Too free-to-Play

Business model Free-to-Play in MMO games more than a dozen times stamped iron, scolded, condemned and kicked. In a gaming environment, the term was generally transformed into an offensive expression Pay-to-Win (“Pay to win”), which briefly and capaciously reflects the whole meaning of the way to receive money by the developers. On the other hand, more and more new projects come out precisely using this model. Moreover, not newcomers in the industry are working on them at all, but the seasoned wolves of Gamdev, such as Crytek, who have Crysis and Far Cry behind their shoulders. Are they able to dry with their labors a pretty slender image of Free-to-Play Games?

Nextgen Edition

It’s nice to realize that to answer the question “to be or not to be honest free-to-Play?”First of all, the gamers who do this on a democratic and extremely simple principle of generating a crispy ruble are ahead.
Now the players have become much more selective and are very reluctant to part with blood, which are ready to spend only valuable things or interesting content. In the competition for hearts and wallets, browser projects greedy to the money lost and survived their century, displaced from the market with conscientious Free-to-Play games.
Thanks to this, on the street localized for the Russian -speaking audience, a holiday also occurs. For example, the Free MMORPG Forsaken World, which is a representative of client games with a new generation Free-to-Play model, appeared on the domestic market.
The project’s intra-game store from the Chinese studio Beijing Perfect World does not invite players to purchase a “wax stick” or equipment with a five-digit increase in characteristics. Its assortment is almost entirely of pirate, secular, devil-know-and-which costumes, as well as unique pets and sled animals. Moreover, their peculiarity in comparison with free analogues is not expressed in an increased indicator of damage or protection, but in the appearance. Beijing Perfect World decided not to introduce objects for real money into the game, which will destroy the Forsaken World balance, and limited themselves to cosmetics and ruffles.
Innovative act, let and not quite characteristic of Asian developers. However, in the light of the recent statements of the art director of Crytek (he said that Russian gamers do not need games in which you can get an advantage over others), the solution looks quite thoughtful.
Of course, there may be a suspicion that the developers will not be able to maintain such a large -scale project afloat, selling only decorations only. World practice talks about the opposite. The Forsaken World store in its assortment resembles it in the Arena American MMO Guild Wars popular in the West.Net. This online game has successfully lived for 7 years, selling only carnival outfits and additional slots in the character’s chest. Now the second part of the series is being prepared for the release, which will form the assortment of its in -game store, adhering to the same principles.

Note: Of course, the Guild Wars https://loot-casino.co.uk/ series does not apply to the clean model Free-to-Play, but by the Buy-to-Play-related scheme with it. However, the principles of the work of the in -game store are identical in them.

The price of the issue

Divided by thousands of kilometers, Beijing Perfect World and Arena.NET when adapting the Free-to-Play model to their games, they thought in the same direction. So, in GW2 and Forsaken World there is a special currency for which purchases are made in the in -game store. It can be purchased both for real money and for intra -game coins. Thanks to this, active users can buy costumes and consumables without investing in the game no ruble. The same players who do not want to spend time on the clamping of the condition, but are ready to part with real money, can purchase this intermediate currency, and then sell it for intra -game coins. So they can not only buy something in the store, but also calmly use the auction to buy, for example, equipment or weapons. As they say: “Both the wolves are full and the sheep are intact”. The developers in this way completely control cash flows, riding themselves from annoying and harmful sellers of game gold.
Developing your vision Free-to-Play, Beijing Perfect World does not disdain experiments. In the last update, another store was introduced into the game, in which some shopping items for money appeared. However, purchases there are not for intra -game gold, but for activity points. Now even newcomers who cannot earn enough Forsaken World currency are not ready to pay their own money, they can get free, for example, a VIP account, or a sled animal (albeit temporarily). To do this, you just need to complete the tasks and pump your character.
The reason for the goodwill gesture is obvious to all the newcomers Forsaken World. When you go into the game, you immediately understand that they are trying to create the most comfortable conditions for you and even offer items that were previously sold for real money, absolutely free. At the same time, no one obliges anyone to farm or dance with a tambourine. Activity points are earned for passing quests and increasing the level. These pleasant bonuses make you return to the project again and again in order to get this tonic or “that riding mount”. In the meantime, you do this, the level is quietly selected at 30, when the Forsaken World blooms with all the colors and it becomes difficult to abandon it.

It will be better to live, comrades. It will become more fun to live

Guild Wars 2 and Forsaken World-the first swallows of an honest free-to-Play, which can turn everything upside down and change the spoiled image of this business model. To do this, they need to become successful, attract players and, in the end, please their publishers with good dividends. Perhaps then, in the following in their footsteps, the in-game store will not be perceived as something indecent, and the offensive definition of the “Donator” will sink into oblivion.

The strange system of drafts, which are published by the date of the creation of the material, and not today, made me repost the material. Enjoy!