by: the Moleman source: HeroComplex
Can’t say I saw this one coming, but it’s a nice win for all us monetarily challenged out there. With the way things are in the economy these days it’s hard for a subscription based game to make it in the world today, especially when it’s a relatively new one. Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) launched DC Universe Online back in January of this year after five years of work at a cost of $50 million dollars. With titles like World of Warcraft (WOW) and Champions Online now being “free” to play, it’s not too much of a surprise to see DCUO go this route. After all when you look at it, all the money is in the freemium games right now.
What’s “freemium”? Basically it’s games that are free to play, but limit/ caps a players ability to create different characters, carry beyond “x” number of items or go beyond a certain level. Should a player decide they want one or all of those little extras they pay a small fee for each of those. The player shells out a couple of dollars at a time so it doesn’t feel like they’re spending a lot, but over time a game company can make more off that freemium player than a subscription based one.
With DC Universe Online, Sony said it will offer three tiers of service — free, premium and “legendary.” The free tier comes with limits on how many characters and items players can hold in their inventory. Premium access gives players slightly more capacity. And those who continue to pay $15 a month will, of course, get maximum features.
There you have it folks. For those of you that just weren’t sure you wanted to shell out the $50 for the game plus subscription fee now you can try it for free. SOE is also likely banking that with all the new potential comic book readers DC is picking up with their NEW 52 push right now, that they may see some new business come in. After all why wouldn’t they, it’s free. Plus I’m sure those New 52 books will be littered with ads for this now “free” game.
