Serious Sunday: "Free to Play" Games - The Evolution of Modern Monetization
1Jon & Luke sit down for a bit to riff on the current leader in game pricing strategies, the infamous "Free to Play", or "Freemium" model. From discussing its humble beginnings in the far-flung game markets of Asia, through its introduction to western markets via MMOs and browser games, and onward to its current place as the moneymaking juggernaut that has turned companies like Tencent and GungHo into the powerhouses they are now. The episode deals primarily with the history of the free to play model, a few famous representative games and the reaction of the Western model as witnessed by a developer and a game journalist.
Serious Sunday is a freeform roundtable discussion between the members of the Level 0 NPCs, where a specific topic is pre-selected by the group to be explored and discussed at length. Each of the NPCs approach the topic from both the perspective of a seasoned, die-hard gamer, and as creators of games themselves. Part freeform review, part critical analysis, part video game book club, Serious Sunday is where the NPCs take a step back and take a moment to give a serious look at something that is important to the industry, or games in general.
Background footage is taken from Star Wars: The Old Republic by BioWare & Electronic Arts