Grunker
RPG Codex Ghost
primetide said:The relative merits of pre-paid games versus free to play have been discussed at length, so I won't go into that here. Suffice it to say, the game can be played without buying advantages. However it is true: in a PvP with two equally able players the one paying will have an advantage.
We have certain mechanisms in place to not let that balance shift completely, but if you have fundamental problems with free to play, then that is going to be an issue for you.
My reasoning goes like that: If I play the game and I like it, I can pay for it as much as I would have had I bought it in the first place. That is my personal limit. If the game would have sucked and I had paid money for a 3 months subscription for example, I wouldn't have even gotten the same value.
If you want to never pay for the game and still be as good as the guys paying, I think it is a bit much to ask, since then you are simply destroying the developers who made the game. But your mileage may vary...
Bullshit. Leauge of Legends and other games are perfectly able to sustain themselves without demanding payment for gameplay-advantages. If you are going to demand payment for these things, then there is no point in making the game "free2play" - you might as well demand money per unit (which I would have no problem with).
To be clear:
I want a full game. Whether I pay for it or if it is free (with cosmetic and utility stuff that doesn't directly affect the gameplay open for purchase) is up to the developer. But I'm not going to go through the hassle of a million expensive micro-transactions to acquire a full game. Thus, paying for gameplay-advantages means I will not even consider playing the game; there's just no point in it. I won't be buying gameplay-stuff, and since I won't play half a game, the conclusion is pretty straight-forward.