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$14.99 per month no longer the "limit", time to dig deep or why we've learnt to hate EA.
Xenduli
Member Posts: 654
Most MMO's charge a monthly fee, although in the last year the ratio of F2P to P2P has reversed. There are now more F"P MMO's than P2P ones.
Starting with WAR the cost of playing an MMO could go up.
"Q: Will the game require a monthly fee to play WAR?
A: Yes, and EA Mythic's President Mark Jacobs has stated that the subscription fee will quite possibly be more than the standard $14.99 that most MMOG's charge."
Instant reaction to that is, well it's EA WTF do you expect. BUT if they can "get away with it" what is to stop every MMO from charging more?
I think the monthly fee was dreamt up one day by the guys who made Ultima Online. It's been roughly that value since.
You could argue that actually the cost of a lot of everyday items has gone down. Food is one example (although the price of wheat is high now). But I digress.
How much is everyone willing to pay AND would you still play your favourite MMO(s) if there was a price hike (for no apparent reason other than if EA does it why not).
Let's face it, the cost of making a AAA game now is astronomical compared to 10 years ago when MMORPG was barely heard of. Does this mean the cost should be handed to us or is a fact of making games.
My opinion is that it goes against current trend with MMO makers realising an empty world isn't very appealing and so that's why F2P games are overtaking P2P ones.
No annoying animated GIF here!
Comments
I pay $30 for 6 MMOs rolled into 1 package.
I also pay an additional $15 for EVE and another additional $15 for WoW.
...sooo... I guess I'd pay $60 a month?
- CaesarsGhost
Lead Gameplay and Gameworld Designer for a yet unnamed MMO Title.
"When people tell me designing a game is easy, I try to get them to design a board game. Most people don't last 5 minutes, the rest rarely last more then a day. The final few realize it's neither fun nor easy."
Blame your [censored] up economy, not EA, someone has to do it sooner or later.
Subscribtions: EVE, SWTOR WOW, WAR, DDO, VG, AOC, COV, FFXI, GW, RFO, Aion
+plenty of F2P, betas, trials
Female Dwarf player: WOW, VG, WAR, DDO
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Due to the recent economic crisis and spending cuts the light at the end of the tunnel was turned off. Sincerely, God.
$14.99/monthly is more than enough for game companies to charge. Especially when there will be a box charge as well. If they decide to go for more, they may be surprised how easily greed bites them in the ass.
I'm fine with paying more on a monthly basis, but I would be demanding more than most games give me now.
They'd have to start off by releasing a complete game. And by complete I mean a game that isn't at a beta level. MMOs constantly evolve and things they try in games wont always work, so there will always be the need for updates. And there's always going to be bugs that aren't caught. What I'm talking about is avoiding launches like Vanguard or SWG had, the former being far worse.
After a nice clean launch, I'd be looking for stead updates with a lot more "meat on their bones". At least once a month, if not more depending on how they would break things up.
In the end, I'm more than willing to pay a monthly fee for a game as long as it's worth that fee. I buy a game for $40 like CoD4, and it lasts me a few days in single player and a month or two in multiplayer. I played SWG for 2 years, so of course I'm willing to foot a bigger bill to keep playing it. As long as my money is helping the cause and forcing results.
Someone already disproved this particular information from Tentonhammer as nothing but Poo Doo if you bothered to already read the flametastic troll filled thread that was the result Lobomist continued troll wars on games that he doesn't like.
Honestly everyone jumps to conclusions to easily. Every game company for every game including Blizzard has people that look into pricing structures and everytime it ends up being publically spoken about people jump to the OMG its going to happen oh the humanity its the end of the world apocalypic conclusion despite there being no solid evidence that it will actually happen.
Honestly F2P games are F2P for a reason..they Usually suck or they have an Item mall that'll cost you way more per month than any P2P game.
Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED!
Not trying to troll or be a smart ass. But it’s Capitalism at its best. If you feel that the money is too high, don’t play the game, simple.
Isn't EA Mythic based out of the UK?
Hasn't the dollar fallen about 50% against the euro in the last year or so?
i really dont mind paying more.....£9 a mont is a pretty small amount anyway
I think its too early to "assume" that EA/Mythic will raise the bar on the monthly price of gaming.
That said, if it went up a buck or two, I'd have no problem accepting it.
As others have said, the trend to more and better F2P games will put downward pressure on the monthly payment model, while the spiraling costs of making these games will force either the box price or monthly fee upwards.
Just have to wait and see where it all lands.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"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
But Warhmmer is popular in Europe and will certainly release there, not sure how they will do that. ITurbine uses Codemasters in Europe for example. And I guess if the dollar is weak maybe they could be worried about people comparing the sub prices. Meh I have no idea, currency stuff confuses me and basing your release sub on something that could completely reverse in two years seems like a boneheaded move.
If ANY game charges more than $14.99 per month... I will certainly not try it, but it or play it. That's just obscene. This includes Warhammer Online.
Man, I hate greedy people. But like the accountant for Howard Hughes said when asked... "Just how much did Mr. Hughes leave behind?" The accountant replied, "All of it."
calm down
Simply put: Everything is worth what it's purchaser is ready to pay for. So if they believe their product is worth more then 15$ a month, be my guest and raise the price. The community will give you a reality check if you overcharge anyway.
Personally, i think every games and MMO should have a different price. Why does it cost me the same thing to play Oblivion on my Xbox 360 then Thrillville? One has about 10 times more content and game play. Now it's hard to measure enjoyment and what it's worth to you, but i think it's safe to say that a Game like Oblivion could easily ask 100$ without being considered overprice, and lame shooters such as Jericho's shouldn't charge over 20$ for their 10 hours of game play on hardcore mode. (If you take your time)
Most games are overpriced that's for sure. I've worked for EA and Ubisoft on the developper side, and i've seen the numbers many times. A game like King Kong for example costed about 5 millions to make on 3 different consoles. (Plus a port on the 360) And they "easily" made 3 times that amount in pure profit. Now considering you paid 60$ for that game for about 12 hours of game play "max", it makes you wonder if you're getting screwed. They "could" had give you 20-30 hours of content for sure, but you must add about 2 millions for each 10 hours after the original one. The thing is: They prefer to give you the "minimum" they can in order to get the "maximum". Those companies aren't respecting their player base, (nor their employees) only their numbers.
This business model will prevail as long as their are idiots to pay 60$ for a game they could rent for 5$ and finish it in 3 days. Same goes for the MMO world. You want to shell out money to play WoW and their eternal pandora box that will ask you to restart all over again each and every expansion, go ahead. But don't come here and complain that the industry is lame, unless you are not part of those 9 millions lunatics who encourage mediocre game play such as WoW.
What deserves to be done, deserves to be "well" done...
Ipso facto since its EA they will raise the sub, its a no-brainer. And people like you will march happily along in lock step instead of fighting the man like you should.
And the whole F2P thing is a lie to distract people from the inevitable price control monoply of the EA SOE price fixing collusion. Guild Wars 2 says it will be no-sub, but they are just a front controlled by SOE to lull people into complacency. I say get an axe, because its a trap.
Did I mention Smedley is the Devil? Because it bears repeating...
EA Corp Offices were based in the San Fran Bay Area.
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QFT one less cry baby to be around the game forums and game crying about something never every month.
Sig by WhiskeyJack1
If Sony could get away with charging $30 bucks for Station Pass what's stopping other game companies from doing so. The first massive commercial mmo like UO/EQ charged $9.99 back in 1997-1999 era then it went up to $14.99 for the 2000-2007 era.. i think $15 bucks is rather low if you're going to adjust for inflation... however, I think the game companies have to account for what the current market can bare... A good price range would be around $15-25 ..... $30 is probably a bit too much.
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No annoying animated GIF here!
Id pay $50 a month for a quality game. Know why?
Right now, most MMOs in the US are what, 14.99 average? Lets say you pay for 1 year, month by month. That comes to a whopping.. $180. Thats it. Some companies even give discount for paying ahead so its cheaper. (LOTRO had lifetime sub for $300 I think.. play til you die!) Even adding in the box cost of $50.00, thats still less than $300 a year. Honestly, who cant afford $300 a year? If you cant, time to think about some things:
If youre a kid with a paper route, you can afford $300 a year. The thing is, you wont be able to buy your music CDs, your Abercrombie and Finch, your Starbucks, youre.. whatever. If youre an adult who can't pay $300 a year, you probably shouldnt be spending your time gaming on MMOs, honestly. You need to get some kind of skill training for a job that makes more money or something because even on McDonalds salary, you could still probably afford 300 a year gaming. (assuming you dont have a buncha kids; and if you do, why are you playing MMO all the time? Go spend time with them!)
$50 a year is $600. Thats a chunk bigger than $15. But ok, what to... lets see, you can drop cable. You can cut down on textmessaging, or better yet, get rid of your cellphone cause I know that costs more than 600 a year, but you dont complain to Verizon about that. You can stop buying lunch at restaurants and bag it once in awhile.. learn to cook. You can shop at outlets for new stuff they are getting rid of. Lots of ways to make up this difference.
The key word here is PRIORITIES. You have to have them straight. A lot of gamers dont, thats why there so much addiction, people losing relationships, jobs, etc. That one Korean couple that killed their kid cause they were out all day playing. If you set your priorities right, you CAN afford any game they make, no matter what the monthly sub is. If your priority is to yakk on the phone, you cannot pay that bill and pay a MMO sub. So why tell the MMO people, charge less? Again, you dont get on Verizon's message boards and tell them to lower prices or youll stop service.
Devs, make a good game. Make it REAL good. Put all the bells and whistles in it. Dont take a shortcut because you dunno where the payoff is gonna be at. Dont rush the game. However long it takes. A real gamer will wait for that game and pay $50 for it when it hits the market. We will drop HBO, Showtime and Cinemax and keep basic cable so we can pay for that. But you cant make crap. Dont give us Vanguard and then expect us to pay thru the nose.
Again, i dont have a prob with a monthly sub (I hate cashshops though.. bad.) if you make a great game. Ill even take some income tax refund and buy an new rig if the specs are too high.
I have my priorities straight. Im a gamer. Make me a game. Ill pay.
"TO MICHAEL!"
As others have said though, I would pay more a month for an MMO IF I have more fun playing it than a cheaper one. Thats how it works. Company A charges more for there product than company B. Company A's product tasts better, or is more fun than company B so they get away with it. On the flipside if Company B offers more for a less price, Company A is going out of busness.
Not caring for EA either way but really don't blame EA or any other company at all, blame yourselves for paying the crazy prices. Companies look at it as a business and always wanting to make a profit, so if EA turns around and charges more thank 15 a month for a game and people pay it then you have set the standar for monlthy fees not EA because you as a customer accepted it. People have total control over what happens in the mmo market when it comes to pricing.
The craziness for games has already started. Funcom is going to charge us 90 bucks for a collectors edition. Do you really think that a game box is worth 90 bucks ? Ofcourse not but so many will be brainwashed because it is AOC they will run and go pay the price of the box. Same goes for WAR, people will be so brainwashed that it is WAR they wouldn't care if EA/Mythic charged 20 bucks for a monthly fee.
Jennerflock's post on page 2 has made that page unreadable for me,
.
I think that if someone is happy paying say $30 a month for an MMO then that is fine, but what happens when you stop or take a break? Most MMO's keep characters for a bit, if the costs rise, could the gaming company be justified in deleting a character sooner?
The vast majority of a monthly fee goes into running costs especially bandwith. If your character is on a server when a paying customer could be instead, wouldn't it be very tempting to say bye-bye or pay up? There would be uproar!!
No annoying animated GIF here!
Thank you whoever made page 1 unreadable. Anyway, I'm guessing the topic is that WAR is going to be $30 a month. Response: LOL. Is EA retarded? Only the hardcore gamers are willing to jack over that kind of money, this could cut their sales in half or more.
It will be $15. They will mostly be $15 until someone decides to jack the market, and I doubt it will be WAR given that Wow's expac is coming out this year, and WoW is only $15. I mean it is a trivial amount of money for most people (less than the price of two movie tickets and that lasts only a couple of hours), but it's a price point people are used to at this stage.
It has already been confirmed that WAR has plans to charge more than the average $15 a month. I cant point you to the source as its been months since I had read it, so you will have to take my word for it.
Honestly, I cant see myself paying more than $18 a month for an online game, not because I cannot afford it, but because Im not one to support greed and all around asshole behavior from a company. Unless WAR provides some top-notch updates on a monthly basis in return for their higher pricing, I may troll my way back into WoW and wait on its expansion (or simply stick with AoC if it lives up to its promises).