It's free, but it'll cost you.

Free-to-play MMO's. What a wonderful concept. Don't have a monthly budget to spend on virtual goods? Can't really commit that much time to a subscription-based MMO to make the payment worthwhile? You're 12 years old and don't have a debit card? NO PROBLEM!

Sure, we're not offering the quality of a AAA title - but what choice have you got? Oh, did we mention that to fully utilize this game you'll need to visit our game store? And make a couple of micro transactions?

This is the make-or-break point for a free-to-play MMO: If you can make a game offer the full immersive experience, with the *option* to spend a couple of pounds on a shiny new horse, or some cosmetic changes then fair enough. I understand. No dilemma. But how about we make the first 30 levels of your experience brilliant, and then you hit a wall - a wall that requires you to purchase new skills, equipment or XP potions to get back to that wonderful experience you had at the beginning.  No dice.

So when you advertise your wonderful imported, aging, eastern MMO to the west don't do it under the false pretense of "free-to-play". The user will feel cheated. And after throwing hours of their time at something only to find it's now going to cost in order to progress any further, they'll feel inclined to throw money right at you. It's almost pyramid-scheme in nature.

Free Realms (from the creators of some of the great MMOs of the genres short history, SOE) is the worst perpetrator of this awful back-handedness. Although it offers a "membership" option - it doesn't quite state how important a membership really is. After 30 minutes or so it became apparent this "free online sensation" was simply a demo - a demo for the membership priced £3.99 a month. I am well aware that free trials, and day-long demos are perfectly normal business practice for subscription-based games and I'm fine with that. But when you brand a childrens game as free, only to find your child complains days later that "theres nothing left to do without a membership" you're on really bad form. Shame on you SOE.

Oh, and that scenario really happened - ask my dad, or my distraught 11-year old sister.