If you run a MMORPG, would you make it free or paid?

I would totally go F2P with a decent cash-shop to pay for server fees and wages. I would not make the cash-shop pay to win, just with esthetic additions like new skins for your weapons and armor and such. A couple of games did this and they are highly successful to this day.

 

I have to agree and I would do it the same way. Also since many have already paved the way it's much easier to just follow the formula but of course the game still has to be great because that's the core of what will make it successful at the end of the day.

 

A ton of games have done this, and very few are successful to this day. LOL and other MOBAs do it very well. Every other game either started as P2W or has drifted towards it. SWTOR cuts important functions and forces you to pay. I can´t think of a single f2p MMORPG that does not have power granting stuff in the cash-shop.

The problem is many people do not understand the difference between being a good business product, and being profitable on a monthly basis. If you spend a million dollars to make a game, and then you earn $50,000 per year and say ´I can live on $50k a year, my game is profitable´ that is nonsense. To be a good business product, you not only have to be profitable on a monthly basis, but you have to earn back your huge investment within a year or two. Many of the MMORPGs that are still floating around now as f2p are profitable on a monthly basis because they have reduced their staff down to nothing, but they do not even get close to paying for the huge investment it took to make that game.

 

I have to completely disagree with you here. Just take a look at games like Tera, Rift, Vindictus, Neverwinter, Star Trek Online or even Marvel Heroes. They are all F2P without a pay-to-win system and they are still highly successful.

 

It will depend on the games. Not all the content should be free. It will drop the value. Most of the games will be free and some special ones would be the paid ones.

 

It will depend on the person. A person who is already a millionaire wold definitely make it for free but a person who wants to make some profit would take money for it.

 

You are right. It's definitely a good idea to make it for free because more people will join.

 

That is a silly argument. More people joining would incur a greater cost, and if the game is free that isn't a positive. Unless the game is good enough to charge for one is more likely to have a lot of people join and quit. High turnover on a totally free game would kill it.

 

There has to be a revenue model to support it or it will fail. Plain and simple. As long as economies continue to rely on money this is the way it will be. There is no such thing as a completely free to MMORPG. There is always a trade off if you don't pay in money. Be it advertising, restrictions, paid extras, whatever.

 

I would think that most people would want to earn a little something for anything that they do. I guess there are always those that do not though, and thank goodness for them.

 

Making it free will surely make more people interested to join. But if the cost of running MMORPG is telling on me then it's okay to charge a comfortable monthly fee on the side of members. Donations may also be allowed.

 

I don't have any idea about making a game but I do have a game idea running on my mind. And I would want to release it as a free game but with in-game purchases. But I do not want to make it more like a pay to win game. I have seen a lot of games where a lot of low level players can beat high level players just because they purchase in-game items that give them a lot of edge in the game.

 

Oh, don't worry, they do it to make money. They just use other methods to earn it, like having a cash shop or extra content that needs to be purchased. Free to play isn't really completely free. While some will only do the free stuff many will pay for items or content.

As noted, as long as it isn't pay to win, I'd probably go this route as well. It seems to be the best model these days.

 

I do agree, a lot of free games have tons of ads in them. You can also purchase some items in their shop for real money. But I quite hate it when you can't get strong without buying in-game purchases.

 

I am thinking those ads in free games are just way to make up by the developers for making the application a free one. I am not bothered seeing ads so long I am enjoying the app and not ready for a buy.

 

I have to agree. I would even go so far as to say that anything that gives an advantage/power should also be available in game, especially in an MMORPG.. It might be one heck of a grind to earn it, but I think you should be able to earn it if you choose. This formula helps keep people with less money from feeling left out.

Yeah, I know, they want to make money, but they make their real money off the whales. Some "free" MMORPG games also have a sub option for those who want to pay alongside the free option.

 

Back in the days when I was playing RF online, the max level of a character in the game is around level 55. It took me two months to reach level 35, I'm talking about two months of grinding. I played almost all day just to reach that, let's not talk about hunting for rare items. I mean, the grinding days are all over now. You just need to pay to have those rare items. I would really love it if MMORPGs would do that again. Play hard and hunt hard to get strong, not that grab your dad's credit card and get strong type of game.

 

You said it! I never understood the point of it, personally (from the player's perspective anyway). If I'm playing an MMORPG it's because I want to actually play the game. Whipping out my credit card would be like paying someone else to play it for me. What's the point, or the fun, of that?

There needs to be a certain amount of grind in an MMORPG in my opinion. It just shouldn't be to the point that it becomes so frustrating that people give up. Play hard? Yes, please.