I am afraid a combination of F2P MMO with subscription (premium) possibility is the only way games make money in todays crisis economy. The choice is simple if investors/publishers decide to support the sequel it will be a sort of F2P+subscription MMO. If they decide not to support it, it will be canceled.
After a long break I reinstalled WoT after a major patch 2 months ago and spent about $150 already because it is fun sometimes.
In 2-3 years all decent game developers, programmers and modelers will work for MMOs because they can pay more and others will be out of the market.
MMO is a great model especially for adult gamers who work and value their time: e.g. you can play only once per week, buy a premium account on per day basis, buy premium equipment to make more cash, etc. In WoT it works very well.
Of cause pay-to-win projects are very frustrating and are not popular. Payments must be restricted to time-saving features only but not give advantage on a battlefield.
MMOs are targeted at younger audience. If we do not play it, it will not be a great loss to the market potential. Traditional sim community is already small and becoming smaller every year as it is ageing. If publishers can not attract 16-20 y.o youngsters in one way or another the sim genre is dead anyway (e.g. look at RoF problems).
If MMOs is the only way for the sim genre to survive I am supporting it.
This is all simulation you can get for one time $30+ payment today
http://damageincthegame.com/
http://youtu.be/PRYOJmGo8dg