Free to Play Games

There is a growing trend in gaming often called free to play which is fantastic news for credit crunch stricken gamers everywhere. Talk about microtransactions, optional subscriptions and advertising has been constant in the games industry over the last few years. The aim is to find a new model for profitability and attract large audiences for games, especially MMO games which need a huge player base. With the recent news that the games industry is not recession proof after all, game sales were down 29% in July compared with last year, a new model to draw gamers in might just be the way forward.

In the Asian market the free to play model has been going strong for many years. Gamers are used to installing the complete version of a game for absolutely nothing and are often willing to pay very small amounts for additional in game content. The majority of these microtransactions offer gamers outfits and customization options for their characters. They are often purely cosmetic and offer no advantage in game terms over players who are not spending any cash. Some games have gone a step further and they offer items for sale which enhance the player’s power. Booster items, which allow them to progress more quickly, are also fairly common. The idea is to let players build up experience at an accelerated rate so they can level up faster.

This model has proven to be very successful in markets such as South Korea and Japan but debate has raged on about whether it will catch on here in the west. The vast majority of gamers who play these free to play titles will never make a purchase but a very active minority will spend freely. There is also a belief that the low individual cost of items encourages people to spend when they wouldn’t be prepared to pay a substantial monthly subscription fee.

The argument and theory can now finally be laid to rest because several big developers and publishers have embraced the idea and released titles with this alternative business model. The early signs appear positive but the results are far from in and at this stage the big publishers are leaping in to make sure they don’t miss the boat. Let’s take a look at some of the big free to play releases.

Maple Story
This South Korean smash hit was one of the first free to play games to be released in North America and Europe. Brought to you by a company called Nexon the game has a microtransaction model and is available to play in multiple countries around the world. It was successfully released in the US in 2007 and they estimate from a user base of around 6 million people they have brought in revenue equivalent to 120,000 subscribers paying monthly on the old business model. This was enough to encourage many companies to adopt a similar model.

Free Realms
This MMORPG from Sony is aimed at the whole family and it offers good, clean fun with optional combat and a focus on social interaction. There are mini-games and plenty of quests to undertake and the game allows players to share images and videos. There is also a trading card game tie-in. In order to turn a profit Sony offer optional membership which allows extra characters and access to members only quests, jobs and items. There is also a microtransactions system in the game so players can buy optional in game items. It is currently available on PC and there are plans to release a PlayStation 3 version in the near future. The game has almost 5 million registered users.

Battlefield Heroes
This game borrows ideas such as a persistent character from MMO games but it proves that the free to play model can be extended beyond the MMOG genre. Battlefield Heroes is actually a multiplayer first and third-person shooter with a cartoon art style and typical FPS mechanics. The majority of games are on servers with 16 or 32 players and it is intended to be a casual and accessible game. It is installed and accessed via your web browser and it is completely free to play but does include some microtransaction options.

Battlefield Heroes was released by Electronic Arts and forms part of their Play 4 Free brand. They have also released BattleForge which is a card based RTS game based on microtransactions and they have announced Need for Speed: World Online which will be a free massively multiplayer online racing game.

Dungeons and Dragons Online
This MMORPG is based on the famous table top gaming series and it was originally released with a traditional monthly subscription model. It is now set to be offered as a completely free to play game with optional microtransactions. In the FAQ on their website developer, Turbine, has billed it as the only free to play premium MMO game but in actual fact this is a misconception that has prevented many gamers from trying free to play games. The idea that because a game is free it will be sub standard is dated and the majority of new releases in this category are every bit as detailed and impressive as traditional subscription based or retail games.

We can expect to see many more free to play games in the coming months and the trend looks set to spread from the MMOG genre. This can only be good news for hard up gamers but it is still early days. While this new model has generated a great deal of excitement it won’t be signalling an end to traditional retail and subscription models but if it does start to generate big cash you can expect everyone to jump aboard.

Dungeons and Dragons Goes Online, For Free!

Turbine has recently announced that their latest version of Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO): Eberron Unlimited, is going to be free-to-play version of the popular Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) game.

This is a closed beta test for now, and this free version of Eberron Unlimited has some limits. The level cap has been raised to a level of 20, and if the player wants more, they will have to go to VIP status. There are also limitations on specific races, classes, auctions, and mail capabilities. Also, if a player goes to the city of Stormreach, a player will have blocked access unless you whip out the credit card.

You want help playing your free version? The only help you will receive is automated only unless you pay. All players can use the DDO store to pay for upgrades.

I had a hard time believing in Dungeons and Dragons Online when it first came out. I guess it seems natural that one of the best-selling Role-Playing Games (RPGs) online, but I think the real question is: why in the world did it take so long for them to release it online. Why wasn’t it the first MMORPG?

In other words, why is it that World of Warcraft and other online fantasy games are dominating the market? I suppose that it is truly a sign of the times that online gaming RPGs have taken over the traditional pencil, paper, and dice role-playing.

Does anyone think that it is odd that Dungeons and Dragons is offering its game for free? Or that they must use this demonic babe from the image to get customers? I think that definitely shows how much people are playing the original RPG.

Or it shows how much times have changed. I suppose we can’t have the good old days of playing RPGs with the Dungeonmaster, paper, and dice and the camaraderie of meeting in a group. Of course, if a group of gamers really wanted to meet together and play D&D old school, there is nothing preventing them. However, if meeting online is simipler, and keeping a computer data record is easier than paper, then one might ask why bother meeting?

Perhaps this is what killed the old eighties video arcades. I mean, if you can play a video game at home, sitting down, that has better graphics, and doesn’t require a diet of quarters, then why bother getting up and going anywhere? The pragmatism doesn’t exactly promote social skills, though.

However, as D&D has gone online for free, I couldn’t help but wonder if this era of traditional RPGs is coming to an end without us even knowing it. I can’t help but think of a keynote speech by Wil Wheaton two years ago at the Penny Arcade Expo. The actor who played Wesley Crusher reminisced about his time at the arcade, and how that era has somehow been lost.

Gaming is changing, and we are losing the D&D era. Oddly enough, the conservatives in the eighties that were speaking out against Dungeons and Dragons didn’t bring it down. I suppose you could call D&D a victim of its own success, as its role-playing business model was imitated, and then changed.

Of course, it has not been perfected, and I can imagine that gaming is about to go into new levels.