Free-To-Make-Money

Gamasutra is running a great article on Free-To-Play, but not really because there are micro-transactions, and the revenue they generate.

Yes, good money can actually be made in the rapidly-growing world of free-to-play massive multiplayer online games (MMOs), but just how much can micro-transactions actually generate? Unfortunately, average revenue per user information is often concealed behind the fog of competition by privately held game makers reluctant to report either very high or very low results.

The article contains some great quotes from Daniel James, CEO of San Francisco-based Three Rings Design.

"There seems to be a perception," he explains, "that there is a business advantage to not being transparent. But I disagree."

As James blogged recently: "People often ask me, with a wary look such as you'd give a lunatic, 'Why do you dish out your numbers like this?' It's a good question. There are possible downsides, but they are limited; if a competitor looks at my numbers and then goes on to execute better than us, I don't think that has much to do with our numbers. They executed better, that's the hard bit. Well done to them.

"The upside," he continued, "is that the more information that circulates the startup and games community, the more people will share their data. This rising tide will raise all boats. If I can shame my fellows into parting with their data, we'll all benefit."

Indeed, James reveals that Three Rings' MMO Puzzle Pirates takes in approximately $50 each month from each paying user (ARPPU) for a total of $230,000 a month, all resulting from microtransactions.

I've often railed against the micro-transaction model as inferior to the traditional subscription model in regards to revenue. However, after reading this article, I'm a bit surprised how well some Free-To-Play games fair.

Also, I want to share my desire for companies to be more transparent with their data, as I strongly believe it leads to negative stereotyping of the business model. Before this article, and seeing Puzzle Pirates and Domain of Heroes (in the comments) revenue numbers, I just assumed that the average revenue for a paying player was well below the standard $15 of a subscription-based player.

I'll break the figures down into Lifetime (8 months) and 7 day (last week). Daniel didn't mention this, but I would add that the numbers seem to get better each month as long-time players continue to make purchases and new features are added that retain/convert newer players.

Lifetime:
ARPU: $2.03
ARPPU: $59.27

7-Day:
ARPU: $3.51
ARPPU: $46.66

If the numbers hold true in the article, it is far greater! In some cases, close to $50. The benefits of which Raph Koster, of Metaplace, sums up nicely:

The biggest reason to go with a micro-transaction model, says Koster in a recent blog post, is because "it opens up both ends of the curve. People who would not be willing to pony up the full $15 a month [subscription fee] are enticed to pay at least something, thereby hugely broadening your market."

So, color me conflicted on micro-transaction business models. I still don't believe it beats a subscription model, but no longer is it the EVIL that I thought it was.

Aion: The ! of Diku?

Tipa, of West Karana, has a great non-NDA breaking post regarding Aion's NA beta:

But there’s no NDA that tells me I can’t talk about the players.

Take one step into the world of Aion, and from that moment on, you’re an expert player. All your years playing MMOs has prepared you for this moment, and nothing you encounter will give you a moment’s hesitation. By the end of the preview Sunday, many characters were fairly high level, guilds had been set up and there was a rough hierarchy of achiever guilds vs casual, friend-based guilds.

Tipa is addressing the general crowd that reads West Karana, which is probably the same sort of crowd that shows up around here. Mostly, veteran MMO players that have played everything from Ultima Online to World of Warcraft. More importantly, we all understand the Diku-inspired MMO structure. We have long been experts. We grind levels and loot bosses in our mother-f'n sleep.

While the Aion beta is still under NDA, there's tons of freely available information from other countries that have the Live version of the game already. A quick search for Aion on YouTube or Bing, brings up all manner of info for the game.

The general consensus is that Aion is pretty good, but derivative of all games that have come before it. Aion delivers on the basics and adds a little flair (like flying, the Abyss PvP, etc.). It's all wrapped up in a great looking package and delivered by a company with a somewhat reliable track record. Everything for Aion is in place for it to be a serious contender in the MMO space.

Where World of Warcraft was the definition of Diku-based MMOGs, it appears Aion will be the exclamation point.

The Path Demo, Not As It Appears

Tale of Tales has released a demo for their game The Path, which actually turns out to be a prequel, making it well worth the download for those of us who were thoroughly enthralled by the full blown game.

Instead of making a trial version that allows you to play part of the game, we created a new chapter that takes place in the same forest but with a few things different. So even if you have played The Path, you might like to have a look at this.

The primary purpose of The Path - Prologue is of course to give people an opportunity to get a taste of the atmosphere of the full game and test our technology on their computer. Hopefully many like what they see and buy the full version.

Brilliant move for a brilliant game.

Download link.

Won't Anyone Think About the Zombies!

Some people seem to be angry about the announcement that Left 4 Dead 2, a full blown sequel to L4D, will be released later this year.

"People are pissed," I told him.

"Well, some are," he responded.

That's something of an understatement. I've been getting e-mails, texts, phone calls, and tweets from readers and friends enraged over Valve releasing a sequel to Left 4 Dead so quickly. This is a company that has reinvented Team Fortress 2 since its release, and every update was free. Left 4 Dead received the Survival Pack, and now there is a sequel coming to the PC and 360 this year.

Personally, I like L4D, but don't nearly play it enough to care about a second one coming out this fall. My biggest disappointment with the game was the limited number of campaigns and character types. Unfortunately, in a very unlike Valve way, it appears this will be remedied in an expansion.

Valve should really start thinking about the Zombies. Chainsaws? A bit harsh, even for the living dead, in my honest opinion. A bit cliche as well.

Update: 25 Oct, 2009 - I take back everything I've said in this post.

Team Fortress 2 Unlockables and Achievements: Back to Normal

Valve has updated the item unlock system of Team Fortress 2 to include achievement milestones again.

Added Sniper/Spy milestone achievements as an additional way players can get the new unlockables.

So, in addition to the new random drop system, we also have the old exploitable/grind achievements model. While, I like that there is a directed way to unlock the items for a single class again, I can't help but sigh at the fact that Spy and Sniper achievement cheat servers are going to run rampant. I'm not sure this benefits any legitimate players, as it appears the random drop rate for items has been increased. I'm getting new items faster than before and I've not suffered a duplicate item since my run in with Natascha x4.

Keen believes this combined system redeems Valve for the early stutters of the random drop system:

Thankfully they came to their senses. Valve fixed the unlock controversy with a patch today that makes the item unlock system work how it should have worked all along: Items are once again unlockable through earning achievements in addition to being found through drops. I’ve noticed that the drop rate has been increased as well (found 3 items, that I already had, in under an hour of actually playing).

I don't see how it redeems Valve. With the increased drop rate, I can't imagine anyone playing fair would actually go after the achievement milestones as a way to unlock an item. Which means, the only players using the achievement milestones are the cheaters that want the Spy/Sniper items (or whatever class is next to get updated).

In my opinion, this just shows how poorly thought out the unlock system was to begin with. As I've stated in the past, Valve should just dump the system and keep the random drops for things like hats.

Keen ends the argument for me:

Honestly, it’s a bit easy and if you play for any time at all you’re going to get items but that’s how a FPS game should be - all skill with these extras being fluff.

It will be interesting to see the spike in the number of Spys and Snipers running around with their new toys, all gained through legitimate means no doubt.