It all started a few months back when I started playing the beta of Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine. I got more into this free MMO more than I ever have a pay-to-play, and its got or is getting in the near future every feature I could want in an MMO. All this on top of a familiar setting that personally really draws me in, and all for free except for the premium items for sale in real world currency, but even those can be picked up as rare drops or bought from other players. So why pay to play a different one? Then I began to play a free Counter strike-esque game called Combat arms, which really got me thinking. It combines all the perks of Counter Strike with addictive features like ranking up through gaining experience and flashier notifactions that make head shots (and nut shots) more rewarding. I actually prefer it over CS just for these features, and its free to play so I have nothing to lose. Now neither of these games are perfect, and you may not be ditching World of Warcraft or Counter Strike anytime soon, but they raise the question that if free online games are improving at such a quick rate, when will they start to cut in on the gaming industry's piece of the pie? And will it eventually force retail games to follow the "free to play except for premium content" business model?