So I think I'm going on a free to play kick. It feels... strange...

When I was a kid, I devoured free to play games. Thing is, at the time they were all Korean MMOs, and none of them were that great. Looking back at some of the crap I played I really wish I could get some of that time back. That said, they were fun for me at the time because I didn't have money or a credit card. When I hit high school and got a job I stopped bothering with free to play titles. $15 a month went from prohibitively expensive to seeing one less movie a month. I suddenly became very much opposed to the free to play model, mostly because I thought it could sing the death knell of the traditional, AAA MMO.

Well, free to play looks pretty good now a days. I haven't tried much from the current crop of games, but Vindictus, LOTRO, Rusty Hearts and DDO are all now on my Steam list, and I'm kind of excited to put them through their paces. I also plan on hitting up the PSO 2 beta tomorrow night for TNT, though the entertainment I've gotten out of that game so far is mostly from the knowledge that it isn't technically "for" me (being a person who resides well outside of Japan).

The model that intrigues me the most right now (and I'm sure multiple games fit this) is that of DC Universe Online. The idea that I can play the game for free, but in order to play certain quest lines I have to throw down $10 is great in my opinion. It's a lot like Pocket Legends, a game that I am unashamedly a fan of. I think if MMOs can appropriately leverage this type of F2P model at large that they will be heading for a bright future.

Interesting stuff.