Gaming is a very expensive hobby. We all know that. It’s one of the reasons free-to-play MMOs have become so popular in recent years. The future of gaming, or more specifically the future of MMOs is in free to play. If you doubt me, you just need to look at some of the company models that use to be pay to play and you’ll see the clear shift in the way things have gone. Now here are 5 reasons why free to play is the wave of the future.
5) Free to play lets people try out your game before investing in it, creating a greater attachment before asking them to put in any funds. This creates an addiction, which the consumer then feels he needs to substantiate through the spending of hard earned cash.
4) Free to play games make it so everyone can play. This allows for a wider range of competition, and stimulates the in game economy. A paying player is less likely to purchase in game items then a free to play player.
3) One obsessive free to play player, can compensate a company for the game play time of 50 others through micro transactions. This is very good for the publisher because it has the potential to generate a higher rate of revenue, without the draw backs and limitations of a monthly fee based system.
2) The design of a free to play game encourages a player to start, by giving them the piece of mind that all is not lost due being short one month on bill money. This helps players feel more confident about spending money on the game, knowing that it will not go to waste even if the following month they cannot afford to spend money.
1) Allowing free membership can get you gamer reviews, by letting anyone join in your game everyone has a chance to be a critic. Though not all reviews will be in your favor, there's a good chance they will all have a link pointing back to your service.
When it comes to free to play or pay to play, I'll always go for the free to play game first. Because the fact is, I don't want to spend money on a game I already bought, and I certainly don't want to lose my character with all his epic gear, just because I was short one or more months. Many other gamers feel the same, and that is the biggest reason free to play is a better business model, when combined with a premium mall.
