A good, well thought out article. Perhaps it focuses a tad too much on what might be considered the "entry-tier" of MMO players- the ones who bounce from game to game and try a little bit of everything- and not necessarily whales (who sustain most F2P and even some P2P MMOs, such as FFXIV with its incredibly sizable cash shop for a game with a monthly sub) and long time devotees. For example, Dungeons and Dragons Online, which released back in 2006, is still getting regular content and expansions (in fact, at perhaps an better rate than when the game was in its prime). This isn't because the player base surged or anything, but rather because a fairly large community of whales keeps the game afloat, spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars per user per year. Yes, it's free to play (and, arguably, pay to win, though grinding to win is also an option by earning the in game currency at an agonizingly slow rate) but it's performed spectacularly well for a fringe game, perhaps because of the Dungeons and Dragons name or its unique structure. That said, good article! This is definitely helpful to think about, because I've seen how this works in the slew of F2P MMOs that come out year after year and then fade into obscurity.