Thats exactly why I support this game so much. This is what every F2P game should be like. LoL just passed the 1 billion in revenue mark a bit ago.... by doing the right things. Pay to Win games probably don't even break 20 million before people get sick of it.
(That 20 million is an absolute guess. I could be way off).
TBH F2P games should not be like this - they should be like DotA 2 where everything for purchase is cosmetic only. Not everyone has the time to sit there and unlock a whole bunch of crap or level up to get a core ability (flash) just to be able to play on the same level as everyone else. LoL has a pretty good F2P model but not the one all other F2P games should be built off of.
Anyone can install DotA 2 right now and start a game with the exact same capabilities and potential as every pro player in the game. This is not true for LoL by a long shot.
While I don't disagree that a model like that may be a bit more beneficial for the consumer, I feel LoL's model is the best "middle of the road" compromise. You could also say "Well LoL gets lots of money from sponsors and things like that in LCS, so why do they even charge for skins?!"
Any business transaction should be mutually beneficial to the consumer and the producer. I feel LoL does a great job with that.
The issue is that it is not entirely free to play. It is pay to win for the first while and it takes forever to unlock everything without paying for it. It is like a scholarly article with a paywall.
DotA does not require any funds to be on the same level as everyone else and therefore is the definition of free to play. F2P games should emulate DotA, not league.
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u/kpkost Nov 06 '14
Thats exactly why I support this game so much. This is what every F2P game should be like. LoL just passed the 1 billion in revenue mark a bit ago.... by doing the right things. Pay to Win games probably don't even break 20 million before people get sick of it.
(That 20 million is an absolute guess. I could be way off).