WoW F2P "at some point"...

XionTawa

XionTawa

New Member
I am not the biggest fan of WoW, you know, the themepark game that keeps you playing using "carrot on a stick" and addiction repetition tactics rather than actual fun...lead designer, Tom Chilton, is talking about F2P...now they are NOT announcing that they are going F2P, just saying that before long, it may not make since NOT to be F2P... Which is something I have been predicting for some time... And if Turbine is having such success with the business model, you know, Turbine, they made the best MMORPG ever, Asheron's Call...If they are having a lot of success with this, this other companies can too... Also, some F2P games, such as Perfect World, have millions of regular players...yes MILLIONS...maybe even 11 million...maybe even more... As much as I DISLIKE F2P paying models and item shops...I think and have been saying that in the world of Massive Multi-player Online Games, the F2P model will eventually become the standard...it has been in China and Korea for awhile, and while we like things different than them, we seem to be embracing the F2P model just as they did...

Source: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/loadNews/17378
 
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Highly doubt F2P will happen for WoW before Blizzard's next MMO is released (see 2012).
 
I'd think WoW would have to severely restrict content to get it to work. I mean they have a huge amount of content compared to most F2P mmorpgs and if you aren't bored or getting beat up why would I pay for something?

If I remember right Warhammer just added F2P but they only allow tier one and very limited areas you can go, right?
 
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The Mighty Gerbil said:
I mean they have a huge amount of content compared to most F2P mmorpgs
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???

Have you looked into or played some more recent F2P MMOs, Actually Runes of Magic has more content than WoW, and updates more often... I dislike RoM, but you cannot deny the amount of working fun content RoM has... They have everything WoW and then much much more...

EDIT: Though, seeing as WoW was NO WHERE NEAR the first MMORPG, I find it sad we use WoW as a standard for comparison...personally I think WoW is a joke... :p
 
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This is all based on a comment by someone who said "it might not make sense to have a subscription for WoW at some point". We also don't know the context in which this happened. Chances are, someone said, "hey, is WoW going F2P?" and the reply was, "sure if it ever makes sense to do so."

Bear in mind that with 10 million+ subscribers paying $15/month, it doesn't make sense no sense to go F2P in the forseeable future (meaning: never). The only way I see them going F2P is if the micro-transaction model proves to be more effective than the subscription service, but that's well off. I think F2P really just makes sense for games like LOTRO that are having trouble staying afloat.

Of course, it's all complete speculation (along with everything I just posted)...that's just my $.02.
 
XionTawa said:
???

Have you looked into or played some more recent F2P MMOs, Actually Runes of Magic has more content than WoW, and updates more often... I dislike RoM, but you cannot deny the amount of working fun content RoM has... They have everything WoW and then much much more...
Click to expand...

I've played several older F2P games Silkroad, Mabingoni, 9 Dragons and Allods (I also played the Warhammer beta but that's beside the point). I also troll around CGA's Wow forum people enough to know it's has more to it than those :) . My feeling in all those F2P games was of being shunted down a shallow path of grindy choices. Maybe ROM is different like you say but all the F2P games I've looked at on sites and played look same-ish. Of course I'm no expert and will defer to your mmorpg 1337ness :) but with Wow being out soooo long I'd have thought it just has to have more content than most F2P mmorpgs.

Anyway I can see the possibility of Wow becoming F2P I just think it would be in really restricted areas like War has done.
 
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RyanB said:
games like LOTRO that are having trouble staying afloat
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Last know sub base was over 2 million (I don't see only 2 million as just staying afloat)...Turbine was moving Lotro to F2P because they feel it would be even more successful...

Edit: EQ2 has roughly 120k subs and is a good game and doing well...back when I started playing MMORPGs (again, 12 years ago) 10k subs was good...

EDIT 2: And if you look at the title of my thread is says: WoW F2P "at some point"... Which presents exactly the idea Tom Chilton was expressing...
 
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Blizzard will make WoW free to play at some point, and that 'some point' will be when they are no longer the #1 everybody-plays-it MMO.

I prefer Massively's Article, and the original article at PC Gamer.

I think WoW is a fantastic MMO. I've tried many F2P games, including RoM but couldn't stick with it for a few reasons: A) I don't know anyone who plays them, B) The grindfest in those games that make WoW's level 1-58 deathmarch seem like cake in comparison (I thoroughly enjoy the content in BC and especially WotLK, but maaaan getting there is terrible). DDO is the only MMO that I've played for any length of time, and the only one I've ever actually liked. That game is designed very well, and keeps with its D&D roots very well without trying to be another WoW. I prefer MMOs that stand unique and have a clear vision about what they are, as evidenced by the ones I've spent the most time on: EVE, GW, WoW, and DDO (I've never subbed WAR, and honestly the only reason I've played it much at all is because I'm enamored with the Warhammer universe).


(Doesn't really care for mmorpg.com due to its generally being slower to get to news than most other game sites...)
 
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I guess all I was really saying was that the guy didn't say that WoW WILL be F2P at some point, just that it might. Of course, the world might end in 2012. But it's all speculation anyway...this type of language definitely lends itself more to the idea than someone saying, "there are no plans to ever go F2P".
 
My love/hate relationship with WoW is no secret on the CGA forums, but I recognize that WoW is the most financially successful MMO for good reason.

I played Runes of Magic briefly and felt that they were trying to be the "generic brand" WoW. Full disclosure: I stopped playing after about an hour and a half.

Allods Online looked like a promising new free-to-play MMO until they punched their fanbase in the face with their item shop pricing. I haven't been back since and don't plan on going back now that I've played a bit of DDO.

Of course, I have a habit of dismissing any RPG that uses random encounters and any MMORPG that uses "press 1 to attack, press 2 for special attack, watch a bar fill from left to right, press 3 for heal and/or damage spell, rinse and repeat" combat. It's 2010 and it's time to make combat interesting. Chrono Trigger featured an alternative to random encounters 15 years ago on 16-bit hardware; there's no excuse for random encounters in modern RPGs. Similarly, there's no excuse for "finger DDR" combat in modern MMOs.

If you find pressing number keys to match prompts a fun "gameplay" experience, download StepMania and skip the multi-gig clients and $15 monthly fees.

Side note: StepMania is actually a lot of fun with a USB dance pad. :D
 
The thing to consider about WoW going F2P would be the number of items they could continue to sell at the online store. How many people bought pandas, celestial mounts, stuffed gryphons, and all that other stuff? I don't see Blizz losing out, even if they do go F2P - they'll still find ways to nickle & dime you to death.
 
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