As the video game industry continues making record profits, we’ve started noticing some companies bucking the $50 a title trend. Several big name companies have begun making free first person shooters that only require a download to get you fragging noobs and saving the free world. Nexon (the makers of Maple Story) has seen some great success with their free shooter Combat Arms (more information here), and War Rock has been going strong for almost 2 years now. These games typically make use of the razor blade theory – give the razors away for free, and sell the razor blades. In the case of Combat Arms, the game itself is free, along with weapons, but you’ll have to pony up some cash if you want the latest beret, or some stylish sunglasses.
Gamers are getting ready for two of the largest free games to date to be released. The first is a cartoon shooter by the same people that made the Battlefield series named Battlefield Heroes, and the second is a remake of the old school game Quake, named Quake Live. While Battlefield Heroes hopes to introduce new game play, emphasizing fun and low computer system requirements, it will still rely on a traditional client download. In Quake Live, developer ID has decided to go a different route – recreating the original Quake game (which has been heavily modded over the years) into a browser based – lightweight shooter. More information about Quake Live can be found in the Quake Live fan forum, and look here for the Battlefield Heroes fan forum.
Photo by Ayton.