Free MMOs vs. Subscription Based MMOs

[TheTygerfire]

Okay, I've been pretty big on Free MMOs for a while. I think that from many standpoints the free ones are better. For one, they obviously don't cost anything unless you actually feel like paying for items with cash. They aren't as taxing on a computer as other big publisher MMOs with the admittedly dated graphics. And they don't demand a full commitment to the game every second of your day. You can come back and play when ever you want.

Now, their are some drawbacks...

Obviously, they're free, so they don't work as well as they should sometimes. And they don't have a lot of the options that the pay-to-play MMOs have. The first time I played the game Air Rivals, everyone save for one or two people had the Light Yagami looking character model (including me).

What your take on this? Enjoy an inferior game free or get the full experience for a monthly fee? (hehe, see? Experience....I made a joke unintentionally....I'll leave now...)

Edit: Oh, back, but just for this....



MUHMORPEHGER

>_>

 

[Singing Gremlin]

I personally prefer pay to play. Free games are pretty much a jerk magnet.

 

[danielm1129]

I quit playing WoW because I was sick of paying the subscription fee. It's not expensive but I hate budgeting for that kinda stuff. I'd rather play the free ones because I don't need to make a commitment I may not be able to keep.

 

[kapzer]

Easily P2P. I've seen both ends of the spectrum. And if you look at it from a consumer viewpoint, if you really want the full experience out of either, f2p ends up more expensive than p2p.

 

[xitel]

Guild Wars sounds like your best bet. You pay once, for the account, and then no more subscriptions.

 

[LucanDesmond]

The first time I played the game Air Rivals, everyone save for one or two people had the Light Yagami looking character model
>_>

I played Maplestory for a while, and almost everyone was named Sasuke, or some variation of that name.

 

[Aethonic]

The more expensive and harder it is to pay for a game, the fewer "undesirables" you'll get.

I think a system like Guild Wars is my favorite, since it sort of makes sense and forces the developers to always be developing new content, since that's how they get paid. It's unfortunate that the only game that uses this system is also one of the most boring games I've ever played.

If free-to-play games had more effort put into them, I could see them being seen as a lot more legitimate of a business model. There's a lot of garbage that's coloring general opinion against them, and it takes a real effort to go beyond that. It's games like the new Shin Megami Tensei MMO (Item Mall) that give me just a little faith that maybe that model can someday be used for something respectable.

 

[hellthins]

Subscription fees aren't bad as long as the game is good and likes to regularly update itself with new content. For example, City of Heroes/Villains regularly releases these absolutely massive updates that include new zones, new features, new power sets, and in the case of a recent update two completely new classes. And the big next patch is going to include a mission editor.

That being said, if pay to play is only getting me tweaks and balancing, I'm a little less interested in it.

As for free to play, it's a real crapshoot. I haven't played one that I thought was good, though the communities can be decent.

 

[almo]

I played some Maple Story and Travian. Travian has a gaping design hole as there's no reason for experienced people not to farm noobs. Quit that game fast. Maple Story is cute and fun to a point, but not much on social aspects. WoW was pretty good, but I found it ultimately dull for similar reasons, but I'd rather play WoW than Maple Story because it's deeper and more complex. The MMO I still play is EVE, and the subscription doesn't bother me.

 

[Erana]

I don't have the time to committ to a pricy MMO. I just use Fiesta do have Solja Boy dance parties.

 

[Laughing Man]

I used to play a free MMO called Tibia play for free and get limited access to magic, abilities, areas and advantages. Pay and you get the whole lot. I played that game for two years until I worked out that it is essentially what ZP described it to be 'grind' and 'spiders'. After that I gave up and swore I would never start another MMO. I stuck with FPS based instant gratification with TF and BF2 and car based idicoy with Burnout Paradise...


...until three days ago when after reading the post in here about EVE I thought I would give it a go. Yup the 'grind' and 'spiders' that killed Tibia for me and that ZP used in his very review to describe EVE didn't turn me away. The worrying thing is I am actually considering paying for at least 3 months once my 14 days free trial is over.

 

[Wislong]

Easily P2P. I've seen both ends of the spectrum. And if you look at it from a consumer viewpoint, if you really want the full experience out of either, f2p ends up more expensive than p2p.

He's got a point, if you want a good game, sadly you'll have to pay for it =\
Games like Runescape can be free, but if you want to "Play" them properly, it requires a fee.

The MMO market is really well ballanced at the moment, meaning that you can just pick what you like. Most of the most popular games give some form of free trail, so just browse around.

Games like WoW are popular for a reason, but it doesn't mean you have to like them. I'd advise looking into:

World Of Warcraft (Played for a few months; Good but not my thing)
City of Heros/Villans (Not played, but heard good things of it)
Warhammer Online (Very good, but requires some form of God-Computer)
Guild Wars (Only a one off payment)
Runescape (A lot cheaper, but has it's limitations...and noobs)

 

[TheTygerfire]

Does a game that supports itself through means other than charging the players count as a Free MMO even if you still have to pay for the software?

No, I mean if you wanted to you wouldn't have to pay a cent to play it. Free to get, free to play, free to stay.

 

[Neosage]

Used to play free only recently got into WoW but I'm not gonna subscribe with a credit card, if I wanna pay for a month I will buy one of those card things off amazon.

 

[Saevus]

GW is hardly "free".

Sure, you can buy the original, if you enjoy being stuck in Yawnsville, farming Underworld forever and being unable to do jack because half the skills and items in the game are for the expansions, not unloved and boring Prophecies.

Or you can cough up the money for FOUR SEPARATE GAMES and get an actual MMO, at which point you may as well have just bought a full year's subscription for an MMO with some actual endgame content.

GW is more "optionally low-priced if you don't mind getting the shaft" than "free".

 

[Grand_Poohbah]

I recently quit WoW. I tried looking around for some free MMO's, but I couldn't find anything I liked. Too many of them we're really JRPGy and a lot of them had free aspects, but bonuses for paying. I personally would prefer something with a subscription because the company is obligated to improve things to keep getting your money.

 

[Omnidum]

The first time I played the game Air Rivals, everyone save for one or two people had the Light Yagami looking character model
>_>

I played Maplestory for a while, and almost everyone was named Sasuke, or some variation of that name.

I named myself Monkeybar the short time I played it.

But to answer this thread, I mostly prefer One-time payment and F2P MMORPG's.

 

[Panayjon]

I've played Silkroad Online, Ragnarok Online, Maple Story, Flyff, Sword of the New World, Mabinogi, and a few other games I don't even care to remember. Here's the thing. Of all those titles, each one had even MORE grind than most pay to play MMOs.

Sure they might have had a niche here or there that separated it from the rest of the pack, but they were always poorly optimized and lacking in variety of content. Never had a sense of community either, most being far too solo-happy or simply not speaking the same language.