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

Week
of Jan 10 - Jan 16, 2010




1. Dungeons
and Dragons
Online: Eberron Unlimited


2. style="text-decoration: underline;">RuneScape style="text-decoration: underline;">

3. style="text-decoration: underline;">Runes of Magic style="text-decoration: underline;">

4.  target="_blank">FreeRealms href="http://allods.gpotato.com/" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;">

5.  href="http://atlantica.ndoorsgames.com/center/default.asp"
target="_blank">Atlantica
Online
href="http://cabal.ogplanet.com/Reloaded.html" target="_blank"> style="text-decoration: underline;">

6. style="text-decoration: underline;">Rappelz

7. style="text-decoration: underline;">Heroes of Gaia

8.  target="_blank">Cabal
Online


9.  target="_blank">Allods
Online


10.2Moons

Over
the past 10 years or so, we as gamers have witnessed
several paradigm shifts, where what we commonly accept as reality has
undergone
a substantial change. We witnessed the first major shift around the
turn of the
century when several companies proved that they could set up online
games with
a monthly subscription model and have them not only break even, but
thrive.
Once the monthly pay-to-play concept was firmly entrenched it took
another
major shift to bring us to where we are today - realizing that a
free-to-play
game with a microtransaction option could not only be popular, but
could
actually be compelling and exciting.



The real epiphany happened in 2009 when we saw several new games
developed as
free-to-play titles from the ground up even though they would have
likely done
very well using a monthly subscription model, and also when a prior
subscription-based game, in an attempt to stave off extinction, changed
its
business model and was reborn like the mythical Phoenix, soaring to
amazing new
heights.



It is because of this very change, this turn in the gaming tides, that
we are
proud to bring to you a new weekly feature that will spotlight this
up-and-coming
sector of MMO gaming. We will explore and review the new worlds and
spotlight
the existing ones, but most of all we want to involve you, the fans of
these
games, in an interactive column that highlights the fastest growing
segment in
MMOGs. So please, venture along with us down this exciting road and
help keep
free-to-play and microtransaction-based games at the forefront of the
next
decade of gaming.

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style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Microtransaction
Highlight of the Week

alt="" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/79465"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 250px; height: 124px; float: left;">
Each
week we will be spotlighting an item of interest that we stumble upon
in the various item stores of the games we play. I know many of you
have no desire to spend your hard earned cash on in-game items, and I
respect that. As such this feature will not pander to any particular
company, nor will it amount to Ten Ton Hammer selling ad space, but
rather it will provide a look at a fun or topical item.



The inaugural item is one that is of particular note due to both its
social
relevance and the fact that while the game it is from is not a
free-to-play title -- it is a microtransaction title, and that will
also be in the scope of our weekly musings.



EQ2, in the spirit of charity, has several items on sale for a Haiti
earthquake relief fund drive. SOE will be donating these funds (up to
$25,000) for every item you buy. Not only does the armor look great,
but it will be a lasting reminder of the act of kindness that gamers
make as they rally around a good cause. I would consider that a win/win
situation.



You can read the official press release href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/news/read/current/3410"
target="_blank">here.
Kudos to SOE for their efforts to help those folks who are so
desperately in need.


While
there are many quality games in the free-to-play and
microtransaction segments, it took the fall of a major title, and a
daring act by
its developer, to raise the status of free-to-plays in the court of
public
opinion from an afterthought to a major force in MMO gaming. Of course,
the
title I am speaking about is Dungeons
and Dragons Online: Ebberon Unlimited,
the former
subscription-based AAA title from Turbine.



While many gamers and industry personnel alike heralded DDO as a
no-brainer
release given it's genre-creating roots as the tabletop game that
influenced
the rule sets of nearly every other fantasy game, the implementation of
the
D&D universe in virtual space simply didn't live up to
gamers’
expectations. When finally faced with a decision to cut bait and run or
try something
radically different, Turbine chose the latter and changed to a
microtransaction
format to attempt to resuscitate this dying world. In emergency medical
parlance (which is my other profession, when I’m not writing
about games I’m
out saving lives), microtransactions proved to be the ultimate
defibrillator
and brought DDO back from its terminal flatline. Not only did the
switch revive
the game but it put it in a track suit and ran it up the charts faster
than
Usain Bolt assaulting the 100m.



Considering that the results of the experiment have been such a
resounding
success, I’m left wondering what other failing games could
benefit from the
same radical change in direction. While the list could be nearly as
long as our
weekly top ten, the two most likely candidates are both fantasy-based
games
with strong IP bases and dedicated fan bases that predate their MMOG
inceptions. The two titles I’m speaking of are Warhammer
Online
and
Lord of the Rings Online,
but
while both could benefit from the change it
seems likely that only one will ever give it a chance.



Turbine, the developers responsible for converting DDO to a
free-to-play model, has already shown that they are forward
thinking enough to pull the trigger on such a venture, but is LotRO in
need of a
similar change? While the game is holding steady and, with the release
of its
latest expansion Siege of
Mirkwood,
has had a slight
upsurge in
popularity, the parallels between it and DDO are impossible to
deny--each
represent an amazingly popular fantasy IP that has been mostly
disappointing as
an MMOG. 

LotRO
could be an even bigger hit than DDO. It has many of the trappings that
current generation gamers look for in an MMOG --easy to acquire gear,
fast
leveling, instanced dungeons and many other features that are polished
and ready for a much larger audience than
the game
currently caters to. The game is also ripe for the addition of vanity
and
accessibility items that are the bread and butter of item shops.
Hopefully
Turbine will make the leap soon and bring this amazing game world to
the
masses.



Sadly for the developers at Mythic, I doubt that publisher EA has the
forward
thinking necessary to save Warhammer
Online.
Their current track
record
is one of simply firing employees and sticking underperforming games
into
"maintenance mode." Perhaps one day Warhammer
Online
will find
a new publisher with the vision and guts to pull off the blinders of
the
traditional subscription model and see their own game’s
resurgence.

alt="" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 600px; height: 362px;"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/76228">

style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">
Dungeons and Dragons Online continues to elevate the expectations for
Free-to-Play games


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style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Hot
off the Press!

  • 2029
    Gets In
    Game Radio


    2029 Online
    is getting its own in-game radio station set
    to launch alongside the game's next expansion. Free-to-Play beats the
    big boys to the punch with a great idea, WoW radio anyone?
  • Dragon's
    Call
    Enters Open Beta January 18


    Open Beta! Jump in and check out this browser based game, but
    be warned there may be several missing hours from your day
    ahead.
  • target="_blank">Allods
    Kicks Off Closed Beta Test #4 January 19th


    New levels, new areas and new adventures oh my! New phase runs from
    January 19th-February 3rd. .
  • target="_blank">HanbitSoft
    to Bring Hellgate Back to North America


    Former Flagship Studios is reanimated by South Korean gaming
    powerhouse. But can they bring the undead back to..unlife?


Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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