How do "Free to play" games make their money?

[n2it]

I am leery of going in a game that says it's free to play because nothing in this world is free so there's got to be a catch. Synced is the game in question here but there are other ones.

[**DeiRowtag]

ads and microtransaction or optional subscription or player data reselling are the most common way to get money from it

[🍋 Lemonfed 🍋]

Microtransactions, the funny part is most of the time the free to play games make most of their profits from a very small minority of big spenders that they often refer as whales.

[Pscht]

Originally posted by 🍋 Lemonfed 🍋:

Microtransactions, the funny part is most of the time the free to play games make most of their profits from a very small minority of big spenders that they often refer as whales.

It's not quite as funny when you realise that a lot of these "whales" aren't rich but rather addicted, spending money they don't have.

[invision2212]

Originally posted by Pscht:

Originally posted by 🍋 Lemonfed 🍋:

Microtransactions, the funny part is most of the time the free to play games make most of their profits from a very small minority of big spenders that they often refer as whales.

It's not quite as funny when you realise that a lot of these "whales" aren't rich but rather addicted, spending money they don't have.

They have a choice not to spend money tho. Just like someone addicted to the lottery. I don’t feel bad for them when they have the ability to stop.

[Wolfpig]

Originally posted by invision2212:

Originally posted by Pscht:

It's not quite as funny when you realise that a lot of these "whales" aren't rich but rather addicted, spending money they don't have.

They have a choice not to spend money tho. Just like someone addicted to the lottery. I don’t feel bad for them when they have the ability to stop.

You do know that it is called Addiction because it is not easy to stop that?

But i guess you would also say that to drug addicts too that they just need to stop...

[Pscht]

Let's contact the Nobel prize guys, cure for addiction is found: Just don't be addicted.

[Yujah]

Originally posted by Wolfpig:

You do know that it is called Addiction because it is not easy to stop that?

The issue is the assumption that it needs to be easy to be possible.

[Hobbit XIII]

Originally posted by invision2212:

Originally posted by Pscht:

It's not quite as funny when you realise that a lot of these "whales" aren't rich but rather addicted, spending money they don't have.

They have a choice not to spend money tho. Just like someone addicted to the lottery. I don’t feel bad for them when they have the ability to stop.

It is an addiction for some people the mind to put it as simply as possible has lots of switches and lights and it really is not that easy for some of these people to just 'stop'.
Same for many things people get addicted outside of drug dependence.

[Hobbit XIII]

Originally posted by Pscht:

Let's contact the Nobel prize guys, cure for addiction is found: Just don't be addicted.

Marge : "I suppose we are going to have spend lots of money on therapy sessions for me to stop being addicted to gambling."
Homer : "can you just not do it honey?"

[happy]

Originally posted by invision2212:

Originally posted by Pscht:

It's not quite as funny when you realise that a lot of these "whales" aren't rich but rather addicted, spending money they don't have.

They have a choice not to spend money tho. Just like someone addicted to the lottery. I don’t feel bad for them when they have the ability to stop.

no-brainest comment i have ever read.

[Kargor]

Originally posted by n2it:

I am leery of going in a game that says it's free to play because nothing in this world is free so there's got to be a catch.

Cash shop. You can still buy thing for money.

The real question is how much can you play a game without buying anything. Some games, you don't get very far. Other games, its much better. But, sooner or later, the "incentives" to buy cash items will mount.

Originally posted by **DeiRowtag:

or player data reselling

Funny thing is, there are basically bazillions of claims that pretty much every company is doing that -- but there's no evidence of it happening, and I've never heard of any company actually buying that "player data" from some F2P game. Or my Steam playing data. Or my Amazon shopping list. Or my PayPal shopping list. Who actually wants these things? They can just contact me if they want to, I'll sell it to them :-)

[Tito Shivan]

Originally posted by Kargor:

Originally posted by **DeiRowtag:

or player data reselling

Funny thing is, there are basically bazillions of claims that pretty much every company is doing that -- but there's no evidence of it happening, and I've never heard of any company actually buying that "player data" from some F2P game.

And as a monetization scheme standpoint, you can only sell the player's data once.

[<<---{!}--->>]

Originally posted by Wolfpig:

But i guess you would also say that to drug addicts too that they just need to stop...

of course all addicts need to stop. are you suggesting they should keep going?
if they can't control themselves, being vulnerable at some point, they should ask for help and remove themselves from dangerous environment (like, power off the PC and take cold shower). it's well in their power.

[<<---{!}--->>]

Originally posted by Hobbit XIII:

It is an addiction for some people the mind to put it as simply as possible has lots of switches and lights and it really is not that easy for some of these people to just 'stop'.
Same for many things people get addicted outside of drug dependence.

therapy teaches such individuals how to flip the switches properly.

[Hobbit XIII]

Originally posted by <<---{!}--->>:

Originally posted by Wolfpig:

But i guess you would also say that to drug addicts too that they just need to stop...

of course all addicts need to stop. are you suggesting they should keep going?
if they can't control themselves, being vulnerable at some point, they should ask for help and remove themselves from dangerous environment (like, power off the PC and take cold shower). it's well in their power.

This is my view of people who eat meat more than four times a week what a waste and it damages the environment.
Same with the addicted to car people.