I think this is a very highly debated topic on this forum and on various others. The trend for recent MMOs has been the F2P model.

However, I strongly believe the monthly sub model is the way to go forward and this is why I believe it to be the best one out there.

Ok so lets get out the idea that no one these days would pay a monthly fee for a game let alone an MMO. I strongly believe that no matter the cost ( well I ain't talking about absurd prices) people will buy your product if you provide a good quality product. That is true with the food business, to consumer goods and even in gaming.

I was pretty much on the same boat not too long back before I got into the MMO genre and into gaming as a whole. The whole idea of paying a monthly fee to play a game seemed completely foreign to me only a few years back when I got into WoW. I mean here I am, a high school student working a part time job and I have to pay a monthly fee to play a game on top of that? You must be kidding me. However, I've seen the benefits of it and how it can help in the long run.

MMOs especially thrive on a close knit community. The MMO genre more so than any other gaming genre feeds on the social aspects. Some of my best days in WoW were logging in everyday to see and play with friends that I've gotten to know in the game. However, with the introduction of cross realm zones and going back to realm transfers the whole idea of community has kinda fallen out. However, on very few realms, mine included, until recently the community was strong. WPVP was active and we were one of the very few realms in WoW that could boast an active WPVP scene. There were daily city raids, large scale battles, and frequent skirmishes. That is what you get from a monthly sub model. You get that commitment from people. I knew I could log in the next day and take the battle to the Horde guilds and certain players that I had it out for. I knew a month from today, we could look forward to a RP event between two guilds cross faction. I knew that people cared in providing a gaming experience not only for themselves but for others.

A monthly sub not only brings in a strong community, but accountability. Too often in F2P games have I seen anonymity taken advantage off. Its easier for people to create multiple alt accounts and troll the community in game. League of Legends, not an MMO, but one of the F2P games out there is probably the biggest example. You don't have to buy the game to play it. All you need to do is create an account and so is with TERA these days. I often when I went to check out the game came across people that never gave a hoot in game and created a very unpleasant gaming experience for me and many others. Even if they do get banned, nothing is going to stop them from creating new accounts. However, once the risks are a bit higher, people will think twice about doing something they wouldn't want to get banned for.

F2P games also go through a higher turnover of gamers since there is no commitment. Its hard to maintain raiding guilds, hard to organise RP events and hard to maintain any kind of competitiveness against the opposing faction.

The loudest critics against the sub model are those that are already financially invested in other MMOs or on monthly payment passes for other games. I mean why would someone want to be paying $15/month when they are already paying for 2-3 others in WoW, Rift and at one point SWTOR.

The F2P model especially badly implemented can have long lasting repercussions on the game's success. Too often you are restricted to content you can access as currently in SWTOR and often are restricted to how you can play the game.

There is a growing fan base for cash shops and micro transactions. However, it baffles me that gamers don't realize how much more they actually spend in small transactions over a period of time. Its proven time and time again that micro transactions often add up to around 2-3 times more than a fixed monthly subscription.

There are hardly any F2P MMOs out there that have the staying power and end game content that subscription MMOs have. GW2 failed in the end gamer department which left players wanting more. LoTR was a good example of how a F2P model could work however, things took a turn for the worse of late and its become a complete mess. That what happens with micro transactions. Developers always feel they can squeeze a little more from the player base.

Often F2P games and cash shops put players at an uneven footing in such games. A monthly sub makes sure everyone is on an even footing in the game and no one has access to something the other person couldn't try for besides vanity items such as mounts and pets.

From what I've seen and read from various developer interviews and blogs recently I can see that these guys truly love The Elder Scrolls as a game. It baffles me when people compare TESO to SWTOR cause we all know Bio Ware were basically looking to sink their teeth into an MMO. If it wasn't Star Wars it would have been something else. They didn't have that kind of connection to the game as what most of the developers in ZMO have. Bio Ware and EA sports were definitely in for the money.

And that is why I hope the guys at ZMO and Bethesda continue to put the game first and stick to what works.