TF2 going free increased revenues by 1200%

[Bottiger]

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/164922/GDC_2012_How_Valve_made_Team_Fortress_2_freetoplay.php

Some snippets.

Valve's Joe Ludwig ran a GDC session Wednesday that explained exactly how four years' worth of content updates, tweaks, and community engagement helped Valve transition TF2 from a triple-A boxed title to a free-to-play game built around microtransactions.

Ludwig said, "There's a fundamental tension between building the game to satisfy existing players and attract new players." In order to resolve this tension, Valve continued to release updates that delivered new maps, game modes, weapons, and even entire new game systems (in-game items, a marketplace, and a trading system, for example) with the eventual goal of switching over to free-to-play.

Valve's audience concern extended into the actual free-to-play transition, as well; it needed to make sure that players who paid for the game didn't feel ripped off. "One thing we did was to give paid players a hat called 'Proof of Purchase'.

Once the item store was introduced, revenues from item sales alone were four times larger than revenues from sales of TF2 itself, and after the free-to-play transition was finished, overall revenue was up 12 times higher than monthly TF2 sales were.

 

[Giildy]

Valve's audience concern extended into the actual free-to-play transition, as well; it needed to make sure that players who paid for the game didn't feel ripped off. "One thing we did was to give paid players a hat called 'Proof of Purchase'..

Yeah. I was mad until I had a hat.

 

[ProbeX]

Yeah. I was mad until I had a hat.

Personally it made me more mad.

 

[Sharkey]

Yeah, 1200% increase in revenue for valve, unlimited accounts for scammers/cheaters, EVERYBODY WINS!

 

[ProbeX]

Yeah, 1200% increase in revenue for valve, unlimited accounts for scammers/cheaters, EVERYBODY WINS!

At least there were more noobs to jip

 

[basiate]

At least there were more noobs to jip

Which also means more noobs to fuck your team over.

 

[Giildy]

Which also means more noobs to fuck your team over.

aw, don't be like taht, everyone was new once and being a dick about how new people a RUINZEEGameaspfisdhgjofsgfkj just means new people won't want to join the community,

:(

 

[basiate]

aw, don't be like taht, everyone was new once and being a dick about how new people a RUINZEEGameaspfisdhgjofsgfkj just means new people won't want to join the community,

:(

Yeah, but at least the people who bought the game were totally willing to learn to play. I've only ever encountered two F2Ps that listened to advice from the people willing to help.

 

[JarlyX]

 

[Giildy]

Yeah, but at least the people who bought the game were totally willing to learn to play. I've only ever encountered two F2Ps that listened to advice from the people willing to help.

You realize there are a whole lotta f2p people that are fairly regular in the forums and in skial that know would even know about until. Well. They tried to trade something

 

[basiate]

You realize there are a whole lotta f2p people that are fairly regular in the forums and in skial that know would even know about until. Well. They tried to trade something

Can you reword that? Sorry, I just can't make sense of the last part of your first sentence. :(

 

[Giildy]

Can you reword that? Sorry, I just can't make sense of the last part of your first sentence. :(

drunkypolo atm. sorry. The only way to tell if a respectable member of the comminity was f2p would be to try to trade with them

 

[basiate]

drunkypolo atm. sorry. The only way to tell if a respectable member of the comminity was f2p would be to try to trade with them

Well yeah, I don't assume every dumb player's F2P, but when an engie is setting up his sentry and dispenser at spawn on offense for the entire round, I think it's safe to assume he's fairly new to the game.

I even tried pointing to where to put a tele entrance.