Xbox 360 will be receiving quite a few games that are free to play later this year. But the question is, “Are they really free to play?” Let’s examine some of the facts in order to find the answer to that question.
The free-to-play games are based on a business model that allows the game to be played for free by anyone. All you need to do is download the game for free, and then play with others online. Xbox Live Silver members can download the games for free and play them offline at any time. But in order to play online against other players you will need to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold.
Xbox Live Gold is by far the greatest online gaming service ever created – a full generation ahead of any other online gaming service. But Xbox Live Gold is not a free service, since you do need a subscription to use it. Xbox Live Gold subscriptions can be purchased anytime for a price of $50 per year, but you can usually find better deals. For example, I recently saw a deal where for $40 you could subscribe for 12+1 (13) months. This means that for only $3 per month (or about one dime per day) you can play the greatest online gaming service ever.
Most gamers with an Xbox 360 already subscribe to Xbox Live Gold. From the point of view of these gamers, the free-to-play games are available for free since they do not require any type of additional purchase to download and play. Besides, even if you don’t subscribe to Xbox Live Gold you still could play the games offline for free with Xbox Live Silver. This means that up to this point the free-to-play games are in fact “free.”
But we all know that nothing is free. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So, what is the catch with these free-to-play games; how do they make their money? Games that are free-to-play make their money by giving you the option to purchase low-priced downloadable expansions.
For example, fully-customized items such as weapons, armor, shields, vehicles, and helmets are all available for a price. Gamers that downloaded the game for free will all have the same basic outfit or drive the same basic vehicle. But the developers and producers of the game will make a lot of money when gamers want to customize those outfits, vehicles, bases, stadiums, helmets, and other items. Many of these expansions will be available only for a limited time. This will create a fully-customized videogame world that gamers really feel a part of.
The free-to-play games are excellent because they allow you to try a game for free to see if you like it. You really can play it with all of your friends for free if you want to. You won’t have the customized stuff that they do, but at least you will still be a part of the fun. Thus, the conclusion is that free-to-play games are in fact free if you choose not to play online with other gamers or do any customization. But if you want to play with other gamers across the world and customize your gaming world, it will cost you a little bit of money.
I hope you enjoyed reading this!
Sincerely,
Michael Zoran
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