Free games vs Paid games?

[WildSpirit]

I have downloaded a lot of games, free and paid games it doesn't matter for me. All that matters is that game to be a good one to play, and have references from my friends or people I know online. If the game is good and worth to invest I would buy it, if it is free is much better!

That's what I'm talking about... Games = Fun. :smiley: So, if it's worth investing in a particular game, why not? :sweatsmile:

 

[Neiltarquin]

Free games all the way. It's better to get games free because if you downloaded a crap of a game, to which I always do, you can delete it anytime without regret.

 

[arachnophobik]

In my experience, I've always found most paid games to be more well-developed compared to free games, but the con is that it also has a much smaller community. Personally, if I'm looking for the social aspect of the game then I would go for the free games. But the thing about free games is sometimes the gameplay is lacking, and sometimes the community is toxic. Paid games, however, since there's a much smaller community, you will encounter less toxicity compared to free games.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

Before I go further into it, I first have to say that there are definitely a good number of free games out there that can match the value and content of many paid games. Many free games available on Steam such Warframe, Path of Exile, and Team Fortress 2 among several others, are titles with triple A content and don't cost a dime.

That being said, anyone that takes gaming as a relatively serious hobby is going to end up spending money because while paid games can be good, they're limited in numbers. That and the number of free games which are mediocre or worse severely outnumber games which are genuinely good. It isn't to say that just because you pay for a game it's going to be good, but on average paid games tend to have better content.

Those games don't cost a dime because they make a killing selling in-game items for their players. Lots of Steam games (Valve) do that to entice players into playing a good game, but the items will attract you and you'll end up buying them. Sure, you can say it doesn't matter, but once you see everyone else having great items and you get a few random drops on your inventory, you'll be tempted to buy too, and then purchase even more items after that. It's the perfect hook.

 

[arachnophobik]

I don't see the difference between the free and the paid games. There are some paid games that can be gotten free on some sites.
To me, some free games are better than some paid ones...

Hopefully, you aren't talking about piracy O.O that's illegal and can send you to jail *wink wink*
I agree though, some free games are better than paid ones but most of them are kind of bad compared to the paid ones (unless you're talking about the paid ones you got for free due to some... promo sites). I think it's nice to have a variety though, I love free games as much as paid games but most of them, especially on MMOs, have a pay-to-win aspect which kind of sucks.

 

[arachnophobik]

I think that there are many great games on both the paid and free sides. I think that yes you sometimes get more quality with paid for games. However, that is not always the case, there are a lot of free games with good quality. Most of the time, there's a free version of a game with less features and a paid for version that has many more features. For me, I prefer free games.

True, true. There are games out there with great work and gameplay but sometimes they're behind a paywall where "you have to buy this to get stronger unless you want to grind the same dungeon for three months". I think there's a lot of good free games to play though, I mean I'd much rather have a crappy free game than a crappy paid game, at least I know I didn't waste my money on the free one lmao.

 

[arachnophobik]

I believe that if we're going to spend money on gaming let it be with a PC game. They're usually better developed and generally worth spending money on. I don't advise anyone spending money on mobile content because usually, those games are pay to win. Also, i don't advise anyone spending money with online gaming at all.

^^ THIS
This is very true, if you're going to buy games in an online store then please do it on PC. Some of the paid mobile games might actually be good, but only for mobile gaming standard and it still won't compare to a full-blown PC game. Usually, you'll find a game with decent gameplay and graphics in mobile, but you'll find their story very short (about 2-3 hours work unless they make you wait for "energy" which is super annoying).

 

[WarVet]

^^ THIS
This is very true, if you're going to buy games in an online store then please do it on PC. Some of the paid mobile games might actually be good, but only for mobile gaming standard and it still won't compare to a full-blown PC game. Usually, you'll find a game with decent gameplay and graphics in mobile, but you'll find their story very short (about 2-3 hours work unless they make you wait for "energy" which is super annoying).

Yeah, and those little games can get expensive! Think of the total time you will spend on a mobile game versus the money you will pay for it. You can easily find a deal on Steam for a much better game with a much better story and that will provide you much more playtime.

 

[peachpurple]

I have not bought any games for the last 10 years! Most of the time, I download FREE games online such as Big Fish Games because there are wide variety of games for PC gamers, ANdroid Gamers and Mac Gamers too. If I want to play the game longer without limited time, I pay $$ for it.

 

[joegirl]

Free games baby (with the exception of Dragon Age Inquisition). There are so many advantages to this. If you don't like the game, well, you didn't pay for it. If you like it, you get to keep it. You can download or delete as often as you want. It's a gamer's loss if you spend #digits on a game and you end of hating it. My brother on one end says he would never download a FIFA game free if available. He would rather spend good money to buy the entire game.

 

[arachnophobik]

Yeah, and those little games can get expensive! Think of the total time you will spend on a mobile game versus the money you will pay for it. You can easily find a deal on Steam for a much better game with a much better story and that will provide you much more playtime.

Indeed! This is mainly why I'm more of a shutterbug when in comes to smartphones in contrast to those who are into heavy specs and processors. In my opinion, if I'm not going to use it for my main gaming device, then I shouldn't really mind much about its performance if the only difference is like 5 milliseconds of waiting time between apps when comparing midrange phones to the flagship ones.

 

[WarVet]

Indeed! This is mainly why I'm more of a shutterbug when in comes to smartphones in contrast to those who are into heavy specs and processors. In my opinion, if I'm not going to use it for my main gaming device, then I shouldn't really mind much about its performance if the only difference is like 5 milliseconds of waiting time between apps when comparing midrange phones to the flagship ones.

I agree buddy. The thing with cell phones is that they are computers in miniature. And by being such they suffer from performance degeneration twice as fast. I guess the smaller the item the less of a lifetime it has. I have had my iPhone 4s for about 5 years now and before that, it belonged to my father. I think this one came from the old generation of things that used to last.

 

[LydiaHilda]

Some free games can be awesome, like mobile games. For example, Pokemon Go! It's a lot of fun to play and it's free, but for most of the free games to be any good, there has to be some way for the developers to make money, whether it's ads or in-game purchases. For gameplay quality and overall experience, there's going to have to be some cash flow from the player to the company behind the game, otherwise we'd just be relying on indie developers making games as a hobby. And they deserve to make money too!

 

[PenguinManiac]

Yeah, and those little games can get expensive! Think of the total time you will spend on a mobile game versus the money you will pay for it. You can easily find a deal on Steam for a much better game with a much better story and that will provide you much more playtime.

I fully agree on that. Paying for a mobile game (and all of its micro-transactions) rarely gives you access to extra content, since most of the time it's only a way to make things easier, and nowadays you can buy full-fledged games that can provide hundreds of hours at the same price. It's like spending money to buy DLCs (a few are worth the price, but most don't), except you're not going to enjoy it as much on smartphones. Resist the temptation, guys.

 

[WildSpirit]

Free games all the way. It's better to get games free because if you downloaded a crap of a game, to which I always do, you can delete it anytime without regret.

Haha... I have to say that I agree with you on this thought because that makes a lot of sense. This is a big advantage of the free games. :tearsofjoy:

 

[Thundercatte]

I've found that the price of a game (or lack thereof) does not affect of the quality of gameplay. There are a lot of great free games, but also those which are hampered by in-app purchases. Path of Exile is a fun MMO, and while there is a microtransaction shop, the items sold do not directly affect gameplay and do not unbalance it in any way. On the flip side, Vindictus is another free-to-play MMO which is fun, but this lasts until you reach endgame content in which paying players have more advantages. Same thing with fully paid games - like how No Man's Sky was marketed as a $60 AAA game but was an absolute flop, whereas Skyrim was released six years ago with the same price and continues to have a huge player base.

 

[WarVet]

I've found that the price of a game (or lack thereof) does not affect of the quality of gameplay. There are a lot of great free games, but also those which are hampered by in-app purchases. Path of Exile is a fun MMO, and while there is a microtransaction shop, the items sold do not directly affect gameplay and do not unbalance it in any way. On the flip side, Vindictus is another free-to-play MMO which is fun, but this lasts until you reach endgame content in which paying players have more advantages. Same thing with fully paid games - like how No Man's Sky was marketed as a $60 AAA game but was an absolute flop, whereas Skyrim was released six years ago with the same price and continues to have a huge player base.

Yeah, i agree there are great free games out there. Single and multi players. The real problems start with the "pay-to-win" trend. After they suck players in the sales pitch begins. And I honestly don't know what goes through people's minds to spend so much money on items for an online game.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

On the flip side, Vindictus is another free-to-play MMO which is fun, but this lasts until you reach endgame content in which paying players have more advantages. Same thing with fully paid games - like how No Man's Sky was marketed as a $60 AAA game but was an absolute flop, whereas Skyrim was released six years ago with the same price and continues to have a huge player base.

Skyrim's a disappointing one since they just keep trying to monetize off of mods that the community makes. They also released a remaster last year that costs a lot, and wouldn't go down the 50% discount rate even in sales. They really can't let this game go even though they said back in 2013 that they are done with the game and will move on to newer things. Fast forward to 2017 and they have a remaster, multiple instances of trying to pass paid mods, Nintendo port, VR port, etc.

 

[ZXD22]

I'm the exact opposite. I play more paid games than free games. I usually get most of my games on insane deals and clear out prices on my steam so I love to check out the games and play them to get my money's worth to the max.

 

[tinkerlove]

Some of the pay games maybe a bit better however I feel that there are so many more important things that I could spend my money on other than games especially when they are free ones out there.