Has Pay-To-Play Died Completely?

Games that once dominated the charts in the MMO industry have since dwindled to mere memory and with AAA releases today removing subscription requirements months after release, has the pay-to-play hype of yesteryear finally a thing of the past?

When people discuss the pay-to-play & subscription based areas of this industry they often discuss the huge success of titles such as World of Warcraft but despite many years of practice and many attempts, nobody has come close to replicating the success of Blizzard's top game.

Buy-to-play seems to be far more popular with consumers and also a more financially viable option for developers and publishers. They can still take advantage of the huge sales made near release and community members of the MMO world seem to be a little more forgiving when teams decide to implement micro-transactions and in-game stores.

Guild Wars 2 recently announced the upcoming transition from buy-to-play to free-to-play, however it's not as smooth a transition as some may expect. Players that have spent hard earned money on the game and invested many months in progressing to end-game and whatnot, have expressed concern and disappointment that transitioning to free-to-play will degrade the quality of the community and welcome hated trends such as gold spammers and farmers.

What do you think? Does a paying community ensure a more involved and immersive experience? Does transitioning to free-to-play reduce the quality of the average player? Let us know your thoughts below.