All EA major franchises going Free To Play

gamercraiggamercraig Posts: 6,069
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http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-08-26-free-to-play-coming-to-every-major-ea-franchise-moore

I can't say I like the direction the industry is going. I like to know up-front what a game costs.
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  • Jimmy_McNultyJimmy_McNulty Posts: 11,378
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    FIFA is F2P? I missed that one o_O

    F2P is not a bad model for gamers, it truely isn't. It just gets abused to ****, especially by the likes of EA who go berserk with microtransactions.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,743
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    FIFA is F2P? I missed that one o_O

    F2P is not a bad model for gamers, it truely isn't. It just gets abused to ****, especially by the likes of EA who go berserk with microtransactions.
    https://www.easportsfifaworld.com/betaSignup/emailCheck
  • SpeedloaferSpeedloafer Posts: 2,407
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    FIFA is F2P? I missed that one o_O

    F2P is not a bad model for gamers, it truely isn't. It just gets abused to ****, especially by the likes of EA who go berserk with microtransactions.

    Free to play is a bad model in online gaming. Person with most real life money is better geared/better armed. No thanks not for me.
  • Jimmy_McNultyJimmy_McNulty Posts: 11,378
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    chopoff wrote: »

    Looks like the FIFA Online beta I played a couple of years ago, I wondered what they did with that game.
  • Jimmy_McNultyJimmy_McNulty Posts: 11,378
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    Free to play is a bad model in online gaming. Person with most real life money is better geared/better armed. No thanks not for me.

    If it's Pay 2 Win sure. The most popular F2P games though are F2P with only cosmetics being premium.

    It is however pretty likely most EA F2P games are/will be P2W. I am dreading Command and Conquer tbh.
  • HotbirdHotbird Posts: 10,009
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    Free to play is a bad model in online gaming. Person with most real life money is better geared/better armed. No thanks not for me.

    You cant buy skills though. Best geared/best armed doesn't mean best player.
    The executive has championed moving the company from a seller of retail disks to a provider of "games as a service."

    If done right this could be really good for a game like Fifa for the type of person who buys £40 Fifa every year. Possible even for Battlefield as well as they already have premium so a constantly rolling service of content for a subscription fee could work.

    Sadly I fear for how this will actually work out if EA implemented it.
  • SpeedloaferSpeedloafer Posts: 2,407
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    Hotbird wrote: »
    You cant buy skills though. Best geared/best armed doesn't mean best player.
    You cant buy skills true, but from day 1 if I need to put an extra bullet in you or I'm reloading more because I don't have the latest DLC my superior skill will not keep me playing that game. I can take getting killed in COD because I know that player got the better of me. I cant take getting killed knowing I am the better player I got the better of my opponent but I didnt pay an extra £9.99 for the DLC gun and he only needed to shoot me twice while I needed to put 3 in him. Yea enjoy that game.


    Hotbird wrote: »
    If done right this could be really good for a game like Fifa for the type of person who buys £40 Fifa every year. Possible even for Battlefield as well as they already have premium so a constantly rolling service of content for a subscription fee could work.

    Sadly I fear for how this will actually work out if EA implemented it.

    Do you really think you will be at no disadvantage trying to stay free to play? On FIFA they will have boosters, and live seasons so if you want the better players you will have to pay for them. They will have every trick in the book to get your cash, along with boosters they will have in form players, classic teams etc
  • gamercraiggamercraig Posts: 6,069
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    And EA are giving a big f### you to offline modes -does that mean no single-player campaigns?
  • Vast_GirthVast_Girth Posts: 9,793
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    I'm not completely anti FTP, but every example of it i have seen to far has been just awful. Casual, grindy gumpf shoving the vairous pay options in your face every 5 seconds.
  • coolercooler Posts: 13,024
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    gamercraig wrote: »
    And EA are giving a big f### you to offline modes -does that mean no single-player campaigns?

    http://www.ea.com/news/a-quick-clarification-on-online-games
  • ChparmarChparmar Posts: 6,367
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    EA can just go away! They'll never see any custom from me.

    Same with most other FTP models - Xbox One's Killer Instinct comes to mind.
  • He4rtHe4rt Posts: 5,379
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    Sounds like Simpsons made them a boat load of cash.

    I wouldnt be entirely against this with some games. Iv'e beaten a few teams that have Messi and Ronaldo with my silver championship team in ultimate team so money doesn't necessarily buy you victory. As long as they don't move to pay to win then I'd be ok with it.
  • He4rtHe4rt Posts: 5,379
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    Chparmar wrote: »
    EA can just go away! They'll never see any custom from me.

    Same with most other FTP models - Xbox One's Killer Instinct comes to mind.

    Eurogamer:
    Xbox One launch title Killer Instinct is "the world's most generous demo", Microsoft has said.

    It is not a free-to-play game in the traditional sense, Ken Lobb, creative director of first-party published Xbox One games and the person GoldenEye's Klobb gun was named after, told Eurogamer in an interview at Gamescom.

    "I just want to get as many people playing as I can," Lobb explained. "Some people are like, 'oh, free-to-play.' No. It's not free-to-play.

    "What is free-to-play? It's a thing you really can't ever own at all. Day one, if you want to buy our game, buy it. You own it. There's no grind for little coins that unlock things later. None of that."

    "Then if you decide you like Thunder for example, you can buy Thunder for five bucks or equivalent. Maybe that's all you want, so why should you have to pay forty bucks? Just pay five and then you have Thunder.

    "If you buy the $40 pack, there are a couple of other little things you'll be able to buy, but you're done. It's not like there's some buy coins to unlock thing. That's why I've always said this is not a free-to-play game."

    Killer instincts full version can be bought fully for £35.
  • gamercraiggamercraig Posts: 6,069
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    I also don't care much for online social experiences. I play games to be immersed and switch off from everything else
  • ArchiexArchiex Posts: 219
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    You cant buy skills true, but from day 1 if I need to put an extra bullet in you or I'm reloading more because I don't have the latest DLC my superior skill will not keep me playing that game. I can take getting killed in COD because I know that player got the better of me. I cant take getting killed knowing I am the better player I got the better of my opponent but I didnt pay an extra £9.99 for the DLC gun and he only needed to shoot me twice while I needed to put 3 in him. Yea enjoy that game.





    Do you really think you will be at no disadvantage trying to stay free to play? On FIFA they will have boosters, and live seasons so if you want the better players you will have to pay for them. They will have every trick in the book to get your cash, along with boosters they will have in form players, classic teams etc

    Of course the number one downloaded micro transaction on FIFA will be the 100 kicks of the ball for just £1.99. * please note this applies to one game only and cannot be carried over into the next game.

    Then there is the others in the top 5:
    Auto foul rebuff - allows you to carry on, unhindered by fouls from the otherside.
    Weetabix power breakfast bars - players are 10% faster in reaction times and speed. * codes only available on certain purchases of your fave breakfast!
    Reduced injury times - for a small fee of £9.99 pers season or £1.99 per game, all injuries are reduced to just one game heal time. Meaning your players don't spend too long out of the loop.
    Streaker for a fee... - hire a streaker to run onto the pitch stopping your opponents in their tracks allowing you to get an unhindered goal.
    Valium in a can. - dope the other side reducing their reaction times and speed by 10%

    I'm sure people can think of many far better ideas for EA to assault the players with.
  • starsailorstarsailor Posts: 11,347
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    How's this going to work with stuff like RPGs?

    I can kind of understand naturally competitive games like sports, and FPS's etc.. but I want story and plot, and NPC's...
  • jokerzjokerz Posts: 1,353
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    Well Microsoft are doing this with Ryse which will be a full price retail game.

    http://www.computerandvideogames.com/426244/ryse-multiplayer-will-have-microtransactions/

    I hope this isn't the way gaming is going with this next gen!
  • gamercraiggamercraig Posts: 6,069
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    Yes, am tempted to sit out for a year and see how things develop. Not looking good so far
  • HotbirdHotbird Posts: 10,009
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    You cant buy skills true, but from day 1 if I need to put an extra bullet in you or I'm reloading more because I don't have the latest DLC my superior skill will not keep me playing that game. I can take getting killed in COD because I know that player got the better of me. I cant take getting killed knowing I am the better player I got the better of my opponent but I didnt pay an extra £9.99 for the DLC gun and he only needed to shoot me twice while I needed to put 3 in him. Yea enjoy that game.

    It all depends on how its done, something like Bad Company 2 which had all its weapon short cuts so a level one player could have access to all guns and accessorys. You could spot a player using these a mile away and they were always an easy kill, even with the worst guns in the game.

    If they sell you a Golden Gun which can kill others in one shot this will drive players away which will decrease revenue which would be bad for the game. They have to balance these things properly to make a sustainable product.

    Obviously this all depends on how things get implemented. How unbalanced is a game like TF2 which uses the F2P model?.
    Do you really think you will be at no disadvantage trying to stay free to play? On FIFA they will have boosters, and live seasons so if you want the better players you will have to pay for them. They will have every trick in the book to get your cash, along with boosters they will have in form players, classic teams etc

    I was talking about 'Games as a service' in that quote not F2P, I think games like Fifa could move to become a service quite easily with regular content updates for player rosters ect all as part of an annual subscription for around the same price people are already willing to pay for a new game with new rosters ect each year.
  • SpeedloaferSpeedloafer Posts: 2,407
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    jokerz wrote: »
    Well Microsoft are doing this with Ryse which will be a full price retail game.

    http://www.computerandvideogames.com/426244/ryse-multiplayer-will-have-microtransactions/

    I hope this isn't the way gaming is going with this next gen!

    I posted about this in another thread, there is no Ryse thread and I didn't want to start one and the first post be negative,

    So, you earn gold by playing multiplayer you use this gold to open "booster packs" to get new armour etc. But you can just use real currency to buy the packs and kit out your guy to be great from the start and any "poor" player will just have to grind it out, with the disadvantage of course of fighting much better geared players.

    This pay to win is just bullshit. Rewarding rich gamers and punishing poor players is just typical of Microsoft and the direction it is going. They first time you turn on your Xbox One you may as well just enter your bank details because they want every single last penny you have.
  • jokerzjokerz Posts: 1,353
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    Hotbird wrote: »
    It all depends on how its done, something like Bad Company 2 which had all its weapon short cuts so a level one player could have access to all guns and accessorys. You could spot a player using these a mile away and they were always an easy kill, even with the worst guns in the game.

    If they sell you a Golden Gun which can kill others in one shot this will drive players away which will decrease revenue which would be bad for the game. They have to balance these things properly to make a sustainable product.

    Obviously this all depends on how things get implemented. How unbalanced is a game like TF2 which uses the F2P model?.



    I was talking about 'Games as a service' in that quote not F2P, I think games like Fifa could move to become a service quite easily with regular content updates for player rosters ect all as part of an annual subscription for around the same price people are already willing to pay for a new game with new rosters ect each year.

    I unlocked the extra weapon kits in BF3 when they were on sale on the PC. Didn't make me a better player.

    Just meant when someone killed me they had access to some decent toys.....
  • SpeedloaferSpeedloafer Posts: 2,407
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    Hotbird wrote: »
    It all depends on how its done, something like Bad Company 2 which had all its weapon short cuts so a level one player could have access to all guns and accessorys. You could spot a player using these a mile away and they were always an easy kill, even with the worst guns in the game.

    If they sell you a Golden Gun which can kill others in one shot this will drive players away which will decrease revenue which would be bad for the game. They have to balance these things properly to make a sustainable product.

    Obviously this all depends on how things get implemented. How unbalanced is a game like TF2 which uses the F2P model?.

    but if its balanced nobody will bother spending any money, They have to make you want to spend the money. Nobody wants to pay £9.99 for another gun that if I have 5 of them already. The new gun has to be better. And the more content they release, the better the next new gun gets and lets be honest its EA they will content out their arse. So your original gun will be a lot worse than the later DLC guns.


    I was talking about 'Games as a service' in that quote not F2P, I think games like Fifa could move to become a service quite easily with regular content updates for player rosters ect all as part of an annual subscription for around the same price people are already willing to pay for a new game with new rosters ect each year.

    Subscription is ok in my book as you are not at a disadvantage but that is not they are talking about at all. They want all your money.
  • muntamunta Posts: 18,285
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    DLC where you pay for extra content (like NFS for example) is one thing. DLC where you purchase items to help beat the game or beat other players is entirely another. The only way to stop this happening is for everyone to avoid these games like the plague.
  • Jimmy_McNultyJimmy_McNulty Posts: 11,378
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    jokerz wrote: »
    Well Microsoft are doing this with Ryse which will be a full price retail game.

    http://www.computerandvideogames.com/426244/ryse-multiplayer-will-have-microtransactions/

    I hope this isn't the way gaming is going with this next gen!

    If the game plays by itself, will it pay by itself too? :confused:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 107
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    Looks like the FIFA Online beta I played a couple of years ago, I wondered what they did with that game.

    It's going strong here in Korea (they're already on FIFA Online 3) but here is a test ground anyway and nobody wants to pay (even the microtransactions are largely shunned so they rely on copious ads.
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