Free to Play vs Pay to Play Ideas

[Eldaena]

I sort of feel this topic hasn't been brought up much. Should the game be free to play or pay to play? It's a very difficult topic because regardless of the way, we will inevitably have to pay for this game (other than purchasing the game itself.) it does need to be paid for in order to have continued updated content and etc I think we all want. I have a few ideas about both possible outcomes.


Pay to Play:

A constant patronage for the service which is allowing development to move forward. This is positive if we want continued updates. However, I have heard stated several times people only play this game now because it's free or if things are not to their liking by the time it is pay to play they will quit anyway. I could see paying for multiple characters, retainers, and service charges stacking up on the player base to make some money, but I'm not sure if it'll be enough unless development at the time they begin to charge for the game is equivalent to the price.

Pros:
Constant Stream of Income to promote development
Paying for Additional Retainers (possibly)
Weeding out people that don't want to pay to play (who possibly hurt the community now)

Cons:
Removing player base that does not wish to pay for a game that are legitimate players
Possibly flopping altogether if the general consensus believe the game is not good enough to be paid for

Free to Play:

Everyone can play. There would still be the initial fee of purchasing the game which is something that development can count on. It also opens up tons of possibilities that they could charge for in the game to enhance gameplay, but they'd have to balance it correctly. You do not want to destroy a game's balance by adding things only purchasable with real money and making in game things obsolete.


Ideas for Free to Play:

• One particular idea I had was purchasable enhancement pieces. For instance, let's say they allowed gear to reach +5. It can only be upgraded to +4 after being +3 so that still makes crafters extremely important. (And then only +5 after being +4, etc.) And on top of that only crafters could attempt to make things higher than +3 as well, but only if they purchased the enhancement pieces to do it with. Then it would be a craft with the +3 item, the enhancement piece, and using the correct class.
  
  It would also have a % rate for success. It would be great for min/maxing and for the economy as well for people that want the enhancement pieces or if they want the higher HQs. It wouldn't make current in game items obsolete either because you'd still need them to ever get them to +4 and +5.
  
  Also, they could have lower enhancement pieces that allow you to upgrade NQ and etc to +1, +2, and +3 through crafting as well. It's almost like a second chance to craft the item without getting the materials again...however if you fail the synth it's just like you failed it and lose all materials. It's a fair trade-off that no one would have to do, but something some players would like to.
  
  
• There could also be purchasable inventory space or retainers that can be bought permanently or temporarily for different prices.
  
  
• Some reasonable battle items. Possibly Phoenix Downs and Party Phoenix Downs for emergency situations, Durability Loss Prevention items for dungeons so you don't have to fret about repairing items in the middle of one, or a one time use Scan item that allows you to see the hp and mp of a monster you are fighting for a limited amount of time, etc.
  
  
• Another idea is possible fashionable pieces people could buy from a cash shop of sorts, if they so choose. Nothing wrong with people wanting to spend their money to make their characters look nice. There could be over armor, inner armor, hair, etc that could all make people interested in possibly purchasing some if it makes them like their character better. Even a one time use ticket to redesign your character in the character creation screen.

Pros:
A free game that is open to all people.
Several things that can be done with a cash shop of sorts.
Possibly better income than a pay to play game if done correctly.

Cons:
A free game that is open to all people, even bots and poor community people.
Possibly balancing issues with cash shop items that can mess up the feel of the game.


Both: A bit of an out-there idea where players can choose to pay a monthly sub or go the route of the free to play, Monthly subscription would allow access to all things, inventory, etc, whilst the free to play option would allow players to enjoy the game and access more things at their leisure. Or possibly having no monthly charging option, but several quality expansions to keep the business lucrative and profitable to players as well.


Please leave any of your ideas or two cents on this matter. I'm interested to hear the thoughts people have over this topic. Also, sorry if other people have brought this up before but I hadn't read much of anything on it recently. =)

[Nipa]

I have yet to see a real MMO go F2P. Most of them are going the freemium way (DDO, LOTRO, ROM). That is you can play for free, but if you want to see all the game content (the high end one generally) you have to pay something or to farm in inconceivable ways.

A real F2P system would be only based on vanity items or very low effect bonuses. LoL is a really good example of this: you can play in a competitive way without spending a single euro. But of course, its format is nothing like a traditional MMO...

[Eldaena]

I'm not sure what a 'real' MMO is, but I will take you mean big name company MMOs? Because technically every MMOs is a real MMO, I don't think they're faking. lol

[Eldaena]

Also, I don't think a freemium way is an option for this game since you have to pay for the game itself. No one would be happy about buying a game and not being able to play it all in the end without spending more money. At least under the guise of a service it sounds like it makes sense.

[yukikaze_yanagi]

don't shit in your pants: this game, until will turn in a huge flop, will never be F2P. Monthly charge, or in the worst scenario, freemium.
also, the "real mmorpgs" refear to "mmorpg with a good success and not some shitty korean game with more or less mandatory items in cash shop".
Giuld wars is the only exception but alas, don't have a persistent world

[Eldaena]

don't shit in your pants: this game, until will turn in a huge flop, will never be F2P. Monthly charge, or in the worst scenario, freemium.
also, the "real mmorpgs" refear to "mmorpg with a good success and not some shitty korean game with more or less mandatory items in cash shop".
Giuld wars is the only exception but alas, don't have a persistent world

I don't understand your post and I don't think it's my comprehension skills at fault here.

[Eldaena]

don't shit in your pants: this game, until will turn in a huge flop, will never be F2P. Monthly charge, or in the worst scenario, freemium.
also, the "real mmorpgs" refear to "mmorpg with a good success and not some shitty korean game with more or less mandatory items in cash shop".
Giuld wars is the only exception but alas, don't have a persistent world

Also some of those "shitty" Korean games are doing pretty well for themselves. The ones I have played don't have anything mandatory in their cash shops either so I'm not sure what you're on about, but maybe that's just your opinion that you need those things.

Obviously, things in a a cash shop of sorts are suppose to be appealing to the players, but not necessary. That's where the balancing comes in to play that I mentioned.

[Nipa]

I'm not sure what a 'real' MMO is, but I will take you mean big name company MMOs?

Nah, I was speaking of gameplay. I meant "with a EQ-like gameplay", like FF14 or WoW are. LoL or TF 2 can state they are MMO in the sense they have a lot of players and are online, but I wanted to exclude them.

So no MMO really went F2P, they all have a mandatory paying component if you want to do everything.

[Synthesis]

Come on. Free to play would put them down. I will pay when game is in fine state.

[Renshi]

Well, if it's Free to Play I have fun but not convenience. Just see League of Legends, it's free to play and you have to wait like from half an hour to even 2-5 hours to log in.

If it's Pay to Play, you are sure you'll receive a good service and you'll have fun with convenience. Just like Xbox 360 Gold: You have to pay for it, but you're sure you're playing with quality.

In conclusion, let them decide. I believe they're going to let this game be Pay to Play, because... dang, they took a whole lot of time and will to take this game at the state we have now, and they didn't do few.