I enjoyed playing this game for the few days that I played it when it launched last year. It was a treat for myself, a game I knew I'd blow through quickly so the upfront cost of buying the game at launch for full price and conquering all the content in three days didn't bother me:
http://messageboards.lego.com/en-us/showpost.aspx?PostID=4504061There are a few things I note about the game from a business perspective, and I think any one of them might make an interesting topic of a HeroEngine blog post written by someone with more researchin' and analyzin' skillz than me:
- While the F2P model has been successfully implemented in a previously pay-to-play game to resurrect the revenue stream of a few games (LotRO, DDO, WAR to a certain extent) it needs to be coupled with effective marketing and refocused development: the game has to be better from every angle because the people playing it now don't have $20-50 invested in it already.
- LEGO Universe is the first pay-to-play game I have ever played that didn't require you to enter some credit card details for an automatic rebill after the first free month that came with the game. While I appreciate their billing practice as a customer, they would have probably gotten at least 75% more money from me over a few months before I forgot to cancel, which would have been good for them. (Allowing your credit card to rebill month after month forgetfully is hilariously common among online game players.)