The satirical animated series South Park tackles a hot topic in the MMO market in the latest episode: Free2Play games that are not as free as they claim.
Even today, the “Make Love, not Warcraft” episode of South Park shapes the image that many have of MMO players. The clip frequently resurfaces on the internet when it is supposed to ironically or not-so-ironically show what MMO addiction can do.
In the latest episode of South Park “Freemium isn’t free” from November 5th, the focus is once again on MMOs. But a lot of time has passed since “Make Love not Warcraft”. This time, the spotlight is not on the paid MMORPGs of the past, but South Park addresses so-called “Free2Play” mobile titles, which mainly include what are known as Facebook games or casual games (whose influence is now also noticeable in the MMO market).
In the episode, the Canadian government (the Prince of Canada and his sinister henchman, the Minister of Mobile Games) has launched a pretty cheap casual game to fill their empty coffers with US dollars. They explain the concept behind this supposedly cheap idea to the two angry Canadian celebrities, Terrance and Phillip. Here’s an excerpt:
With all the exaggeration and cynicism, South Park is not alone in this portrayal. As extreme as the views of the creators may seem, the current free-to-play model in MMOs is under criticism – even experts who deal with the subject daily see the current trend in the industry critically. A slightly deeper insight is provided by this video:
However, not every Free2Play game is automatically bad or condemnable. Even the extremely successful MOBA League of Legends or Blizzard’s free card game Hearthstone rely on a free-to-play model. They ensure that the items purchased with real money do not grant direct advantages in the game and can also be reasonably acquired without spending money.
This graphic shows the advance of Free2Play games and microtransactions compared to the previously dominant “payment models” of MMOs. In this article, we take a closer look at the current figures and trends.
