The problem with free to play is that most f2p models force you to grind so much more than non []
The problem with free to play is that most f2p models force you to grind so much more than non f2p games to get what you want out of the game, whether that be items, gear, or whatever. Since its f2p, the game basically gets a much larger population to sample their game. The people that were never going to buy it in the first place dont spend any money. The people that do enjoy the game, or that were going to buy it anyways end up spending money. The issue i have is that these people generally end up spending more money than an initial price tag or monthly fee.
In most free to play model games I have played recently (tribes, bulletrun beta, dcuo, etc) unlocking guns or items takes a much larger amount of time and effort than in non f2p games such as bf3, cod, or other games with unlocks of that nature. In f2p mmos like dcuo, you are given such a barebones game that if you dont pay anything, you really arent experiencing the real game.
TLDR: these f2p models are successful because they nickel and dime idiots out of their money instead of just charging them an initial fee. The smarter people who don't like to spend 5 dollars for a map or a gun are forced to spend much more time unlocking the item or forced to play an inferior version of the game.
