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Free to play games could make the PS3 the dominant console

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Well this is awkward...

There’s no denying that we’re looking at a future wherein games are turning into freemium services, with a core package being gratis, while the niftier features will cost you a few extra pennies. Whether this will be a phase or something that reworks the digital landscape is uncertain though, but whoever takes advantage of it, could see themselves at the top of the food chain. And that’s something that Crytek believes is going to happen with the PS3.

Crytek boss Cevat Yerli is busy doing just that, as the company is shifting to F2P territory with Warface, once they’re done with Crysis 3. Speaking to MCV, Yerli said that he believed that Sony was in a perfect position to become the de facto console manufacturer in that future;

Sony making that game is a great step forward, and they should be applauded. If Sony embraces free-to-play as a major way for PlayStation, that could be the key console.

That’s following on from a decision that Sony recently made to make Singstar a F2- game, as well as the fact that it was working on getting the MMOFPS shooter from CCP Games, Dust 514, finished and published. Speaking about that dusty game, CCP Marketing head David Reid said that “It’s natural that the console challenger is going to be more ambitious and take more risks than the leader.”

Last generation I was at Xbox and we were having our arses handed to us. And Xbox was the one that was trying to do crazy things with Xbox Live and so on. Five years later, things have changed and now Sony is being more aggressive. It is a cyclical business and it feels like we’re coming around to another big turn again.

I can see why so many aren’t too keen on F2P games, but honestly, for those of us with the bandwidth, this could be a fantastic kick up the arse that the industry needs. Look at that comment above, and you’ll see that it highlights the one thing that gaming has been missing in recent years, and that’s the pokeballs to actually take a chance and create something different.

If a hundred companies are making yet another sandy shooter that happens to be free, you don’t need to be mathematically inclined to figure out that supply is going to outstrip demand, which could see a shift in making games more experimental and interesting again.

But that’s my F2P cents. What do you reckon, embrace or shun?

Last Updated: November 6, 2012

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