作者：Kris Graft

这个星球上最成功的一家免费在线游戏公司宣称将改变旗下所有游戏的盈利方式。

《坦克世界》的开发商Wargaming.net在独家访问时说道，他们将从当前以及即将发行的游戏上删除“付费获胜”的购买选择。

World-of-Tanks(from mmoculture)

这一改变最先落实于该公司旗下最受欢迎的在线游戏《坦克世界》上，并将出现在即将问世的游戏《战绩世界》以及《战舰世界》中。

关于这一策略的介绍：

该公司于2012年开始使用“免费获胜”策略。

“免费获胜”核心机制是删除所有能够给予玩家战斗优势的付费选择。

收益将来自非有利内容的销售，如高档车，个性化选择之类。

免费获胜机制将应用于Wargaming当前及其未来的所有游戏中。

这种改变在某种程度上将推动着Wargaming在快速发展的eSports游戏领域中扮演着更加重要的角色。

Wargaming（总部位于俄罗斯明斯克）的发行副总裁Andrei Yarantsau通过电子邮件回答了几个有关这一改变的问题：

你们致力于这一项目中多久了，是什么元素推动着Wargaming去做出这种改变？

我们已经致力于“免费获胜”理念很长一段时间了。其理念阶段开始于2011年，即在我们解决了公司快速发展所引起的内部挑战之后。

我们在2012年首次测试了那些有可能成为免费获胜机制的元素。我们将那些原本只面向付费玩家的游戏内部购买完全呈现在所有玩家面前。我们将黄金轮，付费商品，迷彩图案，徽章，车队等等功能转变成能够使用游戏内部积分进行兑换的内容。我们的分析团队仔细引导着玩家去适应这些改变，不管他们是新手，资深玩家还是团队队员。

玩家社区对这种改变总是非常敏感，特别是当他们在考虑一个盈利系统时。这也是我们为何要完全专注于测试任何改变，并只引进那些获得积极反馈的新功能的主要原因。

为什么你们移除了所有付费获胜选择？

Wargaming是一家提供免费在线游戏的公司，所以我们都认为如果未百分百保证所有战斗选择都是免费的，我们便不可能真正提供AAA级免费游戏体验。我们并不想要从玩家身上骗取钱财，我们只想将优秀的游戏体验和服务（公平对待每个玩家）传达给他们，而不管玩家是否在游戏中花钱。

付费者和非付费者为了成功而投入的时间和努力总是不同的，但是至少他们所面对的可行选择是相同的。

有时候人们总是会将免费游戏当成是低质量的游戏，而我们希望《坦克世界》能够用于证明免费游戏也具有较高的质量和平衡性。但是要想打破人们的这种成见则不是件易事。

这不只是关于《坦克世界》的游戏经济。我们通过摆脱“付费获胜”理念而完全致力于分解游戏社区中所存在的免费游戏理念，并最终引导着我们去思考“2.0版本”的免费游戏的实施。

免费获胜理念当然能够增强用户的忠诚度并吸引新玩家的注意。而关于公司的经济效率，我们认为利润不会出现下降的情况。

如果说会出现什么区别的话，我们的免费获胜功能将有可能引起付费弹药购买的下降。同时，玩家将使用黄金去购买积分，购买付费帐户状态，或者购买付费车辆。最后，我们的计划是所有的这些行为都将趋于平衡。

我听说在亚洲市场，玩家们很乐意花钱购买道具。那么你是否认为你们的这种改变将导致该区域的业务流失？

亚洲仍是非常重要的游戏内部购买市场，而该区域中的主要游戏公司也一直在尝试着理解我们的业务模式。对于《坦克世界》来说，付费并不能保证最后的成功。显然这与该区域所熟悉的做法相矛盾。

就像我们的中国玩家在提到游戏内部选择时便非常理智。所以比起执着于中国技术之树，他们更愿意选择能够提供大量乐趣和利益的机器。中国政府始终致力于提供给人们舒适有益的服务，而免费获胜模式则刚好符合他们的要求。基于这一理念以及《坦克世界》复制游戏在中国游戏市场的相继出现都向我们保证了该项目能够持续在此获取成功。

作为一种业务，你认为eSports带有哪些机遇？为什么你们选择在当前致力于该业务？

Wargaming支持eSports是我们整体市场策略的内在组成部分。更重要的是它包含了创建全球化的游戏和服务网络。Wargaming.net League的成立让玩家能够更好地提高自己的游戏水平并趋于专业化，同时还能让那些扮演着观众身份的用户通过在线数据流而追踪所有比赛情况。

我们的全新《坦克世界》功能（包括最近改变的业务模式）都致力于游戏在这一方向上的未来发展。职业体育（游戏也不例外）总是关于公平竞赛。全新免费获胜系统的引进将帮助我们基于真正的eSports原则去推动《坦克世界》的开发。

Wargaming游戏设计团队完全专注于游戏中的竞争元素，所以我们迫切希望看到玩家们接受这种改变。

付费获胜系统出了什么问题吗，或者你认为今天的免费游戏盈利机制出了什么错？

经典的免费模式（特别是有关付费获胜元素）遵循了一个简单的原则，即你花的钱越多，你便拥有比其他玩家越多的优势。这便导致了小部分玩家（游戏邦注：也就是所谓的“鲸鱼”玩家）支付巨额费用并提高了游戏的ARPU（每用户平均收益）和ARPPU（每付费用户平均收益）。如此最高付费玩家便永远都不会失败，而那些投入较少或不花钱的玩家将越发对游戏感到不满。最终便导致许多人选择离开游戏以及整体玩家基础的缩小。

《坦克世界》的盈利系统则是基于完全不同的方法而建立起来。深层次的游戏玩法和较高的重玩价值将带给所有人一种舒适且公平的环境。不包含过强武器和微交易的游戏便不会让任何玩家在战斗中拥有突出优势。付费道具具有明确的定价，所以玩家并不需要花太多钱进行购买。我们并不希望《坦克世界》带给玩家这么一种游戏体验，即只是提供一些花钱购买的选择。相反地，我们希望游戏能够呈献给所有玩家真正的易用性和公平性，而不管他们是否愿意花钱。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Wargaming kicks ‘pay-to-win’ monetization to the curb

By Kris Graft

One of the most successful free-to-play online game companies on the planet has announced a sweeping change in the way it monetizes all of its games.

World of Tanks developer Wargaming.net told Gamasutra in an exclusive Q&A that it would be removing all “pay-to-win” purchase options from all of its current and upcoming titles.

The initiative has already begun in the company’s flagship online game World of Tanks, and will continue with upcoming titles such as World of Warplanes and World of Warships.

Here’s basically how the new strategy boils down:

The company is calling the strategy “free-to-win,” and first started testing it in 2012.

The core basis of “free-to-win” is to remove all payable options that could be viewed as giving a player an advantage in battle.

Revenue will come from sales of non-advantageous content, such as premium vehicles, personalization options and the like.

Free-to-win will be applied to all current and future Wargaming titles.

The move is in part meant to make Wargaming a bigger player in the burgeoning eSports arena.

Andrei Yarantsau, VP of publishing at the rapidly-growing Minsk-based company, took some time to answer a few questions about the move via email:

How long have you been working on this initiative, and what prompted Wargaming to do it?

We’ve been working on for the idea of “free-to-win” for quite some time now. The conception stage began in 2011, after we took the time to tackle some internal challenges spurred on by the company’s rapid growth.

Elements of what would later become free-to-win were first tested in 2012. We made in-game purchases that were previously only available to paying players open to all players. Things like gold rounds, premium consumables, camouflage patterns, emblems, platoon creation and other features were switched over to be purchasable with in-game credits. Our analytics team carefully monitored how players reacted to these changes, whether they were newcomers, veterans or clan members.

The player community is very sensitive to changes, especially when they concern a monetization system. That’s why we fully focus test any changes we plan to make and introduce only those new features that receive positive feedback.

Why are you cutting all pay to win options?

Wargaming is a company delivering free-to-play online games, and we strongly believe that you can’t provide a truly triple-A free-to-play experience without absolutely making sure all combat options are free of charge to all players. We don’t want to nickel and dime our players — we want to deliver gaming experiences and services that are based on the fair treatment of our players, whether they spend money in-game or not.

The amount of time and effort payers and non-payers spend to succeed in-game may differ, but at the very least the list of accessible options at their disposal remain identical.

Free-to-play games have the challenge of being sometimes viewed as low quality, and we want World of Tanks to serve as proof that a quality and balanced free-to-play game is possible. However, breaking down deeply-rooted stereotypes is no easy task.

This isn’t just about the game economics of World of Tanks, either. We aim to completely overhaul the free-to-play concept that exists as a whole in the gaming community by getting rid of the idea of “pay-to-win,” ultimately helping lead what we consider the roll-out of “version 2.0″ of free-to-play gaming.

How exactly do you define a “pay to win” item or option, and can you give a few examples of items that won’t make the cut?
Well, the first example that comes to mind is the legendary “Sword of a Thousand Truths” from the television show South Park. Seriously, though, many online shooter games sell weapons with slightly bigger magazines, a slightly greater chance of critical hits or slightly more damage for real world money. Also, cash shops in fantasy MMO games often offer items that increase item drop rates, scale hit rates or grant extra player protection.
How do you expect this will affect your revenue?

The free-to-win concept is sure to enhance customer loyalty and attract new players to the game. As for the company’s economic efficiency, we expect no decline in profits.

If anything, the introduction of our free-to-win features will likely cause a decrease in the purchase of premium ammunition. At the same time, however, players will use gold to buy credits, pay for premium account status, or purchase premium vehicles. In the end we project that it will all balance out.

In Asia, last I heard, they’re ok with pay to win items, and like to spend a lot of money on them. Have you considered that you may lose business in that region?

Asia remains an important market for in-game purchases, and the major gaming companies in that region are still trying to fully understand our business model. In World of Tanks, paying is no guarantee of success. And obviously, this is discordant with what that region is used to.

Our players in China, for example, are very rational when it comes to in-game choices. Instead of sticking to the Chinese tech tree, they choose machines that offer the most amount of fun and profit. The Chinese government is focused on the prosperity and comfort of its people, which resonates well with what the free-to-win model offers. This idea and the fact that World of Tanks clones have already appeared in the Chinese gaming market assure us that our project will continue to be a success there.

What opportunities do you see in eSports, as a business? Why focus on this now?

Wargaming’s support of eSports is an integral part of our overall market strategy. Most importantly it involves building a global network of games and services. The launch of the Wargaming.net League has given players great tools to step up and go pro, while those who wish to remain spectators can stay up to date with all of our tournaments through online streams.

Our new World of Tanks features, including recent changes in our business model, are aimed at further growing our games in this direction. Professional sport — and gaming is no exception — is about fair competition. The introduction of our new free-to-win system will really help facilitate the development of World of Tanks as a true eSports discipline.

The Wargaming game design team has been focusing heavily on competitive elements for our games, so we’re eager to see this all catches on with our players.

What’s wrong with pay to win, or for that matter, what’s wrong with a lot of the F2P monetization schemes you see today?

The classic free-to-play model, particularly in regards to pay-to-win elements, follows one simple tenet — the more you pay, the greater your advantage over other players. It results in huge payments from a small number of users (the so-called “whales”) and increases a game’s average ARPU [average revenue per user] and ARPPU [average revenue per paying user] numbers. Top-payers end up never losing, while those who pay less or don’t pay grow dissatisfied with the game. Eventually, many leave entirely and the overall player base shrinks.

The World of Tanks monetization system is built the other way round. Deep gameplay and great replay value provide comfortable and fair conditions for everyone. The game has no overpowered weaponry and microtransactions don’t give users any sort of advantage in combat. Premium items are priced so that players rarely end up having to spend a lot. We don’t want World of Tanks players to feel like it’s an experience that only a select few can afford. Quite contrary, we want the game to embody accessibility and fairness to all players, paying or not. (source:gamasutra)