Free vs Freemium vs Upfront games (Gaming)

by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Monday, March 05, 2018, 15:06 (2459 days ago) @ Korny

It's really tough to say, but I was having a conversation with Malagate (or Galvan_Eyes, depending on your platform) last night about the future of games in a "post Destiny 2 screwup" world, and we came to the conclusion that a "piece-meal feature" world where things such as maps are free, but optional features (such as a photo mode) are bought and supported straight from the devs themselves, was the ideal solution. An extreme example of this already exists: players wanted DE to sell a Premium cosmetics bundle in Warframe, so DE posed the question to the community: What do you guys want in the bundle, and how much should it cost?
Seriously. Even Jim Sterling was taken aback. So yeah, the developer put the power in the players' hands, and it's all in the name of supporting a free game.

I think this is the worst way to dress it up. To 'put the power in the player's hands' is simply a ravaging of the art.

Everyone at the theatre is seeing the same musical. Everyone at the cinema is seeing the same movie. Everyone who buys the records hears the same song. Yet not everybody playing a game has the same game.

Sure, some people might pay more for a better experience. You might pay more to get great seats at the concert. You might pay more for a better sound system to listen to your music. But those are just things on your end to enable you to experience the art the best way possible. The art itself is still the same.

This piece meal world will be one in which nobody has the same game. I'd hope by this point everyone agrees games are art. So why would the artist be okay with having an incomplete version of their work not only existing, but being the DEFAULT that players see when they first install the game?!