EQ2 verses LotRO Free to Play

As the days go by, more and more games seem to be jumping on the (what I will term) “Freemium” band wagon. They’re not exactly Free to Play because you can barely play them without spending *something* but certain aspects of the game are free, and you can get by paying a lot less then the regular monthly subscription fee if you want (especially if you’re a casual gamer, and wait for deals).

Surprisingly enough I have NOT been playing the Lord of the Rings Online as a free to play member. I’ve got VIP access until February because I purchased a bunch of 60 day time cards for cheap before the game went F2P. I have been reading up on everything though, and I’ve got a few friends who are playing as cheaply as they can as a test. We’ll call it our online roulette games experiment for the time being, my money is on LotRO being the ‘cheaper’ way of playing compared to EverQuest 2.

I am far more likely to play LotRO as a ‘free’ game then lets say, EQ2, and I’m going to explain why with a few points that really stand out to me as being winners.

• – Turbine points can be obtained in game for completing deeds. This is a great selling point to me. If you enjoy completing every single deed and title you can get your hands on then you’re going to earn yourself turbine points that you can spend in their store. You may even be more willing to spend a few dollars here and there to round out the points you have earned when you make purchases. After all, if they can entice you to spend a little when you would have spent nothing, that’s good. You don’t feel like you’re spending that much because after all, you’ve EARNED points, you just want a few extra to pick up that <whatever> from the store. I am far more likely to spend a smaller amount numerous times, then one large amount.
• – Items in the store are pretty cheap. A piece of cosmetic gear could be as low as 100 turbine points, or as much as 295. Each 100 turbine points is $1 which means you’re not even paying $3 for a nice piece of cosmetic gear. I’ve seen some stores that sell appearance gear for as much as $25 – the smaller your prices SEEM (even if you’re selling each piece individually) the better. I don’t want to buy an entire set, some times I just want a chest piece, or a back piece. I’m far more likely to spend $2 then $25. The most expensive items are the shared vault, and mounts and even those are a far more reasonable price then a lot of games I’ve peeked in at.
• – Sales. If you’re patient, you can purchase what you “need” over the course of time at a very reduced price. For example the riding skill was 75% off a few weeks ago. I picked it up for my characters for less then $1. Three adventure packs were also on sale for 75% off, less then $1 per adventure pack (three were for sale) which is fantastic. Wait long enough and I have no doubt that even more items will go on sale, enticing players to spend just a little bit here and there. If you get a large number of people purchasing a little bit here and there you more then make up for the few who would have paid the $15 subscription fee.
• – VIP perks. As a VIP I have access to everything in game AND I earn myself 500 “free” points a month. Why is this great? Because when my account finally lapses from VIP I’ll have stored up enough points to continue playing on as a free to play customer – an idea that I absolutely love. I also get accustomed to their store as I purchase a few items (mostly appearance so far) here and there with my points.

That doesn’t mean I love everything about this new model, there are a lot of restrictions that I don’t enjoy. Skirmishes, channels, etc. that are locked without making purchases or being VIP etc. I’ve never been against F2P, or Freemium, or any other idea that follows, call it what you will. What I do have issues with is how some games have implemented these ideas, namely EQ2 (as of late). I was a fan of Wizard 101 for a good while, loving the idea of unlocking content as I came to it rather then purchasing $15/m for something I may only play twice.

My issue with EQ2X is as follows:

• – Separate servers from the main player base. I think this was an incredibly poor idea, no matter how many times the red names on forums say that they had the best interest of the players at heart. It turned into an us (regular live servers) vs. them (freemium players) model instead of trying to merge all of your players into one happy family.
• – The cost of items. Things are expensive. Cosmetic gear especially. I am not going to be buying a handful of things in EQ2X for the same price that I would in LotRO, which makes me less likely to spend anything at all as I have to hum and haw over what I’m going to spend my money on.
• – The confusing tiers of subscription plans and what they all unlock. It is not needed. In order to get the “full” subscription to EQ2X you’re paying $18/m on an EQ2X server vs. $15/m on a ‘live’ server. Wha? That also STILL does not unlock everything, as races require further payment.
• – The cost to copy a character from a live server to the EQ2X server. It’s $25 to MOVE a character between live servers. It’s $35 to copy your character to an EQ2X server. I don’t understand the need for that cost, either make it the same amount or simply don’t allow it at all and have everyone start from scratch. Is this an attempt to discourage the current player base from moving over to EQ2X? If so it’s a poor attempt.

Those are my main issues. As you can see it’s nothing to do with what is in the shops, but how the basic designs are set up. With LotRO I don’t feel as though I am being pressured to spending a lot of cash. In EQ2X I feel as though they’re trying to milk players for all they’re worth and then some. Perhaps this is unfair of me, after all you CAN play EQ2X completely free IF you are satisfied with what you will get. That means incredibly limited everything. Gear, spells, classes, and races. Now for some, this is not an issue, but I hardly go to a free to play game expecting it to actually be free, I’m always going to spend *something* – I just think that turbine did a far better job setting their games up.

FALLEN EARTH LAUNCHES EPIC GEAR GIVEAWAY

PARTNERS WITH NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS, ALIENWARE

CARY, N.C.—February 15, 2011—Fallen Earth (MMO) developers today announced their latest interactive challenge and giveaway—the Fallen Earth Epic Gear Giveaway. Partnering with Dell’s premiere gaming brand, Alienware, and Nuclear Blast Records, the world’s largest independent heavy-metal record label, developers are putting fans and users to the test for a chance to win awesome prizes such as an Apple iPad, LTD guitar and more!

The Fallen Earth Epic Gear Giveaway is a 16-question, multiple-choice “battle test” relating to Fallen Earth, Alienware and Nuclear Blast Records. Starting today, participants who answer all 16 questions correctly by March 16 will be automatically entered to win a slew of prizes:

One Grand Prize Winner Will Receive:

• Apple iPad
• Alienware TactX Headphones
• Alienware Sling Bag
• Nuclear Blast Prize Pack including an LTD guitar and more…
• Fallen Earth Gaming Mousepad
• Fallen Earth Decal Set
• Fallen Earth in-game Item

20 Additional Winners Will Receive:

• Alienware Arena Drawstring Backpack
• Alienware Drink Koozies
• Fallen Earth Gaming Mousepad
• Fallen Earth Decal Set
• Fallen Earth in-game Item

To enter, players may visit www.fallenearthcontest.com. All questions must be answered correctly and only one entry is accepted per valid email address.

For the full rules and regulations, visit: http://www.fallenearthcontest.com/rules.php

Raptr Roars Past Six Million Registered Users #Raptr

Raptr Roars Past Six Million Registered Users Mark and Secures Additional $15M Financing

 

DAG Ventures leads additional round of funding to fuel Raptr expansion Mountain View, CA – February 10, 2011 – Raptr, the social platform for gamers that tracks your gaming stats and connects you to your friends, is proud to announce that it has reached two significant milestones. First, the company has attracted more than six million registered users to its service and is currently adding over 750,000 new users a month. Second, the company has successfully closed a Series B round of funding, which was led by DAG Ventures and also included new investor Tenaya Capital and existing investor Accel Partners. “We’re excited to be backed by DAG Ventures, Tenaya Capital, and Accel Partners as we continue to grow Raptr into the preeminent gaming community worldwide,” said Dennis Fong, CEO of Raptr. “Along with the user growth of our application, we’re also now reaching over a million unique visitors a day on our website, and have expanded our presence into the mobile arena.” To date, Raptr has raised a total of $27 million. The new round of funding will be used to rapidly expand Raptr’s offerings with new features that build on its gaming community. Raptr is the fastest growing social networking platform for gamers, and millions of gamers use Raptr to track their games and achievements for PC, Xbox, and PS3; chat and browse the web in-game; and see what their friends are playing via iPhone. Raptr’s service has won several awards including PC Gamers’ pick for Top 10 PC Apps and the AlwaysOn’s OnHollywood 100 award in the Consumer Services Category. The unique gameplay data Raptr captures enables its partners to have deep insights into the latest gaming trends. Raptr’s media partners, including GameSpot, GamePro, and 1UP, use this data to showcase the hottest games based on what people are actually playing. To find out more about what Raptr is working on, be sure to check out the official Raptr Tracks blog at http://blog.raptr.com/raptr-2011-infographic/

What Ever Happened To the Gigglegibber Goblin Gamblin’ Game?

Big Winner!

Remember when these friendly goblins were put into the game? The first “winner” on server won an enormous amount of platinum, over 3,000. Of course these days I hardly see anyone standing around the machines and with fast travel there’s no one waiting on any boats. The goblins could first be found at the end of various docks; Antonica, Commonlands, even Enchanted lands. Sure, it was a blatant money sink but these NPC seemed quite amusing and at the time a lot of players got excited over them.  With the addition of guild hall amenities we’ve seen a return of our green friends and it becomes easier and easier to spend 10 silver here and there as we wait for groups and form up for raids. It’s not exactly the same as a top online casino, but it’s a great way to pass the time.

My question is have you ever known anyone to actually win this game or is it just as elusive as the real life versions? I’ve gotten a match of five before and that gives you 25 gold, but it always seems like that sixth number is just slightly out of reach.

These days the “big jackpot” is a mere 323 platinum (at the time of writing this) which doesn’t seem like that much. The previous winner walked away with 361 – have the chances of winning increased and thus much less money is put into the pot before being won? I wonder what the statistics are, how many people actually play. Too bad there’s no real way to tell.

EQ1 also had a type of gambling game where you would keep trying to win a golden ticket for some fantastic prizes that you could choose. World of Warcraft has their mysterious fortune cards where players have a chance at winning an in-game cash value by “scratching” the card and once their fortunes are revealed the card can be sold to vendor for as little as 1 silver and as much as 5,000 gold.

What do you think of this type of money sink in video games, where you can at least walk away with some sort of reward?

 

Gameforge Secures Classic Star Trek™ License for Free-to-Play

Gameforge Secures Classic Star Trek™ License for Free-to-Play Casual Online Browser Games

Germany-based Online Games Publisher Bursts into AAA Entertainment Territory

Karlsruhe, Germany, June 14, 2010 – Gameforge signed a worldwide licensing agreement to publish free-to-play casual browser games based on the classic science-fiction franchise Star Trek. Acquiring the Star Trek license marks the start of Gameforge’s global AAA expansion, as the leading online game publisher begins development to bring the Star Trek universe to life in browser-based properties.

“We are proud that the quality of our games and publishing services enabled us to acquire this license,” said Christoph Jennen, CFO of Gameforge. “Our upcoming Star Trek browser games will further expand our consumer base and market share on an international scale.”

The Star Trek universe has entertained millions around the world for decades and boasts one of the most loyal and dedicated fan bases in popular culture. The new relationship will bring the storied franchise to the fastest growing sector of the games market, and to players across the globe.

“The popularity of Star Trek spans decades and is a testament to the richness and depth of the universe Gene Roddenberry created – at Gameforge, we put the same level of detail and dedication into our games,” said Ralf Adam, Vice President of Publishing at Gameforge. “Honoring the Star Trek legacy and providing the global community with  excellent free-to-play browser games is something we are very dedicated to and excited about.”

TM & © 2009 CBS Studios Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.