Shadowbane MMOG = free game?

[Eyebiter]

Just read that the MMO game Shadowbane has switched to a no subscription free format. So how does a MMOG stay in business if the client software is free and there is no monthly subscription fee? http://chronicle.ubi.com/newspost.php?id=15088 http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...php?story=8548 Advertising alone didn't keep many of the .com companies going back in 2000. How do these game companies think it will be enough to maintain a MMOG? How will investors react when the monthly revenue generated by an online game disappears? In the next year or so will there be a MMOG crash similar to the 1982 Atari dump? At some point folks are going to get bored playing a single game with a $15 dollar monthly fee. While some of the larger games like World of Warcraft will certainly survive, how many of the less established game developers fold as subscriber numbers drop?

[MikePizzoff]

Does anybody play this? Is there some sort of catch why it's free now (IE: spyware, ads, etc)?? Can a somewhat slow computer run this?