SOE's Smedley Thinks F2P On Consoles Monetizes Well
In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) President, John Smedley, spoke out about the success and challenges present when taking a free-to-play game to the console market.
With PlanetSide 2 entering closed beta on the PS4 soon and DC Universe Online already running, Smedley said about monetization:
“The PS4 has been monetizing amazingly well -- between 3 and 3.5x the monetization rate of the PC. Seeing that kind of difference in pay rate between the PC and the PS4 is really astounding -- it shows there’s a real market there.”
Smedley also notes that even the last gen PS3 sees DC Universe Online players monetizing at twice the rate of PC players. Smedley likened the console free-to-play market to the very beginnings of social games but does not see the bottom falling out like it did in that market.
Why?
According to Smedley, "Social games collapsed because most of them weren't even games at all -- they were just monetization vehicles. It (F2P design) forces you to get your gameplay as good as it possibly can get, because that’s your vehicle for getting people to stick with your game. It really does enforce some discipline on you that I think is needed.”
Check out the full interview for more chat about the future of H1Z1, SOE on Steam, and Early Access.
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About the Author

Mike “Magicman” Byrne has been a part of the MMOBomb family for years and serves as the site’s current Editor-in-Chief. His love for MMOs and gaming in general has led him to covering games for numerous gaming websites including Gamebreaker TV and XIV Nation where he proudly displays his fanboy flag for FFXIV:ARR.
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By Matthew D'Onofrio - 5 days ago
DCUO is terrible, it is just the only thing PS4 players were given in terms of a "F2P" MMO.
But I still think Planetside 2 will be pretty big on PS4 since it's a shooter and actually good. Maybe the "MAG" of the PS4 if anyone remembers that.
Tl:Dr : FK SoE