SOE Free Realms

[Lantyssa]

Grimwell mentioned the very basic reasoning several pages back.  Oversight on whether it was a good idea or not wasn't really his department though.

[Sky]

Would be nice to see combat removed entirely, imo. There's really no reason for it and it would be a good thing for the younger demographic.

[Signe]

I think there was a reason for the combat before they buggered it up.  It was fun.  If I remember correctly, they had stated their target was tweens.  That's ages 8 to 12, no?  If you go by the combat changes, they must be targeting toddlers or something.  If anything gives younger kids a  challenge, it's probably the card game and some of the tower defense games.   I don't get the combat change at all.

[Rendakor]

Have they really done anything to justify that assessment, though? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm asking semi-seriously. Barring FR itself, did SOE pull its act together when I wasn't looking?
 
As per the combat change, it would be nice to hear their internal reasoning for it. If it's intentional, it's a pretty significant shift in the game's target demographic. Assuming, of course, that SOE had the sense to hire someone with a degree in developmental psychology who actually has a grasp on what kind of complexity children of various ages are capable of, and SOE is not just fumbling in the dark here.

I sure hope it wasn't another case of "the metrics told us to." That would be sad. Yes, metrics are important, but it's what you do with the data that counts.

I think EQ2 is a pretty good example of SOE pulling their act together. Between the impressive turnaround they've done for that, and FR's generally positive feedback (until this combat change), I thought they've been doing pretty well lately.

[Jamiko]

Didn't see it mentioned here but they are offering lifetime accounts for $29.99 for a limited time.

Free Realms is offering a Lifetime Membership for a limited time!

From July 16th, 2010 (at Noon PDT) until August 2nd, 2010 (at Noon PDT) you can get a lifetime membership for about the same price as paying month to month for 6 months!

With a Lifetime Membership you’ll have access to all the great Member content without having to worry about your subscription running out!

 

If you have previously purchased a 12 month subscription, we have you covered. You will automatically be converted to a Lifetime Membership at no extra charge.

If you are currently a Member with a 1, 3 or 6 month membership, the Lifetime Membership and charges will take effect at the END of your current membership cycle. You’ll get an email reminding you of how it works when you sign up.

Visit the Membership page to sign up today!

[Mrbloodworth]

Wow, I guess its sustainable because of the cash shop then?

[Lantyssa]

I don't think anyone could have foreseen this game surviving as a sustainable cash shop!

It's a brilliant plan on a couple of levels.  I expect we will see a similar option in Clone Wars Adventures at some point, if not release.  Another interesting thing about their members' sub is that you can pay with Station Cash.  If you only purchase Station Cash cards on double-pay weekends, then the lifetime sub is effectively only $15.

[Mrbloodworth]

Well, I meant that as i figured the majority of cash flow for SOE came from the subscriptions. But I guess who can resist a banana suit? 

[Lantyssa]

Doubtful.  The sub is a nice way to get some benefits, but I'd wager the cash shop has trumped it by orders of magnitude simply because of how much stuff is in it.  There are usually 3/10 member-only servers, which you'll default to for selection, and they're always less crowded.  But almost everyone I see sports a cash shop item or two.

[Mrbloodworth]

This is now on the PS3 for download.

[Hawkbit]

It's a mixed bag on the PS3. 

1.  I can't find any way to add my PC account, so I'd have to start from scratch.  I think the PS3 login is tied to the PSN account.

2.  Combat is a LOT better with a controller.  It feels more like an arcade action game this way.
2a. Tetris-like mini-games are terrible with the controller.  There's no replacing a mouse for the speed needed for those games, which comprise roughly 50% of Free Realms. 

It's not bad, but it needs more focus on the games that are console-friendly.  I also have no desire to start over, so there.   

[Mrbloodworth]

Hey all! It’s been a while (too long!) since we’ve posted a big update to talk about the state of the game and to give everyone a quick sneak peak of all the cool top secret stuff coming up. With last week’s launch of Free Realms for the Playstation 3, now seems like an excellent time to do just that!

So let’s start with Free Realms PS3. Like I mentioned, we launched it last Tuesday and we’ve been thrilled with the feedback so far. Currently, Free Realms is one of just a small number of MMOs available on PlayStation which means we’re now able to reach an ever broader group of players who can join in on the fun. If you have a PlayStation 3 and haven’t tried Free Realms on it yet, we’d highly recommend checking it out!

But that was last week. I know what most of you guys really want to know is, what’s coming up next? Well, in the very near future we are going to be releasing our new farming feature. The team has been hard at work on this for a while and we can’t wait to release it so that everyone to jump in and play. In a nutshell, players will be able acquire a farming lot (just like getting a housing lot) and once you have it you’ll be able to clear it, decide what kind of plants you want to grow and then get to the farming! It’ll be a great new way to make coin (by tending to your own farm or helping out friends) and to get some sweet new items that can’t be found anywhere else!

We’re not going to stop at farming though, later on this spring and summer we’re also going to be releasing ranching (where you can raise your own pets) and diners (where you can run your own restaurant) – both of which you’ll be able to grow useful items for on your farms. If that wasn’t enough, there are also new rides. I bet if you check the marketplace in the next few updates you’ll start to see some cool new bikes showing up! We’ll also have new minigames, lots more housing fun, more contests where players can get their own housing creations added to the Free Realms world and a few other surprises we can’t spill the beans on quite just yet!

As I type this, we are quickly approaching seventeen million registered players. That’s a pretty big number, and what it means is that there are a lot of folks out there excited about Free Realms.  And all that does is just make the team here even more pumped up to keep working on it. The next few months are going to be pretty exciting, so stay tuned!


- The Free Realms team

[Tale]

Free Realms is one of just a small number of MMOs available on PlayStation

Which are the others? PlayStation Home lol?

[Trippy]

DCUO, FF XI.