During tough economic times many gamers are turning to free-to-play games to give them their fix without costing a monthly fee, but are they really saving money? Blogger Patrick Klepek over at MTV Multiplayer has found that it very well could make nearly no difference whatsoever for the average player

People spend $15 a month to play “World of Warcraft”, but if your MMO content was completely free, as it is in “Perfect World International,” would you pay for items simply for convenience or a unique costume style?

We told you that some “Perfect World International” players spent $50 on a unique mount, but there was the possibility it was a one-time investment. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson said that’s not the case.

Parker follows Perfect World, the company that runs “Perfect World International,” and told MTV Multiplayer Chinese gamers spend an average of $10 a month on items in the game’s marketplace. These items are optional.

“The size of the market is pretty incredible and ‘WoW’ is also successful there,” explained Wilson. “I would say that there are certainly lots of people who would be willing to pay for this type of content both here and around the world.”