Online Games : P2P v F2P

You may have heard the terms P2P and F2P in association with online games. These basically mean pay to play and free to play, and online games are either one or the other. Whether F2P or P2P is better is a hotly debated argument that online gamers can't agree on.

There are good arguments for either side of the debate and, probably, there will never come a time when everyone agrees. If you're an online gamer yourself, then you may well already have formed your opinions on the matter, but it's still worth reviewing the points for and against both P2P and F2P.

When you have a pay to play game, you will need to pay a monthly fee to allow you to log in and play. The usual argument with this is that in a pay to play environment, your subscription may run out without your using it if you play due to busy schedules and such, while free to play games that you can register and play on for free are there for you to visit anytime you want without the overhead monthly cost of membership.

It should be noted though that F2P games are not as free as you might assume they would be. Yes, you can play them without setting up a monthly subscription, but, if you want to make real progress on them, you will probably need to strengthen your character and get specific items for them. This may be achievable through hard work, but, in many cases, the only way to improve or upgrade is to pay. This contrasts to P2P games in that, with P2P, once you pay for the game time, all additional extras are achievable in-game, without the need to continually buy weapons, armor and accessories.

Population-wise, F2P games seem to have more players in them due to the free to play scenario that allows anyone to play, but the ones that get to the higher levels of the game and those who become stronger are often those that have money to spend on premium items in the games item mall. P2P games may not have as many players as F2P games (although there are some P2P games that are highly populated due to awesome game play and popularity) but the players that you do find in these games are more hard-core and more dedicated to creating a balanced and strong character with constant game play.