Rumor: WoW going free-to-play in China
by Mike Schramm 
Nov 19th 2007 at 7:08PM
Still, it's an interesting idea. There are a few free-to-play MMOs here in the US, but there are many, many more over in Asian countries like China and Korea. And there's no question that as popular as World of Warcraft is now, it would be even more popular as a free-to-play model. Odds are that The9 would have to come up with some other form of revenue if they did switch it to free-to-play, although as it is, you can play for free on a demo here in the US-- maybe RedlineChina really meant to report that The9 is going to start releasing free demo copies, up to level 20 with a week of free play, or some plan like that, while still charging for the full game.
At any rate, this is more likely a miscommunication than a rumor with any substance at all. Especially with subscriptions rising and the next expansion on the way, Blizzard is nowhere near even lowering the price on a WoW subscription.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Economy
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Begbie Nov 19th 2007 7:34PM
The9 is far from raking in the cash at the moment. Earnings per share dropped 41% this quarter over the same quarter last year, causing the stock to tank from the mid-30s to 20 this week alone. I think they are just trying to stir something up with their new competitor in the space - Giant Interactive.
I-R-PALADIN? Nov 19th 2007 7:34PM
I only have one thing to say... DOWN WITH COMMUNISM!!!
but seriously if this happens i will make bush go to war with china... but that will be impossible cause we owe them billions and billions and billions of dollars. LONG LIVE DEMOCRACY!!!!
I-R-PALADIN? Nov 19th 2007 7:36PM
sorry to all i dont mean to start anything, i would just be angry if that happened.
Xip Nov 19th 2007 7:59PM
I promise I won't say anything else on the matter after this but communism, without the human element = win.
It's our corruption that stands in the way of a successful communist state where no one is poor or unemployed and everyone is equal.
Politics/ethics/argument over.
Eric Nov 19th 2007 8:03PM
Another reason to learn a foreign language? lol
Har Nov 19th 2007 8:04PM
There is no such thing as communism without the human element.
KCV Nov 19th 2007 9:09PM
Free to play games make money by other meaning ok hold on now BUYING GOLD. Yes all the free to play games require you to use real world cash to get additonal currency, twink items, pets, etc, etc.
Since the US thinks buying gold is equal to supplying uranium to terrorists it would not work over here or well the game would go to hell quickly.
The used to be pay to play games that went free were games that were seriously tanking.
Tyrrax Nov 19th 2007 10:14PM
The gold farmers are going to love this. All this will do is prove that Blizzard wants the Gold Farmers in game. Didn't they get BC for free already?
sleeptastic Nov 19th 2007 10:16PM
@4
Isn't that like saying my theory of flapping my arms and flying would be great if not for physics?
Warlock Nov 19th 2007 10:26PM
People don't play WoW in China. They play Censored-and-Time-Limited-Because-Our-Government-Hates-Us-Craft.
Markymark Nov 20th 2007 4:39PM
free to play games suck due to the fact that they have no steady flow of income as a monthly fee would. Plus in the end you would spend way more money just buying gold then paying a montly fee.
Melenor Nov 20th 2007 2:55AM
@7: Punctuate please.
René Nov 20th 2007 5:29AM
MMOGs that are basically free and charge players for additional content (nice outfits, items, gold ... whatever) seem to work fine in Asia, but - AFAICS - don't work well in the "western world". I know quite a lot of online gamers, but all of them rather pay for the game on a regular basis than pay only for special content, even though they'll probably only see a fraction of the game they're paying for.
As many players, I don't like the idea that someone is able to get better items because they invest money in the game (rather than time). However if they decide that the only "buyable" content is the useless stuff people already buy at eBay (the rideable turtle from the trading card game is a good example...sells for over 300 Euro ($440) at eBay) I'd be totally fine with it.
MaNiAk Nov 20th 2007 8:26AM
You know this is actually a Good idea.
You buy the Original World of Warcraft $19.95. It will be Free-to-play from levels 1-40. If you want the lvl restriction from 40-60 removed, you can choose to start paying the Subscription. Get BC etc.
I think that will Suck in all the Gamers out there who still sit down and say "I will not pay money every month just to play a game"
Squishy Nov 20th 2007 8:38AM
If you think the trade channel spam and asshats in LFG/pugs are bad now, multiply it by infinity if WoW was free. I guess some of you are too young to remember how much battlenet/diablo sucked from all the kiddies since it was free.
Todd Nov 20th 2007 10:22AM
Very doubtful. China is full of hardcore, addicted, gamers. That's too much money to just ignore.
Buhao Nov 20th 2007 11:47AM
Couple corrections as I live in China and play World of Warcraft over here. Firstly, China is a communist country in name only. Just trust me on this, capitalism is rampant.
Secondly, Gold farming, the Chinese play on entirely different servers. There is no character transfer between China and the USA, any gold farming that happens in the Chinese game only effects the Chinese game. Wowchina going free to play will have no impact on the US and blizz does not make the decision about Wowchina. The9 makes the decisions about Wowchina, they have it licensed.
Thirdly, censorship, any censorship that happens is client side. What I have noticed so far is that when you rez, instead of leaving a skeleton, you leave a little mound of dirt with a gravestone, purely cosmetic. As far as the time limit goes, if you create your account with a Chinese ID card (you need to enter a Chinese id number when you make an account) and that ID number shows that you are under 18 then you have time limits. After three hours your drops and xp gains start to degrade, after 5 you get booted for an hour. I actually think this is an improvement on US wow, and it helps stop students from not studying, and oh God how they have to study, my students are in their classrooms from 6 a.m. until 10:40 p.m. However, there are no time limits for adults. I have happily binged for a six hour stint.
If you have any further questions about wowchina check out my guild's FAQ at http://wow-in-chinese.forum2jeux.com/faq.htm
Markymark Nov 20th 2007 6:37PM
@ 17, Buhao i seriously think that people should be held accountable for their actions rather then timers and exp downgrades as time goes by but i guess in China if you don't become a scholar that is a great disonor.
Buhao Nov 21st 2007 9:39PM
To a certain point I agree with you Mark. However, I believe in personal responsibility for adults. Teenagers are not always the most mature people at the best of times, and in China they are even less mature than in the States (emotionally, as far as discipline goes, they got us pwnt). But the other China factor is that most of the kids live at school and their parents aren't there to insure responsible play schedules. You are very right about the dishonor thing though. Failing exams can bring huge shame on a family.