General Discussion

Sony Online Entertainment has announced at the Leipzig Games Convention that they are looking at a free to play business model for their upcoming action-espionage MMO, The Agency.

At this week's Leipzig Games Convention, the president of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley held a talk on "Subscriptions vs Micro-transactions" in regards to MMO games. During the briefing, he indicated that Sony was looking at making their upcoming pc/ps3 spy-themed MMO a free play title, meaning there would be no subscription fee (unlike World of Warcraft). Instead, SOE would fund the title via micro-transactions and a 'velvet-rope policy' where certain area are only available if people pay for access.

Smedley acknowledged that consumers are used to the subscription based model (as is SOE, considering their long history of subscription based MMOs), but said that they "believe very strongly that this is the future of MMO gaming, but we also know that it is something that players have an issue with... There's going to be an aftermarket, and we want to control it so that players don't get duped into having something switched out from them."

Read more here.

No thanks. I am crossing this game out from my list.

Good job, Smed, you lost another customer.

Also, you should not call it "free to play" when you have to pay to get into a certain area and use micro-transactions to advance. Micro-transactions are small by definition, but add up to exceed the usual subscription price, if you arent careful.

THAT IS NOT FREE.

Imagine if you had to pay $.05 dollars every time you went into a battlegrounds in WoW. Thats what Smed is asking.

That might work in China, but not in the west.

Also, if the future in western MMO market is micro-transactions, I will not be interested in playing MMOs anymore...

PAY ONCE FOR EVERYTHING, NOT UNLIMITED TIMES FOR SMALL FRACTIONS.

/golf clap

While I am not a supporter of microtransactions in general, there is a bright side. It is a way for players to get a chance to try the game for free and see if they want to go further.

More importantly, it opens the way for a better business model down the line. I hope that eventually the microtransaction model evolves into something where the purchases are purely aesthetic and have no affect on gameplay. I am certain there are enough people out there that would pay extra to have flashy gear and pets, etc rather than the generic stuff that everyone else has access to. Maybe also use the microtransaction system to purchase extra potions or something if you just don't feel like grinding for something. There are plenty of uses without hurting the people who don't want to micropay.

He's not saying that every time you enter an area you pay. He's just saying it would be a small fee , once, for permanent access to that area. Not much different than an expansion really. And not for all areas. You don't have to pay the $15/month so spending that same amount on fees to unlock new content would be fine. You only have to unlock it once and only if you choose to. It would likely save money. I like the idea.

Originally posted by Ammon777

No thanks. I am crossing this game out from my list.

 

Good job, Smed, you lost another customer.

 

Also, you should not call it "free to play" when you have to pay to get into a certain area and use micro-transactions to advance. Micro-transactions are small by definition, but add up to exceed the usual subscription price, if you arent careful.

 

THAT IS NOT FREE.

 

Imagine if you had to pay $.05 dollars every time you went into a battlegrounds in WoW. Thats what Smed is asking.

 

Looks like a another winner for SOE.

*add a hint of sarcasm here

John Smedley needs to step down from this CEO throne and crawl back to the shit hole he came from.

After the SWG fuckup, this jackass still thinks that he's contributing something new and innovative to the gaming world.

I have no problem with F2Play models if they are well thought out, if SOE can manage a well thought F2P model will have to be seen. 

Maybe this will work and we can get some older games that were canceled re-released as F2P.  Hey EA, how about giving Earth and Beyond a real chance this time?  Hmmm, I feel another thread about to be deleted by EA on their forums.....

So you are wanting folks paying the Station Pass, in addition to shell out money for the "velvet rope" access? 

This game looks really unique and sweet. I dislike microtransactions myself, ESPECIALLY in a competitive environment. Like, I don't know how Xbox360 and PS3 fans deal with it. They pay $65 a game as it is, and then $30~ for all the mini-packs of crap to get the stuff that the developers made for the game already, but removed so they could charge a little extra. $2 for this armor upgrade, $5 for the rocket launcher & laser cannon upgrade, it's bogus.

But, the plus side, at least with MMOGs or near-MMOGs (Hellgate: London) is that it lets people enjoy the game for free, which brings in subscribers (Anarchy Online's 3 odd year old froob program is proof of this,) and you it lets you select the content you want. Instead of paying $40 for an expansion, you can pay $20 for the new weapons and cool new class, but leave the new areas and what not out, cause you don't care about them. This is again something that Anarchy Online is going to be doing. Offering parts of their expansions at a reduce price for those that don't really care about the whole thing. It's a bold and innovative move. But if Funcom is known for anything, it's their innovative games.

But yea, like Hellgate: London, I'll be buying this. Even if it's only to enjoy the free stuff for a few months.

Originally posted by BeowulfAgate

 Hey EA, how about giving Earth and Beyond a real chance this time?  Hmmm, I feel another thread about to be deleted by EA on their forums.....

QFT!

I would love to see a F2P/Microtransaction based E&B come back. I really enjoyed that game. But it's EA, and they screw up everything (killing that game when it could really have easily been saved. Lesser companies with WAY less budget have saved other MMOGs that were even MORE on the ropes. Look at HORIZONS!) So it'll never happen.