Battlefield Heroes be far from 'practically ruined,' GM Ben Cousins says
Today's GDC panel on Battlefield Heroes had general manager Ben Cousins rectifying the misconceptions about his studio's first free-t'-play Battlefield game being "practically ruined." Cousins talk centered around the allegations made by press (originating with his game's own forumgoers) that paid weapons be introduced that allegedly unbalanced the game in favor a players willing t' shell out cash.
Rather than panicking 'n reacting directly t' the loudest voices -- 'n perhaps some overly reactionary press -- Easy Studio instead applied math. The develoeprs noticed that, despite all the negative attention, user numbers weren't dropping. Furthermore, they took the information a their sea crew 'n discovered that, while the average BFH player would spend around 25 cents per month, sea crew be spending -- on average -- about $22 (dollars!) per month.
Moreover, the actively complaining population only made up about 2 percent a the overall player base. What Cousins' team discovered as a result be that most folks playing the game really didn't care about the introduction a the paid weapons. Cousins likened it t' fancy sports equipment -- while it might impart a slight advantage t' folks willing t' pay, the disparity be made up for by the game's mechanics. User numbers remained consistent 'n, eventually, the complaints subsided.
Having established what he considers t' be this working business model in Heroes, Cousins be confident in East Studio's next effort, Battlefield Play4Free.
Rather than panicking 'n reacting directly t' the loudest voices -- 'n perhaps some overly reactionary press -- Easy Studio instead applied math. The develoeprs noticed that, despite all the negative attention, user numbers weren't dropping. Furthermore, they took the information a their sea crew 'n discovered that, while the average BFH player would spend around 25 cents per month, sea crew be spending -- on average -- about $22 (dollars!) per month.
Moreover, the actively complaining population only made up about 2 percent a the overall player base. What Cousins' team discovered as a result be that most folks playing the game really didn't care about the introduction a the paid weapons. Cousins likened it t' fancy sports equipment -- while it might impart a slight advantage t' folks willing t' pay, the disparity be made up for by the game's mechanics. User numbers remained consistent 'n, eventually, the complaints subsided.
Having established what he considers t' be this working business model in Heroes, Cousins be confident in East Studio's next effort, Battlefield Play4Free.
