The Tattered Notebook: Learning from EQII's free-to-play model

What a long way EverQuest II's come! If you had said back in 2004 that the game would not only go free-to-play but have microtransactions and emerge largely intact, I probably would have run to get my pitchfork. But here we are in 2012, and EQII's website has a huge green button that says "Play Free" in big letters, with a long list of special deals on station cash and Marketplace items.

In this week's Tattered Notebook, I want to look back at the evolution of EQII to see how it successfully transitioned while gauging where it's headed down the road when it comes to its payment model. The official move to free-to-play might seem like the final hurdle, but I think we still have a few more around the bend.

Inching along to RMT and F2P

The long transition from a traditional subscription model to the current one started about seven years ago with the launch of Station Exchange, a service that allowed players to buy and sell coin, items, and even characters. Back then, player reaction was about the same as if they had just received a delivery of rotten food, but because the system was isolated to a separate server, players held their noses and moved on. From there, the introduction of Live Gamer to the Vox and Bazaar servers reinforced the fact that SOE was doubling-down on its commitment to offering RMT services.

Of course, the biggest milestone was the introduction of Station Cash and the Marketplace four years ago. Players who tolerated RMTs with the NIMBY philosophy had to face the reality that it was going to be a part of the game. That was a big taboo in MMOs, but SOE pushed forward with the launch, and the Marketplace has grown considerably over the years. The last step was the move toward free-to-play; the creation of the Extended server allowed SOE to test the waters with not only free-to-play but a Marketplace that offered more controversial items like harvestables, equipment, and power potions.

Slow boil

It's been a slow process, almost like a lobster in the pot scenario, where the water's boiling so slowly that he isn't aware of the eventual outcome. SOE seemed to move just slowly enough to make sure that players who might protest but not actually leave wouldn't actually be angry enough to quit. There have been a few backtracks, such as the inclusion and then swift removal of arrows on the Marketplace a few years ago. Whether accidental or not, that issue did create an opportunity to gauge player reaction to offering potential game-changing items for money. Overall, when you look back at the process, it seemed that it really wasn't so much a question of "if" but of "when."

But perhaps that's the best way to approach it. Yes, there have been some strong responses on the forums in reply to some of the changes, but we really didn't have our equivalent of Jita burning. Ironically, I was sorting through heaps of old drafts on my blog recently and came across one in which I outlined some of my concerns about the shift toward microtransactions two years ago. At the time, I worried that the increase of RMT would hurt the core of the game and that the more serious content like group instances and raids would take a back seat to the quick-hit fun stuff that is more likely to entice players into trying the game. To an extent, I still think that's a possibility because it's difficult to produce enough to satisfy both the longtime gamers and the window-shopping potential new players.

But my view of RMTs and free-to-play has evolved quite a bit over the past two years; those aren't issues that bother me anymore. It could be partially because it's easier to accept the little slow nudges that the game has made toward this new model, but I also think I'm a different gamer today than I was in the past. So while I'm OK with the state of EQII today, I wonder how many players quietly moved on because of the changes. It's certainly not nearly as many as had protested on the forums, but has it changed the demographics on the server over time?

We're not done yet

In any event, I think there are still some meaty questions that EQII players will have to digest. One of them is the nagging issue of buying and selling plat for money, particularly with the use of Station Cash cards. Should EQII just legitimize it and eliminate the potential for fraud by offering plat on the Marketplace and be done with it? The other big question is, how robust should the Marketplace be? Originally, it launched with only a handful of items, but true to form, SOE slowly added in items that would have caused a stir if they had all appeared together at launch, like mounts, character slots, and even a new player class. Is there a line that players will draw when it comes to what's for sale? If the recent poll and Bristlebane Vault are any indication, might we see the eventual return of some of the more controversial items on the Extended server's Marketplace, like cure and luck potions? What about paying for a max-level character, which SOE Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson asked about once on the forums?

EQII is at an interesting point in its life because it's embraced RMT and free-to-play, but it still hasn't tackled all of the taboos yet. However, if you look at the process so far, SOE succeeded in doing what seemed like the impossible eight years ago. Whether you love the changes or not, the fact is that EverQuest II managed to put in an ever-expanding Marketplace with RMT and a free-to-play model across all servers, and if the server status is accurate on the site, it emerged with a healthy population in the end.

From the snow-capped mountains of New Halas to the mysterious waters of the Vasty Deep, Karen Bryan explores the lands of Norrath to share her tales of adventure. Armed with just a scimitar, a quill, and a dented iron stein, she reports on all the latest news from EverQuest II in her weekly column, The Tattered Notebook. You can send feedback or elven spirits to karen@massively.com.