Mmk, first.
P2P = You buy the game (sometimes not), and pay a subscription to continue playing.
F2P = No upfront purchase or subscription, optional purchases in-game.
B2P = Pay upfront, it's yours. In an online game, this is supported by a cash shop. (This is the model you're talking about)
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And don't you dare say that P2P was always quality oriented. Because this exists:
Yeah, that exists. But, the same garbage companies we have now (EA, Activision, Riot (after Tencent sellout), Nintendo (after Iwata died), Ubisoft, and so on) are the ones that caused that crash. People with the same mindset and ideals.
If you really want me to, I can go find articles talking about how Nintendo turned down business deals that would have been MASSIVELY profitable but went against their principles. I can show you articles talking about SEGA and Capcom doing the same thing too.
Thing is, those bad companies all died off. The good ones survived. Now we have a lot more bad companies springing up because bratty kids enabled shitty companies and that's the norm now. Even the good companies are beginning to die off, since they just can't compete.
Do you know what this is? This is the ugly side of the P2P model you're so uppity about. This was in 1983, mind you, the so-called golden age of society before it went to crap. Companies made crap games to make the upfront money, then make another crap game and repeat. The video game recession that followed destroyed video games for nearly an entire generation. But no, the F2P model is truly the greedy one.
It's the same thing that's happening now. Morons are where the money's at, and the companies targeted those morons. Eventually they develop an IQ point or two and realize they're being scammed, and then these greedy companies have to put in effort or die out.
Thing is, F2P is DESIGNED to make money. Developers love it because they put less money and effort into the game but get a far, far higher payout than any other model.
Get this very clear. Greed exists everywhere and it has always existed. I don't give a flying Twitch if you don't like the F2P model, but don't you dare insist that the P2P way is perfect and what all should aspire to when the P2P side has a very visible dark side as well.
Greed definitely exists everywhere, but we used to keep greed out of the industry. We expected quality and passion, not shitty cash grabs.
I can say for certainty that Nintendo was one of the greatest companies not only because of their games, but because of how they ran their company. They ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE DOING, and put all they had into what they did. They turned down big business deals to stick to what they believed was right, and they actually gave a fuck about the consumer base beyond how much money they were willing to throw at their games.
I can guarantee that WoW, FF11 and GW1 were dramatically better than any garbage we have now, and I can guarantee the developers put in more effort and cared more about their products -- because the only way they made money was if their product was good enough to make people want to subscribe.
Thing is, when F2P just started to become a thing, everyone was laughing at it. We knew it was a big cash grab, and everyone knew to avoid F2P games like the plague. Then comes the gimme generation, and they throw all kinds of money at shitty companies, enabling them to get to where they are now.
But, I will still say that P2P and B2P were better, and that F2P companies should just stop existing or actually put in effort (which none of them will).