Why should I play Free to Play Online Games?

Multiplayer Online Games have been around for sometime now. In the past, most charged a monthly subscription rate that allowed you to access the game. A few only required a one time charge for the software. Examples of subscription games include World of Warcraft, Eve, Everquest, Guild Wars and City of Heroes.

Over the last few years many gaming developers are beginning to embrace the Free to Play marketing concept where players need pay no monthly subscription and revenue is generated through the use of Item Malls or Cash Shops. In this model, players may purchase special in-game items or equipment by purchasing them online via these shops. This allows anyone to play quality games without charge unless the player sees fit to spend money in the cash shops.

It may seem like a crazy idea to give away the product in hopes of enticing a few dollars for those who want the "cool" stuff but the concept has proven to work so well that even those companies running subscription based games are testing the Free to Play waters. The game company Turbine has done this with Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online.

The primary difference between Free to Play MOGs, (Multiplayer Online Games) is access to content or equipment and other such fluff in the games. Some Free to Play models limit certain content to paying players only. This might include certain quest or storyline related content which is usually the core of the game itself while still allowing enough content to keep the free players hanging around. While this might seem like a false offering to some, the idea of the concept is to entice free players to become paying players.

Some Free to Play models stick with simply depending on mall type sales to generate revenue. They offer special items and perks that make the game easier to play. It may come in the form of uber equipment or an item that increases experience gain for a period of time for example. Some items are purely cosmetic such as clothes, pets or special mounts not otherwise available in the game. Most subscription games offer these things within their games being obtainable via quests or spending in game gold, however, many are now toying with using both models. Subscription games are now beginning to offer cash shops and/or Free to Play access to a certain extent instead of a structured X-Day Trial period as has been the norm in the past.

The variety of Free to Play games available is broad. There are hundreds ranging from Fantasy to Sci-Fi, they play in clients you download and in your browser window. There are games for adults and games for children, good games, great games, bad games and awful ones. Bottom line, if you want to play a certain type of game it is likely out there.

Some titles I've found interesting;

• Lord of the Rings Online
• Dungeons & Dragons Online
• Forsaken World
• Champions Online
• Anarchy Online (A Sci-Fi game, not terrorism just to be clear)
• Perfect World
• Zentia
• Battlefield Heroes
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online

This list is far from comprehensive and is not meant to be considered good or bad or otherwise. These are just games I thought of while writing this article. There are far to many to list and I highly recommend seeking more information for the kind of games that interest you. My personal favorite source of information is MMORPG.Com, an online gaming site that lists all kinds of online games, Free to Play and Pay to Play.

Many players of the traditional Pay to Play MOG set avoid Free to Play games like the plague. There are various reasons for this attitude ranging from the idea that subscription games are higher quality to paranoia that the Free to Play market is after a greater share of their wallet. To the latter there is a certain amount of truth, the Free to Play model does tend to draw greater revenue per paying player even if only a small percentage of the gaming population is shelling out cash. In the past it could be said that Pay to Play (subscription based) games offered a higher quality gaming experience but this is no longer true at all. In fact, many Free to Play games show a great deal better quality than their Pay to Play counterparts.

What Free to Play does offer over Pay to Play is variety and opportunity. Variety in that there are so many Free to Play game titles available and the opportunity to try them out before you have to or choose to shell out the cash. These aspects can be very important in our cash strapped economy which, for some, limit what we can or are willing to spend on our gaming habit. The downside is that Pay to Play games tend to have a more dedicated and tight knit community, though this is far from always the case.

What ever type of gamer you may be, I recommend keeping an eye on the Free to Play market. many of the games are now on par quality-wise with their Pay to Play comrades and can be a nice break when you get bored with the same old grind offered by your current game. Lets face it, no matter how much we love any game we eventually need a break to keep it interesting and Free to Play is a wonderful option.