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SOE And EA, A Load Of Money Grabbing B*st*rds
Devour
Member Posts: 902
So, I start making an EQII trial account. I notice that it says, "Once you have finished your trial, you will be able to continue gameplay after buying the $39.99 copy of EQII, which includes the adventure packs!", or something equal to that. I think to myself that that's a rather cheap arse scheme in order to get a bit of extra cash, but it's expected of SOE. And, now, 24 hours on, after repeatedly trying to install the patches and having it fail completely, I.E. because it keeps reinstalling the same patch, then trying to get on their forums, only to find that they don't even HAVE a technical difficulties forums, I give up. It gets uninstalled, because SOE are trying to money grab.
Next, I check out the UO trial. I always enjoyed UO, and I thought that it'd be better with the new graphics system. After starting to download the "free" trial, and making my account, I note that it makes you sign in with a credit card, which will undoubtedly be billed as soon as you forget to cancel it.
And, now, I'm sitting here and wondering how Scrooge-like these companies are. I haven't checked, but I'm fairly certain that the WoW 14-day trial is free, allows you full access to the game once you've done one month's subscription and doesn't require a credit card to validate.
In the end, it's no wonder that they don't get a proper influx of new players.
Comments
How would you feel if you had a business that made no money? So obviously they want your money like everyother business out there.
http://www.station.sony.com/support/
I agree with you, most MMO companies are light years behind other companies in other lines of business when it comes to customer satisfaction.
Hopefully this will improve over the years.
They would have my money, if they delivered and engaging and interesting game experience which I would subscribe to. But, they're just trying to grab as much money as possible in a short time, because they don't believe players will subscribe for that long. Also note the fact that in EQII you're stuck to the newbie isle, and therefore unable to experience the gameplay on the mainland - making me think that it's probably piss poor.
It's already uninstalled, and that would be pretty hard to find, instead of a putting a technical difficulties board on their forums.
To put this into some perspective, what large corporation (actually, which company in general) isn't a money-grabbing bastard?
Quite a few, that have a long-term view and knowledge that their lack of money-grabbing bastardliness will get them more money over time, than a minimal amount in a short time.
Don't purchase the extra packs for EQ II until you know you want them. If you are looking for a free trial there is the "Trial of the Isle" which you can download and play for free until you want to quit or pay for the game.
Most companies ask for a credit card so just be responsible and cancel it and "don't forget'.
As far as your issue with Sony, it doesn't seem that it is "money grubbing" but that you are pissed at what your percieve as them being greedy and THEN you have trouble installing so you blow a gasket.
There is customer support. Why is it that mmo players are incapable of calling customer support? Or use the link that another poster gave.
There really is no real issue here.
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http://everquest2.station.sony.com/
Free 7 Day Trial.
Then you have to go out and buy the game. That's why they're money grabbing. They lack true admins on their messageboards. They lack a technical support messageboard. That's why they're money grabbing.
Their free trial doesn't let you onto the mainland, it doesn't let you see what gameplay is really like. That's why they're money grabbing.
See?
Devour, I don't understand why you have a problem with buying a copy of the game after trying it out. Making the game, those CD/DVDs, marketing, retail, etc.. that all cost significant investment capital. Is it not fair to ask the price for the game after you've tried it out. That's how it works with general console and PC games. You can download a free trial, or demo, but still have to go out and buy the game. The difference is that with a MMO you also pay monthly fees for the continued server costs, patches, content/feature updates, etc. Honestly, you should feel greatful that they let you try it at all. Trials are a service bonus, after all.
Perhaps I'm missing something, but your complaint seems unreasonable.
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Futilez - Mature MMORPG Community
Correcting people since birth.
Yes, you are, you're missing the fact that they don't have a long-term view of the game itself. Look at the constant expansions and the like, they're merely to grab players back for a short time and make them pay their subscription. These companies will never have a true boom of new players, because of their "free trials".
Yep I have to agree here...
It's called a trial for a reason. You try out the game, get a feel for the dynamics and gameplay.
You like it , you buy it. You don't you cancel your account and uninstall from your HD. What's the beef?
Of course they have a long-term view and plan for the game, how could they not? MMOs have complete business strategies and cultures behind them. A MMO business is long-haul by default. The costs of such a venture are not recuperated within the first couple of weeks of box sales. Just because you can't see their view or plan, does not mean it doesn't exist. They probably have plans for the next 5 to 10 years.
I will definately agree with you that some stunts that get pulled by MMO companies can be very cynical, and based soley on hitting a financial target, and that MMO companies definately to evolve their service culture, and their ideas about what we want as gamers. But don't forget, one of the fundemental problems with an on-going service like this is that everyone's expectations differ. The trick is to try and satisfy as many expectations as possible. In my opinion and experience, stand-alone games do not suffer from this as much, because they offer a complete product as-is, with only minor bug-related patches and support as after-sales service. Then all they need to do is keep selling boxes, so even they have a long-term strategy.
They could have a larger playerbase, if they allowed players to just subscribe. Those five $39.99 sales could instead be thirty $10 subscriptions.
Quite a few, that have a long-term view and knowledge that their lack of money-grabbing bastardliness will get them more money over time, than a minimal amount in a short time.
All companies are after your money, and the long term view of good customer service for more profit is true but when these companies and plying you with what you think is honey better taste it to make sure it isn't Astro-Glide. The companies with the best customer service will still stick it to you if what you want will cost them more money then they are will to put out. All policies are designed with the companies profits and intrests put first, customer satisfaction second.
They could have a larger playerbase, if they allowed players to just subscribe. Those five $39.99 sales could instead be thirty $10 subscriptions.
You're making a mountain out of a mole-hill. This is the model. You pay a one time fee for the game itself...around 40-60.00. It includes one month of free play... if you like game you keep paying for it....if you don't, you're out ...$40-60 bucks.
The hardware to play these games costs 2-5K...... so the games are a pittance vs the overall cost of the hobby.
Not everyone can afford to buy a Benz.... so stick with the Kia and be happy....
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"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I was under the impression expansions were to "maintain" the current players and offer "incentive" to players who have stopped playing to come back. If the game doesn't expand and change, players will become bored and stop playing. "Expand or die" would be an accurate statement. They didn't spend all the millions to finally get it to you from the development stage so you can play for 3 month then move on. They want players to be happy and want to play. Longer subscriptions means longer income and the ability to recoup all their investments and start to turn a profit. NO ONE is in business for altruistic reasons. McDonalds doesn't make burgers just because they think you might drive by and be hungry one day, they make them to draw regular customers so they can make continuing income. The Post Office doesn't feel a burning desire to carry letters back and forth across the world so you can finally talk to your old Aunt Edna. They do it to make money. Everybody in business finds a niche (or hopes to), draws customers and hopes to turn a profit. Some are successful and some are not.
You say they don't have good customer service therefore they must be money grabbing. Those are completely non related. Actually bad customer service just results in customers stopping using their product. No matter what business. You say they offer expansions because they are money grabbing. That almost made my head spin trying to understand. In the MMO world, if you don't offer expansions, every player playing will be spamming every forum that will let them post whining and crying that they are stuck in the mud. That they wont expand. That they get what they deserve for offering a game that goes no where. That it started out good but they didn't do anything with it. And on and on.
Based off reading the post, I think you just had an installation problem and got frustrated. There wasn't an "easy-button" to click and everything is fixed. I know. I'm was that same hot-head. I installed a game and expected it to work. I've even deleted games that I had installation problems and sat on the sidelines listening to all my friends talk about playing it just so I could pout and not relent to "that stupid game". Then I grew up and went out into the real world. Discovered how things work in real life. Had to reach out and grab what I wanted because people quit just handing it all to me. The world is not a perfect place, problems occur. You can either deal with them by fixing them or deal with them by pouting and folding your arms waiting for it to magically fix.
That's like defending shady businessmen and robbers/thieves.
How would you feel if you were a thief that made no money? So obviously they want your money like every other thief out there.
SoE has a lot of shady practices. If you make an account with the 7 day trial, and then buy the game, apply the code to your account, you DO NOT get the free 1 month, because they consider it "Not a new account."
This is the only MMO i've ever known to cheat you out of the free month because you wanted to try out the trial.
Horrible.
I bought my friend the game using my own money, and SoE cheated him (Or should I say me?) out of the free month, and so he refused to pay the $15 monthly fee to play with me, despite the fact it was MY money I used to buy the $50 game. I wasn't as much upset at SoE thogh as I was at him for doing that to me. When a friend buys you a $50 game so you can play together, and you like it, you don't just throw it right back in his face because a company cheated you out of 21 days. He would have had to pay $15 instead of $50, but his pride (or apathy, or whatever the crap it was) got in the way. He even said, while we were playing the 7 day trial, that he WOULD pay the $15, regardless if SoE didn't give him his free month or not. What a liar.
Needless to say, I wasted $50 on a friend who threw the money back in my face. I'm never buying him any games ever again.
This is SoE's fault though. Their deceitful practice has small tiny text of lawyer-like words just so they can cheat you out of your free month.
http://everquest2.station.sony.com/
Free 7 Day Trial.
Then you have to go out and buy the game. That's why they're money grabbing. They lack true admins on their messageboards. They lack a technical support messageboard. That's why they're money grabbing.
Their free trial doesn't let you onto the mainland, it doesn't let you see what gameplay is really like. That's why they're money grabbing.
See?
They dont let you onto the mainland, join guilds, send private messages etc etc because gold farmers & spammers abuse the free trials and harrass PAYING customers. Its annoying to cheapasses that want try before the buy / play but it keeps their current happy customers happy. And I believe Blizzard makes you go out and buy the game as well after you use their Free Trial (with a credit card, because I know people who've done it). Its standard practice at this point with any AAA title to do those things. Even DAoC makes you use a credit card to do their free trial AND you have to buy the game in the end as well.
Alot of that comes from the whole pirated software issue as well. You pay for the account key really and not the software in some cases.
If people hadn't of abused the things they were given we wouldn't have things this way or would we? Considering they make money of satisified trial accounts that go full I think its more likely the abuse that encourages them to make things such a pain in the ass.
While you can bad mouth sony and EA all you want they're still laughing all the way to the bank since most people really don't care and are quite happy.
BTW that sucks they fubar you on the free month (another poster). Hell DDO is like here's free 10 days, then if you buy the game (for 10 bucks of amazon) you get and additional 30 lol. My friend she got 40 days for 10 bucks now that was a complete steal of a deal and rare.
Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED!
hello all,
I didn't like eq2 anyway
,i got to level 70 just to play a game with the wife. Nothing much else is out there. The only fun "to me" mmorpgs out are
1.= Everquest "buy the anniversary edition for 18.00 with 14 expansions, i did and loving it"
2.= World of Warcraft "the game gets very boring after a year or so, and with the billions they make could do much much more for the game than they do"
3.= EQOA for playstation2 "me and wife had 3 playstation2's blow up or die because of this game. It is very very comparable to wow , without the pvp"
Yes sony has very bad support , but i'd rather have them hire a new programmer than a customer service rep with the little money they have left.
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http://everquest2.station.sony.com/
Free 7 Day Trial.
Then you have to go out and buy the game. That's why they're money grabbing. They lack true admins on their messageboards. They lack a technical support messageboard. That's why they're money grabbing.
Their free trial doesn't let you onto the mainland, it doesn't let you see what gameplay is really like. That's why they're money grabbing.
See?
They dont let you onto the mainland, join guilds, send private messages etc etc because gold farmers & spammers abuse the free trials and harrass PAYING customers. Its annoying to cheapasses that want try before the buy / play but it keeps their current happy customers happy. And I believe Blizzard makes you go out and buy the game as well after you use their Free Trial (with a credit card, because I know people who've done it). Its standard practice at this point with any AAA title to do those things. Even DAoC makes you use a credit card to do their free trial AND you have to buy the game in the end as well.
Alot of that comes from the whole pirated software issue as well. You pay for the account key really and not the software in some cases.
If people hadn't of abused the things they were given we wouldn't have things this way or would we? Considering they make money of satisified trial accounts that go full I think its more likely the abuse that encourages them to make things such a pain in the ass.
While you can bad mouth sony and EA all you want they're still laughing all the way to the bank since most people really don't care and are quite happy.
BTW that sucks they fubar you on the free month (another poster). Hell DDO is like here's free 10 days, then if you buy the game (for 10 bucks of amazon) you get and additional 30 lol. My friend she got 40 days for 10 bucks now that was a complete steal of a deal and rare.
I always use a Visa giftcard debit card I get from the Mall, with only $1 left on it, to use for MMO trials.
This way I do not have to cancel the subscription or worry about MMO's cheating me by charging me anyways after I unsubscribe.
As long as the card has at least $1 on it, you can use it. And in some cases, it doesn't even have to anything on it. In even rarer cases, you can use 11111111111111 as the credit card trial number, LOL.
I didn't have to use a credit card when I tried the EQ2 trial but that was last year.
However when I had downloaded The Saga of Ryzom trial they wanted one dollar for some bullshit fee or other, I uninstalled that trial quicker than you could say "archipelago".
They have a trial forum so people with trial issues can go there
http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/forums/show.m?forum_id=2591
And what do you know a tech support forum :O
http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/forums/show.m?forum_id=4
Don't get me wrong, I agree all businesses are money grabbing bastards but that is what a business is.
Your wondering how Scrooge-like these companies are, yet you penny pinch and don't want to pay for their games.
I can only assume that you don't have an atm/check card or a credit card. If that's the case, go to a store and buy a game card.
your arguement is so persuasive, so filled with knowledge and insight. You back up your argument very articulately, with suggestions of improvements and raising examples to glorify your position....oh wait, you didn't
Look at the Ryzom Trial. Players have complained about that, because it gives a false impression of the mainland gameplay, and that trial is a lot bigger and more in-depth than the EQII one. So, how could it not apply the same to EQII's trial?
Of course I have a credit card, but I know I'll forget to cancel the subscription, and then be billed each month for a game I'm not playing.