It seems that Everquest 2, an MMORPG, over half a decade old, millions of players and apparently quite fun, has finally gone the way of the big-boy MMO's and become free to play. Why now? Well, it's original distributors/developers Sony Online Entertainment have been showing signs of changing their business models, much like the recent shift of DCUniverse to a F2P model, it seems that it might actually be a good way of not only attracting subscribers, but using microtransactions to pay for the game.

While I really should do more research on the F2P model, I think that Valve's TF2 has put forward a fantastic case for making things work with Microtransactions, as it is a more consistent revenue stream than a subscriber model. Players can drop in and out of the game for months at a time, but when they can be online always, it can push the drive to actually purchase more. It's essentially like being in a shopping mall and having a few dollars to spend everywhere you go. So you start getting thirsty and you see juice for a $1, of course you're gonna buy it, you start getting cold, see a jacket for $2, start getting hungry, so on and so forth.

It helps along with the multiplayer experience and also has the players see the developers as an institution rather than a game - they provide necessities, but necessities with choice. You CAN play without buying things in-game, but it would vary your experience and the peer pressure of seeing everyone around with cool items, just probably makes you feel inadequate. Oh well. You can always play World of Warcraft, Ultima Online or Warhammer if you don't want a F2P experience.

Via [RPS]  

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