According to Kotaku, Sega released the first free-to-play MMO on the PlayStation Vita handheld device with its new title, Samurai & Dragons, on March 29, 2012.
About Samurai & Dragons
The game allows up to four players to group together over 3G and/or Wi-Fi in order to battle their way through different dungeons, fighting a range of mobs and eventually facing a dungeon-specific boss battle. But that’s only the first of three different game modes found in Samurai & Dragons. There is also a card-collection system that allows you to play the integrated S&D card game against your online companions. Last, but not least, there’s a territory-based strategy game mode that lets players build, develop, and expand their cities, as well as attack other cities in order to create their own personal empire.
How will Sega make money off of a free-to-play model, you ask? Well, they released a Deluxe package for a retail price of ¥3800 ($47.30 US) on April 26, 2012. They also provide an assortment of gear available for the dungeon-crawler game mode via the in-game store, helping players as they make their way through the combat portion of the game.
Unfortunately for the Western gamers, the game is currently unavailable in any language other than Japanese, and a Western release has not been confirmed by Sega at this time.