LotRO Going Free-to-Play

[MyNameDidntFit]

With Warner Bros. taking over the franchise after their purchase of Turbine, Lord of the Rings Online is set to go micro-transaction based (http://games.venturebeat.com/2010/06/04/lord-of-the-rings-online-goes-free-to-play-this-fall/) this "Fall" (I hate these dirty northern hemisphere terms).

The micro-transaction system is one that has been popular in Asia for some time, but has only recently started to see any serious use in Western markets. For those who don't know, the system basically involves no fee over time, but allows the player to pay real money for additional gear, customisation, account features, quest packs and the like. Pretty much a good middle ground between free and paid.

WB have been taking a keen interest in the LotR franchise lately, acquiring all the title rights on the big screen and on our monitors, which seems to say that they're planning to put some serious work into it -- whether that means LotRO will be getting some awesome upgrade work, there's a new title in the works, or both.

Either way, I'll be keeping a close eye on this and, who knows, I might even pick up my first MMO this year.

[Archangel]

You missed the hyperlink on the L in Lord of the Ring Online. ;)

I can't say I've ever actually paid any attention to this game before now, as I've always known it was PPM (pay per month), and thus knew I wasn't going to get it. So I don't actually know if it's any good at all. I picked Guild Wars up for about $10 a while back though, and that was pretty decent for a time, so if this is anything like that it should be reasonable shiny.

Has anyone around these parts actually played it? Is it worth the PPM system, or d'you think it'd be better of as a microtransactional game?

Or, for that matter, is it worth any money at all?

[Konrad]

Since I don't play PPM games due to budget constraints/being a dirty scrooge, I'm entirely for the total shift to micro-transactions so that I can actually try the games. And it's entirely possible ill spend some money buying a tophat for a game I really like, so everyone wins.

Will probably try this.

[JustaBitOutside]

yeah, I played the Star trek one for about a month, but frankly I just don't get the MMORPG appeal. You pay each month to wander around and do the same shit over and over again... not into it.

[Serio]

I stopped caring much for the grinding and gameplay of the MMO's long ago, and started caring more about the roleplaying aspects. Roleplaying(the "RPG" in "MMORPG" that some people don't seem to understand) can greatly prolong the lifetime of an MMO. In the case of LOTRO, the game was pretty much designed for roleplayers, with optional gameplay aspects such as home owning and music composition.

[Mikey]

I can't say I've ever actually paid any attention to this game before now, as I've always known it was PPM (pay per month), and thus knew I wasn't going to get it.

Ditto :D