4 ms·

I am becoming a big fan of the free to play model. I think it serves a lot of players well: * When you're a kid, money is a scarcity. I would have loved to hav

by Legion 14y ago

I am becoming a big fan of the free to play model. I think it serves a lot of players well: * When you're a kid, money is a scarcity. I would have loved to have had a bunch of quality F2P games when I was a kid. (Of course, these games tend to be online-based and the commercial Internet wasn't around back then, kids today don't know how good they have it, off my lawn, etc etc) * When you're a working adult, it's free time that's the scarcity. I'm happy to throw some coin at Tribes: Ascend to give me some of the equipment that I wouldn't have the time to grind and unlock. * If you're my wife, it's interest level that's the scarcity. She finds game here and there that really grab her interest, but everything else just gets a "meh". F2P means the ability to sample, no sunken cost besides a little bandwidth usage. It's better than demos were, because if the game is a winner, there's no transition hassle from demo to full product - you just keep on playing.

cageface 14y ago
I am becoming a big fan of the free to play model. I think it serves a lot of players well Probably, but not me. I'm the grumpy old curmudgeon that prefers to pay a one-time fee for a quality game and compete purely on skill, not on hours spent grinding or real money spent flipping bits in a DB somewhere. And even at $50 a pop even the typical teenager should be able to pay cash down for a game every month or two. What this is really about is shutting down piracy.
- Laremere 14y ago
  There is absolutely nothing in the dota2 store which affects gameplay. All items are 100% cosmetic. This allows anyone to go in and play any hero on even ground, but if you like a character you can spend a little irl coin to customize and stand out.
  - cageface 14y ago
    Yeah I was referring to the comment about buying gear in Tribes. I don't have a problem with cosmetic in-game purchases except maybe a worry that they give game designers the wrong incentives.
- Fargren 14y ago
  "And even at $50 a pop even the typical teenager should be able to pay cash down for a game every month or two." Maybe in the USA and Europe. But in much of the rest of the world -"$50 dollar" usually cost close to $100 dollars -the typical teenager does not have $50 dollars of disposable income every two months. F2P is really awesome.

by Legion 14y ago

cageface 14y ago

I am becoming a big fan of the free to play model. I think it serves a lot of players well Probably, but not me. I'm the grumpy old curmudgeon that prefers to pay a one-time fee for a quality game and compete purely on skill, not on hours spent grinding or real money spent flipping bits in a DB somewhere. And even at $50 a pop even the typical teenager should be able to pay cash down for a game every month or two. What this is really about is shutting down piracy.

Laremere 14y ago
There is absolutely nothing in the dota2 store which affects gameplay. All items are 100% cosmetic. This allows anyone to go in and play any hero on even ground, but if you like a character you can spend a little irl coin to customize and stand out.
- cageface 14y ago
  Yeah I was referring to the comment about buying gear in Tribes. I don't have a problem with cosmetic in-game purchases except maybe a worry that they give game designers the wrong incentives.
Fargren 14y ago
"And even at $50 a pop even the typical teenager should be able to pay cash down for a game every month or two." Maybe in the USA and Europe. But in much of the rest of the world -"$50 dollar" usually cost close to $100 dollars -the typical teenager does not have $50 dollars of disposable income every two months. F2P is really awesome.