff if you want, but dont' have to.. the rest of the game is free), there would be the spin-doctors, rationalizers and apologists immediately rushing in to the defense...
I'm glad someone linked that Smedly interview as it's mentioned, at least twice and on the first page...
Free Realms, a free-to-play MMO, launched in April this year,
and farther down the page...
As a free-to-play game, Free Realms primarily relies on microtransactions, with some selective advertising.
So to everyone saying the equivalent of "nuh uhh.." to the "free to play" aspect... There is it... in an article/interview with Smedley himself, going back to September 16, 2009.
Clearly stated.. It was free to play and its revenue would come from microtransactions and some advertising, thus answering the "how are they supposed to make money, huh?" question I've seen asked in this thread.
Yes... Free Realms was promoted as a completely free to pay MMO. Yes, yet again, Smedley and co. went back on their word and changed it to a sub-based past a low level. Just like they said they'd never add RMT to their existing MMOs (EQ, EQ2, etc) and then did anyway... they did the same thing with Free Realms. They just keep squeezing their players any way they can, lying all the way, and people just keep cheering them on for it.
Amazing.
What it sounds to me like is they're changing or rather have changed their plan. Maybe no one was spending in the cash shop? Maybe they had too many people complaining about the cash shop? Many would rather pay a small fee than deal with micro-transactions.
SOE is the only company I know of that no matter what they do, they are evil. Keep in mind I'm a SWG vet who was pissed about the NGE. However, it's been years and I don't give a crap about it anymore. Anyway, if any other free-to-play went to a 5$ premium they'd be praised, and it would be viewed as a value.
Since it's SOE it's automatically evil. It couldn't be that their plan wasn't working out. It has to be that they were scamming everyone. God knows SOE isn't like every other company who will try every approach possible to maximize their profits. Nope SOE is the company that satan built, everything they do has a villainous scheme behind it.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
. Nope SOE is the company that satan built, everything they do has a villainous scheme behind it.
And that villian is named Smed.
Had he "moved on" and the same crap kept heppening, one could blame it on wholly on corporate priorities. But since Smedtard has been there, in the big chair, for all of the broken promisies across multiple games, I blame him primarily.
Corporate behavior reflects leadership, and his nameplate is still on the door.
5 bucks a month and occasionally taking advantage of a special offer on some Station Cash so my 10 year-old can play something targeted toward his age level. Sounds like a bargain to me.
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II "People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
People has to be responsible (or the parents for underage players). If you don't want to pay for a game, there are several games where you can play without paying money provided you get handicapped in many aspects. If you don't want to pay to play mmos then take the consequences and don't come later complaining when something is not free anymore, that looks pretty bad.
Free Realms is now only free up until level 4. If you want to get to level 5 or do anything that progresses any "job" to the next level will require you to cough up $4.99/mo. So much for the "free" in Free Realms. Amazing, simply amazing.
/shakes in wonder at the ridiculousness of it all
you can always play silkroad online!might have to grind a bit tho!(grin!ok!ok!grind a lot!since lvl110 is very far and the death penalty can hurt even the sturdiest of gamer!)
Frankly, I think not having totally free access to the game is a good thing. Given the fact that the game is designed and targeted for pre-teen children, paying for the membership helps keep some of the adult freeloaders out who have no business being there in the first place. I find it more than a little disturbing when someone in their 30's is playing a game made for little kids. I'd pay twice the sub fee for the setup they have in Free Realms.
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II "People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
Free Realms is now only free up until level 4. If you want to get to level 5 or do anything that progresses any "job" to the next level will require you to cough up $4.99/mo. So much for the "free" in Free Realms. Amazing, simply amazing.
/shakes in wonder at the ridiculousness of it all
yea wizard 101 is like that too only my brother says it was lvl 9 in that
any way to make a buck these days it seems
Yeah how dare a company make a money on their product. All the hours they put in dveloping the game and all the hard work it was just to please you. You must expect a lot of free things everywhere you go;
I think you are forgetting the parents, they play the game with their children. I don't want to compare this game to Wizard 101 but since I been playing Wizard 101 for so long I realized that most 30 + year old players are either parents are disable people in real life. And if you dare to even try and judge them well then shame on you, where disabled person can not live their life in real world they escape that by living in the virtual world whether it be Wizard 101 or Free Realms.
Honestly they aren't even charging that much money, what a little $4.99 a month...? Compare that to most other video games and you'd be shocked how low that is for what they are offering. Besides, if you are a first time subscriber you can get in on the deal which is $.99 for first month + 250 station cash. I noticed people already mentioned this but no one is listening and they keep dragging this on...
It should also be noted that the "FREE" in this game refers to the player's ability to do anything, be anything within the game system, not limited by classes. It's all about choices ingame, not an open invitation to every freeloader looking for a MMO to play without spending a nickel.
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II "People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
It should also be noted that the "FREE" in this game refers to the player's ability to do anything, be anything within the game system, not limited by classes. It's all about choices ingame, not an open invitation to every freeloader looking for a MMO to play without spending a nickel.
Not originally, it wasn't.
There are/were plenty of threads of SOE people, including smed, saying the game was to be free to play, with mircotrans and in game advertizers. I am not going to bother digging for or quoting the articles, because they are all over this forum.
Too bad Smed and tard circus didn't figure out that the people playing this game, i.e. 5-10 year olds, would not be able to reach/use mommy and daddy's CC. Also, kids that age will take no for an answer, and, they'll just keep putting along anyway with what they have.
So, No, it was meant to be free, thus the name. Then SOE learned it was not the cash machine they expected. So they changed it to the sub+micro+IGAd model, which makes complete sense, as greedy as we know SOE to be, historically speaking. (Which other company is doing all of these? any? And in a game aimed at kids.)
They ought to change the name to Not-so-free Realms, or $4.99/mo Realms, or BuyShinnysHere Realms.
It should also be noted that the "FREE" in this game refers to the player's ability to do anything, be anything within the game system, not limited by classes. It's all about choices ingame, not an open invitation to every freeloader looking for a MMO to play without spending a nickel.
Not originally, it wasn't.
There are/were plenty of threads of SOE people, including smed, saying the game was to be free to play, with mircotrans and in game advertizers. I am not going to bother digging for or quoting the articles, because they are all over this forum.
Too bad Smed and tard circus didn't figure out that the people playing this game, i.e. 5-10 year olds, would not be able to reach/use mommy and daddy's CC. Also, kids that age will take no for an answer, and, they'll just keep putting along anyway with what they have.
So, No, it was meant to be free, thus the name. Then SOE learned it was not the cash machine they expected. So they changed it to the sub+micro+IGAd model, which makes complete sense, as greedy as we know SOE to be, historically speaking. (Which other company is doing all of these? any? And in a game aimed at kids.)
They ought to change the name to Not-so-free Realms, or $4.99/mo Realms, or BuyShinnysHere Realms.
Free, it ain't.
Nope, you're mistaken, about several things. Most of the game was going to be limited to the Members, who pay the very reasonable 5 bucks a month. The "free" part was never going to be very extensive, much like the "endless trials" several games are implementing now. There is a lot of "fluff" in the cash shop - house items, mounts, clothing, and consumables. This is where the money gets made. The game is targeted for "tweenagers' age 10-15, not 5 year-olds. From the time this hit my radar, there was never talk of in-game advertising that I'm aware of and the only ads now are for Free Realms. If you can produce definitive info to the contrary, I'd like to see it.
Free Realms is pretty much the same game that I betaed. If the cost is prohibitive for you, then don't play. It was never intended to be a "free" game.
From the official site:
Free Realms is a free 3D virtual world where you can do whatever you want, whenever you want! Jump in straight from your web browser! Once you create your character, you'll be in and playing in just a few minutes.
Decorate your house, then invite your friends over for a party! Teach your pet a new trick or dress them up in a sweet costume! Battle enemies as you search for lost treasure or duel other players, mine for gold, cook up a meal, or race your car! When you're ready for a different kind of challenge, play a wide variety of fun minigames, jump into the trading card game or check up with your friends on your profile page. Free Realms is the place to join up with your friends to discover, explore, compete, chat, share achievements and just have fun! In Free Realms, YOU RULE!
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II "People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
It should also be noted that the "FREE" in this game refers to the player's ability to do anything, be anything within the game system, not limited by classes. It's all about choices ingame, not an open invitation to every freeloader looking for a MMO to play without spending a nickel.
Not originally, it wasn't.
There are/were plenty of threads of SOE people, including smed, saying the game was to be free to play, with mircotrans and in game advertizers. I am not going to bother digging for or quoting the articles, because they are all over this forum.
Too bad Smed and tard circus didn't figure out that the people playing this game, i.e. 5-10 year olds, would not be able to reach/use mommy and daddy's CC. Also, kids that age will take no for an answer, and, they'll just keep putting along anyway with what they have.
So, No, it was meant to be free, thus the name. Then SOE learned it was not the cash machine they expected. So they changed it to the sub+micro+IGAd model, which makes complete sense, as greedy as we know SOE to be, historically speaking. (Which other company is doing all of these? any? And in a game aimed at kids.)
They ought to change the name to Not-so-free Realms, or $4.99/mo Realms, or BuyShinnysHere Realms.
Free, it ain't.
Nope, you're mistaken, about several things. Most of the game was going to be limited to the Members, who pay the very reasonable 5 bucks a month. The "free" part was never going to be very extensive, much like the "endless trials" several games are implementing now. There is a lot of "fluff" in the cash shop - house items, mounts, clothing, and consumables. This is where the money gets made. The game is targeted for "tweenagers' age 10-15, not 5 year-olds. From the time this hit my radar, there was never talk of in-game advertising that I'm aware of and the only ads now are for Free Realms. If you can produce definitive info to the contrary, I'd like to see it.
Free Realms is pretty much the same game that I betaed. If the cost is prohibitive for you, then don't play. It was never intended to be a "free" game.
From the official site:
Free Realms is a free 3D virtual world where you can do whatever you want, whenever you want! Jump in straight from your web browser! Once you create your character, you'll be in and playing in just a few minutes.
Decorate your house, then invite your friends over for a party! Teach your pet a new trick or dress them up in a sweet costume! Battle enemies as you search for lost treasure or duel other players, mine for gold, cook up a meal, or race your car! When you're ready for a different kind of challenge, play a wide variety of fun minigames, jump into the trading card game or check up with your friends on your profile page. Free Realms is the place to join up with your friends to discover, explore, compete, chat, share achievements and just have fun! In Free Realms, YOU RULE!
This stuff came from an article another site did after talking to Smed at one of the conventions:
Free Realms, a free-to-play MMO, launched in April this year, is now up to 5 million users, Smedley said at GDC Austin on Wednesday. It's a particularly impressive feat considering SOE's background.
and
As a free-to-play game, Free Realms primarily relies on microtransactions, with some selective advertising. Again, the kid audience had some lessons to teach SOE. "We found very quickly that kids had their own way of playing a game, but we also need a way to monetize them" said Smedley. "...Commerce to kids is hard -- a lot harder than we thought it would be."
This was before changed their mind and started charging a sub fee after the initial numbers nosedived. All the stuff in that article was directly from Smeds... uh... mouth.
It was meant to be "free" to play, but Smed couldn't squeeze enough from the kiddies in the RMT store. And thus the fee.
The website you cite was changed later to refelct this as well, not botherthing to look that one up... there was a thread about the changes some time back, I just read it then....
Edit: from the same site, after the changes in another atricle from Feb 2010, the game was still being touted as free to play, with the "optional" sub fee offering bonuses.... a direct quote:
The game is free to download and play, with an optional paid subscription conferring various bonuses, as well as in-game microtransactions.
I think there is a middle ground that isn't being addressed.
Sure soe has said the Free in Free Realms was for freedom of gameplay, but at the same time they infrequently addressed that aspect of the game in comparison to how much the addressed the pricing model. In my opinion they were playing very fast and loose with the name of the game.
Almost every breath out of their mouth was about how the game was free Free FREE! Even though a decent portion of the game was only available to subscribers it was all about free to play and the game can almost be fully explored in about an hour or two. Occassionaly they would mention the freedom of the game, but that always seemed to come in response to direct questions about the name of the game.
In the end it is obvious free realms was not doing well.
Hypocrites! If your going to include "Free" in your game name, then the game should be free. Of course, I understand that revenue needs to come into the game to keep it going, but still there are other solutions.
Two things first. Game companies need to make money, I am not disputing that. Also $5 a month is a very low price, anyone even remotely interested in the game could afford that.
The statements above still do not justifiy using false or misleading advertising.
This game was always advertised as a Free to play game where you could play as long as you wanted to, and where microtransactions would confer various bonuses. Now that they reneged on that promise they may interpret "Free Realms" as the game where you are free to be all you want to be but that does not change the fact is in the standard US terminology: free food, free beer, free stuff always means things that you do not have to pay for. The term FREE is never used to refer to cheap stuff, a demo or trial account.
Free Realms is boring game with a misleading name made by an inept company. That is why they don't make enough money.
Final Fantasy wasn't so final, the Neverending Story ended, the Last Crusade wasn't, etc.
Grouping in Old school mmo's: meeting someone at the bar and chatting, getting to know them before jumping into bed. Current mmo's grouping: tinder. swipe, hookup, hope you don't get herpes, never see them again.
I believe they also have a cash shop available in that game. Well, that's SOE, nothing new. Good thing i never played free realms and never will. But seriously, SOE is getting worse every day.
What a weird thread. They marketing for this game has always been a place where you are free to do whatever you want. Hence, Free Realms. I guess I can understand getting confused by thinking the game was free in the monetary sense, but honestly who in their right mind would expect a completely free product? There is enough free content for anyone to play for a month or two and find out if the $5 a month is worth it (or about $3 a month with the yearly plan).
What a weird thread. They marketing for this game has always been a place where you are free to do whatever you want. Hence, Free Realms. I guess I can understand getting confused by thinking the game was free in the monetary sense, but honestly who in their right mind would expect a completely free product? There is enough free content for anyone to play for a month or two and find out if the $5 a month is worth it (or about $3 a month with the yearly plan).
Actually the game was heavily marketed as free to play more than it was about free to do whatever you want. That of course was when the game was free to play without a subscription.
Keep in mind the target audience for this game is children and blasting free to play across the screen in commercials on cartoon network is going to give children the notion that the game is free. SOE played fast and loose with their definition of why the game was called free realms.
The way I see it is if they charge after a certain level then they charge, no big deal. My 5 year old loves to play and all he does is run around and jump and drive the cars, I don't think he even made one level yet, but as long as he is having safe fun and he knows what he is doing, I would pay his sub.
Comments
I knew as soon as someone pointed out that the game was originally promoted as a completely F2P MMO, with microtransactions (as in, you can pay for stuff if you want, but dont' have to.. the rest of the game is free), there would be the spin-doctors, rationalizers and apologists immediately rushing in to the defense...
I'm glad someone linked that Smedly interview as it's mentioned, at least twice and on the first page...
Free Realms, a free-to-play MMO, launched in April this year,
and farther down the page...
As a free-to-play game, Free Realms primarily relies on microtransactions, with some selective advertising.
So to everyone saying the equivalent of "nuh uhh.." to the "free to play" aspect... There is it... in an article/interview with Smedley himself, going back to September 16, 2009.
Clearly stated.. It was free to play and its revenue would come from microtransactions and some advertising, thus answering the "how are they supposed to make money, huh?" question I've seen asked in this thread.
Yes... Free Realms was promoted as a completely free to pay MMO. Yes, yet again, Smedley and co. went back on their word and changed it to a sub-based past a low level. Just like they said they'd never add RMT to their existing MMOs (EQ, EQ2, etc) and then did anyway... they did the same thing with Free Realms. They just keep squeezing their players any way they can, lying all the way, and people just keep cheering them on for it.
Amazing.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
What it sounds to me like is they're changing or rather have changed their plan. Maybe no one was spending in the cash shop? Maybe they had too many people complaining about the cash shop? Many would rather pay a small fee than deal with micro-transactions.
SOE is the only company I know of that no matter what they do, they are evil. Keep in mind I'm a SWG vet who was pissed about the NGE. However, it's been years and I don't give a crap about it anymore. Anyway, if any other free-to-play went to a 5$ premium they'd be praised, and it would be viewed as a value.
Since it's SOE it's automatically evil. It couldn't be that their plan wasn't working out. It has to be that they were scamming everyone. God knows SOE isn't like every other company who will try every approach possible to maximize their profits. Nope SOE is the company that satan built, everything they do has a villainous scheme behind it.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
And that villian is named Smed.
Had he "moved on" and the same crap kept heppening, one could blame it on wholly on corporate priorities. But since Smedtard has been there, in the big chair, for all of the broken promisies across multiple games, I blame him primarily.
Corporate behavior reflects leadership, and his nameplate is still on the door.
Do you honestly expect them to spend money making the game and not expect anything in return....as a company? If you do, then you are dumb.
5 bucks a month and occasionally taking advantage of a special offer on some Station Cash so my 10 year-old can play something targeted toward his age level. Sounds like a bargain to me.
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II
"People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
People has to be responsible (or the parents for underage players). If you don't want to pay for a game, there are several games where you can play without paying money provided you get handicapped in many aspects. If you don't want to pay to play mmos then take the consequences and don't come later complaining when something is not free anymore, that looks pretty bad.
you can always play silkroad online!might have to grind a bit tho!(grin!ok!ok!grind a lot!since lvl110 is very far and the death penalty can hurt even the sturdiest of gamer!)
but it is free!
Frankly, I think not having totally free access to the game is a good thing. Given the fact that the game is designed and targeted for pre-teen children, paying for the membership helps keep some of the adult freeloaders out who have no business being there in the first place. I find it more than a little disturbing when someone in their 30's is playing a game made for little kids. I'd pay twice the sub fee for the setup they have in Free Realms.
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II
"People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
Yeah how dare a company make a money on their product. All the hours they put in dveloping the game and all the hard work it was just to please you. You must expect a lot of free things everywhere you go;
I think you are forgetting the parents, they play the game with their children. I don't want to compare this game to Wizard 101 but since I been playing Wizard 101 for so long I realized that most 30 + year old players are either parents are disable people in real life. And if you dare to even try and judge them well then shame on you, where disabled person can not live their life in real world they escape that by living in the virtual world whether it be Wizard 101 or Free Realms.
Honestly they aren't even charging that much money, what a little $4.99 a month...? Compare that to most other video games and you'd be shocked how low that is for what they are offering. Besides, if you are a first time subscriber you can get in on the deal which is $.99 for first month + 250 station cash. I noticed people already mentioned this but no one is listening and they keep dragging this on...
It should also be noted that the "FREE" in this game refers to the player's ability to do anything, be anything within the game system, not limited by classes. It's all about choices ingame, not an open invitation to every freeloader looking for a MMO to play without spending a nickel.
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II
"People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
Not originally, it wasn't.
There are/were plenty of threads of SOE people, including smed, saying the game was to be free to play, with mircotrans and in game advertizers. I am not going to bother digging for or quoting the articles, because they are all over this forum.
Too bad Smed and tard circus didn't figure out that the people playing this game, i.e. 5-10 year olds, would not be able to reach/use mommy and daddy's CC. Also, kids that age will take no for an answer, and, they'll just keep putting along anyway with what they have.
So, No, it was meant to be free, thus the name. Then SOE learned it was not the cash machine they expected. So they changed it to the sub+micro+IGAd model, which makes complete sense, as greedy as we know SOE to be, historically speaking. (Which other company is doing all of these? any? And in a game aimed at kids.)
They ought to change the name to Not-so-free Realms, or $4.99/mo Realms, or BuyShinnysHere Realms.
Free, it ain't.
Nope, you're mistaken, about several things. Most of the game was going to be limited to the Members, who pay the very reasonable 5 bucks a month. The "free" part was never going to be very extensive, much like the "endless trials" several games are implementing now. There is a lot of "fluff" in the cash shop - house items, mounts, clothing, and consumables. This is where the money gets made. The game is targeted for "tweenagers' age 10-15, not 5 year-olds. From the time this hit my radar, there was never talk of in-game advertising that I'm aware of and the only ads now are for Free Realms. If you can produce definitive info to the contrary, I'd like to see it.
Free Realms is pretty much the same game that I betaed. If the cost is prohibitive for you, then don't play. It was never intended to be a "free" game.
From the official site:
Free Realms is a free 3D virtual world where you can do whatever you want, whenever you want! Jump in straight from your web browser! Once you create your character, you'll be in and playing in just a few minutes.
Decorate your house, then invite your friends over for a party! Teach your pet a new trick or dress them up in a sweet costume! Battle enemies as you search for lost treasure or duel other players, mine for gold, cook up a meal, or race your car! When you're ready for a different kind of challenge, play a wide variety of fun minigames, jump into the trading card game or check up with your friends on your profile page. Free Realms is the place to join up with your friends to discover, explore, compete, chat, share achievements and just have fun! In Free Realms, YOU RULE!
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II
"People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
This stuff came from an article another site did after talking to Smed at one of the conventions:
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=25281
Some excerpts for you:
Free Realms, a free-to-play MMO, launched in April this year, is now up to 5 million users, Smedley said at GDC Austin on Wednesday. It's a particularly impressive feat considering SOE's background.
and
As a free-to-play game, Free Realms primarily relies on microtransactions, with some selective advertising. Again, the kid audience had some lessons to teach SOE. "We found very quickly that kids had their own way of playing a game, but we also need a way to monetize them" said Smedley. "...Commerce to kids is hard -- a lot harder than we thought it would be."
This was before changed their mind and started charging a sub fee after the initial numbers nosedived. All the stuff in that article was directly from Smeds... uh... mouth.
It was meant to be "free" to play, but Smed couldn't squeeze enough from the kiddies in the RMT store. And thus the fee.
The website you cite was changed later to refelct this as well, not botherthing to look that one up... there was a thread about the changes some time back, I just read it then....
Edit: from the same site, after the changes in another atricle from Feb 2010, the game was still being touted as free to play, with the "optional" sub fee offering bonuses.... a direct quote:
The game is free to download and play, with an optional paid subscription conferring various bonuses, as well as in-game microtransactions.
Playing past level 4 is apparently a bonus......
I think there is a middle ground that isn't being addressed.
Sure soe has said the Free in Free Realms was for freedom of gameplay, but at the same time they infrequently addressed that aspect of the game in comparison to how much the addressed the pricing model. In my opinion they were playing very fast and loose with the name of the game.
Almost every breath out of their mouth was about how the game was free Free FREE! Even though a decent portion of the game was only available to subscribers it was all about free to play and the game can almost be fully explored in about an hour or two. Occassionaly they would mention the freedom of the game, but that always seemed to come in response to direct questions about the name of the game.
In the end it is obvious free realms was not doing well.
Hypocrites! If your going to include "Free" in your game name, then the game should be free. Of course, I understand that revenue needs to come into the game to keep it going, but still there are other solutions.
Two things first. Game companies need to make money, I am not disputing that. Also $5 a month is a very low price, anyone even remotely interested in the game could afford that.
The statements above still do not justifiy using false or misleading advertising.
This game was always advertised as a Free to play game where you could play as long as you wanted to, and where microtransactions would confer various bonuses. Now that they reneged on that promise they may interpret "Free Realms" as the game where you are free to be all you want to be but that does not change the fact is in the standard US terminology: free food, free beer, free stuff always means things that you do not have to pay for. The term FREE is never used to refer to cheap stuff, a demo or trial account.
Free Realms is boring game with a misleading name made by an inept company. That is why they don't make enough money.
Final Fantasy wasn't so final, the Neverending Story ended, the Last Crusade wasn't, etc.
This is a straw man argument.
Neither of these titles suggest that you don't have to pay "real" money for them.
Free Realms is a lot closer to bait-and-switch
advertise a product or service at an unprofitably low price
then reveal to customers that the advertised good is not available but that a substitute is
I believe they also have a cash shop available in that game. Well, that's SOE, nothing new. Good thing i never played free realms and never will. But seriously, SOE is getting worse every day.
Well the whole industry is getting worse everyday, but some have a huge headstart of the competition.
What a weird thread. They marketing for this game has always been a place where you are free to do whatever you want. Hence, Free Realms. I guess I can understand getting confused by thinking the game was free in the monetary sense, but honestly who in their right mind would expect a completely free product? There is enough free content for anyone to play for a month or two and find out if the $5 a month is worth it (or about $3 a month with the yearly plan).
Actually the game was heavily marketed as free to play more than it was about free to do whatever you want. That of course was when the game was free to play without a subscription.
Keep in mind the target audience for this game is children and blasting free to play across the screen in commercials on cartoon network is going to give children the notion that the game is free. SOE played fast and loose with their definition of why the game was called free realms.
"The first ones Free Realms kid."
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
The way I see it is if they charge after a certain level then they charge, no big deal. My 5 year old loves to play and all he does is run around and jump and drive the cars, I don't think he even made one level yet, but as long as he is having safe fun and he knows what he is doing, I would pay his sub.