General Discussion

I do not understand how people hate cash shop items (which is optional) turn around and pay games like WoW or AoC (which is not optional).   

You cannot like cash item games and then at the same time pay a monthly fee of $15 for fee base games.  It is hypocrisy.

You either like free games or not.

so everyone paying for access to a well supported game is the same as some people paying for an advantage in a supposedly "free" game?

Sorry, cash shops are simply game companies replacing ebay.  People don't like having to pay huge amounts of money to be on a level playing field with other people.  in WoW you pay 1 flat fee to play the game and everyone is even.  in a F2P with cash shop you get a shallow game in which other people spend hundreds of dollars to be better than you with little to no work.  some people like that, some people don't.  to say people can't approve of what they see as "fair play" if they don't approve of in game ebay is silly.

It's very simple to understand. in P2P everybody has the same opportunity to have gear and everybody spends the same. And the game has some quality.

In F2P they force you to buy items, you are always suffering to spend less but you really would want to buy lots of things and finally you end up spending more than with a P2P game. And you get less quality.

Most cash items can be traded in-game so a non-paying player can get cash shop item.

From what I understand the sticking point of cash shop item games is the cost - which is still cheaper than fee based games.

Quality and fairness.   F2P games are horribly designed for the most part.  That's why they're free.  They can't get people to spend a monthly fee on them.  Most people don't really like the idea that the more you PAY, the better your character is.  You should invest in playing, not paying.   Its about as fair as a bunch of teens using their Honda, racing against a NASCAR team.

The quality between AAA MMOs and free games is night and day. 

I don't have a strong opinion of games with cash shops. BUT I personally think it makes the company backing the game look like scum. Like they are trying to bait their already measly player base by dangling goodies in front of their face and requesting money to get it. Goodies that require them to click one button and make it happen.

Heck I view money-shops worse than RMTers because at least the RMTers had to WORK for their goods and not just click one button.

In most cs game everything that is not vital to the game is a cash shop item. Exp booster to make the gring which in msot f2p makes wow's grind seem enjoyable, cloacks masks... enchants for your weapons. In most of these games the players that dominate the game are the guys that spend 100$ a week to max enchant their weapons and are very high level.

So cs games end up being very expensive if you want to be part of the high level grps.

This is mirroring what everyone else has said, but P2P games simply have less disparity in terms of skills/equipment from player to player. It generally isn't fair for someone to dump a wad of cash onto a game and get the same results instantly as what another person would yield after months upon months of play (if even that, most cash shops offer "godly" items or customization features that normal players will never be able to access). Usually these F2P games with cash shops have horribly balanced player combat systems, and the quality of development just isn't there. IMO, most sub-standard games on the market use cash shops to attract the instant-gratification crowd in order to make up for the lack of a strong standard player base.

In general...F2P attracts lots of kids (cash shops or not).  P2P attracts fewer kids.

P2P >> F2P

Originally posted by Thradar

In general...F2P attracts lots of kids (cash shops or not).  P2P attracts fewer kids.

 

P2P >> F2P

This is true. Even though WoW gets its fair share of script-kiddies, I've seen far worse player communities in F2P games with CS structuring.

Can someone name one F2P game that has the same quality as WoW, AoC or LOTRO?

In any game I want to see lots of background story and lore, an easy to use interface, possibly a built in tutorial and fluid graphics.  I've played a few F2P games and none of them even came close to the mainstream P2P games.

As for paying a monthly fee, $15 a month is not much when you consider that I can easily spend more then that for one night at the movies which is only a couple of hours of entertainment.

*edit for bad spelling