Neowiz opened their new website and announced the business model they will be going with (buy 2 play). The pricing has not been determined yet (that will be a marketing decision based on the chatter from players regarding this business model).
Buy 2 play I have no issues with so long as they don’t go down the Black Desert Online route with the cash shop where the core system designs revolves around items that on their own aren’t pay-2-win but do compel end game players who want to “keep up with the rest of the pack” to purchase them (many hardcore BDO players spend on average around $300 per month for things like higher tier pets, appearance slots, inventory expansions, increases on weight limits, max energy regen, etc) in order to get around game designed imposed limits on many of its game systems.
They also announced there will be founder’s packs which provides advanced access ahead of the actual early access release. That right there tells me a lot. I’ve mentioned before (just search this blog for Bless) that this game has all the signs of a final attempt at a cash grab on “us western suckers” in order to recoup what they can from all the work that had been done on the game (and that I would be looking at how they intend to monetize the game).
This front loading of revenues (buy 2 play) and then possibly stacking several tiers of exclusive founders pack (guaranteeing advanced access prior to the early access launch) tells me a lot already; grab the whales first and hope that a percentage of them will stick with the game long enough to milk them via the cash shop (for ongoing revenue). If most all tiers of founders packs counts as a purchase to play the game, I may be a bit more forgiving about the front loading angle.
If this game hadn’t seen the number of failed launches it previously had (requiring this rebuild project which is at best, a bandaid on a poorly designed foundation), maybe I wouldn’t be this realistically unoptimistic about this game.
