While I understand the sentiment behind your point, it can never quite be how shareware was.CarbonJames said:Gamers need to embrace this model, not reject it.
Why? Because big pubs are screwing you. They are pulling back and not giving you demos of games like they should anymore.
I'm an oldschool dev. I remember Doom shareware. I remember demos. That's what F2P can be.
Because you could keep the demo, while F2P games as designed and marketed as an ongoing service.
This is problematic because F2P games bank on user investment; time and/or money, which in turn, is (among other things) driving the market further and further away from selling full games. Instead, the business is shifting towards selling disposable thrills. Or services that penalize the player with time wasting bullshit...even when they're ponying up the cash.
In any case, with service-centric games, the holding company for that game is eventually going to fold, or move onto something newer to recapture the attention of a market with an rapidly decreasing attention span. All that time, money and effort you put into the F2P game will only be a memory. (this has happened to me with a F2P MMO before, and it's still the most soul-crushing thing I've ever experienced in my 25 years of video gaming.)
Worse, this cycle is going to intensify as F2P games become more popular, with more frequent releases all competing for the attention of the masses. Heavier and more "mercenary" monetization tactics are going to take over as each game has less and less time to turn a profit. (until the silent majority finally rejects the model en-masse, causing that part of the market to crash)
By now, I'm anticipating you or someone reading this to quote me with something like "Well, the model isn't for everyone."
While I concede that is true at a conceptual level, I do have a couple of parting comments about it:
If you're a gamer just looking for some time killing filler or a quick thrill, then the F2P or "Freemium" model is tailor-made for you. Congratulations, you're currently relevant to big business gaming. I hope that you don't experience the sudden snap-back I did, but given the current state of mainstream gaming and the direction it's going, it seems likely.
If you're a gamer who is just looking for a good game without artificial time wasting or over-monetized bullshit, well, you had better go indie or go away because the primary market has little to no need of you (and ever less need of you each year). Consider a new hobby. I know am.