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Is Free Really the Future of Gaming?

Posted by Soulskill on from the works-for-me dept.

TRNick writes "Is the future of gaming more or less free, perhaps funded by advertising or micropayments? A bunch of MMOs have pioneered the way, and now they are being followed by the likes of EA, Sony and id Software, each of which is offering some form of free gaming. But it's not just the big guys. TechRadar talks to a new generation of indie developers who are making names for themselves. 'I make most of my money from sponsors,' says one. 'We're all here because we love making games first and foremost,' says another. But can free games ever make enough money to fund the really ambitious, event games that get the headlines?" While paid games aren't likely to be on their way out any time soon, more and more developers and publishers are experimenting with cheaper pricing, and the results so far seem positive.

2 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. Free is an option, not the future by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While free games are certainly an option, I find it very difficult to believe that you are going to have a team of 10 developers working 5 days a week, for nothing to develop a game. If you want free games, then expect them to use last year's technology, be late and not necessarily have the same amount of finesse.

    Don't get me wrong, I will take a free game if I am given it, but I don't expect to get everything for free. If you do, then give up your day job, join a commune and don't cry when you don't have money to buy your next PC.

    --
    Jumpstart the tartan drive.
  2. Some players don't want "free". by DdJ · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Some players actively avoid free games, particularly for MMOs.

    I know players who want to make sure that everyone around them has at least something invested in the game world. They want some barrier to keep out dabblers, people whose commitment to the game is below a certain point, overly casual players. For big, shared worlds, when there's a lot you can't do solo, when you're forced to team up with people, there's something to the idea of ensuring that the people you're teaming up with take things at least little seriously.

    And thus, the population of people who consider "free" to be a signal to stay far, far away from an online multiplayer game.

    Honestly, I think this is one of the reasons some people honestly prefer the XBox Live network gaming model to the PS3 one.