114676-on-f2p-the-possibility-of-page-4

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Then you should consider looking for something else to do, because how many MMO's out there do not have a cash shop now? This one and?

Heck even WS has a cash shop really, CREDD is not much more then a cash shop with only one item in it. Cash Shops are quite simply the answer to a subscription fee that hasn't kept up with inflation.

Consider that 10 years ago WoW and CoH both charged $15 a month, and yet here we are still paying $15. Does anyone honestly believe that $15 is worth the same in 2014 dollars that it was in 2004 dollars?


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Because in a sub-based game those "optional items for sale" would be included in my $15/month. I prefer the model that is better for consumers.


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That's naive. The increased income they have will go to increased profits, not expanding teams and other nonsense that cuts into the bottom line. F2P means lowered quality on the game (slower release of content, less cool stuff, etc), and cool costumes, mounts, emotes and pets locked behind a cash wall.


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You need dedicated artists, mostly junior and maybe a scripter or two. IMO even sub games should have a Department of Silly Hats but MMO's are a business and salaries are an expense that a for-profit enterprise tends to shy away from unless it can be demonstrated to generate a direct profit.

Yeah. P2W doesn't work in Western markets. Hopefully they understand that, EA certainly doesn't.

I'm only familiar with how that was handled with TOR and I gotta say, hell no. They have a body customizer that can change face, hair, tattoos, race, etc. but only accepts cash-shop currency. Dyes are one-time use. While some awful color combinations are available via crafting, the most popular only come from the cash shop. $10 and $20 for a consumable.


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I'm not really fond of the F2P version of LOTRO, since a lot of core content is locked (quest areas past lvl 30 and traits). It would be like playing WildStar just fine up to level 30 and then finding you couldn't pick up any more quests or put any more points into AMPs unless you bought them from the cash shop.


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You can't buy Elder Gems with gold, so your argument is not really relevant as a rebuttal to my example.


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After you said this:

It seemed very much like you in fact did not know.


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I wish I spoke Jive.


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This argument is flawed. Counterexample: Lets sell a PvE weapon on the cash shop that has one million Assault Power and one million Grit (not usable in PvP). Now, Scriptorium, you have integrity, right? So you won't buy this superweapon. You will down all the content without it, because "your way" to play is to actually overcome challenges. You are not in the slightest upset that inexperienced players are blazing through content much faster than you, because as you so eloquently put it:

Everything you write can be applied to pay-to-win (PvE). As long as you can play the game without cash shop gear, you are fine, right? So it's down to this: You either support pay-to-win or you are materialistic and shallow, by your own words.


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I think his point is more to the point of Gaffney & Co who might have believed that Wildstar should be sub based for the very reasons given in the article and the many interviews given previous to the games launch no longer work at Carbine or if they do have (maybe) had a change of heart. Free to play is always an option. I have no idea the projected numbers/revenue or numbers were pre-launch, but I will assume that they were at a point that Carbine hoped that the game would be sustainable and profitable in the sub format, hence the decision and confidence they showed in going with the sub platform. Now after release, with the changes that have happened/will happen, the subscriber loss (how much, no idea) and the seeming re-evaluation of the game and it's targeted audience and core, it could be this is an option. Whether it's an option I endorse, is something I'd have to see with how it is handled. But free to play is always an option for a game studio to attempt to recoup money if they did not meet expectations, which I am assuming that Carbine has fallen short of projected numbers. Edit- Whether this game goes free to play is not something I can even remotely answer as I have no actual numbers. This game HAS the systems and the core mechanics to be a very large sub based MMO, just look at the launch and how many people were subbed. These subs were drawn away due to bugs/walls in gameplay/reasons. I think with the right changes and good marketing, it could stay sub based.


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