Shifting Focus: A Look at Free to Play Online Gaming. Blog Assignment #3

As an avid MMO player I have found that in recent times a vast quantity of fairly large MMOs have made the switch from a subscription model to a free to play model. In this post I'll mainly be focusing on AION, as it is a perfect example of a game I actively play that has fully transitioned from a monthly subscription to a truly free model.

Aion is one of the more popular MMOs on the market right now with most of its player-base residing in Asia, and more specifically, South Korea. Since Aion is a Korean game we've received a "westernized" version of the game that has specific things tweaked to fit a western gamer's play-style. Typically this is done to make games easier as the Asian MMO market is characterized by its extremely time consuming "grind" up to the maximum level.

One of the more important aspects of the western version of Aion is that it has become completely free. Aion used to have the same subscription prices of most other MMOs, 15 dollars a month. Due to numerous circumstances which included a dwindling player base and a drop in profitability led NCsoft, the producers of Aion, decided to shift the game into a free to play model.

This may seem like an awesome thing for the players and I'm not going to lie, my wallet and my gaming budget were thankful when I no longer had to pay for Aion. However, free to play models aren't without their flaws.

There is one annoyance that comes in tandem with any free to play MMO...cash shops. These are online stores in which players can use real money to exchange for some form of in-game reward. Typically any AAA game will try to stay away from selling any crucial game changing items in the shop that can't be obtained by other methods but there is always the danger of a game slipping into the dreaded "pay to win" situation.

The frustrating part of free to play is that we, as players, know that the game has to generate some form of revenue and that the things that will generate the most money will also cause us the most distress. Managing this type of situation is one of the most delicate processes and more often than not is handled improperly, resulting in a mass exodus of players. Aion has definitely been going through some bumpy times with their cash shop as players struggle to accept new additions to the shop as time goes on. As the primary revenue generator the cash shop receives frequent updates which is incredibly difficult to do without stepping on some toes.

The thing I feel like free to play MMOs need to keep in mind is that, while player satisfaction is always a priority no matter what business model you use, you have to listen to your players. At the end of the day the players know exactly what they want and if developers would take a moment to slow down and really listen it becomes clear what players desire.

For Aion in particular, people take advantage of the extremely deep character customization system to create their perfect character, often taking extreme care in selecting and managing various details of how their character dresses/looks. This involvement in the player's character is an easily profitable aspect of Aion that hasn't been fully realized.

In the end I feel like free to play is a great shift for AAA MMO's but they have to be handled with extreme care as players are more fickle than ever. Despite free MMO's having existed from the start this is still a very young business method for AAA games and as expected, there are problems that are still being worked out. I'm thankful that NCsoft has begun to show signs that player input is becoming a driving force in their future plans.