By Paul Philleo
The free-to-play way is becoming a widely accepted business model for
massively multiplayer online games, especially those games originating from the
Pacific. The basic game experience is usually downloaded for free and offers
plenty of free play for all players, but the revenue stream does kick in through
micro-transactions, premium options and additional content.
OGPlanet, or Online Gaming Planet, is not
just one of the contenders for this space, but a portal pulling several of these
free-to-play online games together under one domain. If David Hoffman, Executive
Producer for OGPlanet has his way, they’ll be the leader in the field in North
America. OGPlanet’s premise is simple. This online gaming portal offers free to
play, free to download, game titles, with no subscription attached. Combinations
of item-based sales, pre-paid cards similar to what Nexon has done with Maple
Story, and in-game advertising are what OGPlanet have in mind. However, not all
of the elements for their revenue stream are in place just yet.
Right now, OGPlanet has four PC titles under its wing:
BB Tanks, an action/adventure game similar
to Worms for the multiplayer online crowd;
Albatross 18, a multiplayer online
golf title; Rumble Fighter, an online
fisticuffs title; and most recently added to their pool of titles,
CABAL ONLINE, an MMORPG, which
just went live last week
Friday.
“We’re after the players who enjoy free MMO games, and we want (OGPlanet) to be
their first and only location for getting games they can play for free,”
explained Hoffman. His angle of attack for making that happen is four-fold.
First, OGPlanet has aimed to staff the games with as many developers as possible
from American companies, like Blizzard, THQ and Activision. Even though the
games they offer were imported and localized from the Pacific so far, the
developers that maintain and update them are American. “From the website to the
games themselves, we want the experience to be consistent throughout for (North
American) gamers,” Hoffman said.
Secondly, OGPlanet is working to partner with well-established and proven game
industry companies that are known and trusted overall in North America, to help
float their brand. So far, they’re signed on with Nvidia but Hoffman pointed out
that they have several other companies they’re talking with.
Thirdly, as Hoffman emphatically insisted, “We don’t want anyone to be able to
buy game-boosting items that unfairly disadvantage other players in our games.”
That wouldn’t include aesthetics-enhancing items for avatars and some play
enhancement items like XP boosts and expanding inventory slots.
Lastly, Hoffman prides OGPlanet on their internal responsiveness to their
game-playing community in the game forums. He, and many others at the company
(even those not in the community management side of the business) watch for
issues, feedback and questions from the players. Having perused their forums,
specifically for CABAL ONLINE, the community side did indeed seem
well-maintained and flame-free, to their credit.
CABAL ONLINE
While didn’t have time to delve into CABAL ONLINE with David Hoffman, we do have
new media from the freshly-launched
game. CABAL ONLINE is a PC-only action/adventure MMORPG with a 3D third-person
perspective a la Dungeon Siege. The game will be immediately familiar to anyone
with experience with a classic fantasy MMORPG, but the game play is evidently
optimized for new or more casual users.
Six character classes, hundreds of weapons types, 170 levels to rise through, an
extensive crafting system that can be applied to all in-game items and much
more. Access to vehicles, like astral cycles and boards for rapid travel, can be
counted among the features within CABAL ONLINE.
OGPlanet and their aggressive plan to stake their claim in the free-to-play
online gaming business is a logical gambit to make when the subscription space
is dominated by World of Warcraft and a few other heavy-hitter MMOs. However,
this portal is not alone and it may be a year or more before we see who’s
cornered the largest share of the market. Having a suite of approachable titles
like CABAL ONLINE isn’t a bad start, though.
David Hoffman, Executive Producer for OGPlanet
Maybe this is a sneak peek at Baywatch 3000?
Desolate railroad crossing
Futuristic landscape in Pontus Ferrum
A formidible-looking sage striking a pose
It'll take more than a flyswatter to take down this spider boss at Fort
Ruina
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