| As most people are familiar with the rising | | | | year 2005. This figure has doubled in the last |
| popularity of MMORPGS, or a Massively Multiplayer | | | | couple of years making this one of the leading |
| Online Role-Playing Game, some might not be | | | | categories of game revenue for major game |
| familiar with the more modern business model | | | | publishers. The Free-To-Play model turns this |
| many companies employ nowadays to entice new | | | | perceived well established model and reworked it |
| gamers to play their product. There is a rising | | | | into something almost as lucrative. |
| trend for companies to release Free-To-Play | | | | This model was made widely popular in first in |
| MMORPGS. Essentially this means that the product | | | | South Asia but now is a global trend. The |
| is usually not found on store shelves for sale and | | | | Free-To-Play model is usually a downloaded game |
| there is the removal of a monthly subscription fee | | | | client instead of a traditional box cd. This helps cut |
| common with many titles in this genre. Often you | | | | down physical production costs and also |
| might wonder how a business company can | | | | encourages players to try the product for no |
| survive with a business model of giving away their | | | | charge. This model also addresses one of the |
| games entirely but I will attempt to explain how | | | | limits of the traditional method and lets the game |
| many companies thrive on this type of business | | | | be available to players who may not have access |
| model. | | | | to credit cards. |
| First I will explain what the RPG game genre is. It | | | | The Free-To-Play model focuses solely on micro |
| is a game centered around the player taking | | | | transactions, often ranging in cost from a few |
| control of a fictional character often in a mythical | | | | cents to a few dollars, focused on virtual avatar |
| setting and controlling almost all aspects of that | | | | appearance and sometimes performance |
| character or what is known as an avatar. The | | | | upgrades. No longer was changing your character |
| overall focus in these types of games is to | | | | dependent on earning certain in-game items, but |
| increase or maximize your characters level, | | | | by rather making them available for purchase. |
| abilities, skills and equipment. An MMORPG is unique | | | | Various items like property, pets, and items are |
| in that it is a setting in which players could interact | | | | usually all made available via micro transactions. |
| with others online in a virtual world via the | | | | Micro transactions can usually involve exchanging |
| Internet. The term MMORPG was first coined by | | | | real money for in-game currency. Many of these |
| Richard Garriott famous for creating one of the | | | | companies offer numerous payment options as |
| older and first widely successful online RPG known | | | | well, including credit cards, cell phone charges, and |
| as Ultima Online Ultima Online is widely | | | | cell phone charges. |
| acknowledged with popularizing the genre in the | | | | According to a consumer study of over 2,000 |
| early 90's. Some examples of popular Pay-To-Play | | | | online gamers in the United States, a larger |
| MMORPGs after Ultima were Everquest in the late | | | | segment of gamers (social, leisure and the |
| 90's and today by far the most popular one is | | | | dormant demographic) showed interest in this |
| World of Warcraft | | | | Free-To-Play model as opposed to the traditional |
| Traditionally these games were available for | | | | subscription methods. The study indicated of the |
| purchase in a retail store which contained the | | | | players not currently playing an MMORPG, 14% |
| game software and when you installed the | | | | would play the Free model as opposed to the |
| program you also created an account with a valid | | | | subscription model. |
| credit card. Then on a monthly basis you paid the | | | | Also there exists a hybrid model of both |
| subscription fee which ranged anywhere from | | | | traditional and modern revenue elements, with |
| 10-20 dollars. This is commonly referred to as a | | | | games like Runescape or Mechquest. A limited |
| Pay-To-Play model. Game mechanics employed | | | | version of the game is available for free, but an |
| insured that character progression was something | | | | offer to upgrade the existing free account to a |
| that was not fully achieved in a short amount of | | | | full options subscription account is available. Often |
| time. Many of the game elements were heavily | | | | the most powerful and rarest items are made |
| time centric and it could take many months or | | | | available to the full members leaving a powerful |
| upwards of a year to achieve the maximum level | | | | incentive to upgrade accounts. |
| or desired status. Group interactions were also | | | | The rise of popularity of Free-To-Play models |
| encouraged to achieve common goals thus | | | | certainly will not eliminate the subscription models |
| further immersion in the game community | | | | entirely but they will definitely continue to be |
| resulting in players just spending time "hanging | | | | present in any upcoming MMO titles. The amount |
| out". | | | | of revenue generated by MMORPGS nowadays is |
| This traditional method has proved incredibly | | | | so significant that the extra viable options of |
| lucrative for many companies with world wide | | | | monetization will continue to be expanded upon. |
| revenues exceeding over a half billion dollars in the | | | | |