Planetside 2 free players "just as important" as spenders, says Smedley

Sony Online Entertainment boss John Smedley has said all Planetside 2 players are equal in the developer's eyes, because they're "content for each other".

Speaking to PC Gamer, Smedley said just 10% of Planetside 2 players have ponied up for a premium package.

"And the way we see it is that the 90% of players who don’t pay are making the game fun for the 10% that do," he added.

"So we look at the world in terms of how many people are playing the game, and not in terms of how many are paying. The players are content for one another, so the free players are just as important as the ones who are paying."

Smedley said that free-to-play and premium will exist alongside each other for many years to come, as each enables different experiences, but said he has no regrets in pursuing the newer business model.

"We definitely made the right call, and we like what we’re doing. I think free-to-play is pure for one simple reason: people can vote right away," he said.

"If they don’t like your game they can just walk away because they didn’t pay anything for it – it’s the most democratic way to make games. And if they don’t want to pay for it now, our hope is that they pay for it later, but they don’t have to. So it makes me feel good that the games we make are being judged on their merit, not just how well we can market them or force them to play and pay like Zynga tried. It’s pure and I love that."

Thanks, Polygon.