South Korea's Free Computer Game Business Model Hits the US

Anti-Globalism writes with this excerpt from AFP via Yahoo! News: "Seoul-based 'free-to-play' computer game titan Nexon on Wednesday blasted into the US videogame arena with a 'Combat Arms' online first-person shooter title that makes its cash from optional 'micro-transactions' by players. The game makes its money from players that buy animated helmets, outfits, emblems or other virtual items to customize in-game characters. To keep the battlefield even, players earn experience or advanced weaponry by skill so people essentially can't pay for power. ... Startups and established game makers including Japanese goliath Sony are venturing into the free computer game market, according to DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole. 'It looks like it could be very big,' Cole told AFP. 'It's one of the things everybody seems to be looking at. The challenge is it is a very new model and it remains to be seen whether customers used to a free model will be tight when it comes to actually spending money on it.'"

Re:A new age of micro-transactions?

[plasmacutter]

So far as teenagers linking credit cards to the games.

We've had pre-paid charge cards for online transactions for a while, with the explicit purpose of allowing minors access online "credit" transactions without involving the related credit approvals required with "real" credit lines.

This sounds like an excellent place to apply it.

You get X dollars a month to spend on this game, when you run out you run out.

Question:

[WDot]

Why would I care what my character looks like in a first person shooter? Looking at the combat arms website, it suggests that the stuff that you buy is cosmetic, which makes sense in an MMO or even a third-person stylized action game like GunZ, but in a military style shooter? You won't be able to see your character in game, so the extra stuff is only a display of wealth. Plus (and this may be simple personal preference), customized military gear doesn't seem as exciting as shining armor or flashy action anti-hero clothes.

That said I hope it works out for them, but I'll take my $50 games with everything included.

Re:A new age of micro-transactions?

[lysergic.acid]

i think MapleStory and Second Life both came out before WoW, so WoW certainly wasn't the first game to create a market for virtual goods.

and no one is saying that all games will become free and supported by micropayments, just that this model is gaining a lot of attention as there have been several successful releases.

if you RTFA, the author talks about keeping the playing field even by not allowing players to pay for power. in Maple Story the micropayments were used for buying cosmetic items to customize your character's appearance. so you could purchase sun glasses, designer shoes, hats, etc. but they have no effect on gameplay.

the whole point of this model, which the article discusses, is to exploit computers as gaming forums. the micropayment system is driven by the social aspect of multiplayer online games. players want to express themselves through the game, and this system allows players to do that through virtual apparel. people who don't want to pay for these superficial add-ons do not need to, and it won't change their gaming experience.

and other posters have pointed out, pre-paid cards are an easy way for players, or parents, to control in-game spending. these are even mentioned in TFA:

Kim says people prefer prepaid cards to tying credit cards to ongoing subscriptions to online role-playing games as is the case with popular "World of Warcraft."

Re:Hrmm

[maglor_83]

Especially in an FPS. Wouldn't an animated helmet scream 'Shoot here!'

Re:Not nearly the first

[Anonymous Coward]

Except that this is from Nexon, a Seol-based company. The same company that made Maple Story according to their website. I don't think the fact that they happen to have a US office matters much.

Also, I don't see how a game which is freely downloadable from their website can "hit the US" more than any other freely downloadable game with an English client.

As for the business model it's an interesting one, but one that can easily get out of hand. Rakion was a lot of fun but the stuff they put in which required money made the game incredibly unfun regardless of the business model (note that I haven't played the game in years so it may have changed, but they would have had to pretty much remove most of the summoned creatures to balance it which I doubt has been done.) Being too quick to add new revenue generating items can create balance problems and then people get even angrier when something they paid 20 bucks for gets nerfed.

Pah Second Life has them beat

[syousef]

On these things you pay money to customize your player - clothe them etc.

On second life you pay money so you can take off your clothes and not be the only one lacking a virtual penis.

Second life has you by the balls my friend!

Re:Hrmm

[JohnSearle]

So you're arguing that we should bring the class distinction into the gaming world as well? The rich get the most powerful items / weapons because they can be afforded, and the poor are left with either purchasing beyond their means, or being hindered? and, yes I do understand this is probably minimal amounts of money, but the more resources controlled in this manner, the more the cumulative costs will be.

This would also means that the gaming companies will most likely incrementally increase the power of items to keep people purchasing new thing (and to perhaps keep people interested in this type of system). Most MMORPG's do this with their incremental additions of more powerful equipment, levels and stats with game expansions. The only difference is that they encourage equal opportunity, in that they ban external trading.

I don't know about you... but I prefer to play in a system that encourages equal opportunity.

- John

Re:Wednesday?

[KGIII]

Dual boot?

If the OS running under what you're wanting to do is so antithetical to you then you *might* want to take a look at your values. If you don't have a copy of a legit Windows OS running around than my apologies and you are correct in saying so but, really, unless it is financial reasons it isn't that hard to boot to another OS to run what you want.

The day I let an OS decide, or even a goal, what I use for software is the day I fail. What matters to me is getting what I want or need out of the system in the least risky way possible. *shrugs* It's not a Microsoft vs. World thing to me. It's just getting what I need done to be done in a reasonably decent amount of time with a reasonable amount of security.

Neat concept but game needs work

[daskro]

Combat Arms plays and feels like a fps in late beta.

Most of the game mechanics are down, the guns and game physics are okay, and the net code is decent. There is a lot of potential in the customization of characters and weapons but even at this stage the kind of upgrades are neither give you significant advantage nor have a "wow" factor apart from "I have a red dot on my ak now." This is important because other games with similar business models, such as Pangya Golf, give the user the option to buy items and upgrades that significantly increase one's performance in game.

How would one create these kind of upgrades for a game that is decisively skill dependent? Imba body armor upgrades? Super speed combat boots? auto-aim? All of these upgrades would be neat and all but what they won't do is make up for players who are terrible at FPSes but have Mom's Credit Card.

Re:Pah Second Life has them beat

[Anonymous Coward]

Second life sucks.

Re:Hrmm

[DarthJohn]

Maybe they make you pay for the nondescript helmet?

Re:An interesting market experiment...

[LandDolphin]

MAny MMO's could be profitable. However, it seesm that instead of making great games for a nitch market, companies are more interested in making the next "WoW".