....and I qualify as one of the top 30 aces according to score and stats yet there are plenty of pilots with lesser scores who would wax my bellybutton in a regular 1 v 1 Co-E matchup. Dunno what your point was here guys
Slugged, EA and Activision do not offer any games with the same kind of persistent 24/7 massively multiparallel online simulation that HTC does. What most proponents of the "free-play" right fail to understand is that it takes alot of money to support the hardware and network infrastructure required for just such a game. Because of these costs, HTC has to charge a usage fee for the game.
Now, to refute another point of yours, the software in itself is free, just like Warbirds is. Like Warbirds, you will even be able to fly against a friend using the Head to Head capability of the software. This too is free. What is not free, however, is the arena containing many pilots ready and willing to wax your ass.
HTC is offering a service. You must pay for that service if you desire it. Its the capitalist way.
-Ding