Why PlanetSide 2 is Piki Geek’s Most Anticipated MMO of 2012

The editors at Piki Geek are clearly excited about the upcoming PlanetSide 2, and made it clear with an editorial in which they explain the reasons they consider it their most anticipated MMO of 2012. Here’s a snip:

Free-to-play not Pay-to-win

Free-to-play games don’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to balance. While the game might be technically free, you’re probably going to have to plunk down a few bucks to get to the same level as other players. So when it became clear that all the cash shop items in PlanetSide 2 would be limited to aesthetics, the entire community breathed a sigh of relief.

But this isn’t just a gripe about game balance it’s one about longevity as well. Pay-to-win models typically only end up working in the short term, as most players with the ability to will immediately buy themselves the biggest advantage available to them. While this might sound fun for the player with cash to burn, anyone who has ever screwed around on a private server in an MMO can tell you how boring it gets. With the element of competition removed, and no further content there for you to expand to, the game typically gets stale incredibly fast.

Not to mention, of course, the players on the other side of your rampage.

Of course, the whole (aesthetics) thing has thrown a few people off, too. Apparently a handful of people believe that FPS gamers aren’t interested enough in what they look like to spend money on virtual hats.

Yeah, about that.