Posted July 14, 2012
I was just over on the Steam forums for Tribes: Ascend. I was interested in reading some feedback on how people are finding the game. I've installed it and done some tutorial stuff to get a handle on skiing and using the jetpack to get around but I haven't played a match yet. It looks like it will be fun. Maybe I'll get around to that later on today.
Anyway, there was yet another post bemoaning how terrible it is to have to pay something for a "supposedly free to play" game. I posted the following reaction to that and thought I'd share it here.
It surprises me how often people actually expect a free lunch with the free to play revenue model. Notice I said "revenue model." Publishers and developers going with F2P are not charity organizations seeking to provide free entertainment to the masses that is so awesome they wouldn't care about spending a dime on the game. Quite the contrary, the games are deliberately crafted to extract more money, not less than the traditional fixed price model for selling computer games.
Tribes: Ascend in particular seems to implement this system really well because the game is not so hamstrung at the outset that it cannot be played successfully and be fun. However, a large amount of goodies are locked up behind XP grinds that can be lessened or eliminated entirely by spending real money.
Here is the cool thing about this model of selling games for the game makers: the cost of the total, complete, nothing missing package is often MORE than buying say, the current Call of Duty. You do actually get something for spending more money here potentially if you choose to though. Unlike a game like Call of Duty or Battlefield 3, etc. with Tribes Ascend you could on day one buy EVERYTHING pretty much, right? What would this COMPLETE game cost you though, with EVERYTHING included and NO WAITING (which they know very many of us do not want to do)? I am too lazy to add it all up but it would not surprise me if the grand total exceeds $60. USD. Well, what do you know about that? Very clever, I say.
Please keep in mind, these points are not made to be critical of Tribes or its developers in particular. This is just commentary about the free to play revenue model in general. It was always intended as a way to at LEAST make as much money as with traditional methods and preferably MORE money.
Why is this a surprise to so many people? Why do people actually expect the full amazing experience for free? How the heck would the game developers and publishers stay in business if they did not deliberately set it up so that many if not most people would wind up shelling out some cash to them for their efforts. That seems fair enough. Most of the time, there really is not a free lunch. I think some people need to get real about that.
It is better to judge a game like Tribes: Ascend on the quality of the entertainment experience itself with the expectation that of course you are going to need to spend some money to get whatever customized version of the initial game you want on day one or even as time goes by.
If you really like this game the question is then, okay, so what is it worth to you to have whatever level of stuff you want without the grind? Or maybe even you are one of the minority who are completely fine with the grind. In that case, lucky you. You do get a free lunch but I doubt there will be a ton of folks dining at the free lunch table. Most are going to want faster xp at least, maybe the starter pack, maybe a gun or two right now, maybe a cool class to unlock without waiting, etc. So maybe all that stuff costs you say, twenty bucks? That's a pretty damned good deal for a high quality shooter you enjoy with the trimmings you are happy with and you can earn the rest over time.
F2P isn't all bad. It does give you choice about how much you want to buy into a game and affords some opportunities to decide what is worth it to you and what is not. Just don't expect a free ride and then come bitching when the full boat, deluxe, all included ride isn't free. That was never going to be the deal. Surely, that cannot really surprise a rational person who gives this even the most minimal consideration.
Yet time and again there are posts whining about how badly a game sucks and isn't worth it because you have to spend money on this, that or the other thing in the game. What makes these folks feel entitled to something for nothing?
The last time I saw a truly and completely free high quality online FPS game was Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. I bet people are still playing that game too. There's a free lunch and it is a tasty one too. Thank you ID Software.
Generally speaking though, free to play is not really free, not for the game you really want and that is just exactly how they intended it to be. This should come as no surprise to anyone.
Anyway, there was yet another post bemoaning how terrible it is to have to pay something for a "supposedly free to play" game. I posted the following reaction to that and thought I'd share it here.
It surprises me how often people actually expect a free lunch with the free to play revenue model. Notice I said "revenue model." Publishers and developers going with F2P are not charity organizations seeking to provide free entertainment to the masses that is so awesome they wouldn't care about spending a dime on the game. Quite the contrary, the games are deliberately crafted to extract more money, not less than the traditional fixed price model for selling computer games.
Tribes: Ascend in particular seems to implement this system really well because the game is not so hamstrung at the outset that it cannot be played successfully and be fun. However, a large amount of goodies are locked up behind XP grinds that can be lessened or eliminated entirely by spending real money.
Here is the cool thing about this model of selling games for the game makers: the cost of the total, complete, nothing missing package is often MORE than buying say, the current Call of Duty. You do actually get something for spending more money here potentially if you choose to though. Unlike a game like Call of Duty or Battlefield 3, etc. with Tribes Ascend you could on day one buy EVERYTHING pretty much, right? What would this COMPLETE game cost you though, with EVERYTHING included and NO WAITING (which they know very many of us do not want to do)? I am too lazy to add it all up but it would not surprise me if the grand total exceeds $60. USD. Well, what do you know about that? Very clever, I say.
Please keep in mind, these points are not made to be critical of Tribes or its developers in particular. This is just commentary about the free to play revenue model in general. It was always intended as a way to at LEAST make as much money as with traditional methods and preferably MORE money.
Why is this a surprise to so many people? Why do people actually expect the full amazing experience for free? How the heck would the game developers and publishers stay in business if they did not deliberately set it up so that many if not most people would wind up shelling out some cash to them for their efforts. That seems fair enough. Most of the time, there really is not a free lunch. I think some people need to get real about that.
It is better to judge a game like Tribes: Ascend on the quality of the entertainment experience itself with the expectation that of course you are going to need to spend some money to get whatever customized version of the initial game you want on day one or even as time goes by.
If you really like this game the question is then, okay, so what is it worth to you to have whatever level of stuff you want without the grind? Or maybe even you are one of the minority who are completely fine with the grind. In that case, lucky you. You do get a free lunch but I doubt there will be a ton of folks dining at the free lunch table. Most are going to want faster xp at least, maybe the starter pack, maybe a gun or two right now, maybe a cool class to unlock without waiting, etc. So maybe all that stuff costs you say, twenty bucks? That's a pretty damned good deal for a high quality shooter you enjoy with the trimmings you are happy with and you can earn the rest over time.
F2P isn't all bad. It does give you choice about how much you want to buy into a game and affords some opportunities to decide what is worth it to you and what is not. Just don't expect a free ride and then come bitching when the full boat, deluxe, all included ride isn't free. That was never going to be the deal. Surely, that cannot really surprise a rational person who gives this even the most minimal consideration.
Yet time and again there are posts whining about how badly a game sucks and isn't worth it because you have to spend money on this, that or the other thing in the game. What makes these folks feel entitled to something for nothing?
The last time I saw a truly and completely free high quality online FPS game was Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. I bet people are still playing that game too. There's a free lunch and it is a tasty one too. Thank you ID Software.
Generally speaking though, free to play is not really free, not for the game you really want and that is just exactly how they intended it to be. This should come as no surprise to anyone.