Originally Posted by Malorn
Lots of reasons to have F2P elements, especially if they plan on a console release. Young gamers don't always have a salary or jobs and they get games as gifts. Parents usually aren't willing to shell out subscriptions for their kids to play a game so the buy-once, play forever is a good model for them. You'll get more players in the game. More players keep the game alive and net more players, some of whom will pay and overall they'll get more revenue and we'll benefit from a high pop game.
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I don't think a pure box copy only will be enough to sustain PS2 alone, their talking multiple servers, I'm guessing around seven or eight just at release time so there needs to be some form of 'steady' cash flow. I don't see a primarily F2P model working as most players wouldn't take part in the micro store unless there was some additional power to gain, which is a big no no in PS2.
B2P, as some of you suggested could work though. Maybe at a price of 10 hours per US dollar, but then when you get up to about ten, start having the real value come in, and at fifteen bucks which would be equivalent to a monthly sub should give you one month of unlimited game time.