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Treasures of Montezuma Blitz is Vita's first free-to-play game

The "free-to-play" business model has arrived on PS Vita. Stealthily included in yesterday's PlayStation Store update was Treasures of Montezuma Blitz.
Andrew Yoon
3
The "free-to-play" business model has arrived on PS Vita. Stealthily included in yesterday's PlayStation Store update was Treasures of Montezuma Blitz, a rather standard match-three game with the curious download price of "Free." If you've played Bejeweled, you'll know exactly what to expect. Slide gems to match three (or more) of them, and chain combos together to earn a higher score. It's totally free--but what do you have to pay for? You'll have to pay for "lives." You can play up to five times in one day. You can either wait for your lives to restore over time, or purchase a refill from the PlayStation Store. The cost? $0.99.

If you want to play more than five times a day, expect to pay

Every day, you're entitled to one daily scratch card, which can earn you crystals, the in-game currency. You're guaranteed to get at least 200, but can win up to 100,000 crystals. If you want to get another scratch card, you'll be able to purchase one from the PlayStation Store. The cost? $0.99. The crystals you earn from playing the game can then be used to unlock power-ups. Of course, in addition to simply playing the game and winning the scratch game, you'll be able to purchase more crystals. The cheapest bundle offers 3,000 crystals. The cost? $2.99.

The in-game currency can get quite pricey

While it may seem like ToMB is nickle and diming players, it is true that the game is wholly playable without making a single purchase. In fact, I had to go out of my way in order to discover all the purchasable options. So long as you keep play casual, it seems likely that most players won't have to drop a single penny on Vita's first game using the F2P model.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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  • Shacknews legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
    reply
    April 11, 2012 2:06 PM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Treasures of Montezuma Blitz is Vita's first free-to-play game.

    The "free-to-play" business model has arrived on PS Vita. Stealthily included in yesterday's PlayStation Store update was Treasures of Montezuma Blitz.

    • repeat2k legacy 10 years
      reply
      April 11, 2012 2:28 PM

      I like the way this article is written. It explains everything, answers the question that everyone has (what is the monetization hook), and has accompanying pictures. Well done, Andrew.

    • AxeMan808 moderator legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
      reply
      April 11, 2012 6:08 PM

      Awww. I was hoping this was a sequel to Montezuma's Revenge. THEN I noticed it was for Vita.

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