Lately, the MMO market has either been really incredibly intriguing, or dead flat in the, “Yeah… been there, done that, what’s your shiny?” The medieval thing has been done, and done, and done again. People aren’t tired of it, per-se, but it just seems as though the market is so flooded that investment companies are going to be more inclined to invest in something different rather than yet another medieval genre game that is supposedly “revolutionary”, when it only has a few tweeks or combos that you’ve seen many other games use in the same way.
So to do it differently, you have to think outside of the box, right? Ok, so let’s go to City of Heroes/Villains. Now that’s different. Super heroes, costumes, awesome effects and more. But wait - the longevity of gameplay is well… not really long. It’s an awesome game to come back to, but it’s about a 1-3month wonder. So then let’s look at the space genre - cool! Well, there are several games that are getting there, but they’re either too difficult for the maul of masses to consume (Eve Online) or are going through metal melt-down and remake (SOE’s Star Wars Galaxies) periods. The mentioned games are getting better, but they are already burnt with bad reputations that will take some time to buff the rough edges to make them shiny enough for people to give them a second, third or for some, fourth tries.
Instead of going on and on about this, I’ll cut right to the chase. The question is: F2P: Is it the new catch phrase of the MMO market?
I think the answer is: Yes. Games that are not only truly revolutionizing the MMO market with genre variations and gameplay styles, but also evolving in the way to play, are beginning to show signs of a marketable success. The two games that have caught my eye lately are Granado Espada (Sword of the New World) and The Agency. Both of these games have announced their intention to change the way gamers pay for their content.
So why is this important? How will the content stay fresh, new, and updated consistently? Well I’ll tell you - you’ll be charged to unlock content in a somewhat similar way that you are required to with the MMO, Guild Wars. 
Instead of a monthly subscription, you’ll have to pay to unlock premium content, and don’t think that means they’ll only give you a teeny tiny world. Oh no - you’ll be given so much to play without having to pay(i.e. FREE!) that it’s going to bug you in a nagging way to wonder, “If the content is so good and is given freely - what the heck am I missing that requires me to pay?!
So is this a new catch phrase? Or a newer market that’s being tested? You decide. If I were a betting woman, I’d say that this is the beginning of a new wave for the MMO market - and Guild Wars proved that it was worthy.
