Free vs Freemium vs Upfront games (Gaming)

by ManKitten, The Stugotz is strong in me., Monday, March 05, 2018, 09:32 (2252 days ago)
edited by ManKitten, Monday, March 05, 2018, 09:49

I've been slaving away on a product catalog and really need a break, so I shall hoist my guerilla thoughts onto you all here with some random and probably pointless ideas that have been gallivanting through my noodle as of late.

Fortnite:BR has been devouring my free time as of late and it's been a blast. I've jumped into Destiny 2 a couple of times over the past month but I probably won't be planet jumping until the next expansion, or a group of friends sends me an invite.

Another game that I play too much of is Candy Crush Soda.

So the games in my life right now are; Fortnite, Candy Crush and Destiny 2.

Let's call Fortnite a "Free" game. You can download it with no initial monetary investment, play as much of it as you like with no monetary investment and have a great time. The developers are constantly updating the game with different modes, weapons, gear etc, and you have access to that, with no monetary investment. However, if you would like to enhance your experience in the game, you can purchase a Battle Pass for as little as $10 with larger packages available. With this, you will receive a weekly set of challenges to complete. Upon completing challenges you will receive XP. With earning XP you gradually unlock a larger list of gear, cosmetic items and in-game currency. The Battle Pass is good for "a season" which seems to be about 60 days. At which point, for the new season you may or may not purchase another $10 pass. That roughly equals 6 seasons per year, therefore you if you opt in for the lowest level Battle Pass, you will spend about $60 per year, aka, the upfront price of a video game.

Depending on your level of participation, this game could cost $0-90 annually.

Next is Candy Crush, as dubbed by South Park as a "Freemium" game. You can download it with no initial monetary investment, play it for a limited amount of time while consume advertisements. After limited time is up, you must wait to "recharge" lives, or purchase lives and power ups. This is the type of transaction that drives me crazy and I refuse to ever...EVER pay a cent towards this type of game. It's a distraction while in a waiting room or the show your spouse is watching isn't quite your cup of tea...but I'll be damned if I ever pay money for this game.

Depending on your level of participation, this game could cost $0-1,000,000 annually.

Third is Destiny 2, or what I'll call an "Upfront" game. You can download it after an initial monetary investment, play as much of it as you like with the potential for future monetary investment and have a great time. Everything you need is provided to you inside the upfront investment...but there are also addition investment options if you so choose to partake. There is a risk that if you don't participate in future investments, you may be limited or excluded from parts of the game.

Depending on your level of participation, this game could cost $60-90 annually.

Which is the better model for the gamer and which creates the most revenue for the developer?

I don't know the percentage of users in Fortnite buy the battle pass, but I sure see a lot of cosmetic players. I would ignorantly guess at least 50% of players have a battle pass.

The candy crush games have a lot of users, and it probably doesn't matter if they buy anything or not, they often have to watch ads to play the game.

Destiny (and all other upfront games) seems to be using what is becoming an outdated payment method. What used to be, you payed upfront for a product, has now become you pay upfront for a service. Generally, you pay for a service upon completion. The way gaming is going, developers are starting to provide more a service than a product. There are constant updates, content packs, etc. So is the upfront investment becoming the issue of our annoyances?

I bought a Battle Pass in Fortnite because I am having a ton of fun playing it, and don't mind throwing some money their way for creating such a fun game. Also, what I'm getting for my money isn't changing the game but making the way I play the game even more fun.

With Destiny, we went full Phillip J. Fry "shut up and take my money" and now we are feeling gypped. (<- some might call that a slur, btw.)

So with all this droning on, my question is:

Is the model of "Free" games the best option for gamers and developers alike?

Ok, back to work on this catalog.