I think this is the age old problem of an MMO.
I have alot to say and this gonna be long winded....
Also. I'm not a lawyer
>>The MMO experience increases in fun the more players that are concurrently playing.
>>Companies are thus incentivized to get players to play. Maplestory was the first to implement the idea of a free to play game with microtransactions. This would increase thier player numbers by lowering the barriers to entry, at the cost of deluding the competitive gameplay due to microtransactions.
>>So it comes down to the question "Is the diluting of the competitive gameplay with a micro transactions system worth the infusion of players that a free to play game brings." In most large scale companies based MMOs this answer has typically been yes. As facillitating the larger player base means catching whales as well. (A whale is someone who typically spends a large amount on microtransactions.) Catching the whales has historically been more profitable.
>>However markets change, and as exampled by FF14, the mmo community got strained by microtransactions and now they are a Public Relations/Marketing plague. Players understand how they devalue other players time spent in game and cheapen players efforts to feel accomplished by completing in game tasks, ultimately undermining the whole idea of the virtual world itself. This wasnt much of the case back during Maplestory times, people didn't understand micro-transactions well enough to pe put off by them.
>>That brings by to the state of MMOs today. As you know the era of the AAA mmo is done. We lived through the golden era of the MMO. Every AAA studio saw the revenue that World of Warcraft had brought in and tried to get a slice. It was a huge learning time for these companies as many approached making MMOs the same way they did other games, when MMOs are more than just a game they are a virtual community that requires faith in the integity of the system, much like an IRL currency requires faith in it's system to have value. Triple AAA companies would pour millions into thier MMO be it Blizzard's Titan, Conan, Warhammer Online, Grandia Online, Wildstar, or any of the other dozens of bygone AAA mmos that didnt make it. Many companies went out of business because they put all thier cards into making an MMO. They had to make that money back somehow, so you see alot of companies literally abandoned everything but pay 2 win models to appeal to the whales only and try not to fall completely into bankruptcy.
>> A few wises companies have weathered the storm FF14 undertook a major transformation and came out as probably the healthiest mmo we currently have on the market:
>>So at the point in time AAA studios realize that free to play MMOs do not work anymore.
>> Which brings us to the point at hand. Players obviously like free things, but they dont want the intgirty of the virtual world tainted by pay 2 win. Where does that leave a small indie MMO?
>>Well the first thing a small MMO has going for it is low development costs. No need to remake millions of dollars or go bankrupt.
The next thing is that increasing the playerbase is crucial for a small mmo. Each player is exponentially more valuable in a smaller scale MMO.
So the question of free to play with micotransactions or subscription based gets heavily weighted in the side of free to play for a small scale mmo.
For a small scale MMO I would suggest something like free to play until end game with a one time purchase to buy the end game for like 10-20. Plus cosmetic micortransactions to get help from whales. This allows everyone to play but the game still to have some financial support
Debatable concept
