With the next-gen consoles around the corner, it seems like free-to-play games are popping out like flowers in spring.
Even though some may disagree with the business model of free-to-play, Sony has made known that they are definitely on board.
President of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley was in a recent discussion, from which he stated, “The single fastest growing segment of our business is DC Universe Online on the PS3,”
“70 percent of our revenue [on that game] comes from the PS3 and 70 percent of our players come from the PS3.”
Sony’s success is thanks to early involvement of free-to-play games, they now know how to push out better improvements and content quicker.
Smedley says, “One of the advantages we have had is we were the first with Free Realms. With that, we’ve helped the QA group set up the system. What happened is there’s a trust level that builds up. They do certain checks every time – but over time, if you don’t screw up, they start to trust your [internal] QA,”
He explains how console gamers may spend more, “There’s a higher likelihood of having a payment system on file, and since these are dedicated gaming systems, you’re more predisposed to try something, whereas when you’re on the PC, you might get distracted by, say, Facebook or something.”
It is pretty amazing to see how Sony is promoting free-to-play titles even more than ever before, and it has been confirmed a while back that free-to-play games on the PS4 won’t require PlayStation Plus.
What do you think of the SOE president’s statement? Comment below.