P2P PO2P or F2P - what's the future of MMORPGs?

[Meleti]

GW2's model looks solid. Pay for the box and the expansions, with microtransacation (think server transfers and mounts) making up a large portion of their revenue.

[Edge-]

F2P and PO2P = pay to win = epic fail

Only MMOs that have failed or know they can't compete with the AAA ones on the market are f2p or PO2P.

Seriously, this is the most closed minded, incorrect assumption ever and I'm getting really confused as to why I still see it when evidence shows that the overwhelming majority of non-subscription/hybrid MMO's do not sell power.

[oldglory1977]

All of them will exist for a while.

You're missing the point with PO2P though - the huge problem with that is that there is no incentive for continued development and no reward for it either. The solution is more frequently released expansions, but that just increases the payment curve and forces other issues.

While some people like it more, I'd argue (successfully) that F2P and F2P-hybrids are vastly more successful and have more potential.

Like already mentioned, PO2P would still use microtransactions and probably real-money auction houses if D3 is successful.

EDIT: Sorry I hit reply too fast

In addition, video game companies want to strengthen their brands if they want continued success, so they would still release content and updates even if they were free of charge. Also releasing more free content gives them more opportunities to offer new payable transactions and would help persuade gamers too


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As for the thread, I think these things are the way of the future:

1. In-game ads of some form
2. Real money auction houses
3. Po2P and F2P with microtransactions for mostly cosmetic stuff
4. Digital friendly distribution to save or exploit costs
5. Game worlds that are more full and ready out of the box
6. Expansion/DLC release cycles instead of sequels

I think sub based games are a dying breed and is just a barrier for customers. With the above features you could avoid that obstacle altogether, time will tell but its hard to get gamers to throw in one or more regular fees each month, especially if their console services demand it too

[Oerba Yun Fang]

At the same time, you have people who are stuck in the "the only good MMO is an MMO with subscription fees" mentality. I'm hoping GW2 will help break some of them out of that shell.

[slipn]

It depends on the speed of content updates you expect.

For instance, Rift is updating nearly once a month with new content, I have absolutely no problems with a P2P system for that game.

TOR is doing content updates every 4 months right now (this might speed up or slow down) and it the limit of P2P unless the game is amazing.

Meanwhile if GW2 releases expansions every 4-6 months for 60$ a pop, its the same price as P2P if you want the same content.

I don't like F2P because they almost always become P2W like you noted.

This about sums it up but I could also see the price per month dropping to around 5$ a month due to the drop in server prices