In this week's edition of The Free Zone, columnist Richard Aihoshi looks at the line between free to play and not. As games adopt more hybrid business models - microtransactions or optional subscription fees - the line has gotten blurrier. Aihoshi tries to sort things out.
Will we actually see both options offered in a single title? If forced to hazard a guess, I'd venture to say we will. At first glance, this may seem like trying to mix oil and water. However, there is certainly a trend toward more diverse revenue models. This is natural and thus to be expected as an industry expands. In fact, it's a way of promoting growth; it helps to reach new consumers by providing alternatives that better fit their preferences. In a way, it's kind of like marketing changes we see all the time in other areas, such as adding a new package size, another color or a different combination of burger toppings.
We're already part of the way there. For instance, Wizard101 has two basic payment choices. One is monthly subscription, although in a still relatively unusual form that includes discounted rates for multiple accounts in a family, and also for six- and 12-month terms. The other is area-based. I haven't played the game for at least a few months now, but during the post-launch period, free players could only enter selected zones. This is still the case, with the option of buying access to the others one at a time using virtual currency; according to KingsIsle's website, the cost in real money ranges from $1 to $3.
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