Most of these games offer a 'free trial': a ten-day test run - with many features capped or inaccessible - to whet the appetite of its players. If successful, a player enters in to a binding contract that may be paid from monthly, to biannually. These prices are an average of £8.99 a month, which may seem steep, but is largely irrelevant given the amount of hours a player may clock in to the game each month. Say an individual plays the game for 28 hours a month - an average of an hour a day - it is costing them roughly 32p per hour, and given the almighty nature of these games, this may be considered something of terrific value, where a player certainly gets their money's worth. This appears to be a double-edged sword, though; to make the subscription worthwhile, you need to play a lot of hours a month, and a lot of hours a month playing video games detracts from reality.
Video games have been considered an addiction and a scourge since the first controversial and violent games were brought to the forefront, when children would emulate the actions they saw in the game, finding difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality. While most people who are playing these games nowadays are fully aware of the fictitious environments, they are becoming increasingly engrossed in a world that is not real, sacrificing time, money, and even education, to sate their growing thirst for adventure.
Numerous students worldwide have failed examinations, skipped deadlines, and chosen to play video games, as opposed to study. This is more acceptable - but nonetheless impractical - when a game is free, but when it is costing money, and internal mechanisms within the game encourage users to spend money (for example, in World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XI, players can visit external websites and pay for 'in-game cash', to purchase various objects within the game, rather than spend days, or even weeks, saving for these expensive and exotic items). It is at this point when casual enjoyment of a game transposes into a serious addiction, and like any addiction, comes with its traits of everything from mood swings, to the pawning of material goods just to afford the next subscription bill.
While these games sound as if they are causing more harm than good, the fact is they are not merely complex systems. MMORPGs also carry an enormous social element, where players can interact with each other from all over the world, and form various groups and partnerships just as they would in real life. There are instances of making long-affirming friendships with individuals met from these online worlds, no different than any other social networking website. These infrastructures encourage players to work as a team, often taking on more challenging obstacles that would be difficult alone. Many of these games thrive on the social aspect, forming a symbiotic relationship with the gameplay itself.
There are many different pay-to-play MMORPGs to suit all preferences - from cult classics Star Wars and Star Trek, to tabletop favourite Warhammer. The environments within these games continue to expand and develop, enticing its subscribers to continue playing, but also to attract new accolades into the ploy of an exciting adventure at a modest price.
Whether or not you approve of paying for such entertainment, such things have been going on for centuries, and in far worse environments than those designed for today's technological generations.
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