14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer and publisher Sony Online Entertainment has released a number of details about the performance of its popular Everquest MMO, which has managed to perform better than expected after dropping subscriptions.
Since moving to the free-to-play business model, concurrent usage has gone up by 40 percent, which suggests more players engaged in the various quests and areas at the same time, while the increase in item sales has been even more impressive, reaching 125%.
Unique player logins are also going up, by 150 percent, while the number of people who have registered for their first Everquest account is 3.5 times bigger than it was before the game became free for everyone.
The Dark Elves and the Drakkin are the races available for sale and have proven most popular while the most attractive classes, when money is involved, are the Shaman and the Necromancers.
Black Pegasus is the mount that most players have chosen to purchase in the Everquest store.
The free-to-play business model has recently emerged as being one of the most interesting alternatives for MMOs that are either old or have failed to capture a big audience on launch.
The trend was started by the Turbine-made Lord of the Rings Online, which quickly reported impressive growth in both the number of players and in the revenue it managed to attract after going free-to-play.
Sony Online Entertainment has also embraced the concept and it now seems to be reaping the rewards with Everquest.
So far the Blizzard developed World of Warcraft has not announced a free-to-play move, although the company has allowed more players to experience the game for free for a limited time.
The recently launched Star Wars: The Old Republic from BioWare also continues to use the subscription model.
Take a look at the video below to see how happy Sony Online Entertainment is about the recent success of Everquest.
