|
Games don't do that anymore because that's not where the money is. MMOs aren't nearly as small a niche genre as they used to be and there are quality of life improvements that are pretty much standard for the genre these days.
FFXI's changed a lot, too. It's possible to solo to the cap and you don't have to purely grind mobs to do it--you can quest-grind. The level caps for missions were lessened so that new players aren't completely locked out when the veteran player base has long since passed them.
The reason F2P works at all is because it depends upon low player expectations. It depends on players letting the developer/publisher get away with virtual murder because the game is "free" and beggars can't be choosers.
If F2P games were held to the same high standards as World of Warcraft, they would not make any money at all.
|