Dungeons & Dragons Online further blurs the line between PTP and FTP

Then along came Guild Wars. Guild Wars carved a nice, little niche for themselves by becoming one of the first major retail products to deviate from the Pay-to-Play formula. Guild Wars was a one-time purchase. Buy the game and play online without any monthly fee. ArenaNet followed its initial title with three expansions that were also playable as stand-alone products.
 Guild Wars continues to have a solid and loyal core of followers and has announced plans to release Guild Wars II, giving the product a much needed graphical facelift and adding to its variety and depth. Guild Wars II will also continue the practice of no monthly fee.
Over the last two years an upward trend has developed in which the online gaming industry has seen a steady stream of ever-improving FTP products being offered. For every Lord of the Rings Online PTP came an FTP like Dungeon Runners or 2Moons or Shaiya. Most FTP games are not only free to play but free to download. Furthermore, the level of sophistication of these products has narrowed the aforementioned chasm to something more like a shallow ditch.
Now comes word from Turbine that Dungeons & Dragons Online will soon become Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, or DOD Unlimited, for short, and will be free to play while offering the same basic product as the current $15.00 a month version. In actuality, DOD Unlimited will be more of a hybrid product because the gamers will still be able to elect to pay a monthly fee and become a DDO VIP.
The difference between being a VIP and being a pay-free user can be significant depending upon how much content you need and how hardcore a player you become, but the important point is that a major player in the MMORPG game is at least exploring the FTP option without watering down the core of the game.
Adam Mersky, Director of Communications, was recently quoted in the Sept/Oct Beckett Massive Online Gamer, when asked about the decision to offer a FTP version of DDO, that the move was made because, “We’ve learned a lot about the free to play and microtransaction models from our launches in China, Japan and Korea, and felt that DDO was a very good fit” and that it “. . . would open the game to the most players . . . “
Two factors to note in Mersky’s quote: (1) The ability to make “microtransactions” is where a company can potentially make more money over the long haul than it could giving a gamer everything for a flat fee. While $15.00 a month may seem like a lot of money at one crack, spending a dollar here and a dollar there to purchase “Turbine Points” to use in the DDO Store doesn’t.
Here are a few examples about how microtransactions work: a PTP gives you, say 6 to 10 character slots. A FTP might only give you two. However, you can purchase extra character slots for $2.00 a slot via PayPal or credit card. Where a PTP might give you a new adventure module free as part of your subscription, a FTP might charge $4.95 for the module. Before you know it, you’re spending $5.00 a week on “extras” and $20.00 a month for what you might have gotten for the regular fee.
Is the FTP a scam? A form of “bait and switch”? Definitely not. It simply provides options. If you are a casual gamer, if you don’t play 30 hours a week, if you don’t want to explore six different character classes, you’ve got all the game you need without spending a dime. If you want to add as you go, you can.
The salient point here ties in with the other major point in Mersky’s comment about opening the game to the most players. The competition between MMORPGs is deadly and is going to become even more so very soon, with the advent of several significant entries into the field. Survival depends solely on the number of individuals playing the game on a steady month-to-month basis. Considering the huge investment that goes into an MMORPG prior to launch and then constantly maintaining it, MMORPGs fall into the “huge risk/huge reward” category.
Giving the game away free is as sure a way as any to get gamers to at least try your product. If they like it, they’ll make purchases (microtransactions) to enhance their play. If they like it enough, they may switch to a full-blown version of the game or subscribe. It’s a no lose because the game is sitting there to be accessed anyhow.
What Turbine is attempting to do with DDO Unlimited is implement a business model that has already proven to be a success in other areas of the business world. Buy a movie ticket for half-price anytime before 7:00 pm . . . and we’ll make our money on the $5.00 soft drinks, $6.00 popcorns and $3.00 boxes of candy. Buy a printer for only $75.00 complete with scanner and copier . . . because we’ll make our money on cables and $15.00 ink cartridges.
MMORPGs are the last true bastion of PC entertainment against the ever-encroaching attack by consoles. Free-to-Play MMORPGs are growing closer and closer in style and substance to Pay-to-Plays. As competition increases and more attractive lures are needed to gain an audience, don’t be surprised to see other popular online games follow Turbine’s lead.

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