MMO Subscription Model Dead?

[Ack-Ack]

Most of this is based off of the success of WoT and the millions of dollars they've made.

Most of them are not P2W (just as WoT is not P2W), you just get extra stuff like more money/XP than your average joe who plays for free.
Heck, even BF3 has a F2P style to it now. "Premium accounts" etc.

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Biggest downside to F2P? Terrible communities.

WoT is a good example of a F2P game that is "pay to win".  Those that do not use the items store in WoT will always be at a disadvantage against someone that does.

And no, the current rise of F2P games was not influenced by WoT's success.

ack-ack

[MarineUS]

WoT is a good example of a F2P game that is "pay to win".  Those that do not use the items store in WoT will always be at a disadvantage against someone that does.

And no, the current rise of F2P games was not influenced by WoT's success.

ack-ack

We did a study in WoT (totally separate from AH) some time ago.
Gold round: Gets proven every single day during clan wars that they bounce just as much. You get maybe a 2% increase in pen over average rounds, and any good WoT player will let you know that is not enough to give an auto-win. There's a guy that has dropped over 15K into WoT. If it's Pay to Win then why doesn't he have a 100% Win ratio?

Premium Account: 50% more XP and credits; no benefit there

Gold Consumables: Give you chance of not catching on fire. It's already rare. Boost? None.

Premium Tanks: Make extra credits, sub-par vehicles compared to tanks of the same tier.

Where is the pay to win?   

I take it that "P2W" is "Pay to Win", in that case WoT defanately fits the bill. Run any tier 5 tank off the tech tree and run into a Churchill, Churchill wins. Same with the Type 59, and KV-4. Want to win in Wot, you don't have to be good, just buy a premium tank.

Lol? PzIV, M4, KV-1 will destroy the churchill. Premium tanks are built to be WORSE than tanks of the same tier. I can prove it with a video when I can afford a new computer.

[CAP1]

Sure it is, You DONT have to buy the crap they offer. One of the biggest free to play games out(APB reloaded) I havent spent money on at all,  only the ingame money from smash and grabs and mugging poeple. There are things that I would spend money on but its not necessary

 what he meant by "free to play isn't really free", was that someone pays for it. in this instance it's the advertisers. but someone pays for it.

[guncrasher]

WoT is a good example of a F2P game that is "pay to win".  Those that do not use the items store in WoT will always be at a disadvantage against someone that does.

And no, the current rise of F2P games was not influenced by WoT's success.

ack-ack

a gold round doesnt really make a difference if you miss.  and a gold round wont cause more damage than a regular round.  and getting all the extrans for one tank in every match is pretty expensive and I dont think a good percentage of the players do it.


semp

[Pigslilspaz]

Not all F2P games are "Play to Win" where you're forced purchase items to advance and be able to compete.  Turbine has shown that a hybrid F2P model can work and be very successful.

ack-ack

The same with League of Legends, anything you buy with real money you can get for free (by earning in game money for playing for a while), except for different Champion skins, which they constantly put 3 random ones on sale every 4-5 days to entice you to buy them. What can I say, Surprise Party Fiddlesticks was just too awesome to pass up.

Why have THIS:


When you can have THIS:

[Babalonian]

I think it's just evolving, as people are pointing out you pay for it in teh end somehow.  I got a couple friends playing SWTOR, it's goign to be subsciption free in November they say.  If I upgrade my computer I might waste an hour here or there with them in it.

[bozon]

The F2P games with micro transactions are good for games with "progression". The classic examples are RPGs. This allows you to spend just a couple of hours a month, leave the game for extended periods and come back to the exact same point where you left. With subscription, you pay even if you do not play.

The only such game I play is City of Heros. I already shelled out a few $$ in their shop, but that is still much less than a subscription over the time I played. On the other hand, had it not been F2P I would have not played and paid at all. That game is PvE so there is no "pay to win".

In a game like AH, there is no progression, unless you consider perk hoarding "progression". Close the account, come back in two months, start a new account and are exactly in the same spot as when you left.

[GScholz]

Well the AH F2P setup would have to be buying perks for $ and perhaps you'd have to unlock some special rides/perks planes with $. Also the special event arenas could be "premium account" only. Large "free" player base of noobs to shoot down in the MA, but mostly veteran players in special events.

[Babalonian]

I would have no qualms if HTC's sold 1k perk points for like $25.  I personaly won't spend the extra cash, after playing regularly for a few weeks/months nobody will/should have to, but others might (especialy those short on time but maybe have some spending money), and if throwing away ~5 262s or a couple boxes of B29s nets some extra cash for HTCs then so be it (and while potentialy powerful nuicencas, players not spending that $ but who succeed in shooting them down will net a nice perk bonus for their efforts/troubles).