DCUO Latest Game Going Free to Play

Enjoy the notion of being a billionaire masked vigilante or an alien from another planet that can only be harmed by green space rocks? Then you probably have already checked out Sony Online Entertainments title DC Universe Online, the MMORPG that allows you to create your own superhero or villain and explore the fictional locations from DC's popular comic books. If you haven't, now is the time as the game will soon be free. Mike Fahey at Kotaku reports that the game is ditching it's monthly subscription fee's and making the game free to play starting this October. The new system will include a 3 tier system: the base game being free with limitations to 2 character slots, premium membership for anyone that spends more than $5 on content will  be allowed more character slots available to them, and legendary for those who want to continue paying the monthly $15 fee to get 15 character slots and all future expansions and content free.

The question is why is SOE changing from a straight monthly fee service to a F2P system only 9 months after it's initial release? The answer may be more complex than why is DCUO going free, but rather why are many games going free? Age of Conan, Champions Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and later this year City of Heroes will all have adapted free to play systems to their games. What is changing all of their minds to embrace this system? It's simple and can be summed up in one word:

Microtransactions.

The microtransaction model in videogames is a truly extraordinary concept involving having the basic bones of the game free to download and play, but in order to experience the game fully you must make small monetary transactions for premium content. The system effectively takes out the risk of buying a $50-$60 dollar game with the chance of not liking it and instead makes an extremely low barrier for entry so that more people will try the game. More people trying the game gives it a higher chance of finding its niche audience that's willingly to pay for additional content. It's popularity in MMO's has been the highest so far, helping keep Age of Conan and Lord of the Rings Online afloat, even profitable, after struggling to maintain a steady flow of money from the monthly subscription method.

DCUO's change to F2P may upset some that paid for the title, but I think it's the right move for the company. If you can double your communities size by making the game free instead of charging the $15 a month, the new larger community spending (lets say) an average of $10 a month on microtransactions will see better profits at the end of the day. I think its an ingenious system that ultimately allows more people to experience great games at no cost and allows the passionate fans like myself the chance to enhance their experience for small sums of money. I can skip out on the games I see as busts and put my precious free time and money where I want it to be. What do you think? Do you want to see more free games with their income coming from content transactions? Do you think it could work for blockbuster titles like Battlefield of Call of Duty? Do you think that we should instead be entitled to all content from the publishers at one simple price point? Sound off below!