Though much of my interest in MMO’s was limited to MUDding (or Multi User Dungeons for those who didn’t play the old school text based games), I did play Everquest and Asheron’s Call.    About 8 years ago, I decided I wasn’t going to spend my money to play games.  I could either 1) start MUDding again or 2) stick to playing games like Diablo II and Dungeon Siege.   Eventually, the choice was to start MUDding again.  My current laptop won’t even load Diablo.  But I digress.

On Monday, Sony announced that they would be offering DC Universe Online as free to play starting in October.  They’ll still offer a pay to play option for those who want the extra benefits.  After reading a synopsis of the story on /.  I thought that it’d be free because like Everquest or Asheron’s Call, you’d have to buy the game.  Turns out, I was wrong.

According to DC Universe Online news (opens in a new window), there will be levels of the game that are free to download to a computer or PS3.  It sounds like you can either play for free, purchase items and equipment within the game, or pay a monthly membership fee.

Sounds like one company finally understands that people can only afford so many monthly fees for MMO’s.  Or maybe Sony is just feeling the pinch with the competition out there.  Either way, gamers win and the company still makes money.  Sounds like a decent compromise to me.  What do you think?