As I am actually a subscriber, and have been for most of the time since open beta, I am really at a loss as to what all the fuss is about as to the Turbine Store. There seems to be a lot of people hooting and hollaring about what might be sold there. To those people I say "patience." On June 16, 2010 the Closed Beta for the f2p setup begins; at that time we will know what is in the store (which, of course, is not to say that they couldn't change it at a moment's notice). Until then .... chill. Come to my house and I'll fire one up.
Hedonismbot: Your latest performance was as delectable as dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.
It's less, er, cuththroat, but it also mentions monetizing consumables (which is bad)
Also see their top selling chart - almost all are consumables.
Which is my worry about main worry about LOTRO - that consumables become so important you have to buy a lot of them from the cash shop just to play normally (doing PvE quests for your level).
It is a simple reality ...
- subscription games means the DEVs make money by making the game (in whole/part) more entertaining to people.
- F2P or Cash Shop games make money when people can buy enjoyment be it buying advantages or conveniences.
It is a simple truth that defines F2P verse P2P and it means, whether done aggresively liek Allod's or more subtly like DDO that the DEVs cannot pay their bills if you can a actually play without paying - so design will HAVE to shift to making a need for the cash shop items or the game will not make money. Maybe they go the evil and ovious route selling a special flying horse for $20 - maybe the less obvious route by selling that new and intereting class that, oh by the way, if you grinding out hours and hours and hours of such-and-such in game you can unlock (without pointing out how terribly unenjoyable said grind of such-and-such will be made on purpose). Either way - they make money in F2P when the player is lacking something, in P2P they make money form players enjoying the game.
It's less, er, cuththroat, but it also mentions monetizing consumables (which is bad)
Also see their top selling chart - almost all are consumables.
Which is my worry about main worry about LOTRO - that consumables become so important you have to buy a lot of them from the cash shop just to play normally (doing PvE quests for your level).
It is a simple reality ...
- subscription games means the DEVs make money by making the game (in whole/part) more entertaining to people.
- F2P or Cash Shop games make money when people can buy enjoyment be it buying advantages or conveniences.
It is a simple truth that defines F2P verse P2P and it means, whether done aggresively liek Allod's or more subtly like DDO that the DEVs cannot pay their bills if you can a actually play without paying - so design will HAVE to shift to making a need for the cash shop items or the game will not make money. Maybe they go the evil and ovious route selling a special flying horse for $20 - maybe the less obvious route by selling that new and intereting class that, oh by the way, if you grinding out hours and hours and hours of such-and-such in game you can unlock (without pointing out how terribly unenjoyable said grind of such-and-such will be made on purpose). Either way - they make money in F2P when the player is lacking something, in P2P they make money form players enjoying the game.
But devs also can't pay their bills if I am playing a subscription game, get to a point where there is no new content and won't be for months so I cancel the sub. Until they upgrade the game which could be "at some point".
I've done that several times in LOTRO as there wasn't anything else I wanted to do.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Yes, that is it Sov! I'm not tremendously opinionated on the change..yet. But what worries me is that- will F2P be an excuse to bring in a surge of new customer/money so that the lack of content the game currently has, is less of a problem? We can all agree, Mirkwood should have been as big or bigger than Moria. If it had been as big as Moria then maybe the F2P wouldn't seem so scary for people? The fear being, in my opinion,is "does this mean content is going to come even slower"?
Comments
As I am actually a subscriber, and have been for most of the time since open beta, I am really at a loss as to what all the fuss is about as to the Turbine Store. There seems to be a lot of people hooting and hollaring about what might be sold there. To those people I say "patience." On June 16, 2010 the Closed Beta for the f2p setup begins; at that time we will know what is in the store (which, of course, is not to say that they couldn't change it at a moment's notice). Until then .... chill. Come to my house and I'll fire one up.
Hedonismbot: Your latest performance was as delectable as dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.
It is a simple reality ...
- subscription games means the DEVs make money by making the game (in whole/part) more entertaining to people.
- F2P or Cash Shop games make money when people can buy enjoyment be it buying advantages or conveniences.
It is a simple truth that defines F2P verse P2P and it means, whether done aggresively liek Allod's or more subtly like DDO that the DEVs cannot pay their bills if you can a actually play without paying - so design will HAVE to shift to making a need for the cash shop items or the game will not make money. Maybe they go the evil and ovious route selling a special flying horse for $20 - maybe the less obvious route by selling that new and intereting class that, oh by the way, if you grinding out hours and hours and hours of such-and-such in game you can unlock (without pointing out how terribly unenjoyable said grind of such-and-such will be made on purpose). Either way - they make money in F2P when the player is lacking something, in P2P they make money form players enjoying the game.
--------------------------------
Achiever 60.00%, Socializer 53.00%, Killer 47.00%, Explorer 40.00%
Intel Core i7 Quad, Intel X58 SLi, 6G Corsair XMS DDR3, Intel X-25 SSD, 3 WD Velociraptor SATA SuperTrak SAS EX8650 Array, OCZ 1250W PS, GTX 295, xFi, 32" 1080p LCD
But devs also can't pay their bills if I am playing a subscription game, get to a point where there is no new content and won't be for months so I cancel the sub. Until they upgrade the game which could be "at some point".
I've done that several times in LOTRO as there wasn't anything else I wanted to do.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Yes, that is it Sov! I'm not tremendously opinionated on the change..yet. But what worries me is that- will F2P be an excuse to bring in a surge of new customer/money so that the lack of content the game currently has, is less of a problem? We can all agree, Mirkwood should have been as big or bigger than Moria. If it had been as big as Moria then maybe the F2P wouldn't seem so scary for people? The fear being, in my opinion,is "does this mean content is going to come even slower"?