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[quote=KaVir,Jan. 15 2006,19:45]And this is the part of your thoughts where I have trouble understanding. I can't fathom how someone can possibly find a game 'free to play' when said game charges you a minimum one time fee of $50 or has a monthly subscription charge (or in the case of guild wars a fee to download the client). You use the fact that you can create a new account after your free trial is up to further your cause that these games can be legitimately be called "free to play", and that is where I call you on.
Threshold, Gemstone, and Guildwars can never be called free to play just because you can keep creating new accounts. For one Gemstone requires you to fork over credit card information to create an account, so your little scheme would be caught quickly if you kept doing it (unless you had 1000 credit cards). These MUD's can also check your IP with ease.
Where IRE separates itself from the other games is that they do not require you to pay ANYTHING. You can play as much as you want without the need to keep creating new accounts to play another free trial. You can play one single character as much as you want FREE. The fact that you can choose to pay to enhance your characters' stats is irrelevant because it is optional.
It is not misleading. The fact that you can play the game for free is enough to make it not so. To answer your hypothetical survey question, I would say no it is not misleading whatsoever. Why? Because you don't have to pay extra, it is your choice to do so. Advertising yourself as "free to play" is not misleading when you can play on any server for free as long as possible without the need to create new accounts to start new free trials.
Futhermore it is quite apparent that you are over-exaggerating certain things, like 95% of all skills can only be unlocked by paying. Especially when IRE claims that the person with the most powerful character has not paid any money for the game. Please cite your references on how you came up with that percentage.
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