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Killer Instinct is F2P, only one fighter is free
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This is the same terrible excuse I see used all the time for LoL.
Doesn't LoL have some kind of rotation system as well? Where the free character changes week by week...
I prefer too look at it like:
"Wow, it was a hard sale getting any but the most serious of fighter players to wanna play anything but MK for 60 dollars day one before. Now, People can get a tease of the game for free, day one."
"I only play 4 characters in this game anyway. Why do I have to pay $60 to use 4 characters?"
My biggest hope for this F2P nature is that the need for the company to constantly promote the product, in order to make it successful, will:
A. Make it more than an early-system release that gets forgotten after the first 6 months.
B. Bring some content to the game that'll be different than the usual "release and forget" model.
Even back in the day, when I couldn't leave an arcade without humming B.Orchid's theme, or when I called every Blockbuster Video in the area trying to find a Rental of KI on SNES, I can't say the franchise competed with SFII, or any of Takara's SNES and Genesis ports of SNK games, for me.
It was a fun curiosity, something I played in a different way, and that had a different payoff than the more technical games. It was just dumb fun, with unique spectacle around it.
Of course, if this all turns out as a way to release, say, 10 characters over a years time, with the same, or LESS features than a more traditional release, that has boring underlying systems, no redeeming value, and deserves to be forgotten as swiftly as it came, by developers and consumers... well, at least the initial commitment for the gamer is crazy-cheap (Free! Or maybe $5 if you wanna buy another character?), so the burn of "why did I ever get excited for this?" is much less.
F2P / PS+ Day 1 Digital Free games just seem to be the new version of "Pack in Games" for these systems. That's not really a bad thing...
When I read the title I couldn't help but laugh.
EmCeeGramr
Member
This is hilarious if only because people kept asking Jeff Gerstmann about the idea of a F2P fighting game and he kept insisting that it was stupid.
Evolution_1ne
Banned
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW lol OMG damn that's just ........DAMN, only ONE fighter???
but wait if it wasn't free to play you would have got less characters for full price, 60 bucks
this is of course is assuming the characters will be 99cents because if they aren't then LOL
but wait if it wasn't free to play you would have got less characters for full price, 60 bucks
this is of course is assuming the characters will be 99cents because if they aren't then LOL
Magicpaint
Member
Welp.
SlickShoesRUCrazy
Member
DOA
GuitarAtomik
Member
Cross Post from the other thread:
I think F2P fighters are genius. Having only one character available at a time is not though. Just use the MOBA model:
*Rotate 4 or 5 free characters every couple of weeks.
This allows people to try different kinds of characters. Only having access to one may put people off if they don't like that one character's play style. Rotating them encourages people to come back to the game often to try new ones.
*Allow all of the characters in a training mode so you can try them out before you buy.
If you give people a chance to try to find a character their comfortable with, they will be more likely to find the one they really want to buy. Keeping it confined to training mode allows players to explore all of them without time constraints while retaining their value.
*Let you earn points though playing that can be used to buy more characters & charge for instant character unlocks and cosmetic items.
This has two benefits. One) It keeps the player base up since even people who don't want to pay will be encouraged to keep playing. Two) Though they might not buy characters, they still might be tempted to buy cosmetic items for them that they can't earn (but don't affect gameplay).
Done and done.
I think F2P fighters are genius. Having only one character available at a time is not though. Just use the MOBA model:
*Rotate 4 or 5 free characters every couple of weeks.
This allows people to try different kinds of characters. Only having access to one may put people off if they don't like that one character's play style. Rotating them encourages people to come back to the game often to try new ones.
*Allow all of the characters in a training mode so you can try them out before you buy.
If you give people a chance to try to find a character their comfortable with, they will be more likely to find the one they really want to buy. Keeping it confined to training mode allows players to explore all of them without time constraints while retaining their value.
*Let you earn points though playing that can be used to buy more characters & charge for instant character unlocks and cosmetic items.
This has two benefits. One) It keeps the player base up since even people who don't want to pay will be encouraged to keep playing. Two) Though they might not buy characters, they still might be tempted to buy cosmetic items for them that they can't earn (but don't affect gameplay).
Done and done.
BrLvgThrChmstry
Banned
double
BrLvgThrChmstry
Banned
Um, what? I'd pay 40/60 for a game with all the characters, a few stages and a couple of modes rather than potentially pay 3-4 dollars a character. And I'm being nice, most other fighters charge over 5 per character.
This is the reason I don't play LoL or HoN (don't know if HoN is similar in that matter though). If were to the point where labeling a game F2P and charging out the ass for characters while only allowing you one from the get go, count me out.
Darth Kupi
Banned
The first thing I agree with that industry cocksucker on.
sixteen-bit
Member
Good luck hosting this game at tournaments.
If they don't allow DLC characters this will be the most honest, balanced fighting game ever!
GuitarAtomik
Member
Well this model would allow for 4 or 5 and change those 4 or 5 up every once in a while. I mean they have to charge you for something. There are all kinds of other things you could put on top of this too. Smite for example allows you to have ALL of the current and future gods for $30.
IOnEI Falcon
Member
A lot of people mentioned F2P but I would have not put money on it. Crazy!
Red Arremer
Member
You can't market a niche genre like a fighting game like a MOBA or MMO. It just doesn't work. Especially not with a fighting game that makes you buy characters. That's just beyond stupid.
FGC is not gonna touch that shit with a 10 foot pole.
Whatever slim chance KI would've had there with the always-online account-locked DRM bullshit, this is the killing blow (pun not intended).
No tournament host will be stupid enough to jump through all of the hoops required to get this game playable at an event.
FGC is not gonna touch that shit with a 10 foot pole.
Whatever slim chance KI would've had there with the always-online account-locked DRM bullshit, this is the killing blow (pun not intended).
No tournament host will be stupid enough to jump through all of the hoops required to get this game playable at an event.
HoN eventually switched to Dota 2's model, which is every hero is free.
That's not the MOBA model, that's the League of Legends shitty model.
I don't think it actually has to be a hit with the FGC to be successful though.
Cow Mengde
Banned
Wow... there is fucking up, and then there is this.
plantedunicorn
Member
One fighter? Why one? The least they could have done is make two fighters free. This makes no sense.
That's all a strategy for players to become good with a character.
Maybe they will let one test a character for a sec?Red Arremer
Member
Of course not, but are you seriously expecting the casual gamer to nickel and dime into this?
Buy a character for 5 dollars, that you might or might not like, out of a roster of X amount of characters! \o/
And as far as current knowledge goes, unlike actual f2p games, you can't just unlock the characters by investing time into playing the game a lot. You HAVE to buy them.
The economics aren't going to work. The amount of work you need for a FG character dwarfs that you need for one in a MOBA. You need people to buy the full package - the model should be Starcraft, not DOTA.
Triple Da G.O.D!
Member
Cool. Now I can go back to being hyped!
SolarPowered
Member
There should be a base four or five free characters to cover the major archetypes.
*Jack of all trades/Ryu
*Rushdown/Magneto or Makoto
*Keepaway/Peacock or Rachel
*Zoning/Dhalsim or Parasoul
*Grappler/Zangief or Potemkin
Everyone else they can charge for with the occasional free weekend for a character so people can get acquainted and hyped about the others.
*Jack of all trades/Ryu
*Rushdown/Magneto or Makoto
*Keepaway/Peacock or Rachel
*Zoning/Dhalsim or Parasoul
*Grappler/Zangief or Potemkin
Everyone else they can charge for with the occasional free weekend for a character so people can get acquainted and hyped about the others.
Schweinehund
Member
Oh wow, a game that revolves heavily around character balance but is locked behind a paywall. Reminds me of another game...
thiscoldblack
Unconfirmed Member
Killer Instinct was a really good opportunity to attract some people into the system, but they blew it with this 'Fremium' format. I was really expecting a full retail disc. What a fucking disappointment.
The game looks great, though.
The game looks great, though.
nailbombxx
Member
Oh, cruel hilarious fate!
GuitarAtomik
Member
It's A MOBA model. My point is that's how you should do it for a fighting game. The DOTA model is awesome but it's only going to work for DOTA. Valve is in a unique position where they can afford to not charge for characters.
lwilliams3
Member
That is a bit lame. This seems to be a smaller project than what Microsoft made it at the conference.
3rdamention
Member
This seems kinda silly, ugh...
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
People are saying this is a good thing, so players only buy the characters they want. Who wants a fighter with only 2 or 4 fighters? I remember when Skullgirls came out how a lot of people in the FGC complained that this budget title only had 8 characters, but now we shouldn't complain about having to buy all other characters? So, when you buy a character, will you be able to fight other characters, or do you need to buy said characters first before you can fight against them?
Anybody thinking this is a measure for the consumer to save money is a it naive to say the least, as MS has every intention to make this more profitable than the current situation. Get ready to pay $ 5.00 per character, and $2.50 for a stage or so. Buy all available characters and stages and then tell me you saved money compared to buying a complete game now.
Besides, would you really want to have the situation that everyones copy is different? Some might buy all characters, others might only buy half the cast, where some people might only buy two. Great to play with friends: " You want to play some KI? I only have 3 characters, though..."
Anybody thinking this is a measure for the consumer to save money is a it naive to say the least, as MS has every intention to make this more profitable than the current situation. Get ready to pay $ 5.00 per character, and $2.50 for a stage or so. Buy all available characters and stages and then tell me you saved money compared to buying a complete game now.
Besides, would you really want to have the situation that everyones copy is different? Some might buy all characters, others might only buy half the cast, where some people might only buy two. Great to play with friends: " You want to play some KI? I only have 3 characters, though..."
MandrakeUK
Member
C C C C C C C CONSUMER BREAKER!
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