Ragnarok Online - White Smith

I started playing online games in 2003, back then broadband connection is still in its infancy. So we rely more on "Dial-Up" connection, and I rarely experience the full potential of what I was playing; but online games on those days focus more on the imagination of the gamer and not really on the graphics side of the game. I remember spending 8-10 hours a day leveling my character in "Ragnarök Online," a near 3D game published by "Level Up Games" in our country. Though, lag spikes and disconnection are an everyday experience, I will have to say that I enjoyed every moment I have on that game.



There were several online games that followed the path of Ragnarök Online, but only a few really made it that far. To be honest, what started as a community-based  game turned out to be more of a business model. Online game publishers gave their best effort to earn profit and not to give the best gaming experience to their clients. They usually charged a high fee by selling time-cards or monthly fee to their online customers, in turn you really need to spend a lot of money just to play this games - and that includes me. Game cards are one of the common expenses I have in those days, I'm proud to say that I'm one of the gamers who really spend a lot, just to be competitive on the virtual arena.


Through the years, the online gaming industry saw a shift of interests from its loyal player base, this might be attributed to various factors, one of which is the emergence of Korean-based online games that paved the way to the "Free-To-Play" model. With this type of approach, the publisher offers its online game for free and with the option to buy in-game items or power ups to help the player progress in the game. It may seem advantageous for gamers but actually if you really do the math, spending on mini-transactions like in-game items can be a lot more expensive than just paying for your monthly fee.The only positive thing you can get is that you can play it anytime you like; but being competitive in a Free-To-Play game is far from what you expect.

Today, popular online games moved to the same bandwagon - they call it "Freemiums," a westernized term for "Free-To-Play" games. Though it may seem that they used the same model as those Korean-based games, but actually they added a twist to the common trend. You can still avail of mini-transactions like in-game items and power ups, but you can now subscribe like a normal Pay-to-Play game; though they change the name for a paying member into a "Premium Member." A premium member have more access to the different contents of the game as opposed to the free members.

Perfect World Online

As a final conclusion, It's obvious that the online gaming industry is still on the process of evolving into a more profitable yet more gamer-friendly environment and with budget options that can be affordable for everybody. Playing online games is an expensive hobby and I know that first hand, just imagine in the near future with games becoming more and more interactive, we will sure see a lot more changes in our online gaming experience