You’ve come a long way, baby.
World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition has been around for nearly a year, from Beta to final release, and thousands upon thousands of players have been battling regularly. The next generation of consoles is here, and gamers are quickly shifting their time between the “old” and “new”. And yet, there’s still time for a retail release to arrive.
“Retail release?! But isn’t the game Free to Play?” This is what you’re yelling at me right now.
“Yes, it is,” I reply, kindly. “But many people still prefer to go the retail route when buying games. Like people who shop at Walmart.”
“Huh, why would I pay money for a game that I can already get for free?” you ask.
Consider this: the game is free, but the package is really meant as a jump start. Included in the “Combat Ready” starter pack will be additional perks, weapons, currency and everything needed to get a head start. Instead of grinding hours in the free campaign to gather the items, it will all come unlocked and ready to roll.
The game has been updated quite often over the last year, with the most recent being the Soviet Steel pack that brought along 29 more tanks. Weather and auto-loading has also been improved and added.
The big push, however, has been how the players have reacted. The PC grandfather World of Tanks has a massive following, with a specific community built up over that time. On the Xbox 360, however, major differences have arisen. The new community of players wanted a better social experience in the game, with more communication between team members and tactical work. It’s a different experience, on a different device, and the developers have found that both exciting and uncharted territory.
We’ll see what a giant new influx of players will mean to the social structure come August. No price has been announced yet.
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