henke on 7/2/2012 at 15:13
FREE TO PLAY = NO BUY
literally.
Koki on 7/2/2012 at 17:29
Quote Posted by Kroakie
12.12.12 seems a long way off.
Hopefully it won't end up like 11.11.11
catbarf on 7/2/2012 at 20:45
If the full game is coming out at the end of the year, I'd imagine a playable beta is coming very soon.
faetal on 27/2/2012 at 21:47
“We think that $8 billion to $10 billion will migrate away from packaged goods games and free-to-play will be a lightning rod for those dollars.”
...have I misunderstood the meaning of "free to play"?
Yakoob on 27/2/2012 at 22:54
Heh, I just noticed they are located in Alhambra, CA. When I exit my apartment complex and look left, I see the "welcome to Alhambra" sign. I should apply to work with them :p
catbarf on 28/2/2012 at 03:37
Quote Posted by faetal
“We think that $8 billion to $10 billion will migrate away from packaged goods games and free-to-play will be a lightning rod for those dollars.”
...have I misunderstood the meaning of "free to play"?
Free to play inevitably means some things will be paid for, and only the core gameplay is free.
Muzman on 28/2/2012 at 06:13
Advertising too.
Totalbiscuit made a good point about free-to-play when he was talking about Tribes. It's got a certain appeal because people aren't committing large amounts of money up front so are more inclined to just casually try it. Ultimately people just want to play the multiplayer game that other people are playing, otherwise what's the point. Going up against the CODs and Team Fortresses of the world, as well as a pile of free mods and so on, is pretty daunting. Many many many, probably quite good, games have died trying to do that. The latest big name I can think of is Brink, which is supposed to be fine. But if no one's playing it, no one's putting up $60 or whatever it is.
It's still a gamble, but there's some sound reasoning there.
faetal on 28/2/2012 at 10:26
Hmmm. With FtP don't you end up with castes though? Where the rich kids who can afford all of the bells and whistle trample all over the paupers with their tatty social welfare equipment?
Muzman on 28/2/2012 at 11:23
If they go the freemium route, yeah it's a risk. They may not. I've also heard Tribes sorts people fairly well so you're playing with people on your level, so they may do that.
Really though, all I'm talking about is why a multiplayer game would choose this path over outright selling the game. How it works out after that is another thing. It resonates with me as well. A multiplayer shooter seems like a lot of commitment. You don't want to get left behind on the skill curve so you have to keep playing. Gotta track down good places and people to play with. And that's if it is good and popular enough to get a scene worth playing in. They just seem like a lot of work.
Eliminating up front costs takes the pressure off for trying it out to someone like me, in a way that a demo can't really do.
It's just the first step, but I can see how that'd look like a good way for a game like this to get a good player base right off the bat.
