Gifting money to PlanetSide 2

[sfscriv]

Curious...

Who has paid real money for playing the Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) Planet Side 2 (PS2) game?

What are the advantages to paying real money?

Even if your time and experience are enough by them selves to level up, do you still think it is good idea to contribute real money to reward the developers, encourage the free model, and to keep the PlanetSide series alive?

What are the indications that PlanetSide 2 is financially healthy?

[pershainovitsh]

I haven't bought anything in PS2 with real money and am not planning to. With enough work, I can get anything I want, but I do have to plan carefully what I'm going to buy, as the prices tend to be pretty steep.

You can't really gain an advantage with paying in PS2. You can get some silly camouflage (look at what Lambourne has!), a horn for your vehicle, or faster EXP gain. That's a good thing. If it was pay to win, I don't think I'd be playing for long.

[wobblyone]

I have paid money and am continuing to do so with a Premium Account.
This gives me +50% XP, +50% Resource, around 40 Certs per day and 500 Station Cash per month.
This is costing me £6 per month. I am treating myself for stopping smoking which cost me £6 per day

Al is right in that nothing you pay cash for in PS2 gives you an advantage. Also all items can also be 'bought' with Certs earned in game.
The soldier camo's are good for concealment and the vehicle camo's are more personalization.
I bought some vehicle weapons with the Station Cash but have now reverted back to default weapons.

Now I use my 500 Cash per month on either XP or Resource Boost which lasts for a week.

I am happy to put money into PS2 because I love the game, and I know it is being constantly developed for the better.
You only have to look at the monthly updates to see how much work is going into this game. Not to mention the patches and fixes in between.

[madviper101]

Have contributed some funds. Currently have premium membership. I do like these free games as you get a feel for if you like them before you subscribe. The developers have to make money some how

[backtothefight64]

I've just signed up for 3 months. Thought I'd give it a try, although the premium does seem good value when you look at it monthly.

As a non member it takes a long time to accumulate certs, for me typically 100 cets/3-4 hours. With the Cyclone SMG costing 1000 it's a lot of gaming time, so the increased passive and gaming certs and XP definitely helps.

The station cash only benefits things like secondary vehicle weapons, camo, boosts etc. weapon attachments require
certs.

Having played continuously for 6 months now I was more than happy to give something back, particularly with Sony's continued commitment to improving the game.

But membership isn't necessary the NC standard weapons are great. The Light Assault/Engineer's AF-19 Mercenary carbine is a great all rounder.

Planetside 2 financially health ? The recent reduction in server numbers to increase player population per server suggests the take up was not as much as Sony had expected.