Microtransactions - how far is too far?

Look at STO. They are still offering subs for which you can obtain all that cosmetic stuff for free (sort of, since you pay 15$ a month), or you can get that via the item-shop, if you are not a subscriber. So if you want to pay for the game, you are still allowed to. Seems pretty convenient to me.

And as long as the things offered in the item-shop are just cosmetic and fluff, I see no reason to dislike the f2p model.
As long as the things offered in the item-shop have no impact on the actual gameplay, I see no reason to hate f2p.

Those who want to play for free have access to the entire game, but have to pay for cosmetic stuff.
Those who want to pay a sub fee have access to the entire game, and also get cosmetic stuff for free.

One game I can think of is "Allods online". It looked like a promising game at launch, but they changed the micro-transaction system weeks after in to a pay2win one, because they decided they wanted more money. Pretty much everyone quit over-night...

Going pay 2 win is gaming suicide, you will loose out big time if you go that route. Bad rep and no players.

Oh yes I remember that one. I saw so much promise in the concept of having a ship with a player crew and fighting other ships. But ultimately it was one of the worst implementations of a microtransation model.
There was a certain debuff that forced you to pay for something in order to kill monsters easier (it took 1 min to kill a normal mob) and if you died there was another special potion you had to buy...absolutely dreadful.
As far as I've heard, the game is pretty much dead now, unless I'm mistaking that is. Wasted potential and money from the developer.

I can agree with that but really cosmetic and fluff are part of the content and must be included if you sub.

I still think some would disagree because looks, mounts, ... are important for some and they may not like that a rare item with a unique look that you get after a long quest chain, dungeon, achievement, ... can be bought for 5$.

Yeah, it doesn't take much balls to nickel and dime people to death when you have a flock of sheep begging to be sheared. I don't have much hope for the gaming industry if it continues to put "maximizing profits" over providing value to the consumer.

Let's be real though, the people who are hoping for F2P are the ones who don't really want to pay to play this game in the first place. How many "micro-transactions" are these people really going to make? I'm guessing none.

Because it's all about the bottom line in the Gaming Industry:

Click the arrow linky for Cyb's full post, he pretty much sums up the current state fairly well. F2P is inevitable in the MMO genre just as automation is increasingly inevitable in replacing humans in many job markets. Companies are finding it is a much better long term option for game viability and profits than the traditional subscription model. It is only because WoW was such a phenom that subscriptions have lasted this long. Just look at the DLC model for SP games - a few years ago, players would have been up in arms if they had to pay for extra content for a game they already bought. That changed when the Oblivion horse armor came out - now DLC is par for the course.

I would tend to believe that the traditional subscription model only has about 2-3 years left before it goes away completely. We already have many games launching with microtransactions and a transition to F2P already in place. The only change in this that I see coming is a move similar to ArenaNet's in which it is B2P - pay for the initial price of the game, but play for free from then on, with the game supported by the microtransactions.

BJ

Too far is when essentials are only available via micro-transaction. For successful F2P/Micro-Transaction models look at Turbine and Paragon Studios. Both have done it right IMO and both continue to receive money from me because of it.

If the game went f2p then I would still play with microtransactions. Probably not for long though. That is, assuming I even continue after they announce the change.

For now, anything past account services (transfers, name change, etc) = quit.

Right, name me one widely known mmo that has released as f2p with MT. Go ahead. Guild Wars ... thats it. Yeah, there are hundreds of f2p games ... too bad nobody really cares about 99% of them.

Name one that is f2p that didnt do it until its subs couldnt support it anymore?

All this "f2p is the future" thing sounds like nothing but wishful thinking from people who are still stuck in the "why do I pay monthly to play a game" state of mind ..... or those who read too much mmorpg.com (whose entire ad space is bought out by those 99% games no one cares about).

There is absolutely no reason to think p2p is going away. None. There is ONE AAA mmo (the ones we care about) coming out that I know of which will be somewhat free to play, GW2. We have no reason to believe the rest will be anything less than the usual subscription.

F2P = no one cares to play it unless its already free.

$25 for a simple name change?!?

I wouldn't pay more than $10. You must be rich or something!