[CDOG14515]

As of yesterday, I was ready to quit on the F2P concept. Too many games charge you nothing up front, only to nickel-and-dime you to death until you've paid well over $60 in microtransactions, all to have a "complete" experience.

This morning I played Tribes: Ascend. If PSO2 adopts a similar F2P model, we may be okay. Too many F2P games either hide their costs behind "optional" microtransactions (LOTRO) or just feel unfinished and low-budget (Iris Online). In a perfect world (in my opinion), PSO2 would be $60 and lack a subscription fee. By costing nothing, Sega has opened the door to potentially abuse their players (not saying they will). I know some would argue that microtransactions (even in excess) within a F2P game are fair game. I simply resent this direction, something I never could have predicted I'd be saying, considering just a few years ago, a "free" game sounded amazing.

Anyways, Tribes does a good job of giving the player a lot of quality, free content up-front. It locks away upgrades, additional classes and cosmetic stuff either to be purchased by (a good amount of) in-game EXP or real money. This model seems to work well, and I hope PSO2 feels more like a whole game with microtransactions than an incomplete one we have to finish ourselves.

Any thoughts? Sorry for TLDR.

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by CDOG14515

we may be okay.

With all due respect, you should probably speak for yourself, because there are people that don't mind nickel-ing and dime-ing. F2P either works for you or doesn't. There is nothing generally wrong with the business model.

[CDOG14515]

Fair enough, I'm speaking for myself: I would rather pay some up front and have fewer (and less significant, more cosmetic) microtransactions. It was foolish to presume that my views were shared by the community, and I'm sorry if I put words in anyone's mouth.

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by CDOG14515

Fair enough, I'm speaking for myself: I would rather pay some up front and have fewer (and less significant, more cosmetic) microtransactions. It was foolish to presume that my views were shared by the community, and I'm sorry if I put words in anyone's mouth.

I wasn't try to snap at you or anything. There are definitely people who share your view, and it was often spoken about in an earlier thread. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand your concern.

[•Col•]

I don't really mind having to pay for stuff if it's F2P.... Just wish they'd stick away from recurring fees, though. I would rather that they have a permanent one-time buy option for EVERY service/item.

Still upset that there's a monthly fee just to have the ability to trade..... Just doesn't feel right to have such a basic/essential function to have a subscription.

If they went to the extreme thoguh... And made clothes/appearance items only last 30 days or whatever, I would most likely flip shit(and hopefully everyone else would too).

[youcantcatchtheblue]

For F2P, it all just depends on how discipline you are with using your money. There are A LOT of people who can easily say no to everything, not pay a single cent and still be happy with everything they have in the game. Then there are also a lot of people who can't control their spending and end up buying everything they want.

If you're really concerned about how much it's going to cost you, just be more discipline. F2P is good because it lets you decide how much you spend. It's not SEGA's fault if you can't control your own spending.

If this was P2P, at $10 a month, you'd reach $120 in one year alone. F2P is definitely cheaper.

[Randomness]

It's pointless to speculate until the CB starts and we get more information.

As noted, some games do it well, some do it horribly.

[•Col•]

Originally Posted by youcantcatchtheblue

For F2P, it all just depends on how discipline you are with using your money. There are A LOT of people who can easily say no to everything, not pay a single cent and still be happy with everything they have in the game. Then there are also a lot of people who can't control their spending and end up buying everything they want.

If you're really concerned about how much it's going to cost you, just be more discipline. F2P is good because it lets you decide how much you spend. It's not SEGA's fault if you can't control your own spending.

If this was P2P, at $10 a month, you'd reach $120 in one year alone. F2P is definitely cheaper.

The only thing is that they kinda force you into buying certain things that you would've gotten had you actually just bought a game.

I think there is a decent number of people who feel like they need more than just 1 character to play with... I'm personally fine with having only 1 character slot, but still. Then there's other stuff like buying storage space(which they could potentially screw us with, and only give us like 10 slots for items)... Meaning you kinda are required to spend the money for extra storage space if you play the game enough. Then there's paying to be able to trade... And I feel like trading is kinda essential in a PSO game. Maybe it's just me, though.

Regardless, these fees could still all easily add up to more than you would have had to spend if they bought the game and paid a monthly subscription fee. It's not just about controlling yourself from buying every last appearance item. D: Not saying it will, but you can't just say it's going to be less expensive to play PSO2 than PSO/PSU were.

[Sir Green Aluminum]

Depends on how they handle cash shop. The good thing is that the game is free, the bad thing is if non-cosmetic feces ends up in there it starts to spoil the fun. For example the super healing items Mike talked about. And if there is PvP, cash shop items should not effect your ability to win. From my experience in F2P games, I usually never spend any cash.

If it's f2p you can guarantee people will try it if they're interested. Bad thing is, spammers and scammers can just make another account if you ban them. So in a way F2P is for like socialism, people who pay for stuff end up financing the game and also pay for the baddies' access to the game.
At least it didn't cost anything and they didn't add a cash shop like Guild Wars 2 and The secret world are doing, that's pretty stupid.

[•Col•]

Originally Posted by Sir Green Aluminum

Depends on how they handle cash shop. The good thing is that the game is free, the bad thing is if non-cosmetic feces ends up in there it starts to spoil the fun. For example the super healing items Mike talked about. And if there is PvP, cash shop items should not effect your ability to win.

If it's f2p you can guarantee people will try it if they're interested. Bad thing is, spammers and scammers can just make another account if you ban them.
At least it didn't cost anything and they didn't add a cash shop like Guild Wars 2 and The secret world are doing, that's pretty stupid.

Well we already know there are going to be plenty of non-cosmetic items up for sale. The three things I mentioned in my last post are known Arkz cash services: a larger Item Storage Expansion, Extra Character Slots(you only get 1 to start with), and a monthly fee for the ability to trade with other players.

It's this kinda stuff that worries me.