Originally Posted by
chazus
Buy to Play: You pay for the game itself, usually a one time purchase. Much akin to GW2
Free to Play: The game it utterly, completely free to play the majority of the content. Other things (cosmetic, or possibly advancing faster) is buyable. Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone are both Free to Play. Wildstar will be F2P soon.
Pay to Play (Subscription): WoW, Wildstar's current thing. You pay a monthly fee (and may also have to pay to get core game, but not necessarily). EVE is also such.
None of these are necessarily tied to systems where you can pay via in-game methods (WoW Tokens, CREDD, Plex, etc)
Notably, Wildstar is taking on an odd hybrid, where it is F2P, but has a Subscription still for advanced features that are NOT cosmetic. This includes improved AH use, XP boosts, crafting boosts, and other various perks. It does not outright prevent much, but gives perks to those who use it.
None of these systems are 'better' or 'worse', they're simply platforms, however, it is generally considered that if you have a Subscription game that actually thrives, it's a success, and that game is usually considered more robust. WoW, EVE, FF14 (This is debateable since it had an awful start, and had to be redone after release). I think Lineage is still sub based, and has a large revenue.
HOWEVER
There are notable differences when a game changes platforms. GW2 was always B2P, was built on such, and has thrived fabulously. Many other MMO's that started as a subscription, and changed to B2P or F2P often are considered 'failed' and are just struggling to survive that way. "Going F2P" is often the indicator "You done goofed" in the technology world. It's the game equivalent of a major AAA Game Studio switching to Mobile Games only.
A lot of people prefer B2P over F2P for a few reasons.
B2P Pros
-Accessibility. Buying the game ($20) acts as a gate from a huge flood of people simply joining the game, which can ruin communities and atmosphere.
-More income for the developer, by having that money go to them if people want to play.
B2P Cons
-Less people playing due to initial cost, meaning less possible people using the paid services. I haven't spent a cent on hearthstone, personally, but I play it. If they made it B2P (while keeping other paid stuff intact as is), I simply wouldn't play, thus reducing the chance I might ever buy a pack or something.
F2P Pros
-More people in game, more exposure, more chances to sell in-game stuff and features. Some people might be more willing to spend some money once they're more invested in the game.
F2P Cons
-Higher demand for, and on servers
-More costs and audience demand for content
-Possibly damaging image and community
There's certainly more pros and cons to both, that was just off the top of my head.