NCsoft Vouches for In-Game Ads. Exteel = FREE-TO-PLAY

[tarozeero]

MMO house NCsoft is adding a new revenue stream to its free titles in a deal with in-game ad firm Double Fusion.

Free-to-play/download MMOs Exteel and Dungeon Runners will be getting in-game and "around game" advertising, as an increasing amount of online game companies enter the "free" model fray.

While the two NCsoft games are free for anyone with an Internet connection, the game maker also offers low-cost subscriptions and virtual item sales, which will supplement in-game ad revenues.

NCsoft VP of sales and marketing Dorothy Ferguson said in a statement, "As a publisher of MMO games, the community is of the utmost importance to us. We are constantly looking for more ways to grow the community for these titles and give them what they deserve: great gaming experiences supported by advertising that doesn´t detract from gameplay."

Dungeon Runners in a tongue-in-cheek MMORPG from NCsoft, while Exteel is a futuristic mech shooter.

original news from:http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?op...=7678&Itemid=2

[Nante]

exteel f2p <3333

[Krunkmasta Flex]

CoH f2p would be better by far.

[Nante]

CoH f2p would be better by far.

true CoH was a great game, nice though p2p .

[Magister]

I like the way they try to put a spin on the annoucement like they are doing the community a favor by adding ad's to the games.

Games which already had a f2p mode and a subscription / cashshop.

This just yet another way for them to make even more money.

To be honest and I have said this before I would much rather pay a single subscription monthly than have a ad's or a cashshop.

Basically these companies are trying to have thier cake and eat it too. The whole "f2p" is a big smoke screen to try to detract from the fact that they making money 3 different ways off (and lets face it) most games that don't really deserve a monthy rate in the first place.

I mean there are plenty of b2p / f2p shooters that are far superiour to exteel (doom and UT franchises spring to mind, not to mention a slew of other shooters) as for dungeon runners, the game is basically diablo with updated graphics and no story line.

I've never been a fan of NCSoft and this annoucement just strengthens my resolve to never play any of their games.

[Nante]

ads dosent block you from playing the game normally , in real life everywhere we got ads so what? lol they need money ,and we want the game to run smooth and have updates

[elazulblack]

Regardless, I would rather play a game with a cash shop, monthly subscriptions, and a coca cola sign in the middle of the battlefield than I would a pay to play game that isn't any better.

So at least they're not making you pay to play them, like they do L2 and CoH/CoV. :\

[Nante]

Regardless, I would rather play a game with a cash shop, monthly subscriptions, and a coca cola sign in the middle of the battlefield than I would a pay to play game that isn't any better.

So at least they're not making you pay to play them, like they do L2 and CoH/CoV. :\

thumbs up

atleast they give you a free model why complain for panel on buildings?? lmao

[elazulblack]

yeah really, how could advertisements bother anyone?

everytime you drive down the interstate, there's billboards and stuff advertising companies and products. What do you do, log out? lmfo. <.<

[Nante]

it get you skilless lol , ads never will bother me ,it give you a free type model so who cares ? (people that complain ) rofl

[Rodenty]

i think it adds a bit more realism while seeing pepsi sign while blowing the crap out of other mechs

[liaght]

lol his logic is like.. "OMG ads! i never like games w/ ads!". Seriously though, you think posting that will actually affect people who support NCsoft and actually stop liking it? lol. NCsoft has released numerous game that are grade A, and you flame it like NCsoft went to your house and screwed your cat or something, especially now that it has "ads". lol

[leathel]

this would actually work with coh/cov with billboard ads since the whole place is a city i keep going back to the game its just the p2p that kinda annoys me if they turned it f2p this game wouldkill most f2p companies tbh and probs some p2p cause its just that good

[Arri]

CoH f2p would be better by far.

I'd rather not have CoH barraged with crappy in-game adds though

[Stranger]

I don't really see the problem. Its not like pop-ups ingame, their probly going to plaster them on already-ingame bill-boards in the city maps etc.

[Magister]

It wasn't the point that the ad's bothered me.

It was the point that NCSoft made it sound like they were doing the community a huge favor by putting ad's in the game so that they could offer these games with a "F2P" package.

Which is BS obviously since both games had a F2P option to start with.

That was and still is my problem.

Not to mention the fact that on a game like "dungeon runners" for instance, you have people that pay for a subscription, then if they want they can buy stuff at the cashshop, then on top of that, NCSoft is trying to get even more money by selling AD space in game?

I mean to me, that is nothing but greed, and to be honest, if the business model succeeds swimingly, then perhaps more companies will do the exact same thing, which would upset me greatly.

Like I said, I would much prefer a game with a simple monthly rate, than anything else.

I see no reason why greedy companies have to try and push their luck and add in more and more options to weasel money out of their players.

I mean, let's be honest, if the game is solid and has any sort of redeeming qualities, there are people out there that will pay for a subscription. It's as simple as that.

Not to mention the fact that with subscriptions, the company is forced to maintain the game (ie: better customer service) and is also forced to update content and apply fixes for broken content at a much improved rate (usually once a month).

So really, it's peoples best interest to stick with the p2p model, or even the b2p/f2p model, but this crap NCsoft is trying to pull with a subscription + cash shop + ads, is just ridiculous.

[Stranger]

Thats how life works though, everybodys trying to make money, even if their rich they continue to strive for more. Grow and expand is what Humans do.

[Mac2492]

Magister, you make it sound as if NCSoft is trying to exploit its costumers. It's not. The people at NCSoft are simply trying to earn money in different ways. That's what businesses do. They earn money or goods.

Why are you criticizing NCSoft for doing the very thing it should be doing? It's not like in-game ads are going to intrude on their customers. If they do, then shame on NCSoft. If they don't, then everyone is happy. The players get to play for free without having to worry about paying or having the game go down. NCSoft gets even more money, allowing it to expand even further.

It's a win-win situation if they pull it off.



I'm sorry that you prefer the pay to play model. Some people, however, do not like it. You can't base your argument on the fact that you prefer one model over another. I like that NCSoft is adding in ads so they can make more money. The ads don't affect me, and they bring in more money from NCSoft. I like NCSoft, so I want them to make money. I don't like paying for pay to play games because that would be a double whammy for me. Not only would I be spending hours of my life in a virtual world that earns me nothing, but I would be paying to do it.

That's how I see in-game ads and pay to play games. I'm not going to go around criticizing game companies that go with pay to play models (unless there is a good reason to do so... bad games that cost a lot to play, for example). I don't like it, but that doesn't mean the companies are bad. Unless a company does something inherently bad such as cheating its customers, charging excessive prices, dumping its customers, or anything of that sort, why would you call it "greedy" and criticize it for trying to find other ways to make money?

[powerfight3]

so we can download DR and play it for free iight now?