Is Free to Play Really Free?
One of the most controversial subjects in the MMO community is if "Free to Play" games are really GOOD for the developers and community as a whole.
It's exactly as you picture it being, you can just randomly download and play without a snitch or a dollar for that point.
Free games, how is that bad? Well it very literally makes no sense for a well-made AAA big-budget game to be "Free". The world once again very literally runs on money so the game has to make money in one way or another.
and that one way or another part is really important due to the fact that the way money is taken away from the player is not always good.
The Bad
By this I mean something like the mobile game Star Trek: Trexels which not be an MMO or a free-to-play game but I feel it has several qualities that aid in making my point. Ok so you just bought a iphone or ipad and is excitied when you download your first game star trek themed too. you have fun for awhile you pay a dollar or two but you don't feel like they were wasted, and right before you go to the second set of planets they ask you rate the game and of course you give it a good rating. After that you see the gigantic pay wall or galaxy I guess. What do I mean by this? Well all of the planets take a ridiculous amount of resources to "unlock" a timer from which you have to wait out for one bit of info and these resources take 6+ hours to gather without spending a dime. Of course it can be averted with a few "crystals" and if you don't want to pay these crystals just go and get one of these crystals literally spending hours within a mini game.
This also transfers over into First Person Shooter games when the weapons that are paid for with real money reign supreme over the starter weapons you are given.
Now I believe the "proper" or most popular way that money is taken and still leaves a good taste in the payer's mouth, is special equipment and or change of your character's appearance and has no long bearing on combat or some godly advantage over other players.
I love MMOs. I do, but I really don't know why. Most of the time their mind-numbingly boring with the occasional boss fight. Maybe it's the fact that i'm not good at socilizing and don't like my general appearance and in MMOs I can be who I want to be. Or maybe it was just me glad I had something to play because i'm not like of other who buy multiplayer (Like COD) games and play that one game for years. I could and alot of people do that with MMO games infact it's completely cut off from all other genres of gaming. I personally know mainstream gamers who just simply don't like to play MMO games after the first few hours if even that. And I know almost all MMO players wouldn't touch mainstream games with a 100-foot long stick.
This also transfers over into First Person Shooter games when the weapons that are paid for with real money reign supreme over the starter weapons you are given.
The Good
Now I believe the "proper" or most popular way that money is taken and still leaves a good taste in the payer's mouth, is special equipment and or change of your character's appearance and has no long bearing on combat or some godly advantage over other players.My Opinion
I love MMOs. I do, but I really don't know why. Most of the time their mind-numbingly boring with the occasional boss fight. Maybe it's the fact that i'm not good at socilizing and don't like my general appearance and in MMOs I can be who I want to be. Or maybe it was just me glad I had something to play because i'm not like of other who buy multiplayer (Like COD) games and play that one game for years. I could and alot of people do that with MMO games infact it's completely cut off from all other genres of gaming. I personally know mainstream gamers who just simply don't like to play MMO games after the first few hours if even that. And I know almost all MMO players wouldn't touch mainstream games with a 100-foot long stick.
But it's gets insanely repetitive after countless hours due to MMOs being designed so you never beat it. but the point i'm trying to get to is that "Free" does not mean "Good" no matter which one of the methods of payment above is used. I confused two words and I know many others do as well and when it comes down to it MMOs are just gigantic games and because they're so big they have lower quality than other AAA titles and noting ever truly comes free in the world we live in so if we can just accept that and see the game as it truly is just another game than whatever problem we have with the game is actually with the game itself.
Conclusion
I'm sorry I haven't made any posts in awhile! I just wasn't inspired but as soon I start pressing keys I really can't stop, and this was a product of that.
I'm going to make one or two more posts concerning MMOs dealing with it's affect on the social life, the good, the bad, and the real AKA my opinion
I don't want to report news I want to talk about topics so if anyone wants me to talk about something i'll make it a field day but I find there no need to me report news that everyone already hear from all the YouTube commentators and other gaming sites
and finally share this post and the blog if you liked and follow by email if you desire these opinion pieces I do
Now if you accuse me time to go play some DC Universe Online and hopefully manage to work some sleep in there somehow
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