I think it’s best to be as sneaky as possible with the pay to play stuff — like all those Korean RPGs (and soon Mythos) that are “free” but require you to buy items to get anywhere without spending 10 billion hours. If you’ve got time investment from a player and can stir up their voracious desire for L337 G34R before they want to buy, then you’ve nailed em’. Just try not to be dix like Something Awful and sell a car and THEN tell people that the rear-view mirror, hubcaps, tail pipe, engine block, pedals, and everything else someone would expect to get with a car are sold separately. Or maybe try that, I dunno, it works for them.

This is all about marketing and psychology. Work on a price structure that caters to an endless desire (like Magic the Gathering or Pox Nora) and you’ll roll in the dough. People love UNLIMITED ACCESS and BONUS STRUCTURES (I know I totally can’t resist a bulk pack thing where I can spend 5 bucks more for a better deal), so try and work off that.

Lastly, personally, I totally wouldn’t mind paying $5 to $10 for Episode 2. I mean, seriously, this game has been more fun than a lot of the $60 titles I’ve bought, so how the **** can I justify whining?