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style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Top
Ten
Free-to-Play Games

Week
of Oct 10th - Oct 16th, 2010




1.EverQuest2
Extended


2. style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank">  href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo">Dungeons
and Dragons
Online: Eberron Unlimited href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank">

href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;">3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro">The Lord of the
Rings
Online

4.  target="_blank"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"
target="_blank"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"
target="_top"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"
target="_blank"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"
target="_blank"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://us.runesofmagic.com/us/index.html">Runes
of Magic

5.  target="_blank">  href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2394"
target="_blank">Allods Online

6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2553"> style="text-decoration: underline;">Star Wars: Clone Wars
Adventures

 7.  target="_blank">FreeRealms

8. target="_blank">Aika href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/856"
target="_top">

9. target="_top"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/771">Perfect
World International

10.  target="_blank">Atlantica Online href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/581"
target="_top"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2433"
target="_blank"> href="http://heroesofgaia.gpotato.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://www.gamersfirst.com/swordofthenewworld/"
target="_blank">

style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://www.freerealms.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://atlantica.ndoorsgames.com/center/default.asp"
target="_blank"> href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://us.runesofmagic.com/us/index.html"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> style="text-decoration: underline;"> href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;">



EverQuest II Extended
has dominated my playtime in the last few weeks, and it has extended
that dominance to the top of our Top 10 list this week. Here’s a
shameless bit of self-promotion--make sure you check out my review of
EQ2X, which also came out today. If style="font-style: italic;">The Lord of the Rings Online
is more your cup of tea, I would recommend checking out Gunky’s
hands-on look
at the free-to-play experience from the eyes of a
seasoned vet and stay tuned for my complete review coming in a couple
of weeks.



I will be on my way to Blizzcon by the time most of you are reading
this today, hoping against hope that Blizzard will be releasing info on
their next MMOG and hoping it will be free-to-play. I imagine
Activision will succumb to the allure of the revenues to be had with a
microtransaction-based game. Perhaps Blizzard stamping their logo on a
free-to-play game will be enough to convince the masses that
free-to-play is a-okay.



But wait a second Medawky, did you just imply that free-to-play is all
about making money? Indeed I did. Like any business gaming is about
making money, no matter how you chose to present your titles. Continue
reading for a bit of education about free market economics and gaming.


If you have been a follower of our free-to-play coverage here
at Ten Ton Hammer for any length of time you know that the only thing
stronger than our commitment to covering these games is the amount of
controversy that surrounds them. If Ten Ton Hammer were a European or
Asian-based site few would question the monetization of MMOGs--they
simply accept the model and move on--but here we tend to have a
different expectation level and definition of what free-to-play should
mean.



As someone who works (mostly) from home, I tend to have quite a bit
more free time during the week than my wife does, and as such I am
saddled with most of the household shopping. I tend to get a lot of
grief from my better half because I refuse to frequent some of the
cheaper stores or purchase some of the cheaper brands – call it a
lifelong belief in getting what you pay for. That doesn’t mean I don’t
enjoy a good bargain, or look for the best deal, but to me quality is
represented by something that holds its value. I think most of us would
agree with that philosophy to some degree, so it baffles me to see
gamers get so angry when they are asked to shell out some cash in a
quality microtransaction game.



Perhaps the term free-to-play is to blame, or maybe we just have our
wires crossed, but an MMOG that is free-to-play isn’t one that has zero
associated costs. The free aspect relates to the lack of start up or
subscription fees. I suppose “free client and no required monthly
subscription” would be more correct terminology, but it just doesn’t
roll off the tongue as well. With the average AAA title running
approximately $50.00 for the initial client, $15.00 a month for
subscription fees and around $40.00 per expansion pack, three years of
playtime would put you at roughly $650.00. Factor in a game like EQ2X
that hit the ground with 6 expansions and countless tweaks and
improvements and the value becomes even more substantial. I think most
gamers could have a highly enjoyable experience for just over $200.00 a
year in any of the top free-to-play games.



The preconceptions that we seem to have regarding free-to-plays are
finally starting to erode. The notion that shelling out money to unlock
content or aspects of the game represents a pure rip-off is also
beginning to fade as we come to realize that the people who provide us
with hours of entertainment deserve to make money. By allowing players
to try the game with no investment, to come and go freely with no
per-month bonds shackling them, and by granting them more power by
allowing them to unlock the features they want, free-to-play gaming
will become the industry standard.



What about you? What is your preferred method of paying for your gaming
fix? Are you still more comfortable paying for a retail box? Just to
remove the inevitable quality of game arguments that tend to pop up in
these discussions, let’s play perfect world and say that your current
game allowed you to choose your own payment structure. Would you still
opt for paying for the client up front and needing a subscription to
play, or would you go for a free-to-play or hybrid model? Let us know
in the forums and stay tuned as I post the results, along with a look
at the best and worst of payment options, in an upcoming
Microcosms. 



src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/88128"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 640px; height: 360px;"
alt="EQ2X">

style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">The
Item Shop window is a good thing.  






Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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