Alganon booted in December this past year to a very mixed reaction. Launched as a lower budget, indie MMO, Alganon plucked various mechanics from other MMOs (offline leveling system, skill branches, etc) and threw them together in a game that looked similar to a world of war and craft. Reviews for the title were generally positive, but many reviewers noted that despite the community, the title was not quite ready to put itself out there and demand a cash payment each month.
In a move the may not surprise anyone, Alganon has announced that the title will be going subscription free, with an item shop, much like Dungeons and Dragons Online (minus the subscription). I said booted earlier, because Alganon has still technically not “launched,” the official launch being this April.
I’d like to think Alganon will be able to pull around, and hopefully moving to an item mall model will bring in more money than the company was receiving previously, but at the end of the day they aren’t changing to a free to play model because the old one was so successful.
To evolve with the ever changing market, Alganon has moved to a Subscription Free model.
If this change in business model doesn’t turn the game around, I think we’re going to see another Tabula Rasa. Another one (year) hit wonder.
When Dungeons and Dragons Online went free to play last year, it sparked quite a few questions as to the game itself. How was it doing, subscriber-wise? Was this a desperate attempt at new players, or just a smart business move? Of course, now we know that it was just a smart business move. Shortly after DDO went free to play, Turbine announced a 40% increase in paying subscribers, and a new server to hold all the incoming players.
Since Dungeons and Dragons Online went free play, they have amassed one million new players, as well as twice the number of paying subscribers. The cash shop on Dungeons and Dragons Online leads the industry with a 500% increase in sales.
Well, the success just keeps on coming. Jim Crowley: CEO of Turbine had this to say:
“The response from players to DDO Unlimited has been nothing short of phenomenal. We’ve known all along how great this game is and by implementing an innovative new model that put the players in charge of how they pay and play DDO Unlimited, we’ve successfully expanded our reach and injected new energy into the game. Without a doubt, DDO Unlimited is a hit!“
Allods Online is a very interesting title, not only because of the game itself but the community and the developers that surround it. Allods has what very few developers can boast about, a community where even though players complain about certain aspects, they are very ready to admit that they will continue playing, because the game is just that good. Just that good is exactly what Allods Online is, a shimmering glow of light in a sea of your run of the mill Asian grinders (Yes, I’m aware Allods is a Russian game), a title looking to be the World of Warcraft of the Eastern Seaboard:
Until, of course, those Ruskies ruined it for us. For anyone who plays Allods Online in North America, your jaw likely dropped when you logged in just a few days ago to find that the long awaited cash shop had finally opened, to the tune of ten times the price of the Russian version of the game (Every website I’ve visited parrots twenty times, but $2 to $20 is what we in the mathematical world call “ten times”). Mark this is the first major blunder of gPotato. Granted, at this point teasing the frothing-mouthed community would be about as smart as dangling your tasty fingers in front of a T-Virus infected Doberman on steroids, so gPotato waited about a day and came out with the next bombshell: The prices were intended. Missing the point entirely, gPotato attempted to calm down the crowd by assuring them that more items would hit the cash shop soon.
So you’re walking out of the crumbly mess that is the Allods Forums and thinking to yourself: “Well, at least that was the worst of it,” in which case you would be promptly crushed by two tons of irony. The latest patch to hit the Russian server (as patches normally do hit Russia before swarming over to the West) is less of a bombshell and more of a nuclear “whoops.” Actually, that’s a good idea. You heard the term coined here first folks, the “nuclear whoops.” Back on topic, the latest patch brings in sweeping changes to Allods Online.
Perfumes are the game’s method of removing Fear of Death, a debuff that lowers stats 25%, stacking up to four times, on a timer that increases as you level up. Previously, at end game the timer maxed out at 45 minutes, and perfumes could be purchased through a daily quest, or through the game’s gold shop. Fear of Death could also be removed by paying a lump sum of gold, and negated in many instances by being resurrected by a player. gPotato must have known its community wanted more, because carousing through the latest Russian patch notes, I found the following:
Increased amount of experience required to achieve levels of 20 to 40.
Spells resurrection is now subjected to objective effect of Fear of Death in the absence of the effect of Patron.
Number of health and damage caused by high-level monsters slightly increased (up to 25% at 40 m level).
So not only do monsters hit more (up to 25% more at higher levels), but it takes longer to level up, and being resurrected now subjects you to Fear of Death. Numbers one and three are pretty irrelevant to the overall point, but I’d like to take a closer look at number 2, because this is something a lot of Allods Online’ers have pointed out to me: What this means is that Heroic Instances, which cannot be exited, now have a requirement for perfume. As perfume lasts for 30 minutes, and costs approximately 75 cents per bottle, the Allods Online forums were kind enough to do my math for me and figure out that raiding at end-game will cost an easy minimum of $50 per month. Mounts were added into the game as well, but if you want them to be at peak efficiency you’ll have to buy feed from, where else, the gold shop.
Here’s an interesting note: Players are boycotting the cash shop, not by not playing the game, but by continuing to play for free. Presumably, the idea is to load on the cost to Gala-Net to host the servers, while throttling their income by not paying for anything in the cash shop. Pretty sneaky, sis.
Granted, this isn’t all coming from the community. The original team that developed Allods has been long gone since the days of the closed beta, making it not at all unbelievable that the game has taken a 180 in terms of direction and planning, from a title that was once about never having to pay a single cent, to a title about paying to keep yourself out of virtual hell. Rather than making a game where your income comes from many players paying small sums, Gala-Net decided to turn the title into a game where no one pays anything, because everything is too overpriced, and a subscription to another MMO is a much better deal than paying that same $15 on a couple days worth of perfume.
There are plenty of theories as to why these events are taking place, with the target audience closing in on itself as each day passes, with questions being asked: Is gPotato really that out of touch with how much players are willing to pay?
Allods Online is a great game at its core, and the support shown to it by its players is astounding on all levels, and really why I considered making this weekend Allods Online exclusive. The players are voicing their support for the title and making real suggestions: Bring the prices down and we’ll pay. Make the game a monthly subscription and we’ll pay.
Allods hasn’t “launched” yet, so it isn’t too late for Gala-Net to throw in some quick changes to the cash shop to get themselves back on the player’s good side. No developer should sit and watch their reputation thrown into the trash before release, and that is quite a big feat considering the warm receiving Allods was getting just a few weeks ago.
Technically, The Chronicles of Spellborn never went anywhere. Back in MMO Fallout’s infancy, I wrote about Acclaim taking over the MMO, with the intentions of reviving the game and relaunching it the next year with a free to play, microtransaction model. Until then, of course, Chronicles of Spellborn would be completely free to play.
Well, 2010 has come around, and that means it’s about time for an announcement from Acclaim as to the status of this reboot. On the Spellborn forums, we were treated to not just any customer service rep’s explanation, but the CEO himself Howard Marks. Marks had this to say,
“The rumors are true! Spellborn Version Two is on the way. The developer has released the new version in Japan, and based on the success of that launch and the fine tuning of the game, we will keep you informed as to when we shall launch the English version of the game. When we do, we will be inviting registered players of the old version, who have valid email addresses on file, to become our beta players. In the meantime, why not check out some of our other great free games at www.acclaim.com? Hope to see you ingame! ”
— Howard Marks, CEO of Acclaim Games, Inc.
Thank you How-did he just say that this has already been released in Japan? The Japanese market must be a better litmus test for Chronicles of Spellborn if you are willing to base the relaunch of the title in a completely separate market based off of the results.
For the record, I still recommend trying out Chronicles of Spellborn, or Acclaim’s two other free to play MMOs. There hasn’t been much more information about the tweaks that will be coming, but MMO Fallout will be here to cover the relaunch of Chronicles of Spellborn.
Those of you who follow MMO Fallout know I like to go off of the paved path every now and then and have a little fun. I noticed the following advertisement for Nodiatis, a free to play browser based MMO. Being the kind of person who clicks on every ad I see, I naturally signed up for the game and started playing. What I found was quite an enjoyable game, but I’m not here to advertise for the game.
Of course I am kidding. What I noticed, however, is that the company used the community’s own spots for its advertising. The SomethingAwful forums and one of their very own players. Naturally, my first thought went to “why not an MMO Fallout spot?” I think we can make this work and who knows? Maybe you’ll see that MMO Fallout name while browsing through Wikia pages. This calls for some short, spiffy one liners.
Nodiatis stands out among its peers. Featuring fluid and strategic combat. 26 unique and engaging classes. Cheaters beware, your days are numbered.
All jokes aside, this is an enjoyable game, with a community small enough that cheaters can be named and shamed individually when they are banned. The game is regularly updated, with fixes and new content, and the developers are engaged with the community, and even reward people who successfully report bugs.
I actually did some more research on the title and found that they have an option to make your character a full murderer, allowing you to attack and kill players and steal their item at any time, with a limit: If you die, there is no resurrection. Want to play that way? You’d better bring all of your cards to the table. Although it did give me a final spot, one I hope Glitchless LLC has the humor to choose if they do go along with my master plan:
“More cajones than any other MMO.”
-Omali, MMO Fallout
Fusion Fall, the kid-oriented MMO based on the Cartoon Network universe, boasts seven million registered users. Since the game is going free to play in 2010, I think it’s safe to assume very few of those registered accounts still play, and even fewer are paying subscribers. When a company reports registered accounts rather than active accounts, it’s a sign the latter number is a fraction of the former.
On the heels of Funcom’s announcement of their own free to play MMO, Cartoon Network has announced that Fusion Fall, launched just a year ago, will be going 100% free to play in 2010. Up until then, players who opted to stay free were able to play the game up to level 4, and its accompanying nano-bots. I beta tested the game and, upon launch, got myself to level four after about an hour and a half. Fusion Fall isn’t a freemium (free with premium content) title as much as it is a demo with a full paid product.
The problem that Fusion Fall faces is that the kid’s demographic is not one that pays monthly subscriptions for games. First, the kids themselves rarely have cash on hand and don’t have the avenue to pay the subscription fees themselves (no bank cards, no credit cards). Second, the parents are generally very wary of signing their kids up for these games.
Any subscribers will be reimbursed in the form of some exclusive items.
MMO Fallout 