The Free To Play, Microtransaction Model

During my time at the Game Developers Conference, I came across a few developers who were planning on using the free to play with microtransaction model. While this type of business model isn’t new, even to the United States; it isn’t something that is used as wide as the basic subscription model that most large developers and publishers use. The free to play model appears like a more secure revenue stream than the standard monthly subscription model.

There are differences with how each developer planned on implementing their type of free to play model. My presentation with Mindfuse Games and their free to play model of Gatheryn included a microtransaction and subscription model. The subscription would allow players to acquire items that could gained through playing through the game right from the beginning.

Another free to play game I saw was Atlantica Online, a Korean turn-based MMORPG. They also used the microtransaction model that proves to be immensely popular. It appears that the model is most widely used in Korea, as most gamers don’t have consoles and mainly play PC titles.

Maple Story is probably the most popular free to play game known worldwide. If you’ve been on almost any gaming site, you’ve seen an ad for the game. While it’s a free to play title, most of the revenue comes from the microtransactions. Looking at the “Cash Shop” on the Maple Story website shows possible purchases from a “snowflake scarf” to a “4 hr 2X EXP Card.”

The most common United States model is downloadable content (DLC). Most Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 titles support DLC, in free or paid form. Just looking on the PlayStation Store, DLC is in the form of extra map packs for titles, character skins, or even premium themes. Now with Microsoft and Sony supporting downloadable games, the DLC model has changed a little. Geometry Wars, which is arguably the most popular DLC title, on the Xbox 360 to Flower or Pain on the PlayStation 3 illustrate new ways and possible experiments in pure downloadable game distribution.

Many people believe that the next form of console will support digital releases. The downside to that idea is the possible failure of hard drives, and losing all the data. Though with solid state drives, the possibility of higher security in hard drive wear and tear may be possible. Sony and Microsoft need to test solid state drives rigorously enough to see the potential pros and cons. Also by the time the new set of consoles release, the price of solid state drives for manufacturing may be low enough to offset prices.

The free to play model will only work for PC titles, the console setup is not made for free to play, unless Sony or Microsoft receive revenue from the servers that they would host for the game.

Take Maple Story again. I looked up the requirements:

CPU: P3-700MHz or higher
RAM: 128MB RAM
HDD: 500MB Disk Space
OS: MS Windows 98/ME/2K/XP
VGA: 3D Acceleration Card
SOUND: 16bit Sound Card
NETWORK: Cable Modem

The requirements for this game will work on any PC from the last 5 years. It would even work on my Dell Mini 9 with no problems.

Atlantica Online, a newer free to play MMORPG has these requirements.

CPU: Pentium 4 2GHz or higher
VGA: GeForce 4 6600GT, 128MB or higher
Ram: 1GB or higher
HDD: 10GB or more
Directx: DirectX 10

These are the recommended requirements for the title. They are still easily playable on most systems. It shows that developers of these games are going for the most widespread dispersal possible. Unlike many MMOs or MMORPGs in the West which are running the Unreal 3 engine or a variation of the CryEngine, most gamers would be able to pick up these games and play.

It then becomes apparent that the graphics race is still in effect in the United States. What looks the best comes before gameplay in beta stages of development, which creates problems. A game could look amazing, but since so much time was spent on the visuals, the quality assurance time is cut down and hurts the game overall.

The last free to play, microtransaction game I played was in college called Gunbound. Basically a Scorched Earth clone with sprites, I spent many an hour playing this instead of reading my assignments for the week. This was the first place I was introduced to microtransactions. While I only bought one item, to make my avatar look like a ninja, I wasn’t aware of the status effects that some items caused. Even the recommended requirements on that title aren’t that high now.

Developers are looking for new ways to increase revenue, and for console developers, it is in the number of product shipped and possibly new DLC in the future. For many PC titles, especially MMOs it can be in the form of subscriptions (World of Warcraft) or the free to play with microtransactions. In the end, it is more appealing to spend a few dollars here and there, than to front a flat fee up front. On a business side, most gamers wouldn’t notice the final amount that they spent buying items.

If you know of any more free to play games online, let us know. We’re interested in seeing the market share of these games and how they are doing from a business standpoint.