Should WoW Go Free To Play?

[neuk]

Hell no, I would stop asap if that happens. meh f2p games suck IMO

I think many people have a very dated view of the F2P model. A lot of the newer F2P games are very good and making money. Planetside 2 being one of them. I won't even look at a game now unless it's free to play. Although SWTOR F2P sucks, but only because EA are bunch of greedy feckers that don't get it.

[Deleted]

Meh , i would not like to see that happen .

[Seranthor]

World of Warcraft has been going strong since its release, but recently I've been reading threads stating that it's in decline. I have not noticed anything "declining" but I'm starting to get worried. If going F2P would bring down the quality of the game, I wouldn't want it to, and I'm also aware that WoW is still one of the best MMORPGs worldwide, and that's why those threads confused me.

I would like to get other people's opinions on the matter, and what you think should be done.

Wow may or may not go F2P... not all MMOs go there before they die... That said, the impending death of Wow is greatly exaggerated.

[yetgdhfgh]

Blizz will ride this cash cow till it reaches 2 mill subs then it will go f2p

At the end of the day the graphics look very dated compared to modern titles and its only customer loyalty that keeps it going

I want to see my character ive had since BC reach the end and blizz knows that but how long till the end is the question.

TBH i can 2 expacs till wow goes f2p then the servers shut down cause its no longer cost effective to keep them open

[XanderZone]

Its already technically free to play up to level 20, what would be nice to see would be for the trial level cap to be raised to 40 or 60 or something like that. Also maybe removing some of the restrictions on trial accounts, like not being able to use the auction house or join guilds.

I remember seeing a comment by someone at Blizzard saying they were considering doing just this.

Edit:



Why do Chinese players not count as much as western players?

Also, losing 16% of your customers is a big deal, regardless of whether or not you're market leader.

I love your idea of making the starter edition a bit better, so you have more to do. I hope they implement this some day.

[Romeothecat]

No, and it won't go free to play until it is no longer profitable (i.e. there are only like a million subscribers left)

[melodramocracy]

I think many people have a very dated view of the F2P model.

I think a lot of people have tried a lot of F2P games, and walked away rather underwhelmed.

[shise]

F2P is another concept of game.

If WoW goes F2P it will simply die.


Also, there's no reason, it's most played MMO ever and still.

[Woceip]

It's not possible for free to play to offer an increase in revenue at this time for wow. AKA: no. Besides, cost is not driving subs down. There are other reasons, but cost has got to be in the bottom 10%. People already complain about having to pay for server transfers. How much more would they complain with a true cash-shop? I realize Blizzard has some real-currency for in-game item transactions like the pet store, but that's super light, as far as that kind of thing goes.

[Tuor]

Its already technically free to play up to level 20, what would be nice to see would be for the trial level cap to be raised to 40 or 60 or something like that. Also maybe removing some of the restrictions on trial accounts, like not being able to use the auction house or join guilds.

Making starter edition able to use AH is a very unlikely thing to see. Its serves the purpose of limiting the usage of those accounts by people that are interested only on their own profict, like gold sellers.

Image someone posting a grey item on AH for the amount of gold a certain character has on a starter account, this is the same technique used by paying players to transfer gold from aliance to horde or vice-versa, in this case its being used to transfer gold to ilegal activities.

Being playing myself a starter account, those limitations serve the pourpose of preventing those accounts to be usage in such ilegal activities.

Stil, i think some things could be donne:

- Allow guild invites, but GM's would have to accept starter accounts by creating a specific guild rank. And Guild Bank would be locked for those players
- Gold cap could be raised to 100 or 500 gold. The fact is that with Starter limitations the only utility of gold is to pay repairs.
- I think the level cap could be raised at least untill level 24, most players of these accounts go for PvP, and facing players with more abilities its not fun at all. I also don't think level cap on these accounts should go over level 55.
- Professitions cap could be raised aswell until 150 skill for level 24 or 225 for level 55.

[Mawnix]

Considering there's still a profit to be made in the subscription model for the game somehow, no.

[neuk]

I think a lot of people have tried a lot of F2P games, and walked away rather underwhelmed.

And where are they walking away too, WoW? Games all going F2P because in a fragmented market if you want to survive and make money you need as many players as you can get playing your game. You may walk away from a F2P game "underwhelmed" but not everyone will feel the same as you and in the end it doesn't cost anything to find out. If you like a game you stay and spend money on it. I've already spent 70 euros on PLanetside 2. A game I thought I would never like but, because it was F2P I tried it out. F2P is the way the market is going and it's a good thing.

[Thage]

F2P is another concept of game.

If WoW goes F2P it will simply die.

Maybe. F2P transitions tend to save tanking MMOs (as seen with Age of Conan, TERA, SWTOR, and others). CoH/V had its longevity significantly increased after a F2P transition before its untimely death at the hands of NCSoft's business decisions. Everquest is now F2P and seems to be going fairly strong.

That being said, I highly, highly doubt we'll see WoW free-to-play unless it's either only to level 70 (since BC content is now rolled into the classic purchase) or a full transition with a sub option when the game dips around or below 500k subs (which I think is when the game probably starts running at a loss or breaks even).

[ReleaseDay]

Some times i certainly hate posters on these forums *Facepalm* The way you lift topic that has no reason for it. So yes they've had a loss of the playerbase but they are still on 8M+ players. That is eight million players +. 8.000.000. Are you suggesting they should go f2p? *facepalm* This topic should not even be raised until(if) the playerbase drops to less than 500k

[LilSaihah]

That being said, I highly, highly doubt we'll see WoW free-to-play unless it's either only to level 70 (since BC content is now rolled into the classic purchase) or a full transition with a sub option when the game dips around or below 500k subs (which I think is when the game probably starts running at a loss or breaks even).

Isn't Wrath included in Vanilla too, or is that the battle chest

But yeah, even if it'd end up running a profit for Blizzard, it's doubtful they'd make the switch because it's too risky a move.

[Tofifi]

No it shouldn't.

[sharpy]

No at this point and time it would be a cash loss for them to go free to play.

[neuk]

I can understand why Blizzard would stick to the current model. Going F2P would effectively cut off revenue from subscriptions. There are already making money like the F2P crowd with their own cash shop. So from a financial viewpoint going F2P would not make sense.
What I don't get is why people think F2P would ruin the game. As long as they didn't make it P2W or pull a SWTOR, all it would do is remove a barrier to playing. It would bring back a lot talented old players that left and new ones. Why is having more people playing WoW a bad thing? Would you not want to see old friends returning to WoW?

[Aquamonkey]

Why do Chinese players not count as much as western players?

Also, losing 16% of your customers is a big deal, regardless of whether or not you're market leader.

Asia only accounts for 7-8% of Blizzard's income despite having more than half of WoW's subs.

I'm not surprised by anything. That being said, who would go F2P when you have 8.5 million people paying you $15 a month to play?

Only half those subs (WoW West) pay $15/mo.

[Pann]

Considering there's still a profit to be made in the subscription model for the game somehow, no.

The issue is not whether there is a profit to made from the subscription model rather is there more to made from the F2P model.