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UK retailer GAME launches 'Free2Play' portal with EA
UK-based retailer GAME has partnered with Electronic Arts to launch Free2Play, an online portal that serves up a collection of free browser-based PC games.Free2Play currently offers EA's strategy-MMO Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, medieval role-playing game Lord of Ultima, and the racing-RPG Need for Speed: World. A pair of EA-published shooters, Battlefield Play4Free and Battlefield Heroes are also slated to hit the service at a later date.GAME notes that it has "many more titles in the pipeline," though no specific games or release dates were announced.
GamersFirst welcomes World of Warcraft to 'the free-to-play revolution'
Sarcastic, genuine, or merely self-promoting? An open letter from GamersFirst's Joshua Hong to Activision-Blizzard's Bobby Kotick following World of Warcraft's surprise move to an indefinite free trial could be all three. "I wanted to congratulate you on taking your first big step to join the Free2Play® revolution," Hong writes. He certainly isn't shy in expressing what he sees as GamersFirst's great accomplishments in the market: "Having created this market in the western hemisphere, it's very encouraging for us to see the last bastion of the subscription-only online gaming business joining the Free2Play movement... Given our recent success in reviving APB Reloaded, which launched as a subscription-based game we transitioned to Free2Play, we know that the first steps are often the hardest. But the proof is in the metrics, as APB now has more than three times the active player base than when it initially launched as a subscription product. We also plan to repeat this success with Fallen Earth." Hong continues the letter by "extending [his] friendship and support" to Blizzard, inviting Kotick to the free-to-play party at Gamescom, and hoping that the company's entire library will be made free in the future.
Joshua Hong continues pursuit of Governor's seat
We heard some interesting news from GamersFirst CEO Joshua Hong at the beginning of the month, when he announced his plan to run for Governor of California under the "Free2Play" flag. The timing of his announcement combined with his stated intent to bring Free2Play to all Californians led many to think it was some elaborate April Fool's prank. Of course, we know now that Hong was serious about his bid for office. He remains serious in this pursuit now, having released "The 3 Tent Poles of Free2Play." While at first glance, the concept sounds a bit like "free MMOs for everyone," it's simply a platform based on the ideal concepts and goals behind free-to-play gaming: "The basis of the Free2Play model is to put gamers first. My premise for Free2Play in California is to put Californians first!" Hong expands on the goals of his campaign and promises more details to come, but he was kind enough to elaborate on the three cornerstones of them for us right away. Follow along after the jump for a detailed look at what Free2Play is all about.
