Pros and Cons of Making the game Pay-to-Play

Sorry for bringing up so many games.

Kingdom of Loathing, which only two people here are going to recognize, has a freemium system where you can donate $10 to help keep the game running and get an item that acts as currency. Said currency is tradable and can be sold in player shops, and it's used to buy new content that is only sold for the month it's released in. Those items, in turn, are also always tradable, which lets players donate and donate and be able to buy powerful items, but those who play the market (or a certain moneymaking game) can earn the stuff legitimately without paying real money for it. It's definitely a strategy that won't work in every game, but it does in KoL and it's the best example I've played of a freemium game with a cash shop.

As for it's service quality, because the game is operated by like.. seven people, they're able to connect with the community on a level I haven't seen anywhere else. They have their own podcast network with one dedicated to the game and Q&A and they have a significant presence on their forums. Oh, and they've been going for 10 years now and are about to release a second game.

/asymrave