The Daily Grind: Which game will receive the F2P treatment next?
Two years ago, if you'd have told many people that large Western-based developers would be shifting their games to the free-to-play model, your response might well have come in the form of a great deal of laughter. However, as we've seen in the last while, the market is changing. Turbine shifted Dungeons and Dragons Online to a F2P model and have had great success with it. So much so, that they're now working to shift Lord of the Rings Online to a F2P model as well. Sony Online Entertainment dipped their toes into the water with Free Realms, and have found the response to be overwhelming. Now, they're working on bringing EverQuest II over to a F2P model as well by spawning entirely new servers for an EverQuest II - Extended version. Even Age of Conan and Warhammer Online have offered up a modified freemium model -- unlimited "trials" giving players a certain number of levels to play for as long as they'd like.
Meanwhile, we're all left wondering: With the recent shifts into the F2P market we're seeing, what game do you think will make the jump next? Will SOE garner excellent profits from the planned EQ2E servers, thereby setting off a chain reaction whereby they shift their older titles like Vanguard, Star Wars Galaxies, EverQuest, and the rest, to that model? (Might we even see them reviving The Matrix Online as a F2P if the profits are really good?) Do you think Turbine will finally turn its eye towards Asheron's Call once LotRO takes off under its new model? Will NCsoft jump into the fray with one of the games from their stable? In the world of guesses, anything is possible -- so tell us: What game do you think will make the jump to free-to-play next?
