WoW Goes Free Forever (Except Not)

[frehls]

hue

 

[adamtm]

Called it about 2 years ago.

full F2P expected just before Titan comes out, i.e. 2013

 

[Catchy Slogan]

WoW with hats?...
...
...
...
Oh God! Don't give them ideas !!!!

 

[PrinceofPersia]

I WAS FREE! I WAS FREE YOU IMBECILES! I HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME SINCE JANUARY AND NOW I CAN GET TO 20 FOR FREE? NOOOOO!

(cries)

Alright... I'll start up my account again.

Resist it or all is doomed! But seriously your not going to get much this game is still a skinner box in disguise. I'm glad to leave it behind and get onto something else.

I agree in many ways. You can play the game and have a life, but barely progress, or progress, but never get anything else done. It's pretty much exactly like a skinner box with small elements of "a plot" or "a straightforward path from point A to dungeon C."

But... I want to play... That itch...

Minecraft is fun, and I'm building some cool structures, and I keep getting cool games off the steam sales, and I've got some decent handhelds...

But that itch...

It's only level 20, right? Not much there, I would just get to experience the opening areas...

NO. STAY AWAY DEMON!

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Unfortunately that small amount of content will not keep you occupied for long. But more power to you. I'm done, I've peeled back the curtain and the wizard is a charlatan.

 

[phantasmalWordsmith]

Must resist....must ignore the temptation of "free" play...I'm a sucker for anything free.

 

[Atheist.]

Yeah right. With the quite substantial costs Blizzard has daily, it is impossible to expect free to play. Not to mention the fact they rake in hundreds of millions in revenue yearly simply because of this game. Pretty sure F2P is just a fan fantasy, for WoW anyway.

 

[Somethingfake]

Might as well try it if the trail is for an unlimited time. Fear not people! My crack is Minecraft!

 

[Lorechaser]

Possibly mentioned, but Warhammer did this a year ago, as well as Anarchy Online from way back.

 

[ImprovizoR]

People will get to level 20, they'll get addicted, they'll subscribe and play for years until finally realizing what a grave mistake they've made giving it a shot in the first place.

Of course there's an exception to every rule so there will be a few players who will actually enjoy the game.

 

[Littlee300]

Oh shit. Humanity is really fucked now. We're all going to turn into digital crackheads.

Seriously, there'll be so many more people who will now become woW addicts and who later wish they never were.

Except, you know, people with taste.

I googled how much subscribers WoW has and came across this to extend that notion.
http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/52996/World-Of-Warcraft-70-Of-Trial-Players-Give-Up-Before-Level-Ten

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Good job blizz, I hope this hastens the death of the subscription model. Just introduce microransactions and be done with it.

I'm failing to see what's so terrible with subscription models other than people whining that "it's too expensive".
Which is just a terrible excuse all around.
Care to elaborate?

Game subscriptions are like health club memberships and cause a moral hazard with the developer/publisher. The publisher makes the most money if people buy subscriptions but don't actually play. Because they know inertia will keep people subscribed as they are too lazy to cancel.

And because of that subscriptions encourage flashy cutscenes, pretty pictures, and expensive marketing over deep, immersive gameplay. You can't make "wow" screenshots out of class balance, or well written quest text, or interesting talent trees.

If you get the chance check out DDO. The game system isn't the best balanced, the graphics are dated, art style is generic, and the interface is primitive. But the F2P and microtransaction store model is PERFECT. Players get access to maybe 1/3 of the content half the races and almost all of the classes. They can get to max level (not easily) on the f2p content but they best part is they can buy the other content piecemeal. So without a subscription you can "own" part of the game for a one time payment.

 

[John Funk]

This is such good news! I've been debating starting a new account and leveling up casual style. Ten xxxxhardcorexxxxxx gamers probably had seizures reading that statement, haha. For the record, I'd be a returning champ and not a genuine newbie.

 

[Gametek]

Between this and the faltering subscription numbers [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111281-WoW-Veterans-Get-a-Free-Game-for-a-Friend]. That the game is still going strong after six years is kind of incredible, but there's serious competition on the horizon in the form of The Old Republic.

I want to laugh so hard for this sentence, but, well, I would get a warning out of it.

Oh, hell, it is something that is worth it.

lollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollol


And I am not saying in anyway that the last lucas goodies sucked.

 

[John Funk]

Protip:

Twink does not mean 'optimize and get good gear'

It means homosexual. Exceedingly feminine homosexual male, to be exact.

It's almost like different communities have different lexicons Who'da thunk?

They're just trying to milk every last dollar they can from the gaming community before Guild Wars 2 comes out and proves Once And For All that great MMORPG's don't require monthly subscription fees. Suddenly, all WOW users are waking up & saying "Hey! Why can I play this brand new Epic game for free & I'm still shelling out dollars for WOW? WTF!".

I'm looking forward to GW2 as much as anyone, but I'd be very wary of any company that promises the moon as much as ArenaNet is doing with Guild Wars. Frankly, it doesn't add up to me. MMOs require constant development of new content, and unless you're doing it quick enough to sell every patch as an expansion, I don't see how you can pay the developers without at least relying on microtransactions to keep your ship afloat.

I'd really love to see ArenaNet's accounting books, personally. Just for curiosity.

 

[Loon]

You forgot to mention GW2 in the article. Its quite possibly a much bigger competitor than TOR. Yes, TOR is going to have a billion SW fanboys playing it for a while, but from what I've seen its gameplay is just more of the same.
GW2 however has a fresh take on the genre, and it doesn't even require a sub to play it.

I think since SWG is closing and the SW fans will move their....realize its not a sandbox style game...and that its basically World of Star Wars....that it will take a blow...


GW2 seems like it could very well take a lot of the cake in the aftermath of the TOR

Will GW2 be Free2Play?

I would assume so....but things change

Hopefully it will be but i dunno if it will compare to WoW. It looks promising though I sense the guys at Blizzard have something special up their sleeve which they'll show around the time gw2 is launched....

 

[Frozengale]

This is the first time I have ever thought, "You know maybe I WILL go back to WoW afterall"

Then I remembered that I have Guild Wars and thought, "Nope.avi"

 

[wehrp3nguin]

If WoW was F2P I would play it again. I feel like people get addicted to games like these when they have to pay: There's a certain time-sensitive 'I GOTTA GET THIS SH* BEFORE THE MONTH RUNS OUT'. The time you seem people 'getting hooked again' is when expansions come out. I played trial-vanilla, trial-Burning Crusade, the free-trial for Wrath of Lich King, and that was the extent.
I have Guild wars too, and I'm in no rush to play through it since there's no subscription. Since, TF2 went free I've only played about 3 hours, not including (dirty,dirty)idling.