Freemium gaming is the new “it” gaming mechanic.
For the longest time, games were a one time buy.
You go to a video game store. You buy a game. You play it. You keep it or sell it.
Those were the only transactions associated with gaming. Buying and selling.
Then the Xbox/PS3 Online gaming series came out and started offering “downloadable content” for a small fee. Usually 5 or 10 dollars. What’s 5 dollars when you spent 60 dollars on the game? So you spend 5 dollars for an extra level or 2. You finish that level. Then you sell the game again.
Then developers started intentionally leaving out parts of a game and then selling them as downloadable content as well. Like a character that plays a large role in the plot that could be purchased or an ending that you previously would not have had access to. So it got to the point where you were purchasing an incomplete game for 60 dollars.
Back in the 8 bit and 16 bit gaming time, most games could turn a profit from the one time purchase model. But as games got more graphically complicated and more expensive to manufacture, not only in graphics but also story line development and other premium features, gaming companies realized it was much harder to make a profit off of the one time purchase model.
And that’s when it really clicked for gaming companies. Why charge anything at all up front? That is, after all, the biggest barrier to purchasing the game.
A lot of people, if they see something even mildly interesting and it’s free they’d say “hey, why not?” and download it, just in case they had some free time on their hands.
Before they know it, they’re spending 5 dollars a week on it. Then 10 dollars a week. Before you know it, they’re buying a “new game” by old gaming standards every single week, just to play a game that was originally advertised as free.
Psychologically speaking, the most difficult part of a transitional period is the introduction. It’s why advertisement is such a huge market in every serious media business; movies, games, television.
The biggest barrier is getting people to want to initiate your media. Once you get a person started either playing or watching your game/show, it is much easier to get them to continue with small charges here and there.
Just like in Poker, the hardest part is getting people to bid. Once they’ve bid, they’ll likely continue calling because they are “pot committed.” It’s, literally, the exact same concept in freemium games.
Not only that, but many games employ a skinner box model. Make your players complete a relatively mindless task on a timed basis in order to keep pace in the game and occasionally reward them for their efforts. Sound familiar? (PVE). Daily bonuses that stack every day, hence requiring you to play at least once a day, are another common tactic that relates to this model.
The less frequent the rewards are, the more often they’ll “press the button” so to speak.
Any freemium game is possible to be played for free. But you’ll never have 100% access to the game, or you won’t have the same or, arguably, the necessary advantages to excel in the game.
And no free game will ever be content to let you play at its full capacity for free. They will always endorse spending money and encourage you to spend a little more than you’re comfortable. They are a business after all.
I don’t fault the companies for this psychological manipulation. They are just following the tried and true approach to earning money. But I think every person who plays the game should be aware of what the game is trying to make you do.
If you recognize what the game is doing, and are okay with it, then ethically there is no problem with spending money on it. My problem is that so many people have no idea that they’re being manipulated and, before they even realize it is happening, they get themselves in significant debt that they now need to dig themselves out of.
All for the sake of a “free game.”
/rant
