XBox Live's Joy Ride to be free to play
Not having an XBox 360 yet, I only pay a certain amount of attention to 360 exclusives. So I knew about Joy Ride, but I’ll admit that I didn’t really KNOW about it. I know it’s an arcade style racer with slick cartoony graphics, and it lets you race as your Avatar. And most unique, Microsoft is going to let you download and play this game at no charge.
What is that you say? A free game? Surely there must be a catch, and yes, there is. Taking a shot with the “it works really well in Asia” approach, Joy Ride will make its money entirely through microtransactions. Want new cars? It’ll probably cost you. Want all the new tracks? It’ll probably cost you? Want a new shirt for your avatar? You know that’s gonna cost you. But if you want to enjoy just the basic functionality of the game, you won’t have to pay for anything more than your Live membership.
I’ve been playing the recently made-free Dungeons and Dragons on-line, and I can see how Turbine have successfully created a game that you can play and enjoy for free, but will eventually want to spend money on. And as I said, in Korea, this is how they play MMO’s. The model is there, and I think applying it to a fun arcade racer is a great way to go, both as a nice offering to fans and a potential moneymaker. Certainly better than Playstation Home.
