14 DAY TRIAL // Sony Online Entertainment announced having released a new update for its Free Realms MMO, named Goal Time, set to introduce players to the world of football with the inclusion of a new 3D mini game in which up to four players can take part at the same time and with the addition of a new Soccer Star in-game job.
Sony is warning gamers who are engaged in its free-to-play MMO that the new football mini game is not a simulation on the level of FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer.
The 3D matches are short and feature cartoon-like characters that can perform pretty outlandish moves, some of them opened up through level-up mechanics. There are 20 new quests that can be tried out by players, six new sets of equipment designed specifically for football and three backgrounds for the matches.
Free Realms is a MMO that relies on micro transactions to get revenue and Sony seems to have taken this philosophy to heart when it comes to Goal Time, with the new content being freely available only up to level 5. After that threshold, the Soccer Star job can only be experienced by those who have a Membership for Free Realms and the level progression continues up to level 20. So, all players can have a taste of this high level free MMO football but only those willing to pay can experience it to the fullest.
Free Realms has been a success for Sony, because of the lack of a subscription fee combined with the graphics that run on lower-end systems, and the company is rumored to already be working on adapting the game framework so that it can be used for a new casual MMO with a Star Wars theme.