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Non F2P Subscription Models
Mordeath
Member Posts: 131
A buddy of mine and I are doing some research within the community looking for your thoughts on pay models. I know there is a F2P thread and was more concerned about your perception and adoption of the models outlined below (F2P not being an option). We are working on a project and your honest option is appreciated. So consider the following scenarios
EVE
Intial + Monthly Sub (free expansions)
GW
B2P (Box + Expansions, no sub)
WoW
Box + Sub + Expansions
Please think about what your expectations are (and state them) and what you are willing to pay. By this I mean, you may not like WoW's model but if a game offered what they had, many people would and do pay for that model. The same can be said for the other 2. Eve and WoW arguability have the most content updates in their models, monthly subs allow for this where the B2P may mean less fill content updates while holding for expansion content. So if you would please, which of the "pay" models do you prefer and why. Thanks!
Comments
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Cloudsol/
I prefer the standard WoW subscription model. I pay the same amount each month and I know exactly what I am going to get for my money, there are normally very few hidden surprises if any.
My Guild Wars 2 Vids
If you give me the option, I would rather pay the monthly fee and get the expansions free. Now I don't see why you would ever WANT to pay for the expansions, unless you really like supporting a game that probably is doing quite well if they charge for the expansions. I've played Lineage II for 3 to 4 years, and in that time, they have released around 10?(I think) free expansions to the game. They just released an expansion called Freya yesterday. So if you give me the option, I would like free expansions with the monthly fee, the monthly fee just because I don't think it necessarily has to be free, since they have to uphold server costs and pay the devs / gm's.
Initial box purchase + monthly fee
It's your most typical model, not just in gaming.
Most of us have that model for our tv, phone and internet services, after all (though the "box purchase" is often called "install fee"), along with all the other services we subscribe to
Agreed. Haven't seen any MMORPGs i wanted to play so far without that model.
The EVE model sounds the best to me with the WoW model coming 2nd.
The problem with the Guild Wars model is that the developers have little incentive to keep developing and maintaining the game after the initial rush of box sales except by producing endless expansion packs.
The thing I don't like about the WoW model is the potential for commercial considerations to start interfering with the natural development cycle. For instance features might be delayed or withheld simply so they can be bundled with the expansion for greater box sales.
I prefer the GW Model.
In a subscription-based MMO, I have no guarantee I'll be satisfied with the content update the developers are giving me, if they are working on one at all. I have to pay them first. I also have think about how often they will do these content updates before the release of their next expansion pack and if the content updates will amount to the value of payments I've already made. If I'm taking a month-long vacation, or frequently taking long breaks then the monthly payments would have been only good for preventing my characters from being wiped. Without a subscription fee, I don't have to feel guilty about not being able to squeeze enough playtime, and coming back from vacation will be a lot more fun when I login to play again. I should be entertained instead of feeling like the game is a commitment I'm trying to maintain each month.
While there may be less content updates in a model without a sub, there will be a greater need and a greater motivation for developers to create a high quality expansion pack simply because much of their income would have to come from generating new content well beyond the initial launch. And I'm not paying them upfront with any subscription. So if I don't like the new stuff planned in the expansion pack, or it just isn't worth the price to pay for then I won't be buying it. Perhaps, I'll skip it. This will not translate into a revenue they could be making and I can still keep playing without a single fee. Expansion packs could arrive a little more often to compensate for the less content update. And with every expansion pack, I know they will be better off because at the end, I've got the choice, I have the upper hand. To buy or not to buy.
2nd preference would be the EvE Model.
Playing now: Cities: Skyline / Ori and the Blind Forest / Banished
For me the EvE model is a good one. as the expansions are free and with the abilaty to buy gametime with game cash via the devs then after a few months many if not most newcommers no longer need to pay the sub.
And for a well developed succsessfull mmo like EvE......Bonus!!!!
I point out this post is just about the sub model so has little to do with the actuall gameplay which is a whole different topic.
Another great example of Moore's Law. Give people access to that much space (developers and users alike) and they'll find uses for it that you can never imagine. "640K ought to be enough for anybody" - Bill Gates 1981
My preferred model is EVE.
I dislike the idea to be forced to buy an expansion to continue playing a game I already pay for.
Nickname registered on www.mynickname.org
Could not agree more here. Its the cheek of the companies that do this that really gets to me.
So you want the devs NOT to release any expansions? Because that's the game you're already paying for, the one without any expansions.
No I do not want the developers to stop producing expansions but I do want to see them released with out charge so the customers hand is not forced as Gilgameesh said.
I am not sure just how much research you've done, but most people would consider EVE and WoW to have the same subscription model - many games include what EVE calls "expansions" as free updates to the games in addition to having paid expansions.
The 3 main models are Box + Sub (EVE, WoW, EQ2, AoC, most major titles), Box + Free (Guild Wars only pretty much) and Free + Item/Service Shop (DDO and all the F2P games).
Having two extremely similar sub models and basing the poll around names of games will give you extremely biased survey results. If you're using this to base any kind of paper and your audience has any knowledge of the industry, it'll be easy to see through.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
I don't like games charging for expansions in either the WoW mode or the GW mode. The main reason is because it separates players who have them and don't.
Of course, it depends on what kind of game you have. If you have a WoW clone, you are already separating players via speed of level advancement, and you have what is basically a single player game with multiplayer capacity. It wouldn't matter so much then. But if you have a sandbox game with all the social aspects added to the game play, keeping players together (if they want to stay together) becomes critical.
OP asked how much we'd be willing to pay. That depends on the game. I can envision very simple yet good games, with low quality graphics and smallish worlds, and I can envision huge games with outstanding graphics and extreme depth, and I can see each, if done to my liking, being viable for me. But I wouldn't pay the same thing for both, nor expect to. I'd say I'd probably pay the standard rates for the low budget game if I liked it and had no other games like it (Sandbox style), just because I had no other place to go for what I want. For a better game, I'd be willing to pay more. Myself, I'd be willing to pay up to $25-$30 a month, but I'd be concerned that others wouldn't. Probably keeping it under $20 would still not push away too many people if the game were great. And $16.99 sounds much better yet that $18.99. Still, a truly great game of real depth, huge size and great art should be able to ask for $19.99 a month with no great loss due to price.
But if it's not a Sandbox worldly game, best to stick to the current structures of other games of that type. That kind of player expects sameness in all aspects, from game play to pricing structure. And I don't mean that to be offensive, there's a place for that too. Just what I think I see in their thinking process.
Once upon a time....
Correct, I just am looking for the model you prefer if it is the game you like playing. Nothing more. To the post above about EVE vs WOW, I do not play EVE and do not know how substantial their expansions are. WOW's in the past has changed alot of things from 1 xpac to the next, in addition to bringing new content along after each expansion. If EVE's expansions are as substantial (think they are at 17 atm) then that may be a better arguement for the EVE model.
For me it would be the wow model for sure......why.....wel, i dont think its even possible to keep a game running (for a longer time) without the funds comming in.
GW you say?? yeah well i cant realy talk about Anet but i never played GW after the beta.....i realy aint that impressed by the GW games tbh......but hey this is my personal toughts ok so dont shoot me for syaing this
. I am going to try GW2 but i realy dont have my hopes up as high as the hype is.....just gonna see what they made of it.
My 2 cents
I prefer the GWs model because its how games should be. Being forced in a "typical pay rate" is just market term for buisnesses to charge the same price for a lesser product or a product that doesn't meet peoples standard. I hope GW2 does well to show companies that you do not have to mimic the typical sub plan to do well. DDO, LotRO, and EQ2 shows that the typical way to do things doesn't work for everybody. MMOs need to stand out in a market that is flooded with them.
Its just my opinion but, considering EVE and WOW the same is incorrect. I am not familiar with the magnitude of content that EVE offers with each expansion but the WoW model basically gives you a new area with each expansion and intial content, they then provide additional content to this area over the course of the next to years (until the next expansion). Does EVE provide additional content along the way with their expansions or is it only delivered in the new expansions? Also, simply put if WoW didnt charge for expansions then it would be exactly like EVE. This is not for a paper, its more to see preference. F2P has been beat to death and few games that launch as F2P are "successful", I use quotes because success is relative. F2P lately has become a means to generate short term revenue for IPs that have been stagnant or dwindling in subscriber base.